Abidjan — A state of emergency and a curfew have been imposed in Cote d'Ivoire after demonstrators took to the streets to protest against the announcement that General Robert Guei had won Sunday's presidential election.
The measures came into force immediately on Tuesday evening and will last until Saturday.
Earlier, troops fired continuous volleys and used tear gas to disperse various street protests in the country's main city of Abidjan. There were unconfirmed reports of at least 10 dead.
There was unrest in other provincial towns in west and central Cote d'Ivoire.
Tuesday's events prompted widespread international condemnation in the strongest terms. France, the former colonial power, was the first to denounce General Guei's claim to power. Foreign minister Hubert Vedrine said Paris would not accept General Guei and described his move as an attempt to 'hijack' the process.
Another senior French official called Guei's election victory declaration a coup d'etat.
Washington was next, complaining that Sunday's ballot was marked by gross violation of democratic practices. State department spokesman Philip Reeker said, "General Guei cannot legitimise his power through a military coup followed by an illegitimate election."
Before the poll, Cote d'Ivoire's military leader for the past ten months had pledged to stand by the decision of the National Electoral Commission (CNE). On Tuesday, before declaring himself president, he dissolved the CNE.
At a news conference where he referred to himself as 'the first president of the second republic', Guei reminded Ivorians that he was "their candidate, the candidate of the people" and thanked them for voting for him.
At home, Guei's main rival for the presidency, Laurent Gbagbo, declared himself head of state and called on his supporters to come out into the streets in protest, which they did in their thousands.
Others have described the past few days' events as an 'electoral hold-up'. The secretary general of the former ruling Democratic Party (PDCI), Laurent Dona Fologo said the electoral process was worthy of a banana republic and added that it was a very sad day for Cote d'Ivoire.
Nigeria, which has also condemned events, said it would closely follow the situation.
