Gunmen attacked a police station in a town in Ivory Coast on Sunday after killing five military policemen and seizing weapons in a night raid in the main city Abidjan, the army said. Residents fled as the army sent troops to regain control of the town of Agboville, where up to 2,000 prisoners escaped when the unidentified gunmen attacked a prison during the chaos, Reuters reported. The raid underlined the risks to a fragile peace process intended to end a civil war that broke out in 2002. Elections are planned for the West African country in October. It was unclear who launched the assault, which took place in the government-controlled south. Rebels who control the north of the world's top cocoa grower declined to make immediate comment. Residents said they saw armoured vehicles sent by the army entering the town after heavy firing broke out at about 5 p.m. (1730 GMT), but it was unclear who was shooting. The raid began late on Saturday when gunmen attacked a military police base in Abidjan's Anyama suburb, killing five military policemen, before fleeing north to Agboville in the darkness, the army said. "The defence and security forces are currently working to regain control of the situation," the army said in a statement.
