ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara laid siege to incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo’s residence on Thursday, after an attempt to pluck him from his bunker met with fierce resistance.

Fighting continued in the economic capital Abidjan as Ouattara’s forces tried to unseat Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after losing a November election to Ouattara according to U.N.-certified results.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara stormed the bunker where Laurent Gbagbo was defying efforts on Wednesday to force him to cede power, a spokeswoman for Ouattara told Reuters.

“They are in the process of entering the residence to seize Gbagbo,” Affousy Bamba told Reuters. “They have not taken him yet, but they are in the process. They are in the building.”

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – The United Nations and France say Ivory Coast’s Laurent Gbagbo departure from power is being negotiated following a fierce assault by forces loyal to his rival backed by U.N. and French helicopter air strikes.

But Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power since a U.N. certified election in November showed he lost to rival Alassane Ouattara, denied that he was willing to surrender, and rejected demands he recognize Ouattara as the winner of the poll.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Ivory Coast’s presidential claimant launched a major assault on the presidential palace on Tuesday, shaking Laurent Gbagbo’s grip on power to the core after U.N. and French helicopters left his military bases in flames.

Sustained machinegun and heavy weapons fire rang out from the direction of the palace in the commercial capital Abidjan before dawn in the heaviest fighting since soldiers backing presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara entered the city five days ago, a Reuters witness said.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Fighters loyal to Ivory Coast presidential rivals Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara held their respective positions across Abidjan on Sunday, a day that saw less fighting than the previous three.

Following three days of pitched battles, Reuters correspondents and witnesses said the main city in the world’s top cocoa-growing nation was quieter but tense, with sporadic gunfire and explosions heard in some neighbourhoods.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Fighters loyal to Ivory Coast presidential rivals Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara held onto positions around the main city Abidjan on Sunday, a day that saw less fighting than the previous three.

Following the three days of pitched battles, Reuters correspondents and witnesses said the main city in the world’s top cocoa-growing nation was calm, with sporadic gunfire and explosions heard in some neighborhoods.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara rejected UN charges that his forces massacred hundreds of civilians in the west of Ivory Coast as fighting raged in Abidjan to dislodge incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.

The United Nations mission in Ivory Coast (ONUCI) said on Saturday that traditional hunters known as Dozos joined Ouattara’s forces in killing 330 people in the western town of Duekoue.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Soldiers of Ivory Coast’s rival leaders battled for the presidential palace, military bases and state TV in the main city Abidjan Saturday, in a conflict becoming so brutal that it killed 800 people in one town alone.

Advancing soldiers backing Alassane Ouattara, who U.N.-certified results show won a November 28 presidential election, met stiff resistance from fighters remaining loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to step down.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara’s forces battled loyalists of incumbent Laurent Gbagbo on Friday after attacking his Abidjan residence and seizing control of Ivory Coast’s state television, a Ouattara spokesman said.

A military source in Gbagbo’s camp confirmed the attack overnight on Gbagbo’s residence but said that pro-Gbagbo forces were still putting up resistance at state broadcaster, RTI. Residents in the area confirmed heavy fighting.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Fighters loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara attacked the residence of incumbent Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan early on Friday and seized control of Ivory Coast’s state television, a Ouattara spokesman said.

A military source in Gbagbo’s camp confirmed the attack on Gbagbo’s residence but said that pro-Gbagbo forces were still putting up resistance at state broadcaster, RTI. Residents in the area confirmed heavy fighting.