Lebanon’s Caretaker PM Saad Hariri called Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara congratulating him on the end of his country’s crisis and thanking him for facilitating the evacuation of Lebanese expatriates.
Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo is now in the custody of forces loyal to Ouattara . Forces stormed the bunker where Gbagbo hung on to power Monday, arresting the man whose refusal to hand over the presidency to the election winner left hundreds dead and threatened to re-ignite a civil war.
The Lebanese expatriates in Côte d’Ivoire reportedly came under threat after Lebanon’s ambassador Ali Ajami meddled in the internal affairs of the country by attending the swearing-in ceremony of Gbagbo, the controversial strongman who has refused to step down despite rival Ouattara being internationally recognized as having won the country’s elections.
According to local reports the Abidjan airport is now safe for landing and takeoff, and MEA could now evacuate any Lebanese expatriates who want to leave the country . Over 6000 applied to leave , but less than 2000 have have been evacuated so far. Two MEA flights are scheduled to arrive today from Abidjan with about 500 Lebnanese expatriates
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