Ivory Coast strongman Gbagbo arrested
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 11, 2011 -- Updated 1458 GMT (2258 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* NEW: Laurent Gbagbo is alive and will be brought to justice, an official
says
* Self-declared president arrested in Ivory Coast
* Forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara fight for control of
the main city
* The U.N. attacked Gbagbo positions earlier after they came under attack
(CNN) -- Laurent Gbagbo, the self-declared president of Ivory Coast, was
arrested Monday, according to Ivorian, French and U.N. sources.
Gbagbo "is well and alive and will be brought to justice," said Youssoufou
Bamba, the country's ambassador to the United Nations.
Gbagbo's refusal to accept that he lost a presidential election to Alassane
Ouattara last year plunged the cocoa-producing West African nation into civil
war.
He was arrested "to stop these killings, this fighting," Bamba said, adding
that he thinks the conflict will stop as news of Gbagbo's capture spreads.
It was not immediately clear who captured him.
Ivory Coast chaos continues
Ivory Coast bitter battle
Ivory Coast: Search for justice
RELATED TOPICS
* Cote d'Ivoire
* United Nations
* Laurent Gbagbo
* Alassane Ouattara
* Abidjan
Bamba and the French Embassy in Ivory Coast said Gbagbo was seized by forces
loyal to Ouattara, the man whom the international community recognizes as the
rightful president.
But a Gbagbo adviser, Ahoua Don Mello, said earlier that the French military
had stormed Gbagbo's residence.
"The French army is there right now," he said.
Gbagbo was taken to the Golf Hotel, the headquarters of both Ouattara and the
United Nations, a U.N. spokesman told CNN.
Forces loyal to the two men who claim to be president of Ivory Coast had
clashed in the country's main city overnight, the United Nations and a local
resident told CNN Monday.
U.N. forces are not planning strikes on Gbabgo's forces Monday but were
prepared to hit his troops "if it's needed," said Hamadoun Toure, a spokesman
for U.N. mission to the country.
The U.N. "was not involved" in the fighting between Gbagbo's troops and those
of Alassane Ouattara overnight, Toure said.
Gbagbo lost a presidential election to Ouattara in November, according to
international observers, but refused to leave office. The two sides have been
battling for control of the main city, Abidjan, for weeks.
U.N. military helicopters pounded heavy weapons positions of fighters loyal to
Gbagbo on Sunday, United Nations officials said.
The attack came after pro-Gbagbo forces shelled the hotel where Ouattara and
the United Nations are headquartered, said Choi Young-jin, head of the U.N.
mission in the country.
"So we decided we cannot pass this moment without action," Choi said.
Together with the French military, U.N. forces targeted key positions. Choi
said there were "several camps" belonging to the Gbagbo loyalists. "We are
taking them out."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he ordered the military operation
Sunday "to prevent the use of heavy weapons which threaten the civilian
population of Abidjan and our peacekeepers."
The U.N. mission does not extend to extracting Gbagbo from his residence, Choi
said. It would be up to pro-Ouattara forces to oust Gbagbo, he said.
Ban renewed his call for Gbagbo "to step aside immediately."
"Civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence," the secretary-general said.
"The fighting must stop. Mr. Gbagbo needs to step aside immediately."
U.N. spokesman Toure said that Gbagbo loyalists continue to control three main
areas -- the presidential palace, Gbagbo's residence and the state television
station, RTI. He said the French military and U.N. forces are in charge of the
Abidjan port.
Violence erupted after Ivory Coast's disputed presidential election in November
and escalated into all-out war when Ouattara's forces launched an offensive
that brought them into Abidjan.
As Gbagbo has refused to cede power, the political stalemate has plunged the
cocoa-producing West African nation into crisis.
The U.N. human rights office said Friday that its investigators found more than
100 bodies over 24 hours in three Ivory Coast towns.
Ouattara's forces appeared to be on the verge of capturing Gbagbo last week,
but he seems to have used an offer to negotiate as a way to buy time and gather
his forces.
Mark Toner, acting deputy spokesman for the U.S. State Department, released a
statement Saturday echoing that idea.
"It is clear that Gbagbo's attempts at negotiation this week were nothing more
than a ruse to regroup and rearm. Gbagbo's continued attempt to force a result
that he could not obtain at the ballot box reveals his callous disregard for
the welfare of the Ivorian people, who will again suffer amid renewed heavy
fighting in Abidjan," he said.
Most areas of the capital, however, are now under U.N. or French military
control, journalist Seyi Rhodes reported from the French military base in Port
Bouet. The French military has been working to reconnect the disrupted water
and electricity supply in the country's main city.
CNN's Jack Maddox, Sarita Harilela, Carol Jordan, Mariano Castillo and Niki
Cook contributed to this repor
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