Pro-Ouattara forces seize major Ivory Coast city

Fighters supporting Ivory Coast's internationally recognized leader seized control of the country's administrative capital Wednesday, marking a symbolic victory after months of political chaos sparked when the incumbent refused to step down after an election.




The fall of Yamoussoukro caps a dramatic advance on the city from multiple directions this week, but many believe a final bloody battle over the presidency is now destined for the commercial capital of Abidjan, 143 miles away.



Capt. Leon Alla, a defense spokesman for the internationally backed leader Alassane Ouattara, said on Wednesday that "the town of Yamoussoukro is in the hands of the Republican Forces."

Alla said Abidjan, the country's largest city, is divided into neighborhoods backing Ouattara and others supporting incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to relinquish the presidency.
The international community and Ivory Coast's electoral commission say Ouattara won the November presidential election, but Gbagbo has refused to give up power after a decade in office. Up to 1 million people have fled the fighting caused by political chaos, and at least 462 people have been killed since the election.
Also on Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to demand an immediate end to the escalating violence and impose sanctions on Gbagbo.
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