Fighters in Ivory Coast told to lay down arms
Source: Agencies |
April 13, 2011, Wednesday
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IVORY Coast President Alassane Ouattara called on all fighters to put down their arms now that longtime strongman Laurent Gbagbo has been captured after his refusal to cede power sparked violence leaving bodies piled at morgues.
More than 1 million civilians fled their homes and many were killed in the more than four-month power struggle between the two. The standoff threatened to re-ignite a civil war in the world's largest cocoa producer, once divided in two by a civil war nearly a decade ago.
"After more than four months of post-electoral crisis, marked by so many human lives lost, we are finally at the dawn of a new era of hope," Ouattara said in an address to the nation on radio and television late on Monday.
Gbagbo's forces have been accused of using mortars and machine guns to mow down opponents during the standoff. Gbagbo could be forced to answer for his soldiers' crimes, but an international trial threatens to stoke the divisions that Ouattara will now have to heal as president.
Ouattara cut short speculation that Gbagbo would be delivered to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, calling for an Ivorian probe into the former president, his wife and their entourage. He also called on his supporters to refrain from retaliatory violence and said he intended to establish a truth and reconciliation commission.
"Every measure has been taken to assure the physical integrity of Mr Laurent Gbagbo, his wife and all those arrested. They will receive dignified treatment and their rights will be respected."
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke to Ouattara on Monday and said he expected that with Gbagbo in custody, "any further bloodshed will be avoided," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said late on Monday.
Nesirky said that, at Gbagbo's request, the UN will provide security and protection while Gbagbo is in custody.
Gbagbo, who ruled the former French colony for a decade, was pulled from his burning residence in Abidjan by Ouattara's troops on Monday following fighting earlier in the day. Gbagbo's dramatic arrest came after days of heavy fighting in which French and UN helicopters fired rockets at arms depots around the city and targets within the presidential compound.
Ouattara's final push began just after French airstrikes ceased at around 3am on Monday. A simultaneous French armored advance secured large parts of the city, and pro-Ouattara troops entered the presidential compound just after midday.
Gbagbo already had overstayed his mandate by five years when he called the fall election and won 46 percent of the runoff vote. When the country's election commission and international observers declared on December 2 that he lost the balloting, he refused to step down.
The former history professor defied near-universal international pressure to hand over power to Ouattara. The two set up parallel administrations that vied for control of the one-time West African economic powerhouse.
More than 1 million civilians fled their homes and many were killed in the more than four-month power struggle between the two. The standoff threatened to re-ignite a civil war in the world's largest cocoa producer, once divided in two by a civil war nearly a decade ago.
"After more than four months of post-electoral crisis, marked by so many human lives lost, we are finally at the dawn of a new era of hope," Ouattara said in an address to the nation on radio and television late on Monday.
Gbagbo's forces have been accused of using mortars and machine guns to mow down opponents during the standoff. Gbagbo could be forced to answer for his soldiers' crimes, but an international trial threatens to stoke the divisions that Ouattara will now have to heal as president.
Ouattara cut short speculation that Gbagbo would be delivered to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, calling for an Ivorian probe into the former president, his wife and their entourage. He also called on his supporters to refrain from retaliatory violence and said he intended to establish a truth and reconciliation commission.
"Every measure has been taken to assure the physical integrity of Mr Laurent Gbagbo, his wife and all those arrested. They will receive dignified treatment and their rights will be respected."
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke to Ouattara on Monday and said he expected that with Gbagbo in custody, "any further bloodshed will be avoided," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said late on Monday.
Nesirky said that, at Gbagbo's request, the UN will provide security and protection while Gbagbo is in custody.
Gbagbo, who ruled the former French colony for a decade, was pulled from his burning residence in Abidjan by Ouattara's troops on Monday following fighting earlier in the day. Gbagbo's dramatic arrest came after days of heavy fighting in which French and UN helicopters fired rockets at arms depots around the city and targets within the presidential compound.
Ouattara's final push began just after French airstrikes ceased at around 3am on Monday. A simultaneous French armored advance secured large parts of the city, and pro-Ouattara troops entered the presidential compound just after midday.
Gbagbo already had overstayed his mandate by five years when he called the fall election and won 46 percent of the runoff vote. When the country's election commission and international observers declared on December 2 that he lost the balloting, he refused to step down.
The former history professor defied near-universal international pressure to hand over power to Ouattara. The two set up parallel administrations that vied for control of the one-time West African economic powerhouse.
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