Ivory Coast's largest bank closes, crisis deepens

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - Nine banks, including Ivory Coast's largest, have shut down their operations one after another this week, further squeezing the country's strongman who is refusing to leave office nearly three months after being declared the loser of the presidential election.

Together, the financial institutions halting operations this week hold the vast majority of civil servant bank accounts in the West African country. The move is expected to prevent almost all government employees from receiving their salaries. Panicked people gathered in lines desperately seeking to take out their savings in fear of a cash shortage.