'Presidential palace taken in Abidjan'

French soldiers patrol the Port Bouet district of Abidjan in Ivory Coast.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173150.html

Forces loyal to president-elect Alassane Ouattara claim they have seized incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo's residence in Abidjan as fighting takes a new turn in the North African nation.

Heavy weapons fire rocked the capital Abidjan Tuesday as forces loyal to internationally recognized president Ouattara clashed with Gbagbo troops, AFP reported on Tuesday.

The arms fire came from the city's Plateau district, a business district in Abidjan where the presidential palace is located.

Witnesses describe the pre-dawn clash as the heaviest fighting since soldiers backing Ouattara entered the city five days ago.

A pro-Gbagbo military source, however, denied the claim.

Earlier, Ouattara's forces announced they would soon launch their final assault on Gbagbo's presidential palace.

The news came after French and UN helicopters attacked Gbagbo's palace and military bases on Monday.

The joint campaign followed an urgent request by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, calling for military action.

Ban said it was necessary to launch military operations to protect the civilian population against Gbagbo's onslaughts.

However, an advisor to Gbagbo in Paris described the attacks as an assassination attempt on the leader.

Meanwhile, diplomatic sources say several foreigners including two French nationals have been kidnapped in Abidjan.

'French military occupying Ivory Coast'

Toussaint Alain, aide to incumbent Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/172981.html

An aide to incumbent Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo says the French military is behaving in a similar fashion to an occupation army, after their seizure of Ivory Coast's airport in Abidjan.

"We feel that this force is behaving in Ivory Coast like an army of occupation without any mandate, because the UN mandate does not authorize Licorne to occupy a sovereign state's airport," AFP quoted Toussaint Alain, aide to Gbagbo, as saying on Sunday.

The French Licorne (Unicorn) mission and the UN peacekeeping mission (UNOCI) have taken control of Abidjan's airport as the struggle between Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara's forces intensifies.

Ivorian president-elect Ouattara has shown support for the UN and French intervention in the North African nation.

More than 15,000 foreign troops are currently stationed in the crisis-hit country, including 700 French troops.

The Red Cross says that some 800 people have been killed during the capture of Duekoue, last Tuesday.

While much of the international community has recognized Ouattara as the winner of the vote, Gbagbo refuses to give up power. Tensions escalated as both sides claimed to be the winner and appointed separate cabinets.

Post-election violence has left at least 494 people dead. A United Nations report has also said that up to one million people have fled their homes so far.

French troops take over Ivorian airport

French troops in Ivory Coast patrol a street in Abidjan

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/172867.html

The French military says its forces have taken control of the airport in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan as post-election violence continues to haunt the country.

French Military Spokesman Thierry Burkhard said on Sunday that Paris has sent 300 back-up troops to the West African nation.

There are currently more than 1,500 foreign forces in Ivory Coast -- including 700 from France.

Forces loyal to president-elect Alassane Ouattara arrived in Abidjan on Thursday after launching a major offensive.

Abidjan has been the scene of heavy fighting between Ouattara forces and those of incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.

Ivorian state TV has accused French troops of preparing genocide like the one in Rwanda in 1994 which left an estimated 800,000 people dead in the space of 100 days.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says that at least 800 people were killed in Ivory Coast on Tuesday alone.

The humanitarian body said the victims were killed after fighting broke out in the western city of Duekoue.

The United Nations mission in Ivory Coast (ONUCI) said on Saturday that pro-Ouattara forces had killed 330 people in key-strategic town.

Ouattara has vehemently denied the report and says his forces were not involved in the Duekoue killings.

"The government [of Ouattara] notes with regret that the allegations of the deputy chief of ONUCI human rights division are not supported by any evidence after its preliminary investigation," Ouattara's government said in a statement.

Deadly violence erupted in the West African nation after a disputed presidential election in November.

While much of the international community has recognized Ouattara as the winner of the vote, Gbagbo refuses to cede power.

Tensions further escalated after they both claimed victory and appointed separate cabinets.

The disputed presidential election has raised the risk of a long power struggle that could trigger another civil war in the country.

UN: One million flee Ivory Coast violence

Families fleeing fighting and unrest in the Abobo neighborhood of Abidjan arrive at a school turned into a makeshift shelter for internally displaced people, near Anyama, on March 25, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171699.html

The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) says up to one million people in Ivory Coast have fled their homes to safer areas due to post-election violence.

UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a news conference in Geneva on Friday that the situation was deteriorating in the African country.

"The massive displacement in Abidjan and elsewhere is being fuelled by fears of all-out war," Fleming said.

“Families fleeing areas of conflicts have told UNHCR monitors that they are terrified of being caught up in the fighting and killed by stray bullets," she added.

"Others say they can no longer cope financially due to the closures of banks and businesses and resulting unemployment,” she went on to say.

Fleming pointed out that the estimate of up to a million displaced was double the figure from just a week ago.

Political unrest in Ivory Coast has claimed at least 462 lives since mid-December 2010 with some 52 people losing their lives in Abidjan alone this week.

Violence erupted in the country following the November 28 presidential election and after incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo refused to hand over power to his rival Alassane Ouattara.

Tensions escalated after they both claimed victory and appointed separate cabinets.

The international community has recognized Ouattara as the rightful winner of the election.

The UN has set up an international probe into the post-election violence in the Ivory Coast, agreeing to dispatch an independent international commission of inquiry to the country.

This comes as France and Nigeria on Friday introduced a UN resolution imposing new sanctions on Gbagbo and his allies.

French Ambassador to the UN Gerard Araud told reporters that the draft would be discussed next week.

The draft urges an end to the violence against the civilians. It would also impose an international travel ban and freeze the assets of Gbagbo and other close allies.

The draft also seeks to refer the situation in Ivory Coast to the International Criminal Court at The Hague.