ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Fighting in western Ivory Coast has broken a six-year cease-fire between rebels and government troops, the United Nations said.
A U.N. spokesman said clashes were reported in the village of Teapleu Thursday, the BBC reported.
Given the political situation in the African country, the spokesman said reports of fighting were "worrying. Tensions have been rising since President Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to vacate his office and turn power to Alassane Ouattara, widely seen internationally as the winner in November's election.
"This is a very serious issue because it would be the first time the cease-fire is broken in six years," Hamadoun Toure, spokesman for the United Nations mission in Ivory Coast, told the BBC. "It will also change the nature of the tension because so far we've been witnessing violence between civilians and the army -- but now if we have two armies face to face, it will be very, very complicated."
