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1,000 fighters continue to defend Ivory Coast’s ex-president after French helicopter crew rescues Japanese envoy United Nations forces have surrounded the last troops loyal to defeated Ivory Coast presidential candidate Laurent Gbagbo after 24 hours of drama in which French forces staged a helicopter rescue of the Japanese ambassador. Gbagbo’s forces, said to number around 1,000, have been desperately defending the recalcitrant former leader against forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, who won the November presidential election. Gbagbo, who had repeatedly forced postponement of the poll, refused to cede power, alleging fraud. Gérard Longuet, the French defence minister, told the French Senate on Thursday: “At this moment the military situation is as follows; the UNOCI [United Nations mission in Ivory Coast] troops have surrounded in a limited area the last defenders of the previous president, Gbagbo.” The UN deployment came after Gbagbo’s fighters stormed the Japanese ambassador Yoshifumi Okamura’s residence in Cocody on Wednesday, barely allowing time for him to escape with seven staff into a safe room behind a bulletproof door. The fighters then set up rocket launchers and cannons on the roof of the house and began firing into the residential area. Around midnight, French troops with night-vision glasses abseiled from a helicopter into the ambassador’s home. After coming under fire they shot back, the French military said, destroying three vehicles. In a 30-minute operation, the soldiers managed to free Okamura and his colleagues, one of whom was hurt, and airlifted them to a French military camp. Besides taking over the Japanese residence, Gbagbo’s forces also tried to break into the French ambassador’s house, before French forces destroyed their two vehicles. Other countries are now frantically trying to withdraw their diplomats, with Israel requesting help from France in taking its staff to safety. The fierce week-long street battles in the commercial capital Abidjan has caused serious shortages of food and water, with most residents too afraid to leave their homes. More than 1,500 foreigners are taking shelter at a French military base, as well as 20 international journalists who were evacuated from a city centre hotel on Thursday. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has urged Gbagbo to stand down for the sake of his country, which has been plunged back into civil war at a time it was meant to be unifying after years of divisions between the north and south. More than 1,500 people have been killed since the disputed poll. “This is his last opportunity to gracefully exit,” Ban said during a visit to the US. Earlier in the week it appeared that Gbagbo was willing to give himself up after months of failed mediation attempts, but the former history professor remained defiant, despite being confined to his personal residence in the upscale neighbourhood of Cocody. Gbagbo’s spokesman in France, Toussaint Alain, told Associated Press that the 65-year-old leader would not negotiate his surrender but he would talk to Ouattara. Alain said that France, Ivory Coast’s former colonial ruler, should not be involved in the talks. France has becoming increasingly involved in the conflict this week, strafing Gbagbo’s military depots in a joint aerial operation with the UN. The fighters guarding Gbagbo include youth militias and members of the feared Republican Guard, and are equipped with heavy weapons and tanks, according to French media. After talks to secure Gbabgo’s exit failed, they were able to repel a large attack by Ouattara’s forces on Wednesday, even as the Japanese ambassador and his staff remained trapped nearby. Speaking in a video released by the French military after the rescue mission, Okamura described his ordeal. “Unfortunately my residence was attacked by mercenaries and I was locked in my room since the morning. The mercenaries took over my home but in the end I was saved by the Licorne [French peacekeeping troops in Ivory Coast],” he said. “The work was very professional and they secured the environment, and that’s why I am here.” According to French military spokesman Colonel Thierry Burkhard, Okamura had managed to alert the Japanese authorities about his plight while in the safe room. The UN, which has a large peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast, then notified France, which has sent military reinforcements to the country in recent weeks. Burkhard said Gbagbo’s forces had used the Japanese ambassador’s home to fire into residential areas, targeting the French ambassador’s house in particular. “In less than half an hour, the ambassador and his colleagues were evacuated to [the military base of] Port Bouet. Our troops were then engaged, which led to a response, mainly with anti-tank missiles.” No French soldiers were injured in the operation, he said. Ouattara’s forces, which swept into Abidjan last week, are drawn mainly from the Muslim north of the country, which had remained under the military control of the former rebel New Forces movement since the 2002-03 civil war. Gbagbo accused France of supporting the rebels during that conflict. Laurent Gbagbo Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara United Nations France Japan Xan Rice guardian.co.uk