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6 January 2011
Last updated at 16:30 ET
Ivory Coast's incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo is expelling the British and Canadian ambassadors, a statement on state television has said.
It said the action was being taken as a reciprocal measure. There is no confirmation from the UK and Canada.
Mr Gbagbo has refused to step down despite rival Alassane Ouattara gaining international recognition as November's presidential election winner.
Mr Ouattara has urged West African special forces to remove Mr Gbagbo.
The West African regional body Ecowas has threatened to force Mr Gbagbo out but has said it wants to try mediation efforts first.
Mr Gbagbo still has the public backing of the army and control of state media.
Blockade The state television statement said the UK and Canadian envoys were being expelled as their countries no longer recognised Mr Gbagbo's ambassadors.
"Through the application of the principle of reciprocity governing diplomatic relations, the ministry informs Madame Marie Isabelle Massip that her accreditation as Canadian ambassador in Ivory Coast is ended.
"For the same reasons, the foreign ministry informs ambassador Nicholas James Westcott that his accreditation as United Kingdom and Northern Ireland ambassador is also ended."
Mr Ouattara has gained widespread international support during the political crisis.
The UK withdrew recognition of Mr Gbagbo's envoy on 31 December and Canada did the same on 29 December.
The United Nations has recognised Mr Ouattara's appointee, Youssoufou Bamba, as Ivory Coast ambassador to the UN.
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Alassane Ouattara: "The day Laurent Gbagbo leaves everyone will be happy"
Mr Ouattara remains behind a blockade at a hotel in the main city Abidjan, protected by UN peacekeepers and New Forces former rebels who control the north of the country.
November's election was intended to reunify the country which has been divided since a 2002 conflict.
Mr Ouattara was initially proclaimed the winner by the country's election commission - a verdict backed by the UN, which helped organise the poll.
But the country's Constitutional Council, headed by an ally of Mr Gbagbo, later ruled that he had won, citing voting irregularities in the north.
Separately on Thursday, the US announced it had frozen the assets of Mr Gbagbo, his wife and three aides.
It said it was barring US citizens from financial dealings with Mr Gbagbo.
Adam Szubin, of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said the US wanted to "isolate him and his inner circle from the world's financial system and underscore the desire of the international community that he step down".
'Key buildings' Meanwhile, Ecowas has already started drawing up plans for a regional intervention force.
But the BBC's John James in Abidjan says it is not clear how ready the countries in the region are to contribute troops to an intervention that could potentially face a regular army numbering 18,000 men.
However, Mr Ouattara, who has many supporters in northern Ivory Coast, said it was just a question of removing Mr Gbagbo from power and taking control of key buildings like the presidential palace.
"Legitimate force doesn't mean a force against Ivorians," Mr Ouattara told reporters on Thursday, AFP news agency reports.
"It's a force to remove Laurent Gbagbo and that's been done elsewhere, in Africa and in Latin America, there are non-violent special operations which allow simply to take the unwanted person and take him elsewhere."
However, Ecowas does not have the sophisticated equipment and personnel needed for a special forces operation, our reporter says.
The former colonial power France, which has 900 soldiers on the ground, says it will not intervene.
There are an estimated 10,000 UN troops in Ivory Coast - and the mission has sent a request to the UN Security Council for an extra 1,000-2,000.
Western tension The UN peacekeeping chief in Ivory Coast, Alan Le Roy, has warned that recent ethnic clashes could be "the start of conflict in the west".
At least 14 people have died in fighting in the last three days around the town of Duekoue between groups that support opposing sides in the crisis over the disputed election.
Although the unrest is not directly related to the power-struggle, Duekoue - some 500km (300 miles) west of Abidjan - is close to the north-south ceasefire line that splits the country.
The tension in the west has already pushed members of both communities to flee into neighbouring Liberia - some 22,000 people have crossed the border so far, the UN says.
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It said the action was being taken as a reciprocal measure. There is no confirmation from the UK and Canada.
Mr Gbagbo has refused to step down despite rival Alassane Ouattara gaining international recognition as November's presidential election winner.
Mr Ouattara has urged West African special forces to remove Mr Gbagbo.
The West African regional body Ecowas has threatened to force Mr Gbagbo out but has said it wants to try mediation efforts first.
Mr Gbagbo still has the public backing of the army and control of state media.
Blockade The state television statement said the UK and Canadian envoys were being expelled as their countries no longer recognised Mr Gbagbo's ambassadors.
"Through the application of the principle of reciprocity governing diplomatic relations, the ministry informs Madame Marie Isabelle Massip that her accreditation as Canadian ambassador in Ivory Coast is ended.
"For the same reasons, the foreign ministry informs ambassador Nicholas James Westcott that his accreditation as United Kingdom and Northern Ireland ambassador is also ended."
Mr Ouattara has gained widespread international support during the political crisis.
The UK withdrew recognition of Mr Gbagbo's envoy on 31 December and Canada did the same on 29 December.
The United Nations has recognised Mr Ouattara's appointee, Youssoufou Bamba, as Ivory Coast ambassador to the UN.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Alassane Ouattara: "The day Laurent Gbagbo leaves everyone will be happy"
Mr Ouattara remains behind a blockade at a hotel in the main city Abidjan, protected by UN peacekeepers and New Forces former rebels who control the north of the country.
November's election was intended to reunify the country which has been divided since a 2002 conflict.
Mr Ouattara was initially proclaimed the winner by the country's election commission - a verdict backed by the UN, which helped organise the poll.
But the country's Constitutional Council, headed by an ally of Mr Gbagbo, later ruled that he had won, citing voting irregularities in the north.
Separately on Thursday, the US announced it had frozen the assets of Mr Gbagbo, his wife and three aides.
It said it was barring US citizens from financial dealings with Mr Gbagbo.
Adam Szubin, of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said the US wanted to "isolate him and his inner circle from the world's financial system and underscore the desire of the international community that he step down".
'Key buildings' Meanwhile, Ecowas has already started drawing up plans for a regional intervention force.
But the BBC's John James in Abidjan says it is not clear how ready the countries in the region are to contribute troops to an intervention that could potentially face a regular army numbering 18,000 men.
However, Mr Ouattara, who has many supporters in northern Ivory Coast, said it was just a question of removing Mr Gbagbo from power and taking control of key buildings like the presidential palace.
"Legitimate force doesn't mean a force against Ivorians," Mr Ouattara told reporters on Thursday, AFP news agency reports.
"It's a force to remove Laurent Gbagbo and that's been done elsewhere, in Africa and in Latin America, there are non-violent special operations which allow simply to take the unwanted person and take him elsewhere."
However, Ecowas does not have the sophisticated equipment and personnel needed for a special forces operation, our reporter says.
The former colonial power France, which has 900 soldiers on the ground, says it will not intervene.
There are an estimated 10,000 UN troops in Ivory Coast - and the mission has sent a request to the UN Security Council for an extra 1,000-2,000.
Western tension The UN peacekeeping chief in Ivory Coast, Alan Le Roy, has warned that recent ethnic clashes could be "the start of conflict in the west".
At least 14 people have died in fighting in the last three days around the town of Duekoue between groups that support opposing sides in the crisis over the disputed election.
Although the unrest is not directly related to the power-struggle, Duekoue - some 500km (300 miles) west of Abidjan - is close to the north-south ceasefire line that splits the country.
The tension in the west has already pushed members of both communities to flee into neighbouring Liberia - some 22,000 people have crossed the border so far, the UN says.
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