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French rescue Japan's envoy from Abidjan siege
Thursday, 07 April 2011 15:15
AFP - French helicopters have rescued Japan's ambassador to Ivory Coast after his residence was besieged by fighters loyal
to the incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo.Fighting erupted between the French and the pro-Gbagbo fighters during the operation.
Ambassador Yoshifumi Okamura's residence was surrounded while forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised president, used the building as a launching point for rockets and cannon, forcing the ambassador and a dozen others to hide behind a bulletproof door.
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The rescue followed a day of heavy fighting at Mr Gbagbo's residence in Abidjan where he is holed up, refusing to surrender and cede power to Mr Ouattara.
Mr Ouattara's forces failed to storm Mr Gbagbo's residence on Wednesday night.
The offensive launched by Mr Ouattara troops ''met with strong resistance from Gbagbo's last loyal men'', a French government source told AFP.
Mr Ouattara's camp earlier said they were going to storm the bunker and remove Mr Gbagbo to end his decade-long rule after losing a presidential election to Mr Ouattara in November.
''We are going to take Laurent Gbagbo out of his hole and hand him over to the president of the republic,'' said a spokesman for the pro-Ouattara forces, Sidiki Konate. ''We are going to his residence to fetch him and put an end to this comedy … This charade must end because the country is collapsing.''
In France, a government source said Mr Ouattara's forces had launched a final assault after negotiations to persuade Mr Gbagbo to give up power failed.
''Gbagbo was still refusing to sign a document recognising Ouattara's victory … and Ouattara concluded that he was not being honest,'' the source said.
''He therefore decided to intervene militarily to try to resolve the problem, to capture Gbagbo alive.''
Mr Gbagbo's camp condemned the move as an ''assassination attempt''.
Concern is growing over allegations of massacres during the past week when Mr Ouattara's fighters attacked areas held by Mr Gbagbo's forces, on the way to Abidjan, Ivory Coast's commercial capital.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, has said he was collecting information on the allegations and planned a formal investigation.
Photo: A man captured by Alassane Oattara's troops pleads his innocence at a checkpoint outside Abidjan. Photo: AP
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