Ivory Coast's defiant strongman denies he's stepping down

Update at 3:15 p.m. ET: Despite widespread reports that he has surrendered, Ivory Coast's strongman leader Laurent Gbagbo insists in a television interview that he is the legitimately elected president and will not step down.

While holed up in a bunker inside the presidential residence today in Abidjan, he maintained in a defiant interview by phone with France's LCI television that he won the election four months ago, even as troops backing the internationally recognized winner, Alassane Ouattara, encircled the home, the Associated Press reports.

Amid the chaos, Reuters, citing internal U.N. documents, reported that Gbagbo had surrendered and was seeking U.N. protection. French officials and a diplomat have also said he is negotiating his departure terms. One diplomat even tells the AP that Gbagbo is negotiating the final terms with Ouattara directly.

Gbagbo's position became precarious Monday after French and U.N. forces launched a military offensive in support of Ouattara.

France's foreign minister says Gbagbo would be required to relinquish power in writing after a decade as president, and must formally recognize Ouattara as the legitimate president, the AP reports. But Gbagbo, in the 20-minute interview, showed no intention of leaving, declaring that Ouattara "did not win the elections."

"I won the election and I am not negotiating my departure," Gbagbo said.

Update at 2:43 p.m. ET: Reuters quotes a U.N. official as saying Ivory Coast's Gbagbo hasn't surrendered, has expressed willingness to do so and wants U.N. protection. Reuters also has reported that internal U.N. documents show that the Ivory Coast strongman has already decided to stand down.

Update at 2:39 p.m. ET: Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo insists on French TV that he won presidential election, the Associated Press reports. In addition, one Gbagbo adviser, interviewed by Al-Jazeera, insists that the strongman has not stepped down. "He's going nowhere. he is not stepping down," says adviser Abdon Georges Bayeto.

Update at 1:57 p.m. ET: Reuters news agency, quoting internal U.N. documents that its correspondent has seen, reports that Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo has surrendered and asked for U.N. protection.

Update at 11:54 a.m. ET: President Barack Obama said today he welcomed the role of the U.N. and French forces in Ivory Coast.
"To end this violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbagbo must stand down immediately, and direct those who are fighting on his behalf to lay down their arms," Obama said in a statement, the AP reports. "Every day that the fighting persists will bring more suffering, and further delay the future of peace and prosperity that the people of Cote d'Ivoire deserve."

Update at 10:25 a.m. ET: French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe says in Paris that negotiators are close to convincing strongman Laurent Gbagbo to leave the Ivory Coast now that his forces have been beaten.

Update at 9:13 a.m. ET: The U.N. special representative in the Ivory Coast tells Al-Jazeera TV that "the war is over" and that strongman Laurent Gbagbo has surrendered. "He is in a basement and is ready to surrender," says Y. P. Choi, who is the special representative of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. He says Gbagbo's top generals have all defected and his fighters have "simply melted away." Choi says U.N. officials are now trying to find out Gbagbo's terms of surrender, but that the fighting has ceased, except perhaps for some isolated units who have not gotten the word.

Update at 8:44 a.m. ET: Reuters quotes Foreign Minister Alain Juppe as saying strongman Laurent Gbagbo is negotiating his departure from Ivory Coast. The report comes as forces backing democratically elected Alassane Ouattara overran the capital, Abidjan, and seized the presidential palace, driving Gbagbo into a bunker. Gbagbo had refused to leave office, despite the result of internationally recognized elections.

Update at 8:37 a.m. ET:The Guardian newspaper and Reuters report that Gbagbo's army has asked for a cease-fire. It quotes Gen. Phillipe Mangou, the chief of staff of Gbagbo's army, as saying flatly: "We've stopped fighting."

Update at 8:33 a.m. ET: The diplomat also says Gbagbo's closest adviser and longtime friend had abandoned him, leaving the bunker to seek refuge inside the French ambassador's home.

Earlier posting: Forces backing the democratically elected leader of Ivory Coast have seized the presidential home of the former president who has refused to give up power, a senior diplomat in Abidjan says, the Associated Press reports.

Strongman Laurent Gbagbo has taken refuge in a bunker as Alassane Ouattara's forces take over the capital, the source says.

United Nations and French forces opened fire with attack helicopters on Monday on Gbagbo's arsenal, as columns of foot soldiers allied with his challenger finally pierced the city limit.