Following a military assault on his residence in Abidjan, Ivory Coast politician Laurent Gbagbo has surrendered and been placed under UN guard, thus ceding power to his UN-recognised successor, Alassane Ouattara; this after Gbagbo’s refusal to accept defeat in November’s presidential poll.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama have endorsed Gbagbo’s future, voicing optimism about the Ivory Coast’s democratic future.
‘There have been allegations of atrocities by both pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara forces. The UN has reports of more than 1,000 people being killed and at least 100,000 fleeing the country.Ivory Coast’s permanent representative to the UN, Youssoufou Bamba, said Mr Gbagbo would stand trial.
…UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said Mr Gbagbo and his wife Simone were now under UN police guard at the Golf Hotel, where Mr Ouattara has his headquarters.’
French diplomats are denying claims that their forces were the ones to arrest Gbagbo, laying the responsibility on Ouattara’s forces.
[BBC]
