ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, March 31 (UPI) -- Forces of the U.N.-backed president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, say they are closing in on the city of Abidjan and his presidential rival Laurent Gbagbo.
Militiamen loyal to Gbagbo have been patrolling Abidjan, the commercial capital, and setting up roadblocks, while some police units and the head of the army have defected from Gbagbo to Ouattara, the BBC reported Thursday.
The United Nations says Gbagbo lost last year's election to Ouattara but has so far refused to cede power. U.N. troops in the country have taken control of Abidjan airport, it said.
The international community, including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the government of France, has urged Gbagbo to cede power to Ouattara immediately.
Ouattara was internationally recognized as president last year after the electoral commission declared him winner of the November runoff vote and the United Nations, which helped organize the vote, certified it as legitimate.
On Wednesday, forces supporting Ouattara captured Ivory Coast's political capital, Yamoussoukro, and the key port of San Pedro.
Since the crisis began in December, an estimated 1 million people have fled the violence, mostly from Abidjan, and at least 473 people have been killed, the United Nations said.
At the White House Thursday, press secretary Jay Carney said the Obama administration thinks "there is a unified view in the international community that the legitimately elected president [Ouattara] should assume office."
Carney said the United States was "looking forward to [Gbagbo] making a decision that -- taking an action that is in the best interests of the people … by avoiding war and stepping down and honoring the results of the election."
