ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Ivory Coast incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo have stepped up a counter-attack on presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara by firing on his hotel headquarters in Abidjan.

Rebel forces seeking to install Ouattara, who won an election last November according to results certified by the United Nations, swept from the north to the economic capital Abidjan almost unopposed more than a week ago.
But despite a fierce rebel onslaught, Gbagbo's soldiers have held onto swathes of the city, and are now growing bolder.
The U.S. State Department condemned the attack on Ouattara's hotel and said in a statement that Gbagbo's attempts at negotiation last week were nothing more than a ruse to regroup and rearm.
“Gbagbo's continued attempt to force a result that he could not obtain at the ballot box reveals his callous disregard for the welfare of the Ivoirian people, who will again suffer amid renewed heavy fighting in Abidjan,” the State Department said.
A U.N. spokesman in Abidjan said Saturday's attack on the Golf Hotel, which Ouattara has made his base since the election, involved heavy weapons that appeared to have been fired from Gbagbo's heavily defended residence.
“This was not a fight, but a direct attack by Gbagbo's forces, who fired RPGs and mortar rounds, from positions near Gbagbo's residence, at the Golf Hotel,” said U.N. spokesman Hamadoun Toure.
He said one U.N. peacekeeper had been hurt, and that U.N. forces had responded by firing on those positions.
Gbagbo's spokesman Ahoua Don Mello, denied Gbagbo's forces attacked Ouattara's headquarters and said the incumbent president was calling on his supporters to mount a resistance against French forces.
“President Gbagbo called for resistance against the bombing and the actions of the French army in Ivory Coast, because ultimately it is the French army that attacked us,” Don Mello said in a statement.
Mariam Konate, a resident of the area near the hotel, said: “There was fierce fighting with heavy weapons and our houses shook, even some windows shattered. We're all locked in our homes, but things quietened down about an hour ago.”
Pro-Gbagbo forces seem to be determined to strike fast, a sign that they want to gain momentum before more troops desert and/or that they may be desperate, said Lydie Boka, analyst at StrategiCo consultancy.
“The attack on Ouattara's headquarters have won Gbagbo praise among his supporters but will probably attract more sanctions on him,” Boka said.