Gbagbo gangs loot opposition homes

Gangs of youths, actively aided and supported by uniformed police, ransacked at least 10 houses belonging to senior ministers, mayors and other allies of Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised president of Ivory Coast, an adviser said.

Security forces loyal to the incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo – who refuses to cede power more than three months after the UN says he lost an election – have turned to increasingly criminal behaviour in the past week, killing six unarmed women protesters in the street on Thursday.