Hilversum — Two people were killed in fierce clashes in western Ivory Coast, a region which saw 1,000 people die in post-election violence earlier this year, a United Nations official said Thursday.

Homes and storehouses were also destroyed in fighting between groups in the towns of Pelezi and Bahe Sebon in recent days, Hamadoun Toure, spokesman for UN peacekeeping forces in Ivory Coast, told journalists.

Government troops and traditional hunters also confronted inhabitants of the villages of Niamayo and Niazareko, Toure said, calling for an end to "impunity".

He called on President Alassane Ouattara's government to implement a programme of disarmament and reintegration of fighters involved in a power struggle between Ouattara and ex-president Laurent Gbagbo.

Details of the programme have still not been set out.

The fighting which began after Gbagbo refused to step down after an election defeat in November and ended with the UN-backed Ouattara's victory in April, killed some 3,000 people.

Around a third of the casualties were in the restive western region bordering Liberia, which was largely loyal to Gbagbo, according to the UN.

Toure said two people had also been killed by bandits in the north of the country, reflecting the spread of weapons in Ivory Coast as a result of the conflict.

Ouattara's government, which plans new parliamentary elections on December 11, is still struggling to restore security and reform the armed forces.

© ANP/AFP