Abidjan , Ivory Coast ( CNN ) -- Ivory Coast security forces loyal to incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo used tear gas and fired into the air to disperse supporters of Alassane Ouattara , authorities said Saturday . Casualties could not be confirmed . The international community has pressed incumbent Gbagbo to relinquish power to Ouattara , who foreign powers say won the election . Hundreds of pro-Quattara supporters gathered on the first day of rallies calling for Gbagbo 's ouster when the security forces moved in , said police Lieutenant Djedje . Ouattara has likened the planned mass protests to those in Egypt . Gbagbo has imposed a curfew until Monday morning . Saturday 's clash occurred 48 hours before the arrival in Abidjan of the five heads of state designated by the African Union to find a `` binding decision '' to the Ivory Coast election standoff . Before traveling to Ivory Coast , the heads of state will first hold a meeting in Mauritania on Sunday . They will review the report by a team of experts , whom they sent early this month in Abidjan to work with the parties at stake in the conflict . Chaired by Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz , the panel includes Jacob Zuma from South Africa , Blaise Compaore from Burkina Faso , Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and Idriss Deby Itno of Chad . Two leading Ivory Coast banks closed their doors , raising fears that a money shortage will worsen the crisis in the West African nation . Mounting security concerns prompted BICICI and Citibank to suspend operations Monday . Ivory Coast has been in crisis since a late November election that ended in dispute . The political standoff in the country has raised fears of a renewal of the bloodshed suffered after a civil war broke out in 2002 . More than 33,000 people have fled to neighboring Liberia since the crisis began ; 20,000 more have been internally displaced , according to the United Nations .
Police : Security forces disperse Ouattara supporters . Leaders of African nations will try to end political standoff . Two Ivory Coast banks closed this week .