The BBC reports from Ivory Coast, where negotiations hosted by France and the United Nations to secure the departure of outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo have failed, according the French foreign minister. Since Wednesday, Gbagbo has been negotiating an exit strategy that spares him his life, but he now refuses to hand over power. Troops loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the internationally acknowledged president-elect, launched an attack on the presidential headquarters in Abidjan, where Gbagbo and his family still reside. Residents of Abijan are fearful that the region will remain unstable even after Gbagbo steps down.

In Libya, a local source has confirmed to al-Jazeera that Gaddafi’s battalions bombed an oil field south of Ajdabiya. In response, revolutionaries tightened security measures in the western parts of Ajdabiya to prevent the entry of any unauthorized personnel. Gaddafi’s battalions still control Zawiyah and Zuwara and are arresting anyone suspected of defending the cities against them. The revolutionaries blame their inability to gain significant ground on NATO, which they say has been slow in launching airstrikes. NATO denies these accusations and has vowed to protect Libyan civilians.

In Sana’a, a new assault on protestors by security officers disguised as civilians has killed three Yemenis and wounded dozens. Similarly, in Taiz, one person was killed and 30 others were injured in clashes with authorities. Al-Alam reports that the opposition dismissed reports that they have agreed to open a dialogue with authorities. They asserted that they will reject any proposition that fails to meet their demands, including the immediate departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh from office.

In a report from Dubai TV, the Sudanese foreign minister accuses Israel of killing two people in an airstrike on a car in Sudan. The Sudanese army responded by firing missiles, but failed to hit the Israeli plane. A separate Israeli airstrike on a plastic factory in Gaza last night killed four Palestinians, including two women.