ivory coast in blasting seen

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The Associated Press

ACCRA, Ghana — Even after airstrikes pounded holes in his garden, even after fighters circled his home and stormed the gates, Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo did not budge Wednesday from the bunker where he remained holed up.
The all-day assault on Gbagbo's heavily guarded and well-armed compound, complete with tanks and anti-aircraft defenses, marked a new and perhaps ultimate phase in the international campaign to dislodge a man who has clung to power long after losing an election and the world's recognition as a legitimate leader.
Gbagbo "will not surrender," said Meite Sindou, a defense spokesman for Alassane Ouattara, the man recognized worldwide as the democratically elected president of Ivory Coast. "We will have to take him."
As the fighting swelled and ebbed Wednesday, millions of residents of Abidjan, once one of the world's major ports, suffered another day of privation. Water, food and electricity all waned on the fifth day of the battle for the city.
Relief officials spoke of a burgeoning humanitarian crisis, as daily life — already squeezed by international sanctions — ground to a virtual halt, the streets remained dangerous even for simple shopping trips and armed partisans roamed.
The aim of the opposition assault Wednesday was "to seize Gbagbo physically and, if he is alive, to bring him to justice," said Apollinaire Yapi, another Outtara spokesman.
Gbagbo, 65, has rejected the outcome, which was endorsed by the United Nations, the African Union and other international bodies, a move that reignited civil war.
Only a day earlier, a resolution to the crisis had seemed imminent, as Gbagbo appeared to enter into discussions brokered by France and the U.N. over his possible surrender. The negotiations came after attacks by French and U.N. helicopters destroyed much of his armory Monday, leading his generals to tell troops to stop fighting and hand in their weapons Tuesday.
Some Western officials said at the time that only the details of Gbagbo's departure remained to be worked out. But the discussions led nowhere.
France's foreign minister, Alain Juppe, told Parliament on Wednesday, "Negotiations, which lasted for hours yesterday between Mr. Gbagbo's entourage and Ivory Coast authorities, have failed because of Gbagbo's intransigence. They have been interrupted, and President Ouattara decided to ask his forces, the Republican Forces, to move on to the offensive against their presidential enemy."
Juppe added that neither France nor the U.N. had taken part in the assault on Gbagbo's residence Wednesday.

Fighting continued in Abidjan as Ouattara's forces tried to unseat Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after losing a November election to Ouattara according to U.N.-certified results.
Sporadic explosions broke the silence of one of the quieter nights since Ouattara's soldiers arrived in the economic capital a week ago, a Reuters witness said.
Gbagbo's forces also roam the streets and broke into the Japanese ambassador's residence overnight, forcing him and seven other employees to take shelter in a safe room before French and United Nations forces rescued them by helicopter, Japanese media reports said.
A Gbagbo advisor based in Paris told Reuters Ouattara forces had renewed an assault on Gbagbo's residence late on Wednesday with support from U.N. and French helicopters. His statement could not be independently verified.
Ouattara forces had tried to storm the residence in the upscale Cocody neighborhood earlier on Wednesday after talks led by the United Nations and France to secure Gbagbo's departure failed, but they were pushed back by heavy weapons fire, a western diplomatic source who lives nearby said.
The former colonial power in Ivory Coast, France has taken a leading role in talks to persuade Gbagbo to hand over to Ouattara and end the standoff over the contested election in November.
A U.N. spokesman in New York said negotiations with Gbagbo's camp were continuing, but it was not clear if they would lead anywhere, especially as Gbagbo himself told French radio he had no intention of stepping down.
Helicopters commanded by the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast bombarded Gbagbo's heavy weapons stockpiles earlier this week, including those near his residence -- but those attacks ended on Tuesday.
Analysts said Ouattara forces, who swept south last week in a lightly contested march toward Abidjan, could struggle to best Gbagbo's remaining presidential guard and militias.