UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Thursday urged the beleaguered incumbent leader of Cote d' Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, to step down.
"This is his last opportunity to gracefully exit," Ban said during his visit to the U.S. congress.
Cote d'Ivoire's internationally recognized president Alassane Ouattara on Thursday announced the blockade of his presidential rival Gbagbo's residence in the West African country's biggest
city Abidjan.
In his televised address to the nation, Ouattara said his forces had surrounded the mansion where Gbagbo was being holed up.
He called for discipline from the forces, asking them to restore order and security in the country's economic capital.