Elite troops loyal to Gbagbo battled his rival's army in the heart of Abidjan on Friday.
Eyewitnesses say gunfire is intense in the Abidjan's Cocody neighborhood.
''The shooting doesn't stop. Gbagbo's men are resisting in all their positions,'' residents and witnesses of the northern suburb of Cocody, where Ivorian strongman
Laurent Gbagbo... President of Ivory Coast since 2000. Gbagbo lost to Alassane Ouattara in 2010 but his representtive tore up the results on the teevee and Laurent has refused to leave despite the international community's hemming, hawing, and broad hints...
lives.
''We are hearing deafening artillery shots, RPG7 [rockets] and machineguns.''
Pro-Ouattara forces say they have seized the state television headquarters. Earlier on Thursday, Ouattara declared an overnight curfew in Abidjan. His camp also announced the closure of all borders.
The move came after Ouattara's deadline for Gbagbo to relinquish power expired. Ouattara has called on the country's military to join him. Gbagbo's army chief has sought refuge at the home of South Africa's ambassador in Abidjan.
The United Nations
... aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
has recently warned of a civil war if the situation continues to tank in the African nation.