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Ivory Coast Prepares for Another Day of Battles

   VOA News  April 03, 2011
   Armed pro-Gbagbo soldiers patrol the streets near the presidential
   palace in Abidjan, April 3, 2011

Photo: Reuters

   Armed pro-Gbagbo soldiers patrol the streets near the presidential
   palace in Abidjan, April 3, 2011

   Residents of Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, reported sporadic
   gunfire Sunday as rebels prepared for a final push to oust incumbent
   President Laurent Gbagbo.
   Forces backing Ivory Coast's internationally-recognized president,
   Alassane Ouattara, arrived in the city on Thursday after a rapid
   offensive across Ivory Coast.
   Troops loyal to Gbagbo remain in control of areas around the
   presidential palace and state television.
   Ouattara's forces briefly captured the television station Friday,
   forcing it off the air. But by Saturday, it was back in the hands of
   pro-Gbagbo forces, who used it to put out a call for reinforcements to
   defend the Gbagbo presidency.
   The Associated Press reported Sunday that "hundreds of young men" have
   gathered near the presidential palace.
   Ouattara was declared the winner of last November's presidential
   election Gbagbo has refused to step down.
   Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon telephoned Ouattara late
   Saturday to discuss reports pro-Ouattara forces may have killed
   hundreds of civilians in a western town.
   The International Federation of the Red Cross says at least 800 people
   had been massacred in Duekoue, while the Catholic charity Caritas put
   the number even higher, at about 1,000.
   In another development, the U.N says pro-Gbagbo forces fired on its
   peacekeepers Saturday, leaving four seriously injured.
   The U.N. said Thursday that more than 490 people have been killed since
   the political crisis began in early December. It says up to 1 million
   have fled, including thousands who have crossed into neighboring
   Liberia and Ghana.
   The United Nations, the African Union, the United States and former
   colonial power, France, repeated demands Friday that Gbagbo step down.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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References

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