Ivory Coast: Ouattara forces promise Abidjan offensive

The prime minister of Ivory Coast's internationally recognised president, Alassane Ouattara, has said the time is right for a "rapid offensive" against the country's main city, Abidjan.

Guillaume Soro said days of clashes in the city had sown panic among troops loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.

Ivorians had to trust in Mr Ouattara's forces, Mr Soro added.

Earlier, the UN urged Mr Ouattara to investigate hundreds of deaths blamed partly on his supporters.

As many as 1,000 people were killed in the western town of Duekoue last week after fighting between forces loyal to Mr Gbagbo and Mr Ouattara.

UN peacekeepers are now protecting tens of thousands of civilians who have taken refuge in the compound of a local church.

Mr Ouattara's supporters have dismissed talk of a massacre.

The UN recognised him as president after a run-off vote in November, but Mr Gbagbo also claimed victory and refused to leave office.

'Situation ripe'
The rival forces appeared to hold their positions in Abidjan on Sunday, after several days of intense fighting.

Witnesses said the southern city was quieter but still tense, with sporadic outbreaks of gunfire and shelling in some districts.

A spokesman for the UN mission in Ivory Coast (Unoci) said there had been shooting near the presidential palace, where Mr Gbagbo is believed to be staying, protected by the Republican Guard and special forces personnel.

A source in Mr Ouattara's Republican Forces said there had been a relative lull in the fighting while reinforcements arrived from the country's north.

Then on Sunday evening, Mr Soro announced that their strategy had been to surround Abidjan, which he said had been successful.

"We have sent soldiers to the centre of town to harass Gbagbo's troops, militia and mercenaries," he told Mr Ouattara's television station, TCI.

"We have noticed that following this harassment there is a generalised panic among Gbagbo's troops. The situation is now ripe for a rapid offensive.

"The operation will be rapid because we have discovered the exact number of operational tanks on the ground. Ivorians must trust in the Republican Forces."

Meanwhile, officials close to Mr Gbagbo said the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Philippe Mangou, had now left the residence of the South African ambassador, where he took refuge after defecting to Mr Ouattara's side last week.

A spokesman told the AFP news agency that Gen Mangou had attended a meeting with Mr Gbagbo; one source told Reuters that he had decided to resume his duties as the commander of Mr Gbagbo troops.

The BBC's John James says that after beginning a major offensive on Monday, Mr Ouattara's forces captured most of the country without much resistance, but the battle for Abidjan has been considerably harder in a city where president Gbagbo draws much of his support.

The messages on the pro-Gbagbo state television have notably become fiercer in the last 24 hours, our correspondent says, with accusations that the French peacekeeping force was an "occupying force" intent on carrying out genocide in the country, and calling for supporters to form a human shield around the presidential residence.

The French have taken control of the airport from the UN peacekeeping mission and added 300 more soldiers to their 1,100-strong force.

The aim of the reinforcement was "to take control over the airport which was also done in co-ordination with the UN mission, to allow the re-opening of this airport to civilian airlines and military flights", an official said.

Concern and alarm
Western Ivory Coast has also seen vicious battles between rival militias.

The UN says more than 330 people were killed as Mr Ouattara's forces took over the town of Duekoue last week, most of them at the hands of his fighters. However, more than 100 of them were killed by Mr Gbagbo's troops, it adds.

The Catholic charity, Caritas, estimates that 1,000 may have died.

The BBC's Andrew Harding in Duekoue says there is evidence of looting in the town and many houses have been burnt down, adding that the situation is much worse than if an army had simply moved through it.

A spokesman for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Martin Nesirky, said he had "expressed particular concern and alarm about reports that pro-Ouattara forces may have killed many civilians in the town of Duekoue.

"The secretary general said those responsible should be held accountable."

Mr Ouattara had said his supporters were not involved, but told Mr Ban he had ordered an investigation into the killings and would welcome an international inquiry, Mr Nesirky added.

So far Mr Ouattara's supporters say they have found 162 bodies, and that the deaths resulted from fighting between local militias.