Forces loyal to disputed Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, besieged in his Abidjan residence, have retaken ground and are edging closer to where rival presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara is holed up, the UN said.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy told reporters Gbagbo’s forces had used a lull in fighting on Tuesday for peace talks as a ruse to reinforce their positions.
“We understand that since that time, the forces of Mr Gbagbo ... have regained terrain and they have full control of the Plateau and Cocody area,” Le Roy said, referring to districts where his residence and diplomats’ homes are located.
France, the former colonial power in Ivory Coast, said Gbagbo’s forces had fired at the residence of the French ambassador, prompting counter-strikes by French helicopters.
Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power to Ouattara despite UN certified results showing he lost a November election, remains isolated in the bunker under his residence where he has sought refuge from a concerted assault by Ouattara’s troops.
Only three days ago, his defeat had appeared imminent and talks took place between the two sides. Le Roy said on Friday that fighting was still going on, but there was a stalemate.
“We have seen heavy weapons to be transferred to the Cocody area, including this morning,” he said.
Gbagbo adviser Toussaint Alain disputed the statement, saying French strikes, which were mandated by the UN, had destroyed all Gbagbo’s heavy weapons earlier in the week and also denied the French ambassador’s residence had been attacked.
“France is just looking for a pretext to get rid of President Laurent Gbagbo,” Alain told reporters in Paris.
In another sign of Gbagbo regaining influence, his RTI television, silent since fierce fighting broke out in Abidjan this week, came back on air broadcasting an appeal for support.
“The regime of Gbagbo is still in place, a strong mobilization is required by the population,” it said.
Gbagbo, who has ruled Ivory Coast since 2000, is defended by about 1,000 men — his presidential guard and youth militiamen, but Ouattara allies say he has also armed civilians.
Ouattara has based himself in the Golf Hotel since the Nov. 28 election, which was meant to draw a line under a 2002 to 2003 civil war that split the world’s top cocoa producer in two.
Le Roy said Gbagbo’s forces were edging toward the building, which has been under UN guard.
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