TROOPS LOYAL TO Ivory Coast’s elected president appear to be gaining a firm foothold in the attempt to oust incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo.

Forces have gained control of the key port of San Pedro in the south west, opening export and supply routes for Alassane Ouattara and his supporters.

Ouattara is internationally backed and recognised by the UN as the country’s president following his victory in a presidential election on 28 November, 2010. However his rival Gbagbo has refused to step down.

The BBC reports that Gbagbo’s army now only occupies a quarter of the Ivory Coast, following a massive push from north to south by republican troops. Pro-Ouattara forces gained control of the country’s capital Yamoussoukro yesterday. However, the biggest city Abidjan, which is 240km further south, is still in the hands of Gbagbo.

The UN has now voted unanimously to impose sanctions on Gbagbo, freezing his assets and those of his wife and closest associates. He is also forbidden to travel.

There are now concerns that a major battle for control in Abidjan may ensue. 473 people have been killed and one million have fled their homes since fighting flared after November’s election.  The South African foreign ministry says the country is “rapidly sliding back into a civil war”.

Earlier this week, US President Barack Obama urged Laurent Gbagbo to cede power: