"A rapid and well-targeted operation would halt the killings and end the chaos," former rebel leader Guillaume Soro told the news weekly Jeune Afrique, as Ouattara's stand-off with strongman Laurent Gbagbo continued.

The international community has recognised Ouattara as the winner of Ivory Coast's November presidential election, but the incumbent Gbagbo is clinging to power, despite a threat of action by the West African bloc ECOWAS.

"Imagine if ECOWAS does not send troops. Do you think Mr Gbagbo will be able to lead this country without infinitely greater human losses? Do you think we'll stand here with our arms folded?" Soro asked.

"It will be war, and anything's better than war," he said.

Soro and Ouattara are holed up in an Abidjan hotel protected by UN troops, while Gbagbo's army controls the city and most of the south of the country. UN observers estimate that 247 people have been killed since mid-December.

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