On its liveblog (in French), the Jeune Afrique news site has also just confirmed the beginning of the assault, but noted the streets are currently still calm in Plateau, one of the key central areas of the city. "The only thing that can be seen are women with buckets going out to collect water."

UPDATE 11:20 (Apr 4) - A weekend of fighting throughout Abidjan has not changed the battle lines significantly, though it has trapped most of the city's remaining 4 million people in their homes, and a humanitarian crisis is rapidly developing.

Those who have managed to send out testimonials describe holing up in darkened homes, barricaidng doors against marauding looters -- some of whom seem to be engaged in the battles while others are simply profiting from the chaos -- and rapidly running out of water and food.

An atmosphere of terror is clearly gripping the city's non-combatants. One resident offered a stunning report from inside a home, hearing gunshots and screams from several neighboring houses amid "absolute slaughter and chaos" in the city.

Electricity cuts throughout the city mean water pumps are not circulating water through the city's pipes. And those desperate enough to brave the fighting to seek more provisions are finding no shops open anyway.

But late Sunday, Ouattara's prime minister Guillaume Soro announced that his forces would soon be mounting a "rapid offensive" in Abidjan in an attempt to take final control over the areas where Gbagbo's troops have been fighting back the offensive since Thursday night. At the same time, the Gbagbo-controlled state television station has ramped up its rehtoric, calling on locals to form a human shield around Gbagbo's residence in Abidjan, according to the BBC.

Monday morning residents and journalists were reporting only sporadic heavy arms blasts in the city -- not the rapid and ongoing exchange of fire characteristic of the heaviest fighting. And the BBC's Andrew Harding says pro-Ouattara troops are massing just outside Abidjan, talking confidently of a final offensive, "although they have been saying that for days."

Meanwhile, the situation in Duékoué, the city in the West of the country where the International Red Cross said over 800 people were killed in a massacre last week (the UN says 330), remains very unstable, reports the Harding, who has been to the city and seen "bodies all around."

Groups providing food, shelter, and medical aid to the more than 1 million refugees throughout the country and in neighboring Liberia, including Doctors without Borders, Oxfam, and the International Red Cross, are continuing their efforts under increasing stress.

For regular updates, follow #civ2010 (mostly in French) or #IvoryCoast (mostly in English, but fewer updates) on Twitter. The news station France24 has resumed its liveblog (in French) of the unfolding situation Monday morning. The site jenkinsear.com has also been providing running updates (in English) since Thursday.

blog comments powered by Disqus