Ivory Coast dictator arrested and handed to elected leader
Laurent Gbagbo, the man who refused to step down from power in the Ivory Coast prompting a conflict which has killed hundreds, has been arrested. He was seized yesterday by soldiers loyal to his successor, Alassane Ouattara, although initial reports said he had been captured by French forces. Gbagbo’s dramatic arrest came after days of heavy fighting during which French and UN helicopters fired rockets at his presidential residence. Forces backing internationally recognised winner Ouattara had begun a rapid offensive to oust Gbagbo late last month. Issard Soumahro, a pro-Ouattara fighter, said the ground offensive to seize Gbagbo came after the French launched airstrikes. ‘We attacked and forced in a part of the bunker,’ he said. ‘He 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.’ Gbagbo was interrogated and brought to the Golf Hotel, where Ouattara has been trying to run his presidency since the November 28 vote.