UNITED NATIONS: Fighters loyal to besieged Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo gained territory in the main city Abidjan on Friday and are still using tanks and many other weapons, UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said.
Gbagbo forces are now just one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the hotel headquarters of internationally recognized president Alassane Ouattara, Le Roy told reporters after a UN Security Council briefing on the Ivory Coast crisis.
"They clearly used the lull of Tuesday as a trick to reinforce their position," Le Roy added, referring to a calm in the fighting after three Gbagbo generals asked for talks but Gbagbo then refused to surrender.
"They have still many heavy weapons in hand," Le Roy said, adding that there were pictures of tanks, M-21 rocket launchers, rocket propelled grenade launchers and armored personnel carriers.
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