by David Smith in Johannesburg and Associated Press
The head of the UN warned today that Ivory Coast faces a "real risk" of return to civil war after post-election violence.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN's secretary general, said it would not tolerate any attempt by president Laurent Gbagbo to starve out its peacekeepers.
Gbagbo's refusal to surrender power after the disputed presidential election has triggered unrest in Ivory Coast, where north and south fought a civil war in 2002-03. A French government spokesman, François Baroin, today urged French nationals to leave temporarily. At least 15,000 live in Ivory Coast, which maintains close ties to the former colonial power.
The UN and other world leaders recognise Alassane Ouattara, a northern Muslim, as the winner of last month's election.
Gbagbo, a southern Christian, has forces surrounding the Golf hotel in Abidjan, where his rival has set up headquarters, protected by the UN. The UN has expressed concern that people inside are not getting medication, and that delivery of food and water has also been impeded.
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