[RTK]

Gbagbo is Captured

By DAVID GAUTHIER-VILLARS
Forces loyal to Ivory Coast's elected president Alassane Ouattara have seized strongman Laurent Gbagbo from his residence, bringing to a head a protracted conflict between two presidential rivals that had tilted the world's largest cocoa producer toward civil war.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Ouattara said Monday that Mr. Gbagbo was captured during a flurry of fighting earlier in the day. "There [was] heavy fighting involving French soldiers, the United Nations and our forces against Mr. Gbagbo's forces," spokeswoman Sogona Bamba-Arnault said from Paris. "Once all heavy weapons were destroyed, Mr. Gbagbo was there and we arrested him."

An aide to Mr. Gbagbo said the incumbent ruler was first arrested by French special forces, and only later handed to forces loyal to Mr. Ouattara.

In Paris, French officials had no immediate comment.

Ms. Bamba-Arnault, the president-elect's spokeswoman, said Mr. Gbagbo was taken to the Golf Hotel, where Mr. Ouattara has set up his office.

Mr. Gbagbo lost a November presidential runoff certified by the U.N. but refused to recognize the result, citing voting irregularities.

When attempts by African leaders to mediate the conflict failed, Mr. Ouattara's rebel forces launched an offensive, sweeping south and capturing key towns and ports that Mr. Gbagbo's army once held.

That advance stalled outside the main Ivory Coast city of Abidjan, a stronghold for Mr. Gbagbo's supporters. It was only when the U.N. and Licorne, or Unicorn—the French battalion stationed in Abidjan—launched a series of aerial attacks that the rebels were able to encircle the former Ivory Coast president in his residence.

The U.N. and the French said the air assaults were intended to protect civilians by destroying Mr. Gbagbo's artillery and weapons stockpiles. Mr. Gbagbo's supporters said the military intervention was the work of a former colonial power pushing a political rival into the presidency.

Mr. Gbagbo resisted surrender, and a core of a couple of hundred supporters rebuffed initial efforts to capture his residence. Mr. Gbagbo's supporters continued to attack French and U.N. targets, prompting a retaliation that appeared to pave the way for the former president's capture on Monday.

Recent controversies associated with his rebel forces have complicated Mr. Ouattara's struggle to oust the Ivory Coast strongman from his residence, and also point to the challenges of reconciliation after the conflict. The Ivory Coast fought a two-year civil war after Mr. Gbagbo came to power, and although the conflict officially ended in 2002, the country has remained sharply divided.

In a report released by New York-based Human Rights Watch over the weekend, Mr. Ouattara's forces were said to have "killed hundreds of civilians, raped more than 20 alleged supporters of his rival, Laurent Gbagbo, and burned at least 10 villages" in the country's western region during their advance south. The report said Mr. Gbagbo's backers also killed supporters of the president-elect, but it called on Mr. Ouattara to investigate abuses on both sides.

That report followed a separate account from the International Committee of the Red Cross, estimating that 800 people were killed in intercommunal violence in the town of Duekoue, after troops loyal to Mr. Ouattara moved through the area.

The International Criminal Court also has said it was considering opening an investigation into reports of atrocities during the conflict.

Mr. Ouattara has pledged to launch an investigation into the allegations, and vowed that the perpetrators would be brought to justice in domestic or international courts.