Armed clashes erupted on Monday in Cote d'Ivoire days after the two presidential candidates claimed victory and named their prime ministers, officials reported.

Gunfire was heard Monday morning around the hotel in the Cocody district in Abidjan, where the opposition leader and candidate, Alassane Ouattara, has been staying under the protection of UN peacekeepers since last week.

A senior official of the national police said the clashes occurred between the elements of the ex-rebel New Forces (FN) to provide security to Ouattara and the troops loyal to incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo.

The FN has been holding the country's northern part since the 2002-2003 civil war, while the army loyal to Gbagbo controls the southern part including the economic capital Abidjan.

Barricades are erected at the entrance to the hotel, where the UN blue casques are deployed.

There has been no report about casualties in the confrontation. More than a dozen people have died in the election-induced violence since late last month.

Ouattara was international recognized as the president-elect after the electoral commission declared him the winner of the Nov. 28 presidential run-off. The Constitutional Council, however, invalidated the results published by the commission, ruling Gbagbo as the victor.

The 15-member regional bloc ECOWAS has suspended Cote d'Ivoire.