Fighting rages in Ivory Coast with 800 dead in west

[NightWatcher]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/04/02/fighting-rages-in-ivory-coast-with-800-dead-in-west/

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Soldiers backing Alassane Ouattara met stiff resistance from incumbent Laurent Gbagbo's fighters in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan on Saturday as the two sides fought for control of the West African country.

There was fighting around the Presidential Palace, state broadcaster RTI and military bases between forces loyal to the two presidential rivals, and a Reuters reporter heard gunfire and explosions from heavy shelling near the palace throughout the morning.

In a sign of how bloody the conflict has become, theInternational Committee of the Red Cross said at least 800 people were killed in intercommunal violence in the western Ivorian town of Duekoue this week.

That would bring the confirmed death toll from violence since the presidential election, in which Ouattara was the internationally recognized winner, to 1,300 people.

The actual toll is likely to be much higher because the fighting has been so heavy and because Gbagbo's forces rarely disclose their own losses or civilians they kill.

Bet you had a few million barrels of "US National Interests" under your soil