Ouattara maintains Gbagbo besieged after the rocket in Abidjan

April 09, 2011, 10: 11 am EDT by Jason McLure, Olivier Monnier and Pauline Bax

April 9 (Bloomberg) - the forces of the elected President of C?te d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara guarded residence of Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan under siege after troops loyal to former leader fired at the Embassy of France.

Gbagbo forces launched two mortars and a rocket at the residence of the Ambassador of France in Abidjan yesterday, according to a statement by email of the Embassy. The BBC World Service French combat helicopters responded by attacking the Gbagbo forces, reported today.Gbagbo, who challenges the Ouattara internationally recognized victory in the presidential election on 28 November, remains in a bunker with his family and his senior aides. Many of his troops withdrew or defected as rebels now known as the Republican Forces swept first down in the North of Ivory Coast, producer of cocoa in the world, in Abidjan, the commercial capital.Separately, Human Rights Watch said forces loyal to killed Ouattara of hundreds of civilians, burned at least 10 villages and summarily raped women of an ethnic group seems to be loyal to Gbagbo. "Fighters often target people by ethnic origin, and the attacks affected disproportionately too old or weak to flee, said a report by e-mail late yesterday by the New York-based group. "Dozens of women were also held for a day or more and repeatedly raped."The killings occurred during a March by the Republican Forces offensive, in the West of the country the said group.SoldiersAbidjan appeal was quiet this morning at the electricity supply in some parts of the city of port. Administration of the Ouattara attempted to mobilize the army soldiers formerly loyal to Gbagbo, who was President from 2000 until last year. "In the"framework for the mobilization for the resumption of the service, the Prime Minister and Minister of defence"require officers, junior officers and the commanders of the army, marine, air force and Gendarmerie Nationale to register on the open lists, "said a statement by the administration of the Ouattara received e-mail today."Broadcasting television Ivoirienne of Gbagbo, whose offices are captured by the Republican Forces earlier this month, returned to the air yesterday, telling viewers to "the regime of Laurent Gbagbo is still in place" and calling for a "strong mobilisation" against Ouattara. It was not clear if emissions in the offices of former television State or in another location.AbandonedMore Homes that 1 million people have fled their homes during the four-month crisis, according to the United Nations. French exports and the United Nations peacekeeping forces in strikes of helicopter Abidjan against the forces of Gbagbo April 4. The European Union yesterday lifted restrictions on cocoa in Abidjan and San Pedro port, which is also under the control of the Ouattara. Cocoa in London fell by 25 pounds, or 1.3%, to 1,889 pounds ($3,095) per tonne at the end of yesterday.Human Rights Watch report said that before February, abuse against civilians were committed mainly by forces loyal to Gbagbo. This changed after the forces nominally under the control of Prime Minister Guillaume Soro of the Ouattara launched an offensive in late February. The atrocities led to a massacre on March 29, hundreds of civilians in the town of Duékoué West near the Liberian border, is home to a large number of people from the Guéré ethnic group, most which supported Gbagbo, said the report.Based in the Hague of the International Criminal Court began a review of allegations of crimes in C?te d'Ivoire and administration of the Ouattara has agreed to submit to its jurisdiction.

With the help of Drew Hinshaw in Dakar. Editors: Mike Harrison, Paul Sillitoe

To contact the reporters on this story: Jason McLure in Accra to the jmclure@bloomberg.net or Olivier Monnier and Pauline Bax in Abidjan via the ebowers@bloomberg.net Accra

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin to the asguazzin@bloomberg.net

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President-elect: Alassane Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire - CNN International

Many hope that the "Ado", Ouattara is covered by the supporters, can bring a country torn apart by the civil war in 2002.Alassane Ouattara has studied economy at the United States before working in the laws of birthright International Monetary Fund fractional prevented Ouattara running for the Presidency in 1995 and 2000 "Ado" as Ouattara is called by supportersis a Muslim whose support lies mainly in the North of C?te d'Ivoire

(CNN) - the man recognized by the international community as the legitimate President of C?te d'Ivoire is no stranger to the frustrations of the winners of top work of his country.

Alassane Dramane Ouattara was rejected twice to report to the Presidency of the West African country, because he was considered an outsider as his mother was from Burkina Faso.

When he finally appeared to have won the 2010 elections - after that the constitutional stipulation that parents a candidate must be Ivorian has been cancelled - his candidacy was even once upset, this time by owner and long-time rival defiantLaurent Gbagbo.

Gbagbo has disputed the result and accused "foreign" Ouattara and former colonial power France of collusion with the Organization of the United Nations to overthrow him to serve his own interests in a country divided by a civil war in 2002.

Born in what has been the French West Africa in 1942, Ouattara began his career as an economist, after studying at the University of Pennsylvania at the United States before taking a job in the Monetary Fund International in Washington, D.c. in 1968. Meanwhile, the Ivory Coast declared its independence of the France in 1960.

After a number of roles in the IMF, including the leadership of the African Department, he was appointed Governor of the Central Bank of West African States.

In 1990, Ivorian founding President Felix Houphouet-Boigny made his Prime Minister, with Ouattara on Ouattara to implementing reforms to return to the country of economic importance in West Africa.

Houphouet-Boigny died in 1993, Ouattara became President ad interim until it was bordered by Henri Konan Bedie. He resigned from his post as Prime Minister and returned to work for the IMF, this time as Director-General Deputy of the organization.

In 1995, Ouattara was chosen as the presidential candidate for the rally of Republicans opposition party (DAS), but was disqualified by a policy of fractional birthright law banning any candidate who had a foreign parent - a criticism of law within appears to be in the country was created specifically to exclude Ouattara.

A coup in 1999, led by Robert GUEI, a former General in the Government of Houphoet-Boigny presidential aspirations, marked the beginning of a military Government which is committed to fighting corruption alleged and leads Ouattara to re-enter the arena policy.

Once more, Ouattara was chosen as the RDR presidential candidate - the party continues to run today - even if its exclusion in the 2000 election on the question of birthright by General Robert GUEI led him to call for his supporters to boycott the elections that saw Laurent Gbagbo win the Presidency.

In the last decade Gbagbo continually emphasized the difference between himself and Ouattara, using the State media in a concerted effort to paint his main rival of treacherous outsider controlled by the West.

"Ado," Ouattara is affectionately referred to by supporters, is a Muslim who derives the majority of his political support of the Northern Ivory Coast, while Gbagbo is a Christian from the South, where the nation's traditional positions lie of wealth and power.

The two men have a long-standing rivalry, and Gbagbo still accuses Ouattara for the informal division of C?te d'Ivoire there are almost ten years.

The pro-Gbagbo newspaper our way accused Ouattara of supporting a failed 2002 coup against the Gbagbo Government that plunged Ivory Coast into civil war.

While he denies any involvement in the coup, the majority of the forces now supporting Ouattara is the same rebels who seized half north of the country nine years ago, and is one of the rebel chiefs, Guillaume Soro, Prime Minister of the elected President in his newly formed Government.

While the European Union, the United Nations and African Union Security Council have all endorsed Ouattara as the winner of the presidential election of 2010, one announcement on the website of our way Journal, faithful to the regime of Gbagbo, still reports that Gbagbo NET 51.45% of the vote to 48,55% of Ouattara.

Many hoped that the much-anticipated presidential election to reunite finally a country torn by civil war, but the impact of the contested poll and subsequent clashes between Gbagbo and Ouattara forces served only to further destabilise Ivory Coast.

Despite supported them generalized in a rebel-held North dominated by Muslim immigrants, rivals of the Ouattara in the South point to his Western education and years of working abroad for the IMF as evidence that it is not a "true Ivorian.

This week, an adviser to Gbagbo has placed the blame on the foreign powers of the France to the United States to recognize Ouattara as President of C?te d'Ivoire.

"30 Years that there no was no problem in the country,"Abdon Bayeto told CNN, adding that Ouattara knows that he lost the election.""

While the observers hope that stays successful Ouattara from the IMF will result in a bright economic future for ivory coast, "Ado" has yet to show a break with the past when it comes to its use of military troops.

Good that the West considers Ouattara as an option more acceptable than Gbagbo at this stage - it was approved by Nicolas Sarkozy President Barack Obama, French, and the security of United Nations - Ouatarra Council may still have to answer A charge that his troops killed hundreds of people to death in the town of Duékoué West at the end of March.

Ultimately, the West may have to deal with a man whose ideals economic fall very well into a model Western, but whose ability to control violence in its name will remind many of some West African leaders helped the least.

In his 20 years in politics, Ouattara is passed the Prime Minister for the candidate of the opposition to the elected President alleged. After finally power, that he sought if long, what could be his toughest battle seems lies in the weeks and months to come.

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