Ivorian rebels lay siege to city

Fighters trying to install Ivory Coast's democratically elected president began to lay siege to the main city of Abidjan last night, as an army commander fled his post in the face of a lightning offensive that saw several towns and a port quickly fall.

Alassane Ouattara, who the United Nations and Ivory Coast's own electoral council declared the winner of November presidential elections, said forces backing him would "re-establish democracy and enforce the choice of the people".

"Today they are at the doorstep of Abidjan," Mr Ouattara said of his armed supporters. "To all those who are still hesitating, whether you are generals, superior officers, officers, sub-officers, rank-and-file… there is still time to join your brothers-in-arms."

Incumbent Laurent Gbagbo has refused to step down and recognise the result of the election. But even an armed onslaught on the country's commercial capital will not force him to do so, said Toussaint Alain, one of his advisers.

"He will not resign in the wake of this attack. He is not going to abdicate. He is not going to lay down his arms," Mr Alain said. "He will stay in power to lead the resistance to this attack against Ivory Coast organised by France, the United States and the United Nations."

Mr Gbagbo has not been seen in public for weeks, even though state TV announced twice on Wednesday evening that he was preparing to address the nation. Ivory Coast's army chief of staff, general Phillippe Mangou, sought refuge at the home of the South African ambassador in Abidjan with his wife and five children, South Africa's foreign ministry said last night.

Advancing on foot while firing into the air, pro-Ouattara forces set up roadblocks on one of the main thoroughfares in Yopougon, a neighbourhood across the lagoon from the presidential palace. They have been in a pitched battle with police since early yesterday, said a local resident who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.

"The end is almost here. It's a matter of hours," said Patrick Achi, spokesman for Mr Ouattara. "We issued our ultimatum yesterday… If Gbagbo does not want the fighting to happen in Abidjan, he should surrender. If he doesn't, we have no choice."

It is not clear what the fighters will do if they manage to push their way to the presidential palace, located on a peninsula in the city centre, bordered on three sides by a lagoon. In the early afternoon a column of smoke could be seen coming from several neighbourhoods.

Shooting rang out from the base of one of the two bridges which span the lagoon, offering access to the peninsula.Taxis made panicked U-turns on the waterside highway.

The fighters' arrival in Abidjan comes only a day after they seized the administrative capital of Yamoussoukro in central Ivory Coast. Pro-Ouattara forces also took the strategic port of San Pedro late Wednesday, and by one estimate now control about 80 per cent of the country.

Mr Ouattara has described his fighters as the "Republican Forces." The majority of the gunmen are drawn from the New Forces, a coalition of rebel groups that fought a brief 2002-03 civil war, which left the country divided in two with the rebels holding the north.

The rebels have seized more than a dozen towns since beginning their offensive on Monday. After they took the capital, they did a victory lap in vehicles as people cheered and clapped.

They have faced almost no resistance but many fear that army troops still loyal to Mr Gbagbo plan to make a final stand in Abidjan. But Mr Ouattara's forces could confront fierce resistance in densely populated Abidjan, which is divided between those who support him and those who back Mr Gbagbo.

The two men have vied for the presidency for months, with Mr Ouattara using his international clout to try to financially and diplomatically suffocate Mr Gbagbo. At least 462 people have been killed and up to one million have fled their homes amid the post-election chaos.

Human Rights Watch documented attacks on villages, rapes and racketeering in the north, where rebels exercised control.