IVORY COAST: Forces loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara capture hundreds of men protecting incumbent Laurent Gbagbo

Record ID: 182012

  • Title: IVORY COAST: Forces loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara capture hundreds of men protecting incumbent Laurent Gbagbo
  • Date: 8th April 2011
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 23rd April 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cote d'Ivoire
  • Country: Ivory Coast
  • Topics: War / Fighting,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA92Z8SZGDF868LVHGK43OVKYHH
  • Story Text: Forces loyal to presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara captured hundreds of men protecting the presidential incumbent Laurent Gbagbo in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan on Thursday (April 7).
    French Defence Minister Gerard Longuet told the Senate in Paris on Thursday that U.N. peacekeepers have surrounded the last defenders of Ivory Coast incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo in a "limited area".
    "At this moment the military situation is as follows; the UNOCI (United Nations mission in Ivory Coast) troops have surrounded in a limited area the last defenders of the previous president Gbagbo," Longuet said.
    There was fighting earlier on Thursday in the economic capital Abidjan as Ouattara's forces tried to unseat Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after losing last November's presidential election to Ouattara, according to results certified by the United Nations..
    Sporadic gunfire could be heard coming from Gbagbo's presidential palace in the Plateau district, a week after Ouattara's soldiers arrived in the city.
    Gbagbo is believed to be holed up in his personal residence, which lies in a cul-de-sac at the heart of the leafy, upscale Cocody embassy district.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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