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There has been a lot in the news lately about the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, known in English as the Ivory Coast. What's happening?

The most recent conflict began after former president Laurent Gbagbo refused to leave office after national elections at the end of 2010. Gbagbo had been in power since 2000, but UN-certified results show he lost to rival and former prime minister Alassane Ouattara, president of the Rally of the Republicans party. The death toll since December is thought to be more than 1,000, while more than a million people are thought to have fled their homes.

So who's ruling the West African country at the moment?

Well the Ivory Coast's election commission proclaimed Ouattara as the winner, the Constitutional Council said Gbagbo had won. Both were sworn in as president. But as of this week, Gbagbo has been arrested and new president Ouattara has hailed a 'new era of hope'.

This isn't the first time there's been unrest in the country...

No, Gbagbo's time in office was fraught from the very beginning, with continuous tension between the government and the military. The country's first civil war broke out after a coup in September 2002 while the president was abroad on a trip.

How did he manage to stay in office until 2010?

A unity government was formed between Gbagbo and rebel leaders in 2003, but it was unstable and violence continued. United Nations peacekeepers were deployed, but matters didn't improve. The 2005 elections which were supposed to end Gbagbo's term and reunify the country were continually postponed. A peace agreement was eventually signed between the government and the rebels of the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire (New Forces) in 2007. New Forces leader Guillaume Soro became prime minister.

So there was calm for a while. Why did it all break down again?

When the postponed elections were finally held last year, the Electoral Commission announced that Ouattara had received 54 per cent of the votes. Gbagbo claimed that results in seven northern departments controlled by pro-Ouattara forces were rigged. The Constitutional Council declared them as unlawful, swinging the vote in Gbagbo's favour to a win of 51 per cent. Violence and civil unrest ensued.

What happened next?

The African Union gave Gbagbo until 24 March to step down, but he did not. Pro-Ouattara forces then began to march down from the north towards the seat of power in Abidjan, the country's largest city, where Gbagbo remained entrenched. UN and French troops then launched air-strikes against pro-Gbagbo positions.

Where do things stand now?

Gbagbo has now been arrested from his residence in Abidjan, although early reports that he was seized by French forces have been swiftly denied. The former leader always maintained that France was trying to oust him because he was standing up for the country's economic interests as the world's largest cocoa producer.

Is there an underlying cause to the conflict?

Despite the Ivory Coast enjoying higher living standards than most of its neighbours - due to the thriving cocoa industry - there has been continual tension between the northern and southern regions, which are divided on ethnic and religious lines. Many northern residents are Muslim immigrants from poorer countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso, who came to the country for employment. Populist politicians including Gbagbo resented the influx and tried to portray the northerners as being not real Ivorians. This created the tension which eventually led to the 2002 coup. Ouattara, who is Muslim, was banned from standing in previous presidential elections on the grounds that his parents were said to be from Burkina Faso - despite the fact that he had already served as the country's prime minister. He now faces the challenge of unifying the divided nation.

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