20110208
xinhua

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - A fire that engulfed at least three floors of Ivory Coast's multi-storey Treasury building on Tuesday was later put out, according to witnesses, and officials said no key files were damaged.

Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa grower, has been in turmoil since a disputed November 28 election, with rival presidential claimants struggling for control of the West African country's coffers.

Officials could not immediately comment on the cause of the blaze, which started at around 1200 GMT, but a military source on the scene said later the fire was out and nobody was injured.

A Reuters reporter saw three floors on fire at the building as emergency crews tried to douse the flames and a crowd gathered nearby. "We went to eat and people called us to say that our building was on fire," said Aicha Kone, a treasury employee watching the fire with hundreds of others.

"There was more fear than harm. There were some floors destroyed, but the essentials were saved. Our database and files are intact," Finance Minister Desire Dallo said.

Incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo, who retains control of state institutions and the military, has rejected international pressure to step down after U.N.-certified results showed he lost the vote to rival Alassane Ouattara by an 8-point margin.

The regional Central Bank of West African States moved to cut Gbagbo off from Ivorian accounts in an attempt to loosen his grip on power, but Gbagbo late last month took control of the bank's local offices.