Here's a summary of the events this afternoon:
• Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to step down as president plunged the west African country into violence, has been detained in Abidjan by opposition forces. The former president is being held in the Golf hotel in Abidjan, along with his wife Simone Gbagbo.
• Both the French government and military insist that Gbagbo was taken by troops loyal to Alassane Ouattara, who won last year's presidential election. Some early reports suggested Gbagbo had been seized by French special forces, after a column of more than 30 French armoured vehicles closed in on his residence in the city.
• The US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said the arrest of Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo sends a signal to other dictatorial leaderships. Clinton said that dictators should take notice that "they may not disregard the voice of their own people in free and fair elections". She added that "there will be consequences for those who cling to power".
• The foreign secretary, William Hague, has said Gbagbo "must be treated with respect" and should face a "fair and properly organised judicial process". The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has said Gbagbo's arrest is "an end of a chapter that should never have been". Ban said he would urge that the former president should not be harmed.
Human Rights Watch has called for Gbagbo to be allowed to "face fair justice".
"Gbagbo has been credibly implicated in crimes against humanity and other atrocities for which he should be held to account," said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
He should not be granted a golden exile in a country that would shield him from national or international prosecution. Ouattara's forces have an obligation to treat him and others in their custody humanely in accordance with international law.
After months of fighting in which civilians suffered terribly, Ouattara takes control of a deeply divided country. To end over a decade of abuse and impunity, Ouattara's new government needs to ensure that all those responsible for the crimes that have characterized this painful period of Cote d'Ivoire's history face fair justice, regardless of their rank or political allegiance.
My colleague Selay Marius Kouassi, in Abidjan, writes that the mood in Ivory Coast following Gbagbo's detention is "a combination of euphoria and relief".
Many people view Gbagbo's capture as a triumph of Ouattara's forces, while others view it as a tragedy.
In Yopougon, Gbagbo's stronghold, his supporters view Gbagbo as a hero for managing to resist the international pressure for four months. The streets are empty, nobody is celebrating publically. People still believe that a miracle will happen. Meanwhile pro-Ouattara people in Yopougon are afraid to celebrate, fearful of any retaliation from young Gbagbo supporters.
In Abobo, Adjamé, and Koumassi – pro-Ouattara areas – people became incredibly excited when they heard Gbagbo had been captured. Empty streets were suddenly filled with cars, people were honking their car horns. In Abobo, some fighters of pro-Outtara 'invisible commando' unit have been shooting in the air.
However on both sides, people are worried about the future, Kouassi writes.
Many people believe that Gbagbo's arrest could trigger more resistance against the French troops and pro-Ouattara forces. They think unrest in the country will drag on endlessly as many Gbagbo supporters and militiamen still have weapons. Some fear that Gbagbo's arrest could boost the rise of militiamen and a Gbagbo shadow army and could herald fresh chaos for Ivory Coast.
The US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said the arrest of Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo sends a signal to other dictatorial leaderships.
Clinton said that dictators should take notice that "they may not disregard the voice of their own people in free and fair elections". She added that "there will be consequences for those who cling to power".
More reaction, from Ban Ki-moon. The UN secretary general has said the arrest of Gbagbo ends months of unnecessary conflict, and has pledged UN support to the new government.
Ban told two reporters on Monday that he wants to speak to Alassane Ouattara as soon as possible.
"This is an end of a chapter that should never have been," Ban said.
"We have to help them to restore stability, rule of law, and address all humanitarian and security issues."
Ban said Gbagbo's "physical safety should be ensured", adding: "I'm going to urge that."
"We need to think about what his future should be," Ban said, but said that was up to Ouattara and his government.
The UN has issued a statement regarding Gbagbo's arrest – here it is in full:
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cote d'Ivoire today confirmed that the country's former president Laurent Gbagbo has surrendered to forces loyal to president-elect Alassane Ouattara and is currently in their custody.
"ONUCI [UN Operation in Ivory Coast] is providing protection and security in accordance with its security council mandate," the spokesperson of the secretary general told reporters at UN Headquarters.
Ivory Coast has been engulfed by violence since last November, when Gbagbo refused to step down from power, despite losing a UN-certified and internationally recognised presidential election to Ouattara.
The Security Council, meanwhile, went into urgent consultations during which it will hear a briefing on the unfolding situation in Ivory Coast from the under-secretary general for peacekeeping operations, Alain Le Roy.
Video footage, apparently from Ivory Coast state TV, has been posted to YouTube. It purports to show Gbagbo after his arrest:
The same footage is also currently being streamed on several mainstream news channels. It appears to contradict the earlier reports that Gbagbo was injured during the arrest.
A bit of reaction to Gbagbo's arrest – from Alassane Ouattara's ambassador to France, Ali Coulibaly.
"It's a victory ... considering all the evil that Laurent Gbagbo inflicted on Ivory Coast," Coulibaly told France-Info radio. He stressed that Gbagbo would be "treated with humanity".
"We must not in any way make a royal gift to Laurent Gbagbo in making him a martyr," Coulibaly said. "He must be alive and he must answer for the crimes against humanity that he committed."
Here's a summary of events so far:
• Ivory Coast's Laurent Gbagbo, whose refusal to step down as president plunged the west African country into violence, has been detained in Abidjan by opposition forces.
• The foreign secretary, William Hague, has said Gbagbo "must be treated with respect" and should face a "fair and properly organised judicial process".
• There are conflicting reports over the details of the former president's arrest. Some accounts suggest French troops were the driving force behind the detention, but Paris has denied this, saying the arrest was conducted by Alassane Ouattara's forces.
• Some reports have suggested Gbagbo might have been injured in the arrest, however the UN has insisted the former president is "alive and well".
Ouatarra's television station is currently showing pictures of Gbagbo receiving medical treatment at the Golf hotel, al-Jazeera English is reporting.
That could indicate that Gbagbo was injured before he surrendered but there is no indication of how serious his injuries are. Ouatarra's representatives had insisted their intention was to take Gbagbo out of his bunker unharmed.
At the UN press conference in New York this afternoon a spokesman insisted that Gbagbo was "alive and well".
The foreign secretary, William Hague, has said Gbagbo should be treated with respect and should be tried in an orderly manner.
Hague told a news conference in London:
Mr Gbagbo has acted against any democratic principles in the way he has behaved in recent months, and of course there have been many many breaches of any rule of law as well.
At the same time we would say that he must be treated with respect, and any judicial process that follows should be a fair and properly organised judicial process.
The UN has just hosted a brief press conference, with a spokesman asserting it was Alassane Ouattara's forces who carried out the arrest, not French or UN forces.
There is some confusion around who actually managed to detain Gbagbo. Daniel Howden, the Independent's Africa correspondent, has tweeted that it was the French who carried out the operation.
French may attempt to spin by saying Ouattara's forces took Gbagbo, that's not true. They went in with 30-vehicle convoy and air support
Kim Willsher says unnamed sources have told her that France had no mandate or legal basis on which to arrest Gbagbo – hence the country's keeness to insist Ouattara's forces are responsible.
My colleague Kim Willsher notes that France 2 are reporting Hervé Cohx, an Ouattara spokesman based in Paris, has said Simone Gbagbo arrested with her husband and taken to the Golf Hotel.
According to France 2, a witness reported that around 30 armoured vehicles from the French Licorne forces supported by a helicopter attacked Gbagbo's residence at Cocody. According to a Licorne official this was to "avoid a bloodbath". It followed "missile attacks" on the residence on Sunday night by ONUCI, the UN force in Ivory Coast, which partially destroyed the building. It is being suggested the French and UN attacked the building, surrounded it then waited for Outtara's forces to go in.
Gbagbo's supporters accused France of wanting to assassinate him. His spokeman Don Mello said they had "no other objective. All the rest is nothing but a pretext".
Henri Guaino, Sarkozy's special advisor, said the French actions were designed to avoid "a bloodbath" and not to "militarily chase" Gbagbo.
Gbagbo surrendered to Ouattara's forces and is now in their custody but is "under the protection of the UN", a UN spokesman in New York told al-Jazeera.
The spokesman said he did not know whether there was any fighting before Gbagbo's surrender.
The French Embassy in Ivory Coast said strongman Laurent Gbagbo was captured Monday by forces of democratically elected leader Alassane Ouattara.
News of his capture came after a column of more than 30 French armoured vehicles closed in on his residence in the city.
A spokesman for Alasanne Ouattara, who won last year's presidential election, told the Guardian: "It's true. Gbagbo has been taken to the Golf hotel by republican forces. Our forces went to the residence this morning and took him out."
Another Ouattara adviser, Mamado Touré, confirmed that Gbagbo was with his family at the hotel.
Other news sources have reported that Gbagbo was handed over to the French by his own "presidential guard".
The United Nations certified results showing Gbagbo lost the November presidential election but Gbagbo, the incumbent, refused to acknowledge defeat. The dispute pushed Ivory Coast to the brink of renewed civil war.
Late last month forces backing Ouattara began an offensive to oust him. UN and French forces joined the effort last week to force Gbagbo from his bunker in the presidential residence in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's most important city.