ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, April 7 (UPI) -- Laurent Gbagbo refuses to accept that Ivorian voters didn't elect him as president of the country, sources close to the embattled leader said.
Gbagbo is holed up in an underground bunker in a presidential palace in Abidjan, the commercial capital of the former French colony.
The U.N. Security Council in December recognized former World Bank official Alassane Ouattara as the victor of a November presidential contest meant to unite a country divided by civil war in 2002.
Both challengers issued claims to the presidency, though the international community threw its support behind Ouattara.
French and U.N. forces acted militarily this week in an effort to persuade Gbagbo to stand down. He remains defiant despite slowly losing momentum.
A source close to Gbagbo told the Financial Times that the incumbent leader didn't want to accept the conditions proposed by U.N. and French negotiators. The source said Gbagbo didn't want to accept that he was voted out of office.
Ivorian observers note that if Gbagbo leaves without giving up power, Ouattara faces challenges in gaining legitimacy from a constitutional court said to back the incumbent, the Financial Times adds.
French officials said Gbagbo has about 1,000 armed loyalists at his disposal. With hundreds dead and thousands more displaced by conflict, the International Crisis Group and others said the situation there bears the hallmarks of civil war.
