Gbagbo forces regain ground in Abidjan

ABIDJAN – Forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, besieged in Ivory Coast’s main city, have retaken ground and are edging closer to where rival presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara is holed up, the United Nations said.
UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy told reporters on Friday that Gbagbo’s forces had used a lull in fighting 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 of the commercial capital Abidjan where his residence and diplomats’ homes are located.
Abidjan was a ghost town on Saturday morning. A Reuters witness in the northern district of Gesco said the few people in the streets were seeking food and water or trying to escape before fighting resumed. France, the former colonial power in Ivory Coast, said Gbagbo’s forces had fired at the residence of the French ambassador late on Friday, prompting counter-strikes by French attack 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 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 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 Reuters 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 mobilisation is required by the population,” it said.
Gbagbo, who has ruled Ivory Coast since 2000, is defended by around 1,000 men — his presidential guard and youth militiamen, but Ouattara allies say he has also armed civilians.