U.N. Security Council considering Ivory Coast sanctions

(CNN) — The United Nations Security Council could vote as early as Wednesday on sanctions against self-declared President Laurent Gbagbo and several others in his circle, as well as a ban on heavy weaponry in the Abidjan area.

The scheduled Security Council meeting to consider the draft resolution comes amid escalating violence in a west African nation that could be sliding into civil war.

Forces loyal to Gbagbo opened fire Wednesday on a French Embassy escort car in Abidjan on Wednesday, according to France’s Foreign Ministry, which condemned the act. The ministry did not report any casualties.

France, along with Nigeria, submitted the draft Ivory Coast resolution calling for sanctions.

The resolution calls for targeted sanctions and travel restrictions against Gbagbo, his wife Simone, Desire Tagro, Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Alcide Djedje.

Simone Gbagbo, along with being the nation’s disputed first lady, chairs the Parliamentary Group of the Ivorian Popular Front. Tagro is secretary general in the administration of “the so-called ‘presidency’ of Mr. Gbagbo,” the resolution states. N’Guessan is chairman of the Ivorian Popular Front. Djedje is a close adviser of Gbagbo.

The resolution accuses all five of “obstruction to the peace and reconciliation process” and of rejecting the legitimate election of President-elect Alassane Ouattara. All but Laurent Gbagbo are accused of “public incitement to hatred and violence.”

In recent days, the city of Bondoukou in eastern Ivory Coast fell into the hands of Ouattara supporters. Loyalists of Ouattara say pro-Gbagbo “mercenaries and militias” launched an attack against the city of Bouna. In response, the fighters pushed the pro-Gbagbo forces back into and out of Bondoukou, in the northeast of the country.

Meanwhile, the United Nations reported Monday that one of its helicopters was fired on during a reconnaissance flight. They blamed the attack on Ouattara’s Republican Forces. It was unclear why their forces would fire at the U.N.

Nearly 1 million residents have fled Abidjan and others are displaced from their homes elsewhere, according to the United Nations.