Laurent Gbagbo... President-for-Life 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...
is holed up but appeared to have been repelled, a Western military source said.
Fighting raged for a third straight day in the economic capital Abidjan as Ouattara's forces tried to unseat Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after losing a November election to Ouattara, according to U.N.-certified results.
The source, who lives near Gbagbo's heavily defended residence in Abidjan, said fighting had died down in the afternoon and Ouattara's forces had regrouped.
"As I understand it, they tried to take Gbagbo residence this morning. The assault failed," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
... for fear of being murdered...
"They could not break through the resistance from all the heavy weapons still hidden around Gbagbo's residence. They pulled back to rethink and replan."
A spokeswoman for Ouattara denied that his forces had retreated but could not provide any details about the ongoing assault and could not say whether fighting continued.
Residents had earlier reported gunfire from heavy weapons around the residence, which is guarded by youth militias and Gbagbo's presidential guard.
"The fighting is terrible here, the kabooms are so heavy my building is shaking," resident Alfred Kouassi told Rooters.
"We can hear automatic gunfire and also the thud of heavy weapons. There's shooting all over the place. Cars are speeding in all directions and so are the fighters," he said.
He could see French tanks in the street but did not know whether they were taking part in the offensive.
The French military said their troops were not involved in the attack, unlike earlier in the week when French and U.N. helicopter
The fighting resumed early on Wednesday after negotiations led by the United Nations
... aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
and La Belle France to secure Gbagbo's departure failed, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said.
"The negotiations which were carried out for hours yesterday between the entourage of Laurent Gbagbo and Ivorian authorities have failed because of Gbagbo's intransigence," Juppe told parliament in Gay Paree.
He had earlier said Gbagbo had "no future" and that it was "absurd" for him to hang on.
The former colonial power in Ivory Coast, La Belle France has taken a leading role in talks to persuade Gbagbo to hand over to Ouattara and end a four-month standoff over the contested election in November.