Battle erupts around Gbagbo's residence
0 
Gunshots were heard overnight around the residence and the presidential palace of Cote d'Ivoire's Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent leader who is fighting the final battle with the rival forces to force him to quit, witnesses reported on Friday.
The Republican Forces backing Gbagbo's presidential rival Alassane Ouattara surrounded the presidential palace in Abidjan on Thursday after a swift southward march launched this week, conquering in succession the political capital Yamoussoukro and the strategic port town of San Pedro.
Ouattara's troops are already witnessed patrolling the streets in Abidjan, the country's economic capital and the biggest city, where Ouattara ordered soldiers loyal to Gbagbo to surrender in a national address on Thursday after having been holed up for months in a hotel.
Fighting erupted at the Gallieni camp, which is an important military camp not far from the presidential palace in Abidjan's administrative district of Plateau.
The crackling of automatic weapons followed by explosions intensified in the district, which has become a "ghost town" since Thursday.
Reports were also pouring in that there were deadly clashes between the rival forces at the residence of the outgoing president in the posh district of Cocody.
"The signal of the television has been cut off, but I do not know who has control," one resident told Xinhuaon on telephone.
Ouattara's camp told journalists that it had taken control of the state-owned broadcaster. However, sporadic gunshots continued near the compound of the public television station.
With the Republican Forces reaching Abidjan on Thursday, Ouattara's government declared a three-day night curfew between Thursday and Sunday in the city.
Both candidates of the Nov. 28 election claim the presidency, while Ouattara is internationally recognized as the winner.
A series of missions failed to persuade Gbagbo to cede power to Ouattara, while both camps were escalating confrontations to plunge the West African country into another all-out conflict since the 2002-2003 civil war.
Ouattara's forces began to take the military action in December, saying they "had exhausted all channels of dialogue" with Gbagbo and had decided to remove him by force.
The UN has reported that at least 494 people have lost their lives in the post-election violence.
Go to Forum >>0 Comments