Ivory Coast will transfer Charles Ble Goude, the jailed right-hand man of former president Laurent Gbagbo, to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, an official says.
The decision was made at a cabinet meeting, a source at the presidency said on Thursday. Gbagbo's former youth leader was arrested in Ghana more than a year ago and extradited to Ivory Coast.
In September last year, The Hague-based ICC unsealed a warrant for the 42-year-old Ble Goude, who faces four counts of crimes against humanity over 2010-2011 post-election unrest.
The firebrand former leader of the "Young Patriots" will join in ICC detention his ex-boss, who was transferred to the Netherlands in late 2011.
Gbagbo also faces four counts of crimes against humanity but the court has yet to confirm the charges, pending further investigation.
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The Ivorian crisis started with Gbagbo's refusal to concede defeat in November 2010 elections, sparking armed clashes that killed more than 3000 people.
His election rival Alassane Ouattara, now the president, eventually ousted him thanks to international military backing.
Abidjan's decision to transfer Ble Goude can be seen as surprising given its prior refusal to do so with Gbagbo's wife Simone, also wanted by the ICC, on the grounds that its own judiciary now offered sufficient guarantees of a fair trial.
Gbagbo loyalists are still a force to be reckoned with in Ivorian politics and Ouattara had in recent months tried to foster reconciliation with gestures toward the opposition.
