Ivory Coast's Gbagbo arrives in Netherlands

THE HAGUE (AFP) - A plane carrying Ivory Coast's former leader Laurent Gbagbo landed at Rotterdam airport early Wednesday as he headed for transfer to the International Criminal Court (ICC), ANP news agency reported.

The plane, from the Ivory Coast, touched down a little before 4:00 am (0300 GMT), ANP reported. From there, Gbagbo is to be taken into detention at ICC facilities in The Hague, 20 kilometres (12 miles) away.

One of Gbagbo's lawyers in Ivory Coast, Jean Gbougnon, announced that the ICC prosecutor had served an international arrest warrant on his client.

Hours later, he was flown out of the country in a plane chartered by the Ivorian authorities.

ICC spokesman Fadi el-Abdallah told AFP the court could not comment on the matter until judges made their decision public.

Gbagbo, 66, had been held in Korhogo, northern Ivory Coast, since his arrest in Abidjan on April 11, Gbougnon said.

Gbagbo faces charges on home soil for "economic crimes", allegedly committed during the political crisis and conflict triggered by his refusal to hand over power, which left about 3,000 people dead.

But the ICC launched its own investigation.

Last month, ICC judges allowed prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to probe alleged post-election war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by forces loyal to both Gbagbo and the new Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.

Ivory Coast's new rulers had been pressing for weeks to have Gbagbo transferred to The Hague.