French forces in coordination with the United Nations took over the Ivory Coast’s main airport on Sunday so that planes could land and foreigners evacuated as fighting continued in Abidjan between rival presidents.France said it has sent another 300 troops, bringing its peace-keeping forces up to about 1,400 in the Ivory Coast, said Col. Thierry Burkhard, a French Defense Ministry spokesman. Nearly 1,700 foreigners, half of them French, have taken shelter at a French military camp close to the airport, and France acted to ensure that they and others could be evacuated if necessary, Colonel Burkhard said.
The United Nations has begun evacuating some 200 civilian employees after attacks on its headquarters, The Associated Press reported, citing U.N. employees who did not provide their names.
Fighting continued on Sunday between troops loyal to the elected president, Alassande Ouattara, and those loyal to the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, who refuses to recognize the election results and leave office despite Mr. Ouattara’s election having been endorsed by the African Union. Mr. Ouattara’s forces have swept south to enter the commercial capital, Abidjan, where Mr. Gbagbo remained.French troops were there to support the United Nations mission in the Ivory Coast, known as ONUCI, although the French government has said clearly that Mr. Gbagbo lost the election and must leave office. The Gbagbo camp on Sunday called the French “an army of occupation.”
The United States also called for Mr. Gbagbo to step down immediately in a statement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “Gbagbo is pushing Cote d’Ivoire into lawlessness,” her statement said on Sunday. “He must leave now so the conflict may end.” She also called on Mr. Ouattara’s troops “to respect the rules of war and stop attacks on civilians.”
On Sunday, Mr. Ouattara rejected charges by United Nations officials that his forces massacred more than 200 civilians in the western town of Duekoue. The U.N. mission said that traditional hunters known as Dozos had fought alongside Mr. Ouattara’s troops as they launched an offensive last week to dislodge Mr. Gbagbo. The United Nations also said that forces loyal to Mr. Gbagbo killed more than 100 people in Duekoue.
Late Saturday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon spoke to Mr. Ouattara, who said his troops were not involved with the killings. As many as 800 people were killed in intercommunal violence in Duekoue, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In a statement, Mr. Ouattara said that his government “notes with regret that the allegations” of the United Nations “are not supported by any evidence after its preliminary investigation” and denied that Dozos were part of its forces.
As many as 1,300 people have died since November in post-election violence. But Mr. Gbagbo’s forces continue to hold the area in Abidjan around his residence, the presidential palace and the state television building.
News agency reports from Abidjan indicated that after a day and night of fierce fighting, the city was relatively calm on Sunday, with sporadic gunfire. But there was a security vacuum in the city, Colonel Burkhard said in Paris, noting that many policemen and security forces who had been serving Mr. Gbagbo’s administration had left their posts.
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