French troops have taken over the airport in the Ivory Coast’s main city of Abidjan, with at least 1,200 foreign nationals under their protection in an army camp near the airport.
Thousands of civilians remain trapped as the fighting between rival forces intensified last night. Troops loyal to president-elect Alassane Ouattara have been in heavy fighting with forces supporting his rival, the incumbent Laurent Gbagbo since Thursday.
Foreign Secretary William Hague last night urged Gbagbo to give up power immediately to spare his people further bloodshed. He said he would discuss the crisis with African Union chairman Jean Ping on his visit to London today.
Mr Hague said: “I am gravely concerned by the violence in the Ivory Coast and deplore reports of loss of life. I call on all sides to exercise restraint, and condemn the lawlessness reported in Abidjan. I am determined that all alleged human rights abuses in the city and elsewhere must be investigated and those responsible held to account.
The United States also called on Gbagbo to step down. A statement from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Gbagbo is pushing the West African nation into lawlessness.
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"The United States calls on former President Laurent Gbagbo to step down immediately," Clinton said. "The path forward is clear. He must leave now so the conflict may end."
Continuing heavy artillery fire and explosions were reported around the presidential palace where Gbagbo is believed to be holed up.
The UN mission UNOCI reported two separate attacks on its peacekeepers by Gbagbo forces. Gbagbo has so far ignored calls by world leaders to step down.
There are fears that millions of refugees are still attempting to leave areas of fighting. The massacre of at least 1,000 people in Duekoue was discovered last week and last night UN forces were protecting refugees from fighting in the area.
Mrs Clinton said the United States was "deeply concerned" by what she called "the dangerous and deteriorating situation" in the Ivory Coast, including the recent reports of human rights abuses and mass killings. The International Red Cross described the Duekoue massacre as "particularly shocking in its size and brutality".
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The UN has repeatedly warned that the violence could reignite the civil war of 2002 which left the country divided.
Mrs Clinton also urged the UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast to aggressively enforce its mandate to protect civilians.
"We also call on the forces of President Ouattara to respect the rules of war and stop attacks on civilians," she said.
Outtara’s government denied any link to the killings in Duekoue although the massacre took place in an area under his control.
The United Nations mission in Ivory Coast has now begun evacuating 200 employees after frequent attacks on its headquarters by forces loyal to Gbagbo.
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A UN employee said they were told today that they were leaving and they were taken by helicopter from the UN base to the airport where another helicopter will take them to the northern city of Bouake.
The evacuation order is for all "essential employees." Nonessential employees were already evacuated several months ago.