Besieged Gbagbo still refusing to surrender

Ivory Coast's besieged strongman Laurent Gbagbo clung defiantly to the last vestiges of his power in a bunker beneath the presidential palace yesterday, refusing to surrender to his rival Alassane Ouattara's forces even though all escape routes seemed to be closed.

Even as the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Mr Gbagbo it was "his last opportunity to gracefully exit", presidential adviser Toussaint Alain was continuing to insist he was staying put because it was "a question of principle".

"He is not a king," Mr Alain added. "He is not an emperor. He is a president elected by his people."

But with the last line of Mr Gbagbo's defence, his 1,000-strong republican guard, now the only impediment to victory for Mr Ouattara and his Western allies, that diagnosis appeared optimistic. Still, Mr Gbagbo did retain a short-term advantage in his opponents' reluctance to risk killing him and stoking his supporters' rage.

As events at the presidential palace remained at an impasse, the situation across Abidjan remained volatile. That was underlined by plans to evacuate British ambassador Colin Wells from his residence yesterday. Mr Wells confirmed the residence had been hit and his neighbour, the Japanese ambassador, was rescued on Wednesday night after his compound was attacked by Gbagbo supporters.

"We have been hit but we don't think it's deliberate," said Mr Wells. "It's more likely collateral damage."

The ambassador has been sheltering in his basement for most of the past four days and unable to go outside. His Japanese counterpart was airlifted out after his residence was attacked with grenades and automatic weapons by soldiers loyal to Mr Gbagbo. French special forces flew in after nightfall and rappelled from a helicopter using night vision goggles in order to evacuate the diplomat and his staff.

The soldiers' intent appears to have been to loot the compound as they are running out of food and water.