( CNN ) -- U.N. military helicopters Sunday pounded heavy weapons positions of fighters loyal to self-declared Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo , United Nations officials said . Choi Young-jin , head of the U.N. mission in the country , said pro-Gbagbo forces were shelling the Golf Hotel in Abidjan , where the country 's internationally recognized president Alassane Ouattara is staying , and `` today they began to shell our quarters '' -- the section of the hotel in which the U.N. forces are headquartered -- as well . `` So we decided we can not pass this moment without action , '' Choi said . Together with the French military , U.N. forces targeted key positions . Choi said there were `` several camps '' belonging to the Gbagbo loyalists . `` We are taking them out . '' U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he ordered the military operation Sunday `` to prevent the use of heavy weapons which threaten the civilian population of Abidjan and our peacekeepers . '' The U.N. mission does not extend to extracting Gbagbo from his residence , Choi said . It would be up to pro-Ouattara forces to oust Gbagbo , he said . Ban renewed his call for Gbagbo `` to step aside immediately . '' `` Civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence , '' the secretary-general said . `` The fighting must stop . Mr. Gbagbo needs to step aside immediately . '' Gbagbo 's forces had attacked the Golf Hotel Saturday as well . U.N. forces fired back at the time , said Hamadoun Toure , spokesman for the U.N. mission in 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 . 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 . As Gbagbo has refused to cede power , the political stalemate has plunged the West African nation into crisis . The U.N. human rights office said Friday that its investigators found more than 100 bodies over 24 hours in three Côte d'Ivoire towns . Gbagbo 's forces used a lull in fighting last 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 months-long 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 . CNN 's Aliza Kassim contributed to this report .
The U.N. secretary-general ordered an attack to protect civilians , peacekeepers . Comment: `` We are taking out '' several positions , the official says . The U.N. found more than 100 bodies over 24 hours .