Ivorian conflict ongoing in Abidjan despite Gbagbo’s arrest

Sporadic gunfire can be heard in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, just a day after former incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo was arrested by French and president-elect Alassane Ouattara’s forces.

12 April 2011, 12:00am

1 min read

The BBC reporter in the city is claiming however that it is not clear whether pro-Gbagbo forces or criminals are responsible, affirming only that mortars are being fired off.

Gbagbo was seized after refusing to accept defeat in last year's elections while his successor and UN-recognised president-elect Alassane Ouattara has appealed for the violence to end.

The BBC is reporting that Ouattara's first priority will be to restore security.

Yesterday, a joint operation by pro-Ouattara forces, the UN and French military captured Gbagbo from his official residence, where he had been under siege for more than a week.

Ouattara said Gbagbo would be put on trial, and said a truth and reconciliation commission would be set up.

Some 1,500 people have been killed across the country and a million forced from their homes during the four-month stand-off in the world's largest cocoa producer.

The UN and French forces intervened after they accused Gbagbo's forces of using heavy artillery against civilians.The UN, which helped organise the elections, said Ouattara won, but Gbagbo refused to accept defeat.