Gbagbo arrives at The Hague in ICC custody - Africa - Al Jazeera English

Gbagbo was captured in a bunker in April by pro-Ouattarra forces and placed under house arrest [File/Reuters]

The former president of the Ivory Coast has been escorted to the Netherlands in International Criminal Court (ICC) custody hours after the court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for him.

Laurent Gbagbo arrived by plane at Rotterdam airport early on Wednesday to face an investigation by the ICC into killings, rapes and other abuses committed in the West African nation during a four-month conflict triggered by his refusal to cede power to Alassane Ouattara after last year's election.

The Ivory Coast plane landed at Rotterdam airport at 02:44 GMT and entered a hangar, a Reuters witness said.

Gbagbo had been flown by helicopter on Tuesday from remote Korhogo in northern Ivory Coast, where he had been under house arrest since his capture, and transferred on to a plane, Ivorian military officials said.

Ouattara's forces, backed by French and UN troops, deposed Gbagbo in April and he has since been placed under house arrest in the northern town of Korhogo.

"They [Ivorian justice authorities] showed him the arrest warrant this morning," Bourthoumieux said by telephone from France, questioning the competence of the ICC to try Gbagbo.

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