The government of Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo denied carrying out Saturday's attack on a hotel in Abidjan where his rival, UN-recognised president Alassane Ouattara, is headquartered.
Gbagbo spokesman Ahoua Don Mello told AFP: "It's absolutely false. There has been no attack on the Golf (hotel). It's an imaginary attack."
Earlier a UN spokesman and witnesses told AFP the Golf Hotel, where Ouattara has been holed up since disputed November elections, came under attack at around 5:00 pm local time (1700 GMT).
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Mello said the UN's accusations proved that it was siding with Ouattara and was, alongside French forces from Operation Unicorn (Licorne), "certainly preparing another attack" on Gbagbo's positions.
He said Gbagbo called Saturday for resistance against France.
"President Gbagbo calls for resistance against the bombings and actions of the French army in Ivory Coast, because definitively it's the French army that is attacking us," Mello declared.
He added: "Our troops are regrouping after undergoing a barbaric attack by the rebels supported by the UN and Licorne.”
