( CNN ) -- Forces loyal to self-declared Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo on Saturday attacked the hotel where Alassane Ouattara , the internationally recognized president of the country , is staying , a spokesman for the United Nations said . U.N. forces in Abidjan fired back , said Hamadoun Toure , spokesman for the U.N. mission in the Ivory Coast . `` We stand ready to protect the Golf Hotel , as we have a mandate , '' he told CNN . Toure added that Gbagbo loyalists continue to control three main areas -- the presidential palace , Gbagbo 's residence and the state television station , RTI . He said the French military and U.N. forces are in charge of the Abidjan port . Elsewhere on Saturday , French forces aborted a mission to evacuate diplomatic staff after drawing fire from forces loyal to Gbagbo , believed to have been all but defeated earlier in the week . The evacuation was deemed too risky for those involved , said French Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Thierry Burkhard , who declined to comment on the nationality or location of the diplomats . The French ambassador 's residence came under fire Friday , according to Frederic Daguillon , commander of French forces in Ivory Coast . He reported rocket-propelled grenades and two mortar shells landing on the residence . He said the fire came from positions held by Gbagbo 's men , who appeared to be regaining ground . `` French helicopters opened fire in self-defense , they returned fire in self-defense and destroyed an armored vehicle , '' Daguillon said . Meanwhile , efforts were under way to restore some semblance of normalcy in Abidjan , Ivory Coast 's largest city . Commercial flights resumed at the Abidjan airport Saturday and the port was reopened , Burkhard said . Crews were concentrating on restoring water and electricity to residents who have gone without for days after forces loyal to Ouattara entered the city last week . Violence erupted after Ivory Coast 's disputed presidential election in November and escalated into all-out war when Ouattara 's forces launched an offensive that brought them into Abidjan . Ouattara is the internationally recognized president of Ivory Coast . His rival , Gbagbo , has refused to cede power , the political stalemate plunging the West African nation into crisis . Gbagbo 's forces used a lull in fighting this week as a `` trick '' to reinforce their positions around the Abidjan , according to Alain Le Roy , the head of United Nations peacekeeping operations . They said Tuesday they wanted a peaceful solution to the monthslong fighting but soon resumed shelling both the U.N. headquarters and the civilian population , Le Roy told reporters at the United Nations . Since then , they have regained control of two central areas of Abidjan and fighting is continuing , Le Roy said Friday , after briefing the U.N. Security Council on developments in the cocoa-producing nation . `` They have clearly used the lull of Tuesday as a trick to reinforce their position , '' he said . Mark Toner , acting deputy spokesman for the U.S. State Department , released a statement Saturday echoing that idea . `` It is clear that Gbagbo 's attempts at negotiation this 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 , '' he said . Most areas of the capital , however , are now under U.N. or French military control , journalist Seyi Rhodes reported from the French military base in Port Bouet . The French military has been working to reconnect the disrupted water and electricity supply in what is the country 's main city . On Saturday , Rhodes -- who was on patrol with the French military -- said he visited Cocody , an upscale suburb of Abidjan , where Gbagbo lives . Major evacuations were conducted there , he said , describing residents running with multiple pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage in tow . Rhodes traveled with the French military through Abidjan on Friday and reported seeing civilians in the streets , including one woman selling food , which he took as a positive sign . Pro-Gbagbo forces have heavy weapons including tanks , mortars and rocket-propelled grenades and are using them `` as we speak , against the civilian population '' and U.N. headquarters , Le Roy said . `` Those who are saying there are no more heavy weapons -- that Mr. Gbagbo has no more heavy weapons -- it 's a lie , '' he said . An Abidjan resident told CNN that people were now out and about on the streets but there were no public buses or taxis running . The resident said people were walking to markets and were able to buy food -- mainly rice . CNN 's Aliza Kassim contributed to this report .
Forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo attack the Golf Hotel , a U.N. official says . The French mission was to evacuate diplomatic staff in Abidjan . French forces came under fire from Gbagbo loyalists . Some semblance of normalcy is returning in Abidjan .