The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reports a “mass exodus” from Abidjan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
(CNN)<\/b> — The African Union called on Laurent Gbagbo to relinquish power Friday as forces attacked the home of the disputed incumbent.<\/p>\n
The organization urged Gbagbo “to immediately hand over power” to Alassane Ouattara, who international leaders recognize as the West African nation’s democratically elected leader.<\/p>\n
“Gbagbo’s days are numbered because he overstayed his welcome,” Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told CNN, who has served as the union’s main negotiator in Ivory Coast’s political crisis. “The will of the Ivorian people must finally prevail.”<\/p>\n
Gbagbo has refused to cede power after a disputed November election. <\/p>\n
Forces loyal to Ouattara attacked Gbagbo’s residence and took control of state-run TV early Friday morning, a spokesman for Ouattara told CNN.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Gbagbo’s residence is near the state-run television station, said Patrick Achi, the Ouattara spokesman. Gbagbo apparently was not there.<\/p>\n
The takeover occurred less than three hours after a Gbagbo spokesman appeared on the same network declaring that Gbagbo had no intention of leaving the presidential palace, according to a witness who saw the broadcast. The presidential palace is not Gbagbo’s personal residence and is located elsewhere.<\/p>\n
The takeover of the government network, which had previously been accused of inciting violence against protesters opposed to the Gbagbo government, came as Ivory Coast’s internal war appeared to enter a decisive and final phase, with forces loyal to Ouattara making a final push to oust a defiant Gbagbo.<\/p>\n
An Abidjan resident who asked not to be identified for security reasons said he heard heavy gunfire overnight and into Friday morning.<\/p>\n
He said that most of the city’s 4 million residents were huddled inside their homes with no access to information now that national broadcasting was off the air.<\/p>\n
One of the people killed Thursday in the violence in Abidjan was a Swedish U.N. employee, said Joakim Larsson, a spokesman at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n
“She was in her home when she was hit by a bullet which killed her,” Larsson said. <\/p>\n
Ouattara on Thursday declared a curfew in Abidjan as forces loyal to him moved closer to taking control of the city. The curfew, Ouattara said, will remain in effect until Sunday. Also Thursday, Ouattara’s interior minister announced on radio that the air and sea borders of the country would be sealed until further notice.<\/p>\n
The curfew, however, did not seem to be universally recognized as Abidjan residents reported hearing sounds of heavy gunfire Thursday night.<\/p>\n
Achi told CNN earlier Thursday that rebel forces were patrolling some streets of Abidjan and were fast closing in on Gbagbo.<\/p>\n
It will be only “hours, maybe days” before Gbagbo falls, Achi said. “The army does not want to fight for Laurent Gbagbo.”<\/p>\n
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees reported a “mass exodus” of residents of Abidjan on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“Heavy fighting, widespread human rights abuses and fear of war have already forced up to 1 million people to flee their homes in Abidjan,” the report said.<\/p>\n
Human rights agencies have documented the deaths of 462 people — some in heinous fashion — and warned Abidjan is on the brink of catastrophe.<\/p>\n
“The international community must take immediate steps to protect the civilian population,” said Salvatore Sagues, Amnesty International’s researcher on West Africa.<\/p>\n
Ouattara was recognized as the winner of a November presidential election but had been holed up in the U.N.-protected Golf Hotel since then as the political stalemate led to escalating violence and turmoil.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Gbagbo’s army chief, Gen. Philippe Mangou, asked for asylum at the residence of the South African ambassador, the South African government said Thursday. Achi said it was a sign that the armed forces now stand fully behind Ouattara.<\/p>\n
Republican Forces wrested control of much of the capital, Yamoussoukro, and other key cocoa-producing and port cities earlier in the week before marching to Abidjan, the commercial center of Ivory Coast.<\/p>\n
Concerned about the rising tide of violence, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to impose sanctions on Gbagbo, his wife and three associates, as well as give U.N. peacekeepers more authority to protect civilians.<\/p>\n
The U.N. resolution demands that Gbagbo step down immediately and that all state institutions, including the military, accept Ouattara as president. It also authorizes U.N. peacekeepers “to use all necessary means to carry out its mandate to protect civilians under imminent threat of violence.”<\/p>\n
The resolution imposes targeted sanctions and travel bans on Gbagbo, his wife, Simone, and three others: Desire Tagro, Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Alcide Djedje.<\/p>\n
The resolution accuses all five of “obstruction to the peace and reconciliation process” and of rejecting the legitimate election of Ouattara. All but Gbagbo are accused of “public incitement to hatred and violence.” <\/p>\n
CNN’s Zain Verjee, Carey Bodenheimer, Monica Mark, Aliza Kassim, Christabelle Fombu, Moni Basu and Pierre Meilhan contributed to this report.<\/b><\/p>\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n
See the rest here:
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