Ivory Coast: Laurent Gbagbo "negotiating surrender"
Ivory Coast's incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo is "negotiating his surrender" following UN helicopter assaults earlier today.
France says three generals loyal to Ivory Coast's besieged president are negotiating terms for their surrender in return for guarantees of safety for the presiendent and themselves.
France's foreign minister Alain Juppe said: "We are on the brink of convincing him to leave power."
Gbagbo is reportedly hiding with his family in the basement bunker of his residence in the main city, Abidjan.
Overnight United Nations and French helicopters conducted an operation to destroy weapons belonging to Gbagbo's forces after civilians had apparently been shelled by his troops.
The backstory to all of this is that Gbagbo had refused to leave office even though the Ivorian election commission declared him the loser of November's run-off vote with UN and nternationally-recognised winner Alessanne Ouattara.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the air attacks were not a declaration of war on Gbagbo, but were ordered to defend civilians.Four million people are still trapped by the fighting in Abidjan, a city that has descended into anarchy since pro-Ouattara forces launched their assault five days ago.
In the west of Ivory Coast, a UN team is continuing its investigation into an alleged "massacre" of civilians in Duekoue. Aid agencies have reported finding as many as 800 bodies in the town which was seized by Ouattara's fighters a week ago.
The UN has put the preliminary death toll at 330. It says 220 were killed by pro-Ouattara forces, and 110 by Gbagbo's troops.
