Ivory Coast moves towards civil war as crisis over disputed election deepens

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Source: The Guardian

Ivory Coast is staring into the abyss of civil war with government forces threatening to storm opposition headquarters tomorrow and risk a violent confrontation with UN troops.

The west African nation is already in a "civil war situation", according to the opposition, which claims that more than 200 people have been killed and 1,000 wounded by gunfire since November's disputed elections.

With the crisis apparently set to deepen, the foreign secretary, William Hague, today pledged UK support for military action to oust President Laurent Gbagbo, who is defying pressure to step down.

Gbagbo's youth leader, Charles Ble Goude, has warned Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised election winner, and his supporters to "pack up their bags" and leave their base at the Golf Hotel in Abidjan.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/31/ivory-coast-brink-civil-war