[ 2011-04-09 ]

A tank on fire in Abidjan: Thousands have fled the city in recent weeks

Gbagbo forces regain ground
Forces loyal to besieged Ivory Coast leader
Laurent Gbagbo have regained ground in Abidjan and
now fully control the Plateau and Cocody areas of
the city.

A tank on fire in Abidjan: Thousands have fled the
city in recent weeks
That is according to UN peacekeeping chief Alain
Le Roy, who said the fighting had reached a
"stalemate".
Mr Gbagbo remains holed up in his bunker in
Abidjan, refusing to hand power to the
democratically elected leader Alassane Ouattara.
Military forces loyal to Mr Ouattara have
surrounded the compound, but he has said they will
not attack his opponent.
Instead, he said they would focus on getting life
back to normal on the streets of the country's
commercial capital, where many have been forced to
hide indoors from heavy arms fire.
In a televised address on Thursday, Mr Ouattara
said he had asked for EU sanctions on the main
ports and other businesses to be lifted to help
the country recover.
Mr Ouattara has appealed for EU sanctions to be
lifted
Mr Le Roy said Mr Gbagbo's forces took advantage
of a break in fighting on Tuesday for peace talks
to reinforce their positions.
The talks have so far led nowhere.
"We understand that since that time the forces of
Mr Gbagbo have regained terrain and they have full
control of the Plateau and Cocody areas," he
said.
He added: "We have seen heavy weapons to be
transferred to the Cocody area, including this
morning."
Mr Le Roy said Mr Gbagbo's forces were edging
closer to the Golf Hotel, where Mr Ouattara has
been based since winning the presidential election
on November 28 last year.

Laurent Gbagbo has proved himself a stubborn
loser
Earlier the UN said more than 100 bodies had been
found in three different towns in the west of the
country, where tensions have risen as the fight
for the presidency continues.
Some of the victims had been burned alive and
others had been thrown down a well.
The UN said the dead were all believed to be
Guerres, who have been traditional supporters of
the incumbent president.
The discovery of the bodies came after the
International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned chaos
was escalating.
More than 1,500 people have died since the
violence began.

Source - Sky news

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