GBAGBO ARRESTED

A day after former President Laurent Gbagbo was arrested; sporadic gunfire can be heard in Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, despite appeals by his successor, Alassane Ouatarra, for an end to the violence.

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

For Richard Comwell, an independent analyst on matters pertaining to Ivory Coast, pressure will now be on Ivory Coast to try the former president for crimes against humanity, as well as other members of his party suspected of inciting violence. 

The main political considerations will now be national reconciliation, as Gbagbo still has a large number of supporters and for Comwell, one of the ways to move forward is for Ouattara and the international community to also hold accountable the pro-ouattara people who have committed crimes.

According to UN figures, 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.