Ouattara, April 13: Ivory Coast’s former interior minister, Desire Tagro, has died a day after he was arrested during the final collapse of former President Laurent Gbagbo’s government.
A member of current President Alassane Ouattara’s team said Targo died on Tuesday morning at the Golf Hotel, Ouattara’s temporary headquarters, AFP reported.
The source also said Targo had entered the hotel with injuries. However, other reports say he might have been killed by pro-Ouattara forces at the hotel or may have committed suicide at the presidential palace, where he was arrested.
Gbagbo, his family, and his associates were holed up in his Abidjan presidential residence, which was besieged by pro-Ouattara forces and under attack from UN and French helicopters. They were detained on Monday and taken to the Golf Hotel.
Ivory Coast was plunged into a political crisis after the November presidential election. The UN and the African Union recognized Ouattara as the winner of the polls, but Gbagbo refused to hand over power and pressed charges of vote-rigging against his rival.
Ouattara and his team went into the Golf Hotel for safety. The hotel was guarded by 800 UN peacekeeping forces.
Violence intensified after all mediation efforts by the African Union and ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States), as well as the internationally imposed sanctions failed to yield any results.
After losing control of most of the country, Gbagbo was confined to his presidential residence in Abidjan and was eventually arrested on Monday.
——–Agencies