Awwal 24, 1432 H/Feb 27, 2011, SPA -- Broadcasts of Ivory Coast's state television went down across the main city on Sunday after a transmitter was damaged in fighting between forces loyal to incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo and rival groups, according to Reuters. In an escalation of tensions between pro-Gbagbo forces and United Nations' peacekeepers, the local UN mission complained that three of its troops had been injured in an ambush carried out in the same Abidjan neighbourhood. RTI state television in the world's top cocoa grower has backed Gbagbo in a three-month struggle for power with Alassane Ouattara after a Nov. 28 presidential election which U.N.-certified results showed Ouattara won. The overnight clashes were the latest in the pro-Ouattara neighbourhood of Abobo, while an advance by rebel forces in the west of the country has prompted fears of a return to civil war in the once-prosperous African state. "The clashes took place around the transmitter ... this morning you can see smoke coming out of the transmitter centre," said local resident Doulaye Ouattara, adding that some youths had pillaged the premises. He is not related to Alassane Ouattara. RTI television was not accessible by terrestrial aerials in a number of Abidjan neighbourhoods, residents contacted by Reuters said. An RTI journalist who did not want to be named said technicians were working to repair the transmitter. Estimates for the size of Abidjan's population range from between three to five million out of a total population of 21 million. Some have access to RTI on satellite. Residents reported on Sunday a steady stream of families leaving Abobo, watched over by UN peacekeepers in armoured vehicles. After the night's fighting, pro-Gbagbo forces also deployed a number of armoured vehicles to the neighbourhood. The U.N. mission said in a statement three peacekeepers were wounded when they were shot at while patrolling Abobo, accusing supporters of Gbagbo of carrying out an ambush as part of acts of violence against peacekeepers on Friday and Saturday. "UNOCI wishes to recall that under international conventions, any attack against U.N. peacekeepers constitutes a war crime," it said, noting its rules of engagement allowed use of force to defend U.N. personnel or equipment. Major powers and most African neighbours have recognised Ouattara as president but Gbagbo has refused to step down, citing a decision by the country's constitutional council to declare the vote rigged and hand him victory. The crisis has pushed cocoa futures to 32-year highs over supply concerns. The European Union has banned its ships from docking at Ivorian ports and exporters have largely followed a call by Ouattara for a temporary embargo on cocoa supplies. Other sanctions have paralysed the country's banking sector, crippling the economy and prompting some analysts to forecast a fall in gross domestic product until the impasse is over.
