Uploaded by RussiaToday on Apr 5, 2011
The United Nations and French forces opened fire with attack helicopters Monday on the arsenal of Ivory Coast's entrenched ruler, as columns of foot soldiers finally pierced the city limit. The fighters aiming to topple Laurent Gbagbo after a decade in power had succeeded in taking nearly the entire countryside in just three days last week, but they faltered once they reached the country's largest city, where the presidential palace and residence are located. Monday's offensive marked an unprecedented escalation in the international community's efforts to oust Gbagbo, who lost the presidential election in November yet has refused to cede power to Alassane Ouattara even as the world's largest cocoa producer teetered on the brink of all-out civil war.
