As the long-awaited court case against Côte d'Ivoire's former first lady, Simone Gbagbo, and a large number of party officials starts in Abidjan this week, Ivorians will be reminded of the dark days of the 2010/2011 post-election crisis.
For weeks, inhabitants of the capital city were holed up without water or electricity while war raged in the streets outside. Former president Laurent Gbagbo refused to hand over power to his election rival and eventual successor, President Alassane Ouattara, in a struggle that led to the deaths of several thousand people. At the time, Simone Gbagbo was described as Côte d'Ivoire's 'Iron Lady.' She was accused of war-mongering as the presidential couple hid from the air attacks by French and United Nations helicopters.
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