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Ivory Coast strongman arrested after French forces intervene
By Colum Lynch and William Branigin, Monday, April 11
UNITED NATIONS — Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo was arrested Monday by French-backed forces of president-elect Alassane Ouattara, raising hopes for an imminent end to the strife that has wracked the West African country since Gbagbo refused to acknowledge his defeat in a November presidential election.
Following an attack on Gbagbo’s residence in Abidjan, the country’s major city, by French forces earlier Monday, troops loyal to Ouattara went in and seized Gbagbo, according to U.N., French and Ivorian officials.
Gbagbo “has been arrested,” said Youssoufou Bamba, the U.N. envoy of president-elect Ouattara. “He is alive” and will be “brought to justice,” he said in a telephone interview.
Initial reports indicated that French troops had captured Gbagbo (pronounced Bagbo) and turned him over to Ouattara’s forces. But Bamba subsequently told reporters that the arrest operation had been carried out by forces loyal to Ouattara.
“I am clear about that,” he told reporters outside the U.N. Security Council. “That’s the Republican Forces of Cote d’Ivoire who have conducted the operation. Gbagbo is arrested. He is under our custody. . . . Right now, he is being brought to a safe location for the next course of action.”
Bamba said he was confident that as “the news will spread” of Gbagbo’s arrest, his forces “will stop fighting and they will lay down their weapons.” He added: “Those fighting are fighting for nothing, because this man is over, this era is over. We will address the serious problem of the humanitarian situation and the security situation . . . and restore public order.”
After briefing the U.N. Security Council on developments in Ivory Coast, U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy told reporters: “I can confirm that former president Gbagbo and his wife are presently in the Golf Hotel under the custody of Mr. Ouattara’s forces.” At Gbagbo’s request, however, U.N. peacekeepers took responsibility for ensuring the the couple’s personal security, Le Roy said.
Le Roy insisted that “Mr. Gbagbo surrendered to President Ouattara’s forces” and that “it was President Ouattara’s forces who entered the residence,” not U.N. or French troops. Le Roy said he understands that Ouattara might want to prosecute Gbagbo. “Of course, it’s his call,” the vet*eran French diplomat said. “And he might want him to go outside Abidjan. If he decides so, we will assist in providing security.”
Le Roy said the situation on the ground remains dangerous. The arrest of Gbagbo was an important step in a transition to democratic rule in Ivory Coast, he said, but “we cannot call it euphoria. The crisis is not over.”
For their part, Gbagbo’s supporters dismissed claims that the operation was carried out by Ouattara’s forces, noting that French and U.N. attack helicopters had pounded the presidential palace and Gbagbo’s residence.
“It’s absolutely untrue,” said Zakaria Fellah, a Gbagbo loyalist and adviser, who claimed that French ground troops were deployed around Gbagbo’s residence. Fellah, who is in the United States, said he has been in constant telephone contact with Gbagbo loyalists in the vicinity of the fighting.
“The so-called regime of Ouattara’s forces were completely absent,” he said.
Any Ouattara loyalists who may have played any role in the arrest, he said, were merely “auxiliaries” of the U.N. and French troops. “This operation, the final assault, was carried out by the French troops,” he said.
Fellah said the manner in which Gbagbo was deposed will leave a legacy of deep resentment among his supporters, who will view this as another example of the former colonial power, France, using superior firepower to decide who will rule the country.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the helicopter attacks and armored advance Sunday and Monday were carried out in response to a request from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to eliminate Gbagbo’s heavy weapons, with which he was threatening civilians. French authorities said Ouattara’s forces entered Gbagbo’s residence, pulled him out and turned him over to U.N. troops. Ouattara’s ambassador in Paris, Ali Coubaly, said Gbagbo would be treated well in custody but that he would have to answer to international justice for his alleged crimes.
In Washington, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged dialogue and reconciliation.
“The detention of Laurent Gbagbo marks a new beginning for the Ivoirian people who have suffered gravely,” he said in a statement. “This is an important step forward, but there will be challenges ahead, and I urge President Ouattara to support a peaceful dialogue that will ensure the long-term stability and prosperity of Cote d’Ivoire. All citizens of Cote d’Ivoire must now come together to tackle the hard work of rebuilding their nation.” Cote d’Ivoire is the French name for Ivory Coast and the government’s preferred name for the country.
In London, British Foreign Minister William Hague urged Gbagbo’s captors to give him a fair trial.
“Mr. Gbagbo has acted against any democratic principles in the way he has behaved in recent months, and of course there have been many many breaches of any rule of law as well,” Hague told a news conference. “At the same time, we would say that he must be treated with respect, and any judicial process that follows should be a fair and properly organized judicial process.”
The arrest came after French armored vehicles closed in on the compound where Gbagbo had been holed up in a bunker while trying to remain in power despite Ouattara’s victory in the November election, the results of which were certified by the United Nations.
The column of more than two dozen armored vehicles advanced on the compound from a French base in Ivory Coast, a former French colony, a day after U.N. and French helicopters attacked Gbagbo’s forces, destroying its heavy weapons.
A U.N. Security Council resolution approved in March authorized the use of force in Ivory Coast. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and French President Nicolas Sarkozy accused Gbagbo of using heavy weapons against civilians in his effort to cling to power.
Gbagbo’s wife was also detained in Monday’s operation, the Ivorian ambassador to France told reporters.
Sunday’s attack by French and U.N. helicopter gunships was their second against Gbagbo’s forces in a week.The French military deployed tanks Monday for the first time near Gbagbo’s bunker, according to the Associated Press.
But U.N. peacekeeping officials said that while U.N. Mi-24 attack helicopters struck heavy weapons targets, U.N. troops were were not directly involved in the operation to apprehend Gbagbo.
The U.N. leadership described the operation as part of a limited, U.N.-authorized effort to prevent Gbagbo from using force against civilians, U.N. peacekeepers or Ouattara.
Under the terms of the U.N. Security Council resolution, the United Nations is authorized to use force to prevent Gbagbo’s forces from using their heavy weapons against civilians and U.N. targets.
Le Roy, the U.N. undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations, said Friday that Gbagbo’s forces had regrouped in the Plateau and Cocody neighborhoods in Abidjan and had resumed shelling of U.N. and civilian targets. Over the weekend, Gbagbo’s forces also shelled the Golf Hotel, the headquarters of president-elect Ouattara.
Le Roy confirmed Monday that Gbabgo was taken to the Golf Hotel, where he was placed under the protection of U.N. peacekeepers.
Noting that the hotel has served as Ouattara’s home for several months, Le Roy told reporters outside the U.N. Security Council: “They are in the same hotel, the Golf Hotel. . . . I don’t know if they have spoken together.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...rces-intervene/2011/04/11/AFOBaeKD_print.html
By Colum Lynch and William Branigin, Monday, April 11
UNITED NATIONS — Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo was arrested Monday by French-backed forces of president-elect Alassane Ouattara, raising hopes for an imminent end to the strife that has wracked the West African country since Gbagbo refused to acknowledge his defeat in a November presidential election.
Following an attack on Gbagbo’s residence in Abidjan, the country’s major city, by French forces earlier Monday, troops loyal to Ouattara went in and seized Gbagbo, according to U.N., French and Ivorian officials.
Gbagbo “has been arrested,” said Youssoufou Bamba, the U.N. envoy of president-elect Ouattara. “He is alive” and will be “brought to justice,” he said in a telephone interview.
Initial reports indicated that French troops had captured Gbagbo (pronounced Bagbo) and turned him over to Ouattara’s forces. But Bamba subsequently told reporters that the arrest operation had been carried out by forces loyal to Ouattara.
“I am clear about that,” he told reporters outside the U.N. Security Council. “That’s the Republican Forces of Cote d’Ivoire who have conducted the operation. Gbagbo is arrested. He is under our custody. . . . Right now, he is being brought to a safe location for the next course of action.”
Bamba said he was confident that as “the news will spread” of Gbagbo’s arrest, his forces “will stop fighting and they will lay down their weapons.” He added: “Those fighting are fighting for nothing, because this man is over, this era is over. We will address the serious problem of the humanitarian situation and the security situation . . . and restore public order.”
After briefing the U.N. Security Council on developments in Ivory Coast, U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy told reporters: “I can confirm that former president Gbagbo and his wife are presently in the Golf Hotel under the custody of Mr. Ouattara’s forces.” At Gbagbo’s request, however, U.N. peacekeepers took responsibility for ensuring the the couple’s personal security, Le Roy said.
Le Roy insisted that “Mr. Gbagbo surrendered to President Ouattara’s forces” and that “it was President Ouattara’s forces who entered the residence,” not U.N. or French troops. Le Roy said he understands that Ouattara might want to prosecute Gbagbo. “Of course, it’s his call,” the vet*eran French diplomat said. “And he might want him to go outside Abidjan. If he decides so, we will assist in providing security.”
Le Roy said the situation on the ground remains dangerous. The arrest of Gbagbo was an important step in a transition to democratic rule in Ivory Coast, he said, but “we cannot call it euphoria. The crisis is not over.”
For their part, Gbagbo’s supporters dismissed claims that the operation was carried out by Ouattara’s forces, noting that French and U.N. attack helicopters had pounded the presidential palace and Gbagbo’s residence.
“It’s absolutely untrue,” said Zakaria Fellah, a Gbagbo loyalist and adviser, who claimed that French ground troops were deployed around Gbagbo’s residence. Fellah, who is in the United States, said he has been in constant telephone contact with Gbagbo loyalists in the vicinity of the fighting.
“The so-called regime of Ouattara’s forces were completely absent,” he said.
Any Ouattara loyalists who may have played any role in the arrest, he said, were merely “auxiliaries” of the U.N. and French troops. “This operation, the final assault, was carried out by the French troops,” he said.
Fellah said the manner in which Gbagbo was deposed will leave a legacy of deep resentment among his supporters, who will view this as another example of the former colonial power, France, using superior firepower to decide who will rule the country.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said the helicopter attacks and armored advance Sunday and Monday were carried out in response to a request from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to eliminate Gbagbo’s heavy weapons, with which he was threatening civilians. French authorities said Ouattara’s forces entered Gbagbo’s residence, pulled him out and turned him over to U.N. troops. Ouattara’s ambassador in Paris, Ali Coubaly, said Gbagbo would be treated well in custody but that he would have to answer to international justice for his alleged crimes.
In Washington, Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged dialogue and reconciliation.
“The detention of Laurent Gbagbo marks a new beginning for the Ivoirian people who have suffered gravely,” he said in a statement. “This is an important step forward, but there will be challenges ahead, and I urge President Ouattara to support a peaceful dialogue that will ensure the long-term stability and prosperity of Cote d’Ivoire. All citizens of Cote d’Ivoire must now come together to tackle the hard work of rebuilding their nation.” Cote d’Ivoire is the French name for Ivory Coast and the government’s preferred name for the country.
In London, British Foreign Minister William Hague urged Gbagbo’s captors to give him a fair trial.
“Mr. Gbagbo has acted against any democratic principles in the way he has behaved in recent months, and of course there have been many many breaches of any rule of law as well,” Hague told a news conference. “At the same time, we would say that he must be treated with respect, and any judicial process that follows should be a fair and properly organized judicial process.”
The arrest came after French armored vehicles closed in on the compound where Gbagbo had been holed up in a bunker while trying to remain in power despite Ouattara’s victory in the November election, the results of which were certified by the United Nations.
The column of more than two dozen armored vehicles advanced on the compound from a French base in Ivory Coast, a former French colony, a day after U.N. and French helicopters attacked Gbagbo’s forces, destroying its heavy weapons.
A U.N. Security Council resolution approved in March authorized the use of force in Ivory Coast. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and French President Nicolas Sarkozy accused Gbagbo of using heavy weapons against civilians in his effort to cling to power.
Gbagbo’s wife was also detained in Monday’s operation, the Ivorian ambassador to France told reporters.
Sunday’s attack by French and U.N. helicopter gunships was their second against Gbagbo’s forces in a week.The French military deployed tanks Monday for the first time near Gbagbo’s bunker, according to the Associated Press.
But U.N. peacekeeping officials said that while U.N. Mi-24 attack helicopters struck heavy weapons targets, U.N. troops were were not directly involved in the operation to apprehend Gbagbo.
The U.N. leadership described the operation as part of a limited, U.N.-authorized effort to prevent Gbagbo from using force against civilians, U.N. peacekeepers or Ouattara.
Under the terms of the U.N. Security Council resolution, the United Nations is authorized to use force to prevent Gbagbo’s forces from using their heavy weapons against civilians and U.N. targets.
Le Roy, the U.N. undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations, said Friday that Gbagbo’s forces had regrouped in the Plateau and Cocody neighborhoods in Abidjan and had resumed shelling of U.N. and civilian targets. Over the weekend, Gbagbo’s forces also shelled the Golf Hotel, the headquarters of president-elect Ouattara.
Le Roy confirmed Monday that Gbabgo was taken to the Golf Hotel, where he was placed under the protection of U.N. peacekeepers.
Noting that the hotel has served as Ouattara’s home for several months, Le Roy told reporters outside the U.N. Security Council: “They are in the same hotel, the Golf Hotel. . . . I don’t know if they have spoken together.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...rces-intervene/2011/04/11/AFOBaeKD_print.html
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