Abidjan on brink of civil war: French UN envoy

"Law and order is collapsing, humanitarian access is more and more difficult, hospitals are closing -- we are very, very close to a civil war in Abidjan," Araud told reporters.

"The political reason for this crisis is very simple. It's that (Laurent) Gbagbo does not want to leave."

Gbagbo has refused to leave office even though he was defeated in November's presidential elections by Alassane Ouattara.

"There have been many, many attempts to find a solution. This is the reason why Nigeria and France have presented a draft resolution that will be discussed," Araud said.

"It's saying first 'Gbagbo has to leave.' The second point is to stop the violence against the civilians," he added.

The UN Security Council was meeting Friday to discuss a draft resolution introduced by France that would ban the use of heavy weapons in Abidjan, the commercial capital of unrest-plagued Ivory Coast.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy had called on the 15-member council to adopt the resolution, which calls for a strengthening of the UN peacekeeping mandate in the West African nation in order to enforce the ban in the city.

Diplomats said it also called for targeted sanctions against Gbagbo's entourage.