ABIDJAN (BNO NEWS) -- Three United Nations peacekeepers in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) have been wounded in an ambush in a suburb of the country's commercial capital, Abidjan, the UN mission said on Sunday, condemning acts of violence against its troops on Friday and Saturday, during which four of its vehicles were also damaged.

The three soldiers of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) were wounded in an ambush carried out in the northern Abidjan suburb of Abobo by forces loyal Laurent Gbagbo, the outgoing president who refuses to leave office after he was defeated by opposition leader Alassane Ouattara in a presidential election held last November.

UNOCI said the UN peacekeepers were on patrol under their civilian protection mandate when they were shot at in the PK-18 area. The patrol was forced to return fire, but the organization did not say if they caused casualties.

On Friday and Saturday, elements of Gbagbo's "Young Patriots" damaged four UNOCI vehicles in Abidjan.

The UN peacekeeping force said the escalation of violence against the peacekeepers and their assets has been fuelled by propaganda, based on untruths against the mission by Gbagbo's camp.

"UNOCI wishes to recall that under international conventions, any attack against UN peacekeepers constitutes a war crime," the mission said in its statement. "UNOCI also wishes to recall that the Blue Helmets' rules of engagement allow them to use force to protect UN personnel and material as well as freedom of movement. These rules shall be applied strictly," it added.

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