Confusion reigns after junta leader loses control in Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - Opposition leader Laurent Gbagbo claimed the presidency of the Ivory Coast on Wednesday after a tumultuous 24 hours that ended the rule of the military junta that seized power 10 months ago.

Soldiers and civilians took to the streets to celebrate, although the festivities were short-lived as supporters of one of Ivory Coast's largest political parties launched a new round of street protests to demand a new vote.

Junta leader Gen. Robert Guei, who had declared himself the winner of Sunday's presidential election, was forced from power earlier in the day when his security forces turned against him and joined thousands of unarmed demonstrators who took to the streets to back Gbagbo's bid for power.

Later, Gbagbo was introduced on state television as ''president.'' He said he would be forming a Cabinet shortly.

The longtime left-leaning politician and former university professor had urged his followers to undertake a popular uprising after Guei disbanded the country's electoral commission on Tuesday and declared himself the election winner.

More than 50 people were killed in clashes involving civilians and military since Tuesday, said Nguessan Afi, an official in Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front party. The toll could not be independently confirmed.

At least three bodies were seen in downtown Abidjan, and five other people were seriously injured. Four soldiers died in fighting early Wednesday, soldiers said.

Guei's whereabouts were unclear. A former aide, Desire-Paulin Dakoury, said he remained in the presidential offices in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's main city, and ''will be the one to decide when he talks and when he leaves.''

However, former Guei information minister Henri Cesar Sama, who is now allied with Gbagbo, said Guei had fled Abidjan for Cotonou, a city in nearby Benin.

Airport officials in Cotonou also said Guei and his family were there. Well into the evening, senior government officials and their bodyguards hovered around the airport terminal.

''We are taking control as I speak,'' Sama said Wednesday. He said pro-Gbagbo soldiers were trying to convince the remaining junta forces to put down their arms. In a state TV broadcast Wednesday evening, army chief of staff Soumailia Diabakate pledged the fealty of the ''entire armed forces'' to Gbagbo.

Gbagbo praised his supporters for opposing what he called Guei's ''electoral coup d'etat.''

''You went out in the hundreds of thousands,'' he said on state television. ''I pay particular homage to those who died in the cause of this.''

Crowds of supporters exploded in celebration in Abidjan and the western city of Gagnoa, a Gbagbo stronghold, at the news that Gbagbo had taken power. Some beat on drums while others sang and danced in the streets.

''With Gbagbo, we have hope for the future,'' said Koffi Nguessan, a university economics professor who was among those celebrating.

Within a few hours, though, the celebrations turned to protest: More than 1,000 supporters of opposition leader Alassane Dramane Ouattara, who had been barred from taking part in the election, rallied in front of the state television offices.

Several hundred Ouattara supporters also protested in Gagnoa and marched in the northern city of Korhogo to demand new elections. They warned of clashes if Gbagbo refused.

Young men turned out in the streets of Abidjan with black-painted faces, symbolizing traditional war preparations. Soldiers drove the crowds away several times with tear gas, occasionally firing in the air.

''There will be no president in Ivory Coast without new elections,'' said Siriman Coulibaly, a 23-year-old unemployed mechanic and Ouattara supporter.

While popular in some parts of Ivory Coast, Gbagbo's overall support is thought to be far less than that of Ouattara or Emile Constant Bombet, the candidate of the former ruling party. The Supreme Court barred both men from running in the election.

The violence that led to Guei's downfall broke out before dawn Wednesday when disgruntled soldiers attacked Guei loyalists at a munitions depot at the main military base in Abidjan, soldiers said. Thousands of Gbagbo supporters then swarmed Abidjan neighborhoods, setting up barricades, lighting fires and screaming for Guei's resignation.

As the crisis mounted, witnesses reported seeing more and more security forces joining the ranks of the protesters.

By midday, witnesses said hundreds of unarmed pro-Gbagbo demonstrators had overrun state radio and television facilities, surging on the broadcast buildings only to flee as security forces fired gunshots into the air.

Others were near Guei's residence, in an exclusive neighborhood on the edge of downtown Abidjan. By late afternoon, military police were alternating between pillaging the house themselves and frightening off other looters with gunfire. One man could be seen leaving the home, his arms loaded with shoes.

Although both Guei and Gbagbo claimed victory in Sunday's election, vote-counting never got far enough to announce a real winner.

Tabulation was stopped by the junta Monday afternoon after only a small fraction of the votes had been counted - showing Gbagbo with a slight edge. Gbagbo said Wednesday he would finish the count, and electoral officials subsequently appeared on state television to announce local district vote tallies.

Gbagbo called himself president but said he would not take on all functions of the chief of state until his election win is approved by the commission and the Supreme Court.

Guei came to power in a December coup, the first military takeover in Ivory Coast. Instability since then has battered the economy and frightened Ivorians. Guei had promised the elections would mark a return to civilian rule.