Ivory Coast leader 'negotiating surrender' after UN forces surround residence

Laurent Gbagbo is thought to be negotiating his surrender after United Nations and French forces closed in on Ivory Coast's presidential palace early today.

Speaking on France Info radio, Ivory Coast's ambassador to France Ali Coulibaly did not provide any details about the alleged negotiations, nor did he say where he got the information.

The move comes after full assaults on the residence of the entrenched leader, the republican guard, two major military bases and state TV.

Fighters aiming to topple Gbagbo had succeeded in taking nearly the entire countryside in just three days last week, but they faltered once they reached the country's largest city, where the presidential palace and residence are located.

With the help of international forces, the armed group fighting to install the country's democratically elected leader Alassane Ouattara pushed their way to the heart of the city to reach Mr Gbagbo's home.

They have surrounded it, and as of early today they were waiting for him to step down, said a close adviser to Mr Ouattara.

Yesterday's offensive included air attacks on the ruler's home and on three strategic military garrisons and marked an unprecedented escalation in the international community's efforts to oust Mr Gbagbo, who lost the presidential election in November yet has refused to cede power to Mr Ouattara even as the world's largest cocoa producer teetered on the brink of all-out civil war.

A senior diplomat who could not be named because of the sensitivity of the matter said he had a map with blue stickers marking the six strategic points that needed to be taken out, and that five of the six had been hit by early today.

The five include Mr Gbagbo's residence where heavy weaponry was destroyed, the republican guard, state TV, the Akban paramilitary base, and the arms depot at Akouedo which the diplomat said were bombarded by UN Mi-24 helicopters.

A video posted on YouTube showed the depot being bombed. Tracers could be seen exploding from the burning core as Mr Gbagbo's soldiers attempted to shoot down the helicopters.

"It's all over for Gbagbo - except the shooting," said the ambassador.

At Mr Gbagbo's residence, the troops had created a perimeter around the building, waiting to see if he would come out or respond. Mr Ouattara's adviser said that he had been told Mr Gbagbo had created a bunker inside his residence, locked from within.

UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy briefed the Security Council about the action in Ivory Coast and said international forces had targeted areas around the presidential palace where Mr Gbagbo's forces were using heavy weaponry.

"There is no point to firing at the presidential palace if there are no heavy weapons," he said. "But we are seeing the heavy weapons very close and that is what we are firing on."

Post-election violence has left hundreds dead - most of them Ouattara supporters - and has forced up to one million people to flee.

Mr Ouattara has used his considerable international clout to financially and diplomatically suffocate Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara forces before launching a dramatic military assault last week.