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Côte d'Ivoire

Ouattara forces assault Gbagbo residence

Forces allied to Côte d’Ivoire’s internationally-recognised president Alassane Ouattara stormed his rival Laurent Gbagbo’s residence on Wednesday in a bid to end his hold on power. Gbagbo, who insists he won last November’s election, is holed up in a bunker at his home in the northern Abidjan suburb of Cocody.

Reuters
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"We are going to take Laurent Gbagbo out of his hole and hand him over to
the president of the republic," said Sidiki Konate, a spokesman for forces for
Ouattara, who was widely-recognised as the winner of the disputed presidential election.

"We are going to his residence to fetch him and put an end to this comedy... This charade must end because the country is collapsing."

Gbagbo's camp said the move amounted to an "assassination attempt" and accused
French troops based in the country of providing aerial and ground support. That claim was denied by France.

After calling for a ceasefire and retreating to the bunker under his home on Tuesday, Gbagbo once again refused to acknowledge that he had lost the election to Ouattara.

"I do not recognise the victory of Ouattara... Why would you want me to sign this?" Gbagbo asked France's LCI TV channel, referring to a document in which France and the United Nations had urged him to quit.

The French government had earlier suggested that an exit deal was all but finalised.

Meanwhile, the European Union imposed new sanctions Gbagbo on Wednesday.

"Under this legislation the EU has banned the purchase of bonds and securities from and the provision of loans to the illegitimate government of Laurent Gbagbo," it said.

"It has also provided for exemptions to ensure that funds needed for humanitarian purposes are available."

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