(adds details) By Peter Murphy ABIDJAN, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo on Tuesday accused the interim prime minister of making a "seditious" statement, escalating a power struggle that is hampering peace efforts in the war-divided nation. Gbagbo's spokesman Desire Tagro announced the dismissal of the head of state broadcaster Radio Television Ivoirienne (RTI) for airing the remarks, which criticised Gbagbo's reinstatement of officials implicated in a toxic waste scandal. Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny was named in 2005 under a U.N. road map to elections in the West African state, divided into government and rebel zones since a brief 2002-03 civil war. A U.N. resolution broadening his powers in October set him on a collision course with Gbagbo, who has denounced foreign meddling in the world's biggest cocoa producer. "The president of the republic considers that the broadcasting of the prime minister's statement, which is at the very least seditious ... constitutes a serious offence," read a statement from the presidency, adding Gbagbo was the sole holder of executive power and Banny a mere "collaborator". Troops in around a dozen armoured vehicles swarmed over the state TV premises in Abidjan late on Monday after Banny's statement was aired on the main evening news. They prevented it being re-broadcast on a later bulletin though staff refused to hand over the cassette. Analysts say that unless Banny has the backing of the armed forces, who are generally seen as favouring Gbagbo, he holds little real power. A senior RTI official confirmed the broadcaster's director Yacouba Kebe had been removed. A new interim chief was due to be named later on Tuesday. ACCUSED OF NEGLIGENCE Gbagbo announced on Sunday he was reinstating three senior civil servants suspended by Banny pending an inquiry into the dumping of poisonous waste in the main port city, Abidjan, in August that killed 10 and made thousands ill. In his televised statement on Monday, Banny rejected the move as damaging to the fight against impunity, after the men -- seen as Gbagbo loyalists -- were accused of negligence by a commission established by the premier. Several hundred tonnes of oil slops were unloaded from the Panamanian-registered Probo Koala tanker and dumped in 17 mostly open-air sites around Abidjan. Banny, a former banker regarded as politically neutral, was given a renewed 12-month mandate last month after a second deadline for polls by the end of October was missed as squabbling continued between the rebels, Gbagbo's supporters, the army and the political opposition. Gbagbo has opposed attempts to instigate parts of the peace plan which his supporters fear might give an electoral advantage to his political opponents and favour the rebel forces who took up arms to try to topple him. The president has instead embarked on a round of public consultations to find a solution to the crisis and he is expected to make his conclusions public soon.
