(18 Jun 2021) Former President Laurent Gbagbo returned home to Ivory Coast on Thursday, a decade after his refusal to concede defeat in a presidential election sparked months of violence that left more than 3,000 people dead.
After making his way down the steps to the runway, Gbagbo made his way to a vehicle that was then surrounded by crowds as it headed toward the city.
Tensions between the jubilant crowds and security forces were high, with tear gas being used to disperse people coming to greet Gbagbo near the airport on Thursday.
Clashes continued later along the route Gbagbo's vehicle took toward party headquarters.He later made a brief speech to his supporters at his former campaign headquarters in Cocody.
"I am happy to return to Ivory Coast and to Africa," he said before adding: "I know that I am Ivorian but in prison I knew that I belonged to Africa."
While the government led by his longtime rival President Alassane Ouattara has allowed Gbagbo's return to Ivorian soil, there already have been concerns about what impact his presence will have on the nation's political stability.
It is not immediately known whether the 76-year-old ex-president will seek to re-enter politics.
Gbagbo was extradited to the International Criminal Court at The Hague in 2011 and spent eight years awaiting trial on war crimes charges. A judge acquitted him in 2019, saying prosecutors had failed to prove their case.
The verdict was appealed but upheld in late March, clearing the way for Gbagbo to leave Belgium, where he had spent the past two years.
While thousands celebrate, his opponents, though, maintain he should be jailed in Ivory Coast, not given a statesman's welcome. Some demonstrated outside Gbagbo's residence in the Cocody on Wednesday.
Thursday, though, was mostly a day of jubilation for Gbagbo's supporters, who long have maintained his prosecution was unfair and politically motivated. The ex-president garnered nearly 46% of the vote in 2010 and maintains a strong base of supporters.
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