This archive report was first published on 23 December 2019.
Published on December 23, 2019, the planned return of Guillaume Soro, a former rebel leader, to the Ivory Coast as a candidate in the country's 2020 presidential election has raised tensions in the West African nation.
Soro's return was initially planned for the Ivory Coast, but his private flight was diverted to Accra, Ghana, after he allegedly asked the pilot to land in Ghana to avoid arrest upon arrival in Abidjan.
According to Alain Lobognon, a spokesman for the Generations and People in Solidarity (GPS) party, Soro was 'prevented from returning to his country' to 'take part in the electoral process.'
Security forces in uniform and plain clothes stormed the GPS headquarters in Abidjan, forcing members of the media and party loyalists to leave the area.
The 2020 presidential election, scheduled for October, is expected to take place in tense conditions, following a history of violence in the country. The 2010-2011 election ended in deadly violence between rival supporters, resulting in 3,000 deaths.
Soro, a former ally of President Alassane Ouattara, has had a falling out with the president. He previously headed rebels fighting against then-President Laurent Gbagbo in the country's civil war in 2002.
