New pictures show Laurent Gbagbo after he was detained
Ivory Coast politician Laurent Gbagbo has surrendered after a military assault on his residence in Abidjan and has been put under UN guard.
Forces of his UN-recognised successor, Alassane Ouattara, and French tanks advanced on his residence where he had been ensconced in a bunker.Mr Gbagbo had been refusing to cede power, insisting he won November's presidential election.
There are conflicting accounts of how he finally surrendered.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the detention of Mr Gbagbo had brought to an end months of unnecessary conflict, and the UN would support the new government.
'Signal to dictators'
UN peacekeepers had accused pro-Gbagbo forces of endangering the civilian population and asked France, the former colonial power, to take out the defiant leader's heavy weapons.
"It's great," said another man. "We are just so happy, and so relieved. The war is finished now."
Is it? Much, I suspect, will depend on how Mr Ouattara handles the next few days, and what signals he sends regarding the treatment of both Mr Gbagbo and his armed supporters.
Troops now consolidating their hold on Abidjan will need to act forcefully to ensure there is not a rash of reprisal killings.
There have been allegations of atrocities by both pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara forces. The UN has reports of more than 1,000 people being killed and at least 100,000 fleeing the country.
Ivory Coast's permanent representative to the UN, Youssoufou Bamba, said Mr Gbagbo would stand trial.In London, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said that if charges were brought, Mr Gbagbo should be tried in an orderly manner.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Washington that the arrest of Mr Gbagbo sent a signal to "dictators" that "they may not disregard the voice of their own people in free and fair elections".
UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said Mr Gbagbo and his wife Simone were now under UN police guard at the Golf Hotel, where Mr Ouattara has his headquarters.
His son Michel is reportedly also with the couple at the hotel.
Mr Gbagbo was shown on pro-Ouattara TV sitting in a room, looking dazed but apparently uninjured, wearing an open shirt and white vest.
His downfall came after a day of fighting around his residence which saw French light tanks sweep in after rocket strikes from attack helicopters, while Ouattara loyalists engaged pro-Gbagbo forces.
Issard Soumahro, a pro-Ouattara fighter who said he had taken part in the final assault, told the Associated Press that French helicopters had been firing until 0300 (0300 GMT) on Monday.
"We attacked and forced in a part of the bunker," he said.
"He [Mr Gbagbo] was there with his wife and his son. He wasn't hurt but he was tired and his cheek was swollen from where a soldier had slapped him."
According to Mr Gbagbo's spokesman in Ivory Coast, Ahoua Don Mello, the beleaguered leader finally "came out of his bunker and surrendered to the French without offering resistance".
A special adviser to Mr Gbagbo, Bernard Houdin, told French TV his leader would never have been taken without French help.
But French diplomats denied their forces had arrested him, insisting it was Mr Ouattara's forces.
Escalating conflict
Forces loyal to Mr Ouattara launched an offensive from their stronghold in the north at the end of March, after months of political deadlock during which Mr Gbagbo refused to recognise his rival's election victory.
Ban Ki-moon said Mr Gbagbo's "physical safety should be insured"
Mr Ban said UN and French forces had acted strictly within the framework of a UN resolution aimed at protecting the civilian population.
He said he wanted to speak to "President Alassane Ouattara" as soon as possible.
"This is an end of a chapter that should never have been," he added. "We have to help them to restore stability, rule of law, and address all humanitarian and security issues."
Mr Le Roy told reporters after addressing the UN Security Council that the chief of Mr Gbagbo's forces had called the UN to say that he wanted to surrender weapons.
As news of Mr Gbagbo's arrest spread through Ivory Coast's second city Bouake, thousands of people flocked to the centre to celebrate, the BBC's John James reports from the scene.
Young men honked their motor-bike horns and women danced up and down the boulevard waving branches and singing.
"But this doesn't mean that the war is over," said one person. "Peace will not come if all the militia have not been arrested." Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
Instead of handing over with honour, now a disgrace from office.
ReplyDeleteGbagbo should be put on trial and jail for humanity catastrophe in Ivory coast.