Gbagbo holds out in bunker as rival piles on the pressure

DAYS INTO an offensive aimed at dislodging him from the presidential mansion, Ivory Coast's strongman Laurent Gbagbo was last night still refusing to budge from a bunker under his home.

An adviser for the country's democratically elected president Alassane Ouattara said their fighters had surrounded the property and planned to sit it out, adding: "We're going to wait and let him come out like a rat."

An armed group backing Mr Ouattara stormed the gates of Mr Gbagbo's home on Wednesday, but are fearful of killing the entrenched leader and stoking the rage of his supporters. Some 46 per cent of Ivorians voted for Mr Gbagbo in the November election that unleashed the ongoing political chaos and violence.

French defence minister Gerard Longuet yesterday said that Mr Gbagbo had around 1,000 loyal men left, 200 of whom are in his residence.

Mr Gbagbo's Europe-based adviser, Toussaint Alain, said that he had spoken to Mr Gbagbo and his wife, Simone, at around 1pm yesterday and that their position had not changed.

Mr Alain said: "President Gbagbo will not cede. It's a question of principle. President Gbagbo is not a monarch. He is not an emperor. He is a president elected by his people."

Heavy arms fire was heard in Abidjan overnight, but despite the danger many people ventured out yesterday in search of water as UN helicopters circled.

Mr Ouattara has pleaded with the international community for months to intervene and remove Mr Gbagbo by force, arguing he wouldn't leave any other way.

Until this week, Mr Gbagbo still controlled the Ivorian army and has used its heavy artillery to attack areas of Abidjan where people voted for his opponent.

The UN intervened, using attack helicopters to destroy most of his heavy weapons earlier this week - but not all of it.

"When they (Mr Outtara's forces] came after him, he pulled out more stuff. Remember, he had a long time to prepare for this," said a senior diplomat.

Among the preparations was the choice of where Mr Gbagbo would make his last stand. He is believed to be holed up in a tunnel built to connect the president's home and the adjacent residence of the French ambassador, a spokesman for Mr Ouattara said. Ivory Coast's first president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, built the tunnel so he could take refuge inside the ambassador's residence in the event of a coup, said Christian Bouquet, a professor of political geography at the University of Bordeaux III.

Mr Gbagbo is said to have severed the link between the residences shortly after coming to power in 2000.In 2002, Mr Gbagbo accused France of backing a rebel group that attempted to overthrow him - fighters from this same group are now backing Mr Ouattara and carried out Wednesday's attack on the residence.

The pro-Ouattara forces began their lightning advance just over a week ago and at least 80 per cent of the countryside was under their control by the time they entered Abidjan.

Yet Mr Gbagbo appears to have calculated his rival's weakness: Mr Ouattara needs to take Mr Gbagbo alive to maintain international support, and to avoid further alienating those who voted for Mr Gbagbo last year.

From his bunker, Mr Gbagbo blasted the world in back-to-back interviews with French TV and radio. He said he would never step down, and called the operation to oust him an international "game of poker."

But Affoussy Bamba, a spokeswoman for Mr Ouattara, said that she was nonetheless optimistic that the end was near: "He has nothing left. His arsenal is gone. His army has evaporated. How much longer can he last?"