Ivory Coast fighters urged to lay down arms

SPORADIC gunfire rang out after Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara called on all fighters to put down their arms now that the country’s long time strongman has been captured following a months-long deadly power struggle.

More than one million civilians fled their homes and untold numbers were killed in the more than four-month power struggle between the two rivals. The standoff threatened to re-ignite a civil war in the world’s largest cocoa producer, once divided in two by violence nearly a decade ago.

Armed fighters still prowled the streets of Abidjan even after their leader Laurent Gbagbo was arrested the night before by forces backing Ouattara. Residents said that most of the combat had ceased by yesterday, though sporadic gunfire continued and left people cowering in their homes.