French special forces have captured Ivory Coast dictator Laurent Gbagbo and handed him over to rebel forces following a fierce battle today, a spokeswoman for presidential rival Alassane Ouattara has claimed.
It is likely to hasten an end to the bloody fighting in the African country which has claimed hundreds of lives over the past few weeks. Sources close to Gbagbo said he was held following an all-out assault on his official home in Abidjan.
He is currently being held at the Golf Hotel in the city, along with his wife and other members of his family, as well as advisors.The arrest was made to ‘avoid a bloodbath’ in Ivory Coast, as Gbagbo defiantly held on to power more than four months after losing a presidential election, said a French Foreign Ministry source.
President Nicolas Sarkozy had accused Gbagbo of continuing to use heavy weapons against civilians in a bid to hang on to power. But today the French were doing everything possible to stop him being murdered by his opponents.
‘The aim is to put him on trial for his crimes against the people of the Ivory Coast,’ said the diplomatic source in Paris. ‘There are many in his country who want to kill him, but he will be protected by the United Nations.’
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