At least 14 people had been shot dead in four days of fighting between between rival factions of the 200-strong rebel garrison in the northern town of Ferkessedougou, near the frontier with Burkina Faso. This squabble lasted until a delegation of senior rebel officials from the rebel capital arrived in the town to restore order. During a visit to Ferkessedougou, a UN correspondent noted that many of the rebel fighters were addicted to sniffing solvents, which they poured onto handkerchiefs all day and inhaled. - Adam Geibel