French Embassy: Forces arrest Ivory Coast's Gbagbo

The Jakarta Post, Marco Chown Oved and Sophie Tetrel, Associated Press, Abidjan | Mon, 04/11/2011

Ivory Coast's Gbagbo arrested (CNN)

The French Embassy in Ivory Coast said strongman Laurent Gbagbo was captured Monday by forces of democratically elected leader Alassane Ouattara.

The move came after an attack by French forces earlier Monday. An embassy official confirmed the detention by phone to an Associated Press reporter in Paris, speaking on condition of anonymity because of government policy.

The United Nations certified results showing Gbagbo lost the November presidential election but Gbagbo, the incumbent, refused to acknowledge defeat. The dispute pushed the world's largest cocoa producer to the brink of renewed civil war.

Late last month forces backing Ouattara began an offensive to oust him. UN and French forces joined the effort last week to force Gbagbo from his bunker in the presidential residence in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's most important city.

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