Ivory Coast Standoff Ends With Arrest

Forces loyal to Ivory Coast President-elect Alassane Ouattara on Monday seized strongman Laurent Gbagbo from his residence, bringing to a head a protracted conflict between two presidential rivals that split the nation and clouded the future of the world's largest cocoa producer.

Mr. Gbagbo's arrest came after days of heavy fighting and involved former colonial power France in a central yet politically sensitive role. The extent of the involvement of French and United Nations troops in Monday's assault was unclear as details of the arrest emerged. Many of Mr. Gbagbo's supporters accused the French of leading the raid and then handing the incumbent president over to his political rival─in effect writing a new chapter in its colonial domination of West African nations.

But officials for Mr. Ouattara, the United Nations and France denied that version of events.

'There [was] heavy fighting involving French soldiers, the United Nations and our forces against Mr. Gbagbo's forces,' Sogona Bamba-Arnault, an Ouattara spokeswoman, said from Paris. 'Once all heavy weapons were destroyed, Mr. Gbagbo was there and we arrested him.'

Local television showed footage of a visibly exhausted Mr. Gbagbo, wearing a floral-print shirt, walking into a suite of Abidjan's Golf Hotel, where Mr. Ouattara has been based. Mr. Gbagbo was taken to the hotel with his wife and his son. It isn't clear what awaits the former history teacher, whose refusal to recognize the results of an election in November pushed his country toward civil war.

In a radio address, Guillaume Soro, Mr. Ouattara's prime minister, said his government would work on rebuilding a united country. 'People of Ivory Coast, dry your tears, the nightmare is over,' he said.

Mr. Gbagbo's capture presents a set of onerous challenges for Mr. Ouattara. Topping the list is halting the bloodshed and focusing on national reconciliation. The former senior International Monetary Fund official will also need to kick-start one of Africa's major economies and the world's leading producer of cocoa.

Finally, Mr. Ouattara will need to deal with pressure from human-rights groups and his own supporters to hold onto Mr. Gbagbo to possibly face charges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Late Monday, Mr. Ouattara said in a televised address that he would ask his justice minister to open a judicial procedure against Mr. Gbagbo, his wife and some of his aides.

'They will be treated with dignity and their rights will be respected,' he said.

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 divided.

France dispatched hundreds of soldiers to Ivory Coast in 2002, when rebels threatened to overthrow Mr. Gbagbo, who had been elected president two years earlier. The French force, known as operation Licorne, or Unicorn, helped restore peace but didn't quash the rebellion.