Greetings! Please Share & Subcribe.
Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo is clinging on the presidency after his troops repelled an attempt by forces loyal to rival Alassane Ouattara to seize his residence.
Ouattara's fighters made it into the property in the commercial capital Abidjan - where Gbagbo is believed to be holed up in a bunker - only to be forced to retreat by heavy artillery.
A French government source told the AFP news agency the assault had been stopped when Ouattara's supporters "met with strong resistance from Gbagbo's last loyal men".
"There are still some mortars and tanks in the presidential compound, the offensive was suspended for a few hours."
Earlier Ouattara's camp had vowed that Gbagbo's residence would be stormed in order to bring an end to the rule of the president, who has refused to step down despite losing elections last November.
"He will not surrender," said Meite Sindou, a defence spokesman for Ouattara, whose victory in the polls has been recognised by the international community.
"We will have to take him."
Sindou said Gbagbo was believed to be holed up in a tunnel originally built to connect the president's home and the adjacent residence of the French ambassador.
During the fighting Japan's ambassador Okamura Yoshifumi's home was besieged by "mercenaries" who used the building as a launching point for rockets, while the ambassador and a dozen people hid behind a bulletproof door.
The assault was launched after a defiant Gbagbo refused to recognise Ouattara as president, even as he attempted to negotiate his exit.
UN peacekeeping spokesman Nick Birnback said Gbagbo remained in contact with international representatives.
"Discussions continue with the UN using its good offices to the fullest extent possible," he said.
However, Gbagbo has said he is prepared to die, telling France's LCI news channel: "If death comes, it comes."
Gbagbo has attempted to portray the effort to oust him as a plot led by former colonial power France. His spokesman in Paris claimed it was French troops - not Ivorians - that had come to kill the ruler.
"France will be held responsible for the death of President Gbagbo, his wife and family members and all those who are inside the residence, which is being bombarded by the French army," Toussaint Alain said.
US assistant secretary of state for African affairs William Fitzgerald said Gbagbo had reached the "end game" as he effectively only controlled one building in the whole country.
"Just about everywhere else in Ivory Coast is in Ouattara's control. (But) he still has some cabinet members around him," he said.
"I think he still has a number of loyalists within the military who are putting up a pretty spirited defense. As his territory has diminished the easier it is to defend."
Last year's long-delayed election was meant to draw a line under the 2002-3 civil war, but Gbagbo's refusal to give up power plunged the country into a conflict that has killed more than 1,500 people.
SKYNEWS
0 Comments