Thaindian News

Abidjan, April 11 (IANS) UN and French helicopters opened fire at the presidential residence in Abidjan, the largest city of Cote d’Ivoire, Xinhua quoted local residents as saying.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Cote d’Ivoire (ONUCI) Sunday confirmed the attacks by its helicopters, saying the strike aimed to “neutralise” Gbagbo’s heavy weapons.

ONUCI and the French Licorne sent attack helicopters Monday to boost the offensive by Ouattara’s Republican Forces on Gbagbo’s last bastions, including his residence in Abidjan’s Cocody district.

Both ONUCI and Licorne said they were acting on the recently adopted UN resolution 1975.

Licorne is the French Armed Forces’s peacekeeping operation, launched in support of the UN operation in Côte d’Ivoire.

Gbagbo, who has been holed up in a bunker for a week now, seems to have stepped up resistance, with the resumption of the state television broadcast under his control Friday and the shelling of the hotel the next day.

The Sunday’s air strike was witnessed a day after forces loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo attacked Golf Hotel, the headquarters of his presidential rival Alassane Ouattara.

Ouattara is internationally recognised and posed as the country’s head of state on television this week to order the restoration of security.

Pro-Gbagbo sources admitted that the air raid partially destroyed the presidential residence, where Gbagbo is still staying.

The sources repeated the charges that France sided with rebels in the 2002-2003 civil war and is attempting to assassinate him again in another coup.

Ouattara announced a blockade around the Gbagbo’s residence after his troops tried another assault Wednesday, but failed to take it.

Human Rights Watch accuses Ouattara’s forces of killing hundreds of civilians, while linking forces loyal to Gbagbo to the massacre of over 100 in retaliation.

Ouattara,65, has repeatedly rejected international calls for ceding power to Ouattara.

The international community recognised Ouattara as the president-elect after Cote d’Ivoire’s electoral commission declared him the winner of the election.

Gbagbo, however, claims himself as the victor citing the ruling of the country’s Constitutional Council, which invalidated the election results published by the electoral commission.