Ivorian leader Gbagbo bans U.N. flights

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, March 11 (UPI) -- Overflights and landings of aircraft, including those belonging to the United Nations, must be authorized, a statement from an Ivory Coast leader said.

A statement from Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo broadcast on state television said "exceptional overflights or landings must be previously authorized by the transport ministry," the BBC reports.

The ban could be an attempt by Ggbago to prevent Alassane Ouattara from returning from Ethiopia where he was attending an African Union meeting on the Ivorian crisis, the BBC adds.

The U.N. Security Council recognizes Ouattara as the winner of a November election meant to unite a country divided by civil war in 2002. Gbagbo, however, has refused to give up power.

U.N. helicopters were seen over Abidjan, the commercial capital, in defiance of Gbagbo's orders, BBC reporters said.

Ouattara said he had backing from the African Union though the crisis shows few signs of abating. The United Nations estimates at least 300,000 people have fled conflict in Abidjan in recent weeks.

World leaders from the European Union, London and Washington have expressed alarm over the escalating violence in Ivory Coast and U.N. officials said the country is on the brink of civil war.