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16 December 2010
Last updated at 09:04 ET
Three protesters have been killed in Ivory Coast after soldiers fired on crowds trying to take over state TV.
The protesters back Alassane Ouattara, one of two men claiming victory in last month's presidential election.
Unrest has spread through the main city of Abidjan, with gun battles reported near the hotel where Mr Ouattara has stayed since last month's election.
The military, loyal to Mr Ouattara's rival Laurent Gbagbo, has accused protesters of inciting confrontation.
Mr Ouattara and Mr Gbagbo both claim to have won the election, and each has declared himself president.
The UN, which backs Mr Ouattara's claim, has urged calm.
Across Abidjan, soldiers and police were standing guard at almost every major road junction.
Violence broke out in several parts of the city as security forces tried to prevent crowds from gathering.
The BBC's John James in Abidjan says tanks are blocking the main boulevards near the state TV station, and shops and offices throughout the city are closed, with only protesters and security forces on the streets.
Gun battles Mr Ouattara's supporters had planned to take over state TV, which has been broadcasting reports praising Mr Gbagbo since the disputed election.
But they clashed with security forces in the north of Abidjan early on Thursday.
International news agencies reported at least three protesters were killed after police opened fire on crowds in the Abobo district. Demonstrators said many more had died.
Separately, in the south of the city, gun battles erupted between soldiers who control the area and former rebels who are guarding the Golf Hotel, where Mr Ouattara has been based since the election.
"There is shooting all over the place, there is artillery, there are explosions," a witness told Reuters news agency.
Mr Ouattara's supporters, including his nominated prime minister Guillaume Soro, were trying to leave the hotel compound and march to the TV station when fighting broke out.
Kandia Camara, a spokesman for Mr Ouattara, told the BBC that they were coming under attack.
Earlier in the day, international prosecutors said they would bring legal proceedings against anyone accused of causing deaths.
And UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman warned that "those who incite or perpetrate violence, and those who use the media for that purpose... will be held accountable for their actions".
He reiterated that the UN wanted Mr Gbagbo to stand down.
The UN, which has about 10,000 peacekeepers in the country, is guarding Mr Ouattara's hotel alongside fighters from Mr Soro's former rebel group the New Forces (FN).
The FN still controls the north of the country, which was split into two after a civil war in 2002.
The trouble stems from last month's run-off election, which the Electoral Commission said Mr Ouattara won by 54.1% to 45.9%.
Mr Gbagbo refused to admit defeat, and the Constitutional Council then annulled some results from the north and declared Mr Gbagbo the winner.
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The protesters back Alassane Ouattara, one of two men claiming victory in last month's presidential election.
Unrest has spread through the main city of Abidjan, with gun battles reported near the hotel where Mr Ouattara has stayed since last month's election.
The military, loyal to Mr Ouattara's rival Laurent Gbagbo, has accused protesters of inciting confrontation.
Mr Ouattara and Mr Gbagbo both claim to have won the election, and each has declared himself president.
The UN, which backs Mr Ouattara's claim, has urged calm.
Across Abidjan, soldiers and police were standing guard at almost every major road junction.
Violence broke out in several parts of the city as security forces tried to prevent crowds from gathering.
The BBC's John James in Abidjan says tanks are blocking the main boulevards near the state TV station, and shops and offices throughout the city are closed, with only protesters and security forces on the streets.
Gun battles Mr Ouattara's supporters had planned to take over state TV, which has been broadcasting reports praising Mr Gbagbo since the disputed election.
But they clashed with security forces in the north of Abidjan early on Thursday.
International news agencies reported at least three protesters were killed after police opened fire on crowds in the Abobo district. Demonstrators said many more had died.
Separately, in the south of the city, gun battles erupted between soldiers who control the area and former rebels who are guarding the Golf Hotel, where Mr Ouattara has been based since the election.
"There is shooting all over the place, there is artillery, there are explosions," a witness told Reuters news agency.
Mr Ouattara's supporters, including his nominated prime minister Guillaume Soro, were trying to leave the hotel compound and march to the TV station when fighting broke out.
Kandia Camara, a spokesman for Mr Ouattara, told the BBC that they were coming under attack.
Earlier in the day, international prosecutors said they would bring legal proceedings against anyone accused of causing deaths.
And UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman warned that "those who incite or perpetrate violence, and those who use the media for that purpose... will be held accountable for their actions".
He reiterated that the UN wanted Mr Gbagbo to stand down.
The UN, which has about 10,000 peacekeepers in the country, is guarding Mr Ouattara's hotel alongside fighters from Mr Soro's former rebel group the New Forces (FN).
The FN still controls the north of the country, which was split into two after a civil war in 2002.
The trouble stems from last month's run-off election, which the Electoral Commission said Mr Ouattara won by 54.1% to 45.9%.
Mr Gbagbo refused to admit defeat, and the Constitutional Council then annulled some results from the north and declared Mr Gbagbo the winner.
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