Abidjan calmer after curfew imposed

AFP - Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan was reportedly calm overnight after strongman Laurent Ggabo on Wednesday slapped a curfew on a district loyal to his presidential rival following two nights of deadly unrest.
             
Residents told AFP on Thursday morning they heard neither gunfire nor explosions in the northern districts of Abobo and Anyama where many people voted for Gbagbo's rival Alassane Ouattara in a November election.
             
"We didn't hear anything last night," a resident said, asking not to be named.
             
At least 200 people have died in the stand-off pitting Gbagbo against Ouattara, who the world says won the presidential vote. Ouattara himself is besieged by Gbagbo's troops at an Abidjan hotel resort.
             
The international community has demanded that incumbent Gbagbo stand down or face regional military intervention.
             
Gbabgo's government announced the curfew after at least 11 people died during two nights of fighting sparked by hundreds of his troops moving in to search for what they said were weapons hidden in people's houses.
             
A government decree said that the 7:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew would run at least until Saturday morning.