Arrest warrant issued against Guillaume Soro in Côte d’Ivoire

Côte d’Ivoire has issued an arrest warrant against Guillaume Soro, a former rebel leader and candidate for next year’s presidential election.

Four government sources told Reuters on Monday, just before his return home after more than six months abroad. Soro, who has been on a European tour for several months, was due and to return to Abidjan on Monday, 23 December.

The private jet onboard which he embarked in Paris should initially take him to Côte d’Ivoire, but he was diverted to Ghana “for security reasons,” his adviser, Alain Lobognon, told Reuters. Sources did not provide details of the specific allegations against Soro. A police spokesperson said he was unaware of the warrant.

Soro, 47, led the rebels who tried unsuccessfully to oust President Laurent Gbagbo from power in 2002, before installing Alassane Ouattara as president during a brief civil war after a disputed election in 2010.

In Côte d’Ivoire, police had taken over the headquarters of Guillaume Soro in Abidjan.