Ivorian President Captured By French and U.N. Troops
UN Forces in Ivory Coast (foxnews.com)
The standoff in Ivory Coast seems to have come to an end on Monday as the incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo was apprehended in his bunker in Abidjan after an attack staged by French and U.N. forces along with fighters of president-elect Alassane Ouattara.
According to a spokesman for the president-elect, Gbagbo was taken into custody and transported to Golf Hotel, the residence of the president-elect.
The French authorities say that it was the man loyal to Ouattara that succeeded in capturing Gbagbo, in spite of the fact that there are reports stating that French armored vehicles had been seen near presidential hideout before the capture was made public.
Gbagbo Captured by a Special Commando (lesgrandesoreilles.com)
Ouattara’s ambassador to the United Nations said that the former president was alive, well, that he was well treated and would be brought to justice.
According to Human Rights Watch Gbagbo is guilty of killing hundreds of civilians during the four-months struggle with the president-elect Ouattara, who was elected in November 2010 at the end of a very contested runoff, in the wake of which both contenders claimed victory.
The capture on Monday comes after a round of helicopter bombings of the loyalists strongholds aiming at taking their heavy weaponry out. The bombing was executed by the French and U.N. troops.
U.N. estimates that the several months of struggle and the few last weeks of street fights have caused more that 100,000 to flee to neighboring Liberia.
According to French President Nicolas Sarkozy situation in some of the outskirts of the Ivorian capital was “alarming,” after the intense fights and requested immediate humanitarian support.
