Pro-Ouattara forces advance to Cote d'Ivoire capital
Date 2011/3/31 11:38:02 | Topic: Côte d'Ivoire
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Xinhua
ABIDJAN, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Forces allied with Alassane Ouattara, one of the two presidency claimants in Cote d'Ivoire, are marching toward the West African countries political capital Yamoussoukro and the economic capital Abidjan.
On Wednesday, Ouattara's Republican Forces claimed to have won another battle over the central town of Tiebissou, which is only 40 km away from Yamoussoukro and more than 230 km from Abidjan.
The forces have taken more than 10 towns from the army loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo since December, including several captured this week.
The pro-Ouattara forces step up offensives on Monday to the capture strategic towns in the west, central-west and east of Cote d'Ivoire.
"The western town of Duekoue is fully secured. Our troops are moving towards Agnibilekrou (east). Daloa (central-west) has already been neutralized. Fighting will continue at Gohitafla so that we can capture Bouafle in the central-west region. We are advancing towards the south," the spokesman of pro-Ouattara forces, Ouattara Seydou, said in an interviewed by the UN radio on Tuesday.
Duekoue was the sixth town captured in the western region by the ex-rebel New Forces (FN), which are now called the "Republican Forces" after merging with soldiers defecting from Gbagbo's camp.
The town of Duekoue is 500 km west of Abidjan and is the gateway to almost all of regions controlled by Gbagbo, especially to Yamoussoukro and to the town of San Pedro, which has the main port for exporting the country's cocoa.
The Republican Forces entered Daloa on Monday night in the central-western part of the country, without any resistance. They were seen walking freely on Tuesday along the streets.
A resident in the town said confrontations only took place at the Toroguhe police training school, which is situated 25 km from the town.
"We did not hear any gunshots. Daloa is in the hands of pro- Ouattara forces," a local teacher told Xinhua on phone at night.
"I Myself has never left my house since morning, but the town is calm and some of my neighbors have gone to walk around in the streets," he added.
Daloa is known as Cote d'Ivoire's second military region, with one of the biggest battalions and several police camps.
About 30 km from Daloa is the town of Issia, which is also under the control of the Republican Forces.
A military source indicated that the operation to get rid of any resistance within the town will continue so that it can be fully secured before moving to other towns.
The Republican Forces are also moving towards the eastern part of the country.
After capturing Bondoukou in the northeast on Monday, the forces have taken over in succession several other eastern towns including Tanda, Agnibilekro and Abengourou.
The fall of the three important towns opens the door for Ouattara's forces to advance to Abidjan, the heart of Gbagbo's power, where his forces have not yet ridded the pro-Ouattara insurgents out of the Abobo district.
The military offensive by the Republican Forces was launched while failure was repeatedly reports in attempts to peacefully resolve the political crisis after the Nov. 28 election dispute.
Ouattara, who was declared as the president-elect by the electoral commission and recognized by the international community, is still holed up in a hotel in Abidjan with members of his government.
Gbagbo, who was declared as the winner by the Constitutional Council after invalidating results announced by the electoral commission, has refused to hand over power despite sanctions from the United States and the European Union.
UN sources recently reported that the post-election violence had killed more than 460 people and displaced 1 million others.
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