The former president of the Ivory Coast has been escorted to the Netherlands in International Criminal Court (ICC) custody hours after the court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for him.

Laurent Gbagbo arrived by plane at Rotterdam airport early on Wednesday to face an investigation by the ICC into killings, rapes and other abuses committed in the West African nation.

The court is investigating the alleged charges said to be committed during a four-month conflict triggered by Gbagbo's refusal to cede power to Alassane Ouattara after last year's election.

Al Jazeera's Nazanin Sadri reports.