Laurent Gbagbo

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ICC Takes Custody of Gbagbo

Former Ivory Coast president charged today

(Newser) - More than seven months after his arrest , Laurent Gbagbo has become the first former head of state to be taken into custody by the International Criminal Court. The former Ivory Coast president was today charged with murder, rape, persecution, and inhuman acts, the AP reports. "Mr. Gbagbo is brought...

Inhofe Defends 'Happy Face' of Gbagbo

Senator condemns UN, French for making the nice man sad

(Newser) - Most of the world may have turned against recently arrested Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo, but he’s still got one friend: James Inhofe. The Oklahoma senator took the floor yesterday and showed a picture of Gbagbo smiling. “This is the happy face of President Gbagbo,” Inhofe said....

Ouattara to Fighters: Disarm
 Ouattara to Fighters: Disarm 
Apr 12, 2011 10:02 AM CDT

Ouattara to Fighters: Disarm

But gunfire still heard in the streets of Abidjan

(Newser) - Laurent Gbagbo has been arrested , but armed fighters still roamed the streets of Abidjan today, and sporadic gunfire was heard ringing through the Ivory Coast capitol, the AP reports. Newly installed president Alassane Ouattara called on those fighters to disarm in a radio and television address today, saying, “We...

Laurent Gbagbo Captured in Ivory Coast, Delivered to Opposition Leaders
 Ouattara's Men Arrest Gbagbo 
UPDATED
Apr 11, 2011 10:21 AM CDT

Ouattara's Men Arrest Gbagbo

A French Embassy official confirms reports

(Newser) - A day after UN and French helicopters began attacking Laurent Gbagbo's compound , the Ivory Coast strongman has been detained and delivered to opposition leaders. Forces loyal to democratically elected leader Alassane Ouattara captured Gbagbo after an attack by French forces, the AP reports. The French deployed tanks for the first...

UN, French Attack Gbago Residence

Operation aims to destroy heavy weapons

(Newser) - UN and French helicopters today attacked sites near Ivory Coast military bases as well as the presidential residence and palace, the BBC reports. The aim of the operation is to destroy heavy weapons near Laurent Gbagbo's residence in Abidjan. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he requested the air strikes...

Ivory Coast: Laurent Gbagbo's Forces Regain Ground in Abidjan
 Gbagbo Forces Regain Ground 
Apr 9, 2011 12:59 PM CDT

Gbagbo Forces Regain Ground

Reports of his pending surrender greatly exaggerated

(Newser) - Laurent Gbagbo, supposedly all but defeated, is surging, with forces loyal to him retaking control of two districts in Abidjan. "They clearly used the lull of Tuesday (for peace talks) as a trick to reinforce their position," a UN official says. Further, Alassane Outtara's fighters may have exaggerated...

UN Finds Bodies Burned Alive in Ivory Coast

Meanwhile, Ouattara wants sanctions lifted so he can restart cocoa trade

(Newser) - With the exporting port of San Pedro under his control and Laurent Gbagbo squirreled away in an underground tunnel , Alassane Ouattara is asking the EU to lift its sanctions on the Ivory Coast, and let him restart the country’s lucrative cocoa trade, the BBC reports. But the situation in...

Defiant Gbagbo Holed Up in Tunnel

Ousted Ivory Coast leader refuses to leave bunker

(Newser) - Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo appears to be a man who just doesn't know when he's beaten. The leader, who refused to relinquish power after losing an election to opponent Alassane Ouattara, is holed up in a tunnel built to connect his Abidjan residence to that of the French ambassador,...

'Final Assault' Launched on Gbagbo Bunker

They intend to 'fetch' him and 'bring him to justice'

(Newser) - Forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara launched what the local media is describing as a "final assault" on Laurent Gbagbo's bunker today, aiming to capture the rogue president. "We are going to his residence to fetch him and put an end to this comedy," a spokesman for Ouattara's...

Gruesome Scenes Unfold in Ivory Coast Capital

Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to leave taking heavy toll on Abidjan

(Newser) - The end may finally be near for Laurent Gbagbo in the Ivory Coast, but it's clear his refusal to give up power continues to take a devastating toll on the country. Traveling on a main access road into Abidjan, Reuters correspondent Mark John describes seeing a dozen corpses lined up...

Gbagbo Still in Bunker as Forces Seize Home

Ouattara ambassador says the strongman is negotiating surrender

(Newser) - Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo is reportedly negotiating his surrender, as troops loyal to Alassane Ouattara have, with the help of helicopter attacks by the UN and the French, seized Gbagbo's presidential home in Abidjan. A senior diplomat said fighters were trying to coax Gbagbo out of the bunker he's...

Ivory Coast: UN Fires on Gbagbo Troops as France Joins in
 UN Fires at Gbagbo Forces 
Apr 4, 2011 3:45 PM CDT

UN Fires at Gbagbo Forces

France gives military OK to take out his heavy weapons

(Newser) - The United Nations and France continued their crackdown in Ivory Coast today, with a UN helicopter firing on Laurent Gbagbo's forces and Nicolas Sarkozy giving his troops the OK to take out the entrenched strongman's heavy weapons, reports the AP . The UN said it acted to stop Gbagbo troops from...

UN Evacuates Ivory Coast, French Move In

Ouattara loyalists ready last push against Gbagbo

(Newser) - As forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara prepared a final push to drive Laurent Gbagbo from power in Ivory Coast, the UN was evacuating some 200 staffers from its oft-targeted headquarters in Abidjan. And as the UN moved out, an additional 300 French forces moved in, reports the AP, claiming control...

Ivory Coast Fighting Rages Amid Report of Massacre

Laurent Gbagbo rallies his forces; 800 reported killed in town

(Newser) - With most of the country now controlled by his opponent, and with both his home and the presidential palace surrounded, Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo today issued a final call to arms to defend his 10-year grip on power. Gbagbo's forces got a rare bit of good news when they...

Ivory Coast Fighters Begin Final Push

Pro-Ouattara forces close in on presidential palace

(Newser) - Fighters loyal to the Ivory Coast's elected president have descended on the country's main city in a final push to oust incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo. Forces backing internationally recognized leader Alassane Outtara have made rapid advances in recent days and now control around 80% of the country, AP reports. Heavy...

Rebels Seize Ivory Coast Capital

Forces backing internationally recognized leader make major gain

(Newser) - Fighters supporting Ivory Coast's internationally recognized leader seized control of the nation's administrative capital on Wednesday, marking a symbolic victory after months of political chaos sparked when the country's former president refused to step down after an election. The fall of Yamoussoukro caps a dramatic advance on the city from...

As War Looms, World Ignores Ivory Coast

Casualties and fears of all-out civil war mount

(Newser) - What if they had a civil war and no one watched? At least 52 civilians were killed last week in the Ivory Coast’s escalating crisis, but no one in the media seems to care, Time observes. The 5-month-old conflict has been pushed out of the headlines by the disasters...

200K Flee Worsening Ivory Coast Violence

Thousands flee Abobo, as gunfire fills the district

(Newser) - Worsening clashes between the two men who claim the Ivory Coast's presidency have driven some 200,000 people from the country's economic capital over the past two weeks, reports Reuters . Machine gun battles between the two forces raged over the weekend in the Abobo district of Abidjan, home to much...

Ivory Coast Military Guns Down 6 Women Protesters

Laurent Gbagbo has been shelling suburban town

(Newser) - Security forces loyal to the man clinging to power in Ivory Coast fatally shot six women protesting Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to leave office. The demonstrators were cut down by machine gunfire in Abobo, the suburb that has been the scene of the bloodiest clashes in the 3-month-old crisis. An assistant...

Ivory Coast's Ouattara: It's Time to Use Force

Leader urges West African forces to intervene against incumbent

(Newser) - Ivory Coast’s president-elect Alassane Outtara is holed up in a hotel that has been encircled by the army, on orders of incumbent Laurent Gbagbo, for two months. Now, Outtara tells Time , he’s ready for West Africa’s economic community to use force. “I wanted to give peace...

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