Reuters, March 12, 2011 10:18am EST

ABIDJAN--Security forces loyal to Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo launched a ground and airborne assault on Saturday to flush out fighters backing his rival for the presidency from an Abidjan suburb, military officials said.  The attack was the first time helicopters were deployed in support of an operation in the Abobo neighborhood, the site of violent clashes between the two sides over recent weeks.  Gbagbo has refused to step down after a November election which Alassane Ouattara, according to U.N.-certified results. Ensuing violence has claimed several hundred lives and prompted close to half a million Ivorians to flee their homes.....

Also see:
Ivory Coast crisis: 'Nearly 450,000 refugees', BBC News, March 11, 2011
More than 450,000 people have fled their homes because of the crisis in Ivory Coast, the UN refugee agency says.

and
UN Ready to Impose Sanctions on Gbagbo After AU Backs Ouattara, by Bill Varner and William Davison, Bloomberg News, March 11, 2011