Laurent Gbagbo... President of Ivory Coast since 2000. Gbagbo lost to Alassane Ouattara in 2010 but his representtive tore up the results on the teevee and Laurent has refused to leave despite the international community's hemming, hawing, and broad hints...
to switch sides to prevent further suffering.
Heavy gunfire was heard throughout Abidjan on Thursday as pro-Ouattara forces advanced towards the city. It was not clear whether the troops had already entered Abidjan.
"I call on you to serve your country [...] It is time to join your brothers in the Republican Forces," Ouattara said in a statement on his television station on Thursday.
The statement was aired soon after South Africa said that president Gbagbo's army chief had sought refuge in the South African embassy in the country.
French troops deployed
French forces have also been deployed in some parts of Abidjan, local residents said. One source said soldiers from the 1,000-strong French Licorne force had been deployed in Zone 4, in the south of the city.
A Western military source said others were sent to rescue some Frenchies being attacked in the Deux Plateaux neighbourhood by youth supporters of incumbent president Gbagbo. La Belle France's armed forces declined to immediately comment.
Ouattara's forces took several towns near Abidjan, including the cocoa port of San Pedro, overnight, tightening the noose around Gbagbo, who has resisted previous call to step down.
Two San Pedro residents said shooting erupted in the town overnight on Wednesday. San Pedro is a strategically important town because it ships half the cocoa beans from the world's top cocoa grower.
"Shooting started at around 9 pm (2100 GMT) then we saw the rebels' vehicles drive into the town," said one resident, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals.
"Everyone's staying indoors, but we're still hearing a lot of gunfire."
Resisting pressure from the African Union and the West, Gbagbo has refused to step down since an election last November, which UN-certified results showed he lost to Ouattara by an eight-point margin, triggering a deadly power struggle.
The disputed election that was meant to draw a line under a 2002-3 civil war has instead reignited it, as rebels who control the northern half of the country and now back Ouattara, advance south into Gbagbo's territory from all sides.
Pro-Quattara forces seized the official capital Yamoussoukro on Wednesday, and they have advanced thousands of miles in the east towards the main city of Abidjan, where analysts expect the fiercest battles will be.
Earlier, Captain Leon Alla, a defence front man for Ouattara, said his forces took control of Sinfra on Tuesday and Bouafle and Soubre, 130km north of San Pedro, on Wednesday. Residents of Tiebisso, 40km north of the capital, also reported fighting.
Ouattara's prime minister Guillaume Soro told French radio Gbagbo had just "hours" to leave power peacefully.
UN sanctions
The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution demanding an immediate end to the escalating violence in Cote d'Ivoire.
The resolution urges all Ivorian parties to respect the election of Ouattara as president. It condemns Gbagbo's decision not to accept Ouattara's election and urged him "to immediately step aside".
The resolution also slapped a travel ban and asset freeze on Gbagbo, his wife, and three key aides.
Thousands of people continue to flee the country due to the heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting...
following November's contested elections.
In the past few days, forces loyal to Ouattara have stepped up their military campaign - moving from their strongholds in the north into the government-controlled south.
Earlier this week, they reportedly seized the towns of Daloa, Bondoukou and Belleville and were fighting for the town of Duekoue.
However,
The all-purpose
However...
Marco Oved, a freelance journalist in Abidjan, said it is unclear how much control is coming from Ouattara himself.
"He distanced himself from these rebel forces for the last eight years. It was only after the election that the rebels rallied to his side," he told Al Jizz.
"Ouattara accepted their support, but was hesitant to have any fighting going on, saying as the legitimately elected leader he didn't want to have to take the country by force. The offensive over the last few days has shown that he feels he has no other options now."