A 48-hour mutiny in Ivory Coast has come to an end after military leaders reached a settlement with the government on Jan. 8. Their demands included improvements in soldiers' standards of living and the payment of owed wages. Gunfire related to the mutiny has reportedly died down, and calm has settled over Bouake, the epicenter of the unrest.

The conflict broke out around 2:00 a.m. on Jan. 6 when former rebels, who were integrated into the army after the country's civil war ended in 2011, raided police stations in Bouake (the country's second-largest city), Abidjan (the country's economic capital) and Daloa. The mutineers then issued a list of demands for Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. Some of the requests, such as for a house for each soldier, likely were intentionally extravagant in hopes of improving the negotiations' final outcome. For a brief period on Jan. 7, the rebels also took the country's defense minister hostage before releasing him two hours later.

Though initial reports claimed that the government of Ivorian Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan resigned in response to the violence, they were incorrect. Duncan had already begun the process of ending his tenure following a September 2016 referendum that approved a new system of governance. In fact, Duncan may assume the newly created post of first vice president.

At the moment, there is no indication that another mutiny will arise in the near future. That said, the unrest underscores the country's need to devote greater attention to its historically underfunded military. (Ivory Coast's former colonial patron, France, has long provided an extensive security umbrella to Francophone Africa's biggest economy.) The military itself also faces several challenges that must be addressed, including the fact that many former rebels and their commanders were incorporated into the army a little over five years ago. Some of these powerful figures maintain sizable arsenals — some of which are estimated to best the Ivorian military's own stockpiles — and control lucrative illicit gold mines. The possibility of a parallel army emerging with access to capital and resources presents a clear threat to Ouattara's government, which has been struggling to solidify the country's political system after years of instability and conflict.