Laurent Gbagbo captured by opposition leaders after spending over a week barricaded in his Ivory Coast palace

Hours after his capture, Mr Gbagbo appeared on a TV channel aligned with his rival Alassane Ouattara, calling for troops loyal to him to "lay down arms".



"I am calling for the fighting to stop," he said.

The incumbent president has been taken to Mr Ouattara's headquarters at the city's Golf Hotel.
Toussaint Alain, a Paris-based advisor loyal to Mr Gbagbo, claimed French special forces broke into the palace using tanks to make the arrest.

However, both French and UN officials have denied French troops penetrated the residence, saying the arrest was made by Ivorian forces.

"The ex-president Laurent Gbagbo has handed himself over to the Republican Forces of Ivory Coast," French armed forces spokesman Thierry Burkhard said.

Mr Gbagbo had refused to step down after losing UN-certified elections last November to Mr Ouattara, plunging the country into a violent confrontation that has left thousands dead and more than a million displaced.
Foreign Secretary William Hague welcomed the detention of Mr Gbagbo, claiming the former president had "acted against any democratic principles" in recent months.
He added that Britain had "long regarded" Mr Ouattara as the rightful president and hoped the change of leadership would allow the opportunity for a "democratic and peaceful" way forward.

Source: Sky News