Gbagbo detained by Ivory Coast opposition forces

Capture by fighters loyal to Ouattara comes after more than 30 French armoured vehicles join advance on Abidjan residence Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to step down as president of Ivory Coast has plunged the country into violence, has been detained in Abidjan by opposition forces. News of his capture came after a column of more than 30 French armoured vehicles closed in on his residence in the city. A spokesman for Alassane Ouattara, who won last year’s presidential election, told the Guardian: “It’s true. Gbagbo has been taken to the Golf hotel by republican forces. Our forces went to the residence this morning and took him out.” Another Ouattara adviser, Mamado Touré, confirmed that Gbagbo was with his family at the hotel. Other news sources have reported that Gbagbo was handed over to the French by his own “presidential guard”. Although the precise details of the capture remain unclear, both the French ministry of defence and “diplomatic sources” are maintaining that it was Ouattara’s forces who captured Gbagbo. Earlier, however, France’s ambassador to Ivory Coast said Gbagbo had been detained by French special forces. Residents reported heavy fighting on Monday morning between forces loyal to Ouattara and those backing Gbagbo around Abidjan’s Cocody and Plateau districts, still controlled by Gbagbo loyalists. Hundreds of pro-Ouattara troops massed at a base camp just north of Abidjan, where a small bus arrived, filled with new Kalashnikov rifles still in their transparent blue wrappers. The French armoured vehicles, each carrying four to eight men, left their base in the south and headed towards central Abidjan early in the morning. “Armed and ready for combat,” the commanding officer ordered. The men cocked their weapons ready to fire as the vehicles rolled out of the base. “The operation is under way. I cannot give you more details. The aim is to ensure a bloodbath is averted,” said Frederick Daguillon, spokesman for the French force in Ivory Coast. France, the former colonial power in Ivory Coast which has more than 1,600 troops in the country, has taken a lead role in efforts to persuade Gbagbo to relinquish power, infuriating his supporters who accuse Paris of neo-colonialism. Gbagbo’s refusal to step down after Ouattara won November’s election, according to results certified by the UN, reignited a civil war that has claimed more than 1,000 lives and uprooted a million people. Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo Alassane Ouattara Kim Willsher Sam Jones guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 11, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.