Ivorian rebels besiege key city

Rebels fighting to install Ivory Coast’s democratically elected president began besieging the main city of Abidjan today after seizing a key seaport.

He vowed to “re-establish democracy and enforce the choice of the people”.

The top military commander of the country’s entrenched ruler fled to the residence of South Africa’s ambassador.

However, an adviser to long-time president Laurent Gbagbo said he would not step down even in the face of a rebel onslaught on the country’s commercial capital.

“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,” said Toussaint Alain, an adviser to Gbagbo in Europe.

“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.”

The international community declared Alassane Ouattara the winner of the November presidential election, but Gbagbo has clung to power for months.

The violence has left at least 462 people dead, and up to one million have fled their homes amid the post-election chaos.

“In order to end the escalation of violence in our country and in keeping with their mission to protect the population against militias and mercenaries under Gbagbo’s control, (the rebels) have decided to re-establish democracy and enforce the choice of the people,” Ouattara said today on his private television station.

United Nations radio announced that the port of San Pedro, 190 miles (300 kilometres) west of Abidjan, was taken by rebels late on Wednesday.

Rebels also took Gbagbo’s hometown, the village of Mama, where the former president had built a lavish villa, said a close aide to Ouattara.

In Abidjan, rebels already in control of several northern districts of the city attacked a prison and freed the inmates, a rebel commander said.

The rebels who support Ouattara also advanced into Yopougon, a district of Abidjan that fervently supports Gbagbo, witnesses said.

The rebel army is on the periphery of Abidjan, said the close aide to Ouattara, who was recognised by governments around the world as the country’s legitimate president after winning last November’s presidential election.

“They will enter the city on multiple fronts, from multiple directions,” said the adviser.

Ivory Coast’s army chief of staff, Gen. 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.

The rebels have seized over a dozen towns since beginning their offensive on Monday.