Gunfire shakes Ivory Coast as government launches attack

YAMOUSSOUKRO, Ivory Coast -- Heavy explosions and the crackle of machine guns terrified residents of Ivory Coast's second-largest city Monday as government forces smashed through rebel lines in a long-promised offensive against insurgents who have seized half the country.

Encouraged by government advances on the eastern side of Bouake, young people with sticks and stones chased heavily armed rebel-fighters through streets, and set fire to the bodies of four rebel fighters found lying on the ground, a witness said.

The government said it hoped to liberate Bouake, a rebel-held city of 500,000, within 24 hours. But as night fell, residents said fighting was continuing. The rebels, who seized the city in a failed coup Sept. 19, claimed they were holding their ground.

The government had been promising an all-out offensive for more than a week. It began Sunday -- even as West African mediators struggled to save a proposed cease-fire.

Government troops riding pickup trucks sped north toward the insurgents, while farther south, they unloaded boxes of ammunition -- including mortar shells and machine-gun rounds -- from planes at the airport in the capital, Yamoussokro.

"The operations are continuing, reinforcements are coming to Bouake, and by tomorrow, with the help of God, all of Bouake will be secured," Defense Minister Moise Lida Kouassi said Monday.

Many Bouake residents fled on foot through the countryside, seeking safety in nearby villages, witnesses said.

Kouassi said government forces reclaimed positions in the eastern part of the city, and residents came into the streets to welcome them. But rebels said they repelled an attack on two fronts around Bouake and inflicted heavy losses on government troops. The conflicting claims could not be reconciled.

Ivory Coast is the world's leading producer of cocoa and a key West African port. Its first-ever coup in 1999 shattered four decades of stability .

rare for the turbulent region.