A curfew is in place in Ivory Coast ahead of Sunday's presidential run-off election, forecast as a close race between President Laurent Gbagbo and opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara. At least three people were shot dead in Abidjan on Saturday in protests against the night-time curfew, which remains in effect until Wednesday. The election is intended to reunite the country which split in two following a northern rebellion in 2002. The military has appealed for calm. "It is our duty to sound the alarm and put security measures in place to save lives," said army chief Gen Philippe Mangou. Yves Doumbia, a spokesman for the mayor in Abidjan's Abobo neighbourhood, said the three people were killed when police opened fire on a crowd which had become unmanageable. "The police used teargas and fired live rounds at a crowd, killing three and wounding seven," he told the Reuters news agency. The curfew was announced after earlier clashes in and around Abidjan, the commercial capital, in which at least four people were killed and dozens injured.