Laurent Gbagbo became the new President through a series...

Laurent Gbagbo became the new President through a series of remarkable events. He defeated the military ruler, Gen. Robert Guei, in an election which excluded the Muslim Ouattara and most other candidates. When the general declared himself the winner in spite of loosing, tens of thousands of Gbagbo supporters laid siege to the presidency, won over military units and forced Guei to flee to an unknown destination. Public euphoria at Guei's overthrow was short-lived as crowds of Ouattara supporters, overwhelmingly Muslims from the north, demanded a new election to allow Ouattara to take part, causing conflict with Gbagbo's backers.