Arrest Warrant Issued For Mrs Gbagbo

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Simone Gbagbo, the wife of Ivory Coast’s ex-President Laurent Gbagbo.

She is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity committed in the wake of disputed presidential elections in 2010.

Her husband is already awaiting trial at the court in The Hague on four charges of crimes against humanity.

Some 3,000 people died in the unrest after he refused to accept defeat.

Mr and Mrs Gbagbo were arrested in a bunker in April 2011, five months after the elections, following a military assault on their residence in the main city, Abidjan.

It is for “crimes against humanity of murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and other inhumane acts”, the ICC says.

The warrant accuses her of participating in the planning and orchestration of the violence.