Thousands of Ouattara supporters celebrate in Ivory Coast

Thousands of supporters of presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara took to the streets in Ivory Coasts official capital Yamoussoukro to celebrate after pro-Ouattara forces took it from incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.Ouattara’s prime minister, Guillaume Soro, said Gbagbo had only two or three hours left in power and the game is over.In a dramatic four-day sweep, pro-Ouattara forces reached Abidjan after taking the key cocoa port of San Pedro having advanced hundreds of kilometres since the start of the week.Heavy weapons fire rang out in central Abidjan on Thursday after the pro-Ouattara force marched into Ivory Coasts main city.Residents reported the state broadcaster went off air after prolongued heavy fighting near its building.Heavy fighting was also reported in neighbourhoods in the south of the city after pro-Ouattara forces swiftly advanced on the lagoon-side city from several directions.Gbagbos elite forces took positions around the presidential palace while French soldiers were also deployed in the city to protect foreign residents. A United Nations helicopter gunship flew overhead.Gbagbo has refused to step down since a November election that U.N.-certified results showed he lost to Ouattara, triggering a bloody standoff that has killed hundreds and rekindled the countrys 2002-3 civil war.