Cote d'Ivoire on the Brink of Civil War

Armed force that are controlling northern Cote d'Ivoire during the last 24hrs claimed to have seized a town that is/was under government control and are continuing to head south of the country, which is the stronghold of the government.

This has increased the likelihood of all out civil war

There are two main forces at play in battle for Cote d'Ivoire: -

• on one side there are loyal forces of Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent President
• on the other there is forces of the his opponents that lost power in the previous election under Alassane Ouattara the former Prime Minister.

Left - the current president Laurent Gbagbo, Right - former prime minister Ouattara  

However the UN and foreign governments are putting pressure on the incumbent president Gbagbo to relinquish power to his rival Ouattara who is widely believed to have won the election.

There have even been reports of gunfire in the capital Yamoussouko & Al-Jazeera reports that thousands of people of fleeing the capital as hostilities intensify.

Although the towns that have been the main focus of the fighting recently are small & remote, it is the announcement that rebel forces have seized territory from forces loyal to Gbagbo, that has marked a significant increase in violence.

For a Q & A on the Cote d'Ivoire election

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11916590