Despite the presence of French peacekeeping troops, two Burkinabe immigrants were killed and at least seven others seriously wounded in machete attacks by local Guere tribe youths in the western government-controlled town of Duekoue (500 kilometers northwest of the commercial capital Abidjan).

Ethnic rivalries and land disputes, marauding bands of armed Liberians, squabbling rebel warlords and the threat of Liberian rebel fighters spilling back over the border all combine to make the 'Wild West' an explosive place. The civil war displaced around 150,000 people and even nine months after the ceasefire, killings and violence remain commonplace. There are just too many weapons are in the hands of young people drafted into fighting forces or vigilante groups, and not enough gainful employment for those who would put down their AK-47s. - Adam Geibel