At least 800 killed in fighting in Ivory Coast

At least 800 people were killed in the battle for control of the city Duekoue in western Ivory Coast.

" At least 800 people were killed in Duekoue on Tuesday, " said an ICRC spokesman in Geneva, Dorothea Krimitsas, Friday ( 1 / 4 ).

He added that information about deaths was collected by ICRC representatives who visited the area Thursday and Friday.

"There is no doubt that something on a large scale have occurred in the city, where the ICRC continues to collect information, " he explained. He added that Red Cross representatives " have seen a very large number of corpses. "

The report came as troops loyal to the official Ivorian leader Laurent Gbagbo who cornered away from military attack by a surprising rival and battle of Abidjan.

Despite massive foreign pressure and surrounded by troops president recognized by the international community, Alassane Ouattara, in Ivory Coast 's economic capital, Abidjan, Gbagbo continued to hold out to stay in power - with its allies to ask hard for him to relax at home with his wife .

UN Secretary General Ban Ki - moon, France, the United States and the African Union have urged Gbagbo to step down immediately, citing fears of residents trapped in the bloody post- election conflict in that country.