Ivory Coast’s former leader Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to step down after losing an election in November triggered a civil war, was captured today after French troops and forces loyal to rival Alassane Ouattara laid siege to his home.
Ouattara’s Republican Forces “entered the residence of Gbagbo and it was they who went to catch him in his bunker,” Ouattara’s prime minister, Guillaume Soro, told France 24 television. “Gbagbo and his wife are alive and in good health.”
Gbagbo was taken to the Golf Hotel, which Ouattara has used as his base since the conflict started four months ago. Troops loyal to Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of the Nov. 28 election, had attempted to capture Gbagbo since surrounding his residence on April 5.