There are fears of an outbreak of inter-ethnic clashes between the native and non-native communities living in western Cote d'Ivoire after a youth from one of the groups was cut and hurt.

Speaking to Xinhua on Monday, a source of the region of Duekoue said the youths from the non-native Malinke community vowed to revenge for the injuries suffered by one of them.

They attributed the attack to youths from the native Guere community and vowed to mobilize themselves and fight back.

The source said a serious confrontation was averted after speedy intervention by regional authorities, which mediated in the crisis to calm the angry spirits.

There is uneasy calm in the area, where the administrative and security authorities have taken precautionary measures to ensure peace is maintained in the zone, he said.

Inter-ethnic violence has been witnessed in different parts of Cote d'Ivoire in recent months.

In mid-January, inter-ethnic clashes left at least three people dead in the forest in Blolequin, also in the west of the African country.

In early July, clashes between the natives and the non-natives left at least four people dead in the gold mining region of Angovia in central Cote d'Ivoire.