ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The U.N. mission in the Ivory Coast said three members of its peacekeeping force were wounded in an ambush by forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo.
Gbabgo, the incumbent president, won't hand over power despite a U.N. Security Council Resolution backing Alassane Ouattara as the winner of a November election. The contest was meant to unite a country divided by civil war in 2002, though violence surrounding the political stalemate threatens to push the country back into war.
The U.N. mission said forces loyal to Gbagbo fired on their convoy during the weekend.
"(The mission) wishes to recall that under international conventions, any attack against U.N. peacekeepers constitutes a war crime," it said in its statement. The rules of engagement for U.N. peacekeepers allow them to fire back if attacked.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over reports that Belarus shipped attack helicopters to Gbabgo in violation of an arms embargo on the Ivory Coast.
Minsk, however, denied the charges.
