[ 2011-03-30 ]

Pro-Ouattara forces are advancing on several fronts from their northern bases

Ivory Coast: Pro-Ouattara fighters 'enter Yamoussoukro'
Forces loyal to UN-backed President-elect Alassane
Ouattara have entered Ivory Coast's capital,
residents of Yamoussoukro say.

His forces have been advancing from the north and
incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo has appealed for a
ceasefire.

Mr Gbagbo refuses to stand down despite the UN
saying he lost November's poll.

Abidjan is Ivory Coast's main city, but a BBC
reporter says Yamoussoukro's capture would be a
major symbolic victory for the pro-Ouattara
forces.

The fighters are also reported to be 100km (60
miles) north of the port of San Pedro, a major
cocoa exporting centre.

Some one million people have fled the violence -
mostly in Abidjan - and at least 462 people have
been killed since December, according to the UN.

Port next?

The BBC's John James in the northern city of
Bouake says residents of the capital voted
overwhelmingly for Mr Ouattara in the elections.

He says it is not clear yet if the pro-Ouattara
forces who have been spotted in Yamoussoukro have
met any resistance.

In Abidjan, the UN says attacks on civilians by
pro-Gbagbo youths have continued.

The enrolment of these youths into the army was
due to start on Wednesday to replace soldiers who
are not turning up for work or who have changed
sides, our reporter says.

Fighters loyal to Mr Ouattara have been gaining
ground on three fronts from their northern bases
this week.

In the west, pro-Ouattara forces have taken the
towns Daloa and Duekoue, while in the east, the
forces say they have captured the town of
Bondoukou.

Thousands of people have taken refuge in a church
compound in Duekoue to escape the fighting.

A spokesman for Mr Gbagbo said the army had
adopted a strategy of tactical withdrawal but
warned it could use its "legitimate right of
defence".

Despite the plea, Mr Ouattara's fighters were
reported to have been in towns to the west and
north of the capital by Thursday morning.

"Fighting with heavy weapons started at 2am, we
are hiding in our houses," a resident in
Tiebissou, 40km north of the city, told the AFP
news agency.

In the town of Bouafle, about 50km to the west of
the capital, residents told Reuters news agency
the fighting began at 0600 GMT.

Our reporter says the other main target under
immediate threat is the port of San Pedro in the
south-west.

On Thursday afternoon it was reported that Soubre,
the nearest town to San Pedro, had been seized by
Mr Ouattara's fighters.

The port's capture would open up a vital supply
route for the pro-Ouattara forces and eventually
allow them to start shipping the country's main
export, cocoa, our correspondent says.

The pro-Ouattara forces have controlled the north
of the country since a 2002 civil war.

Pro-Gbagbo troops have lost every battle against
them since last November's election, our reporter
says.

Source - BBC

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