Abidjan , Ivory Coast ( CNN ) -- Hundreds of people fled a pro-Alassane Ouattara neighborhood in Abidjan , Ivory Coast , where forces loyal to incumbent President Laurent Gbabgbo have been fighting an armed Ouattara supporters for the past week . Ggagbo 's Army spokesman also said their forces fought armed supporters of Ouattara Thursday night in Yamoussoukro where two insurgents were killed and several wounded . Violence sharply escalated over the last week in Ivory Coast 's commercial capital Abidjan and spread to the political capital Yamoussoukro as well as the west of the country , putting more refugees and displaced people on the roads . The government imposed a curfew from Friday to Monday morning . The violence rose sharply mid-week after a mission of four African heads of state , mandated by the African Union to find a `` binding solution '' to the Ivorian post electoral crisis , left Abidjan . Emanuel Djaman , a teacher in Abidjan , said he saw several bodies lying on the ground when he was leaving his school after it was shut down because of the fighting . Other witnesses fleeing the area reported heavy fighting and casualties . The conflict was set off in November after a run-off presidential election between incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and challenger Alassane Ouattara -- an election in which both men claimed victory . An independent electoral commission declared Ouattara the winner of the election , but Gbagbo has refused to step aside . Ouattara is holed up in the Golf hotel in Abidjan under the protection of U.N. peacekeepers . Earlier Friday , during a rally in Abidjan , Gbagbo 's minister of youth , Ble Goude , called on young supporters of the incumbent `` to organize committees to impede by any means the movements of U.N. forces around the country . '' He also told the youth to get ready to liberate `` the Golf Hotel in one week from now . '' In a statement released Friday , U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern over the deteriorating situation in Ivory Coast , deploring recent clashes between rival groups as well as threats against the United Nations , including the call to impede the movement of peacekeepers . `` These developments mark a disturbing escalation which draws the country closer to the brink of reigniting civil war , '' Ban warned . In his Friday statement , Ban reiterated his call on both sides to exercise maximum restraint and to extend their cooperation to the African Union High-Level Panel . He said he hopes that the panel will expedite its discussions and take decisions that will help prevent further violence and facilitate a peaceful settlement to the crisis . Meanwhile , Gbagbo 's government accused U.N. troops of killing a police officer in Daloa . Army spokesman Col. Babri Gohourou said on national television that the police officer went to the U.N. camp to negotiate the release of three Gbagbo supporters who were arrested during a demonstration . Gohourou said the U.N. peacekeepers shot the officer in the back while he was bringing the three young men away from the camp . Earlier this week , government spokesman Ahoua don Mello alleged that the pro-Ouattara forces were engaged in `` a revolution with the help of UN forces . '' U.N. spokesman Hamadoun Toure denied the allegations in a telephone interview . 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 .
Violence spreads to Ivory Coasts political capital . Gbagbo 's government accuses U.N. troops of killing a police officer . Gbagbo minister calls for the liberation of the hotel where opposition leader is .