Ouattara supporters to march in capital

A march by supporters of Alassane Ouattara, Gbagbo's opponent in the Côte d'Ivoire presidential election, is planned for Thursday. Ouattara has called on his supporters to march on the state television building in Abidjan, the capital, in the afternoon.

Reuters/ Luc Gnago

Supporters of Alassane Ouattara came up against troops loyal to self-declared Côte d'Ivoire president Laurent Gbagbo on the streets of Abidjan, the capital on Thursday morning. Ouattara supporters gathered in the northern suburbs as police fired teargas in the Abobo district, injuring three, according to French wire service AFP.

Ouattara supporters set up barricades in the north while Gbagbo's police and soliders set up a blockade of armoured cars around the state television headquarters, the destination of the protest.

"The people will be in the street to put the new power into place, the regime of Alassane Ouattara, in line with the vote of the people," said Meité Sindou, spokesperson for Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, of Alassane Ouattara's government.

"It's not a question of sending anyone to the slaughterhouse. The president and prime minister ahve agreed to ask the people to remain calm and to keep cool. On that basis, we can guarantee that the protest will be peaceful," he added.

Meanwhile, Laurent Gbagbo's government has called on Ivorian citizens not to participate.

"I want to say to Ivorians to not take part in this unhappy initiative, which is contrary to the laws of our country," said Emile Guirieoulou, Interior Minister in Laurent Gbagbo's government.

"It's an illegal demonstration, and we're calling on ivorians not to be associated with it. We hope that the organisers of the march are going to cancel it," he added.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his call for both parties to exercise restraint, according to his spokesman Martin Nesirsky, adding that Ban was "deeply concerned" about the current stalemate in Côte d'Ivoire.

Protesters in Côte d'Ivoire said they were shot and wounded on Wednesday by security forces loyal to outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo. March organisers have claimed that 30 protesters were wounded, although this figure is contested by medical sources.

Military leaders loyal to Gbagbo have accused Ouattara of seeking to provoke a confrontation between civilians and security forces.