News



April 11, 2011, 12:19 pm

Video of Gbagbo’s Arrest on Ivorian TV

Video of Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast’s former president, after his capture on Monday, in a French-language report from the Ivorian television channel TCI.

As my colleague Adam Nossiter reports, Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivorian president who had refused to stand down after losing an election in November, “was captured on Monday after a weeklong siege of his residence.”

The first images of Mr. Gbagbo in custody were broadcast by the Ivorian channel Télévision Côte d’Ivoire, which supports Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of the disputed election.

This brief TCI report announcing Mr. Gbagbo’s arrest is in French, but it begins with an exhaled sigh of relief from the anchor – “Ouff” – that needs no translation. He continued, simply: “Gbagbo is finished; Ivory Coast is liberated.”

A spokesman for Mr. Ouattara, Appolinaire Yapi, told reporters that Mr. Gbagbo is being held at the Golf Hôtel in Abidjan, the Ivorian commercial capital. According to Mr. Yapi, the former president “seemed shattered, a little lost. Weakened. Someone with a lot on his mind.”

Mr. Gbagbo’s arrest came one day after French and United Nations helicopters fired missiles at forces loyal to him in and around his residence in Abidjan. The international forces said that their military intervention was essential for protecting civilians, but Mr. Gbagbo’s supporters said it was proof that he had been the victim of a foreign plot.

This video, which appears to show some of the international strikes on Sunday in Abidjan was posted on YouTube by a supporter of Mr. Gbagbo who claimed that it showed the French military “bombing civilians.”


Recent Posts

April 16

Video of Funnel Clouds in Mississippi

An amateur video, posted on YouTube by the Associated Press, of funnel clouds tearing through parts of Mississippi.

April 15

April 15 Updates on Mideast Protests and Libyan War

On Friday, The Lede is following the war in Libya and protest movements across the Middle East and North Africa.

April 15

Online Records of an Italian Activist’s Life in Gaza

An Italian activist who was killed in Gaza early on Friday left behind an extensive online record of his activism.

April 14

Italian Activist Kidnapped in Gaza

Islamist militants in Gaza threatened to kill a kidnapped Italian peace activist in a chilling hostage video posted online on Thursday.

April 14

Images of Japan’s Evacuation Zone

A photographer talks about a trip inside the evacuation zone around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.

About The Lede

The Lede is a blog that remixes national and international news stories, adding information gleaned from the Web or gathered through original reporting to supplement articles in The New York Times and draw readers in to the global conversation about the news taking place online.

Readers are encouraged to take part in the blogging by using the comments threads to suggest links to relevant material elsewhere on the Web or by submitting eyewitness accounts, photographs or video of news events. Read more.

About The Lede Blogger

Robert Mackey is The Lede's editor and main blogger. Read more.

Archive

Blogroll

Analysis, Features and Documentaries
Blogs
News Sites
News Video