Côte d’Ivoire’s Laurent Gbagbo has been captured by forces allied to presidential poll winner Alassane Ouattara, according to the French Ambassador to the civil war-riven country.
Gbagbo was “alive and well” after his detention Monday and will now be put on trial, the country’s United Nations envoy Youssoufou Bamba said.
Côte d’Ivoire’s “nightmare is over”, former rebel leader turned prime minister Guillaume Soro said, confirming Gbagbo’s capture.
Troops loyal to Ouattara captured his besieged rival Laurent Gbagbo in Abidjan on Monday, France’s ambassador Jean-Marc Simon told Agence France-Presse on Monday.
“Laurent Gbagbo was arrested by the Republican Forces of Côte d’Ivoire, and taken to the Golf Hotel,” he said, referring to the internationally-recognised president’s fortified base camp in the city.
A spokesperson for Ouattara confirmed that Gbagbo and his wife Simone were being held at Ouattara’s base.
Earlier, witnesses had reported seeing pro-Ouattara forces entering Gbagbo’s besieged residential compound, while French and United Nations armoured vehicles deployed on a road leading to the complex. — AFP