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Ivory Coast Presidential Candidate Soro Rejects Coup Allegations

Reuters

   PARIS - Former Ivory Coast rebel leaderGuillaume Soro dismissed an
   arrest warrant issued against him asbaseless and said he would pursue
   his campaign as a presidentialcandidate from overseas, according to
   comments published Sunday in aFrench newspaper.

   Ivory Coast's public prosecutor issued the warrant for SoroonMondayas
   part of an investigation into an alleged coupplot, forcing him to call
   off a planned homecomingahead of the October 2020 election.

   Soro--who gave the interviewThursdayto the Journal du Dimanchein
   Parisand has been based in France for thepast six months, according to
   the newspaper--said the warrantwas politically motivated.

   This warrant is not based on the law, but has simply beenissued to stop
   a candidate from trying to win office," Sorosaid.

   He added that an audio recording being cited by prosecutorsin their
   allegations was a manipulation and the result of asetup.

   The warrant was issued for breaches of state security,receiving stolen
   public resources and money laundering.

   Still has allies

   The case involving Soro, who retains the loyalty of manyformer rebel
   commanders who now hold senior positions in thearmy, could
   significantly increase tensions ahead of theelection, which is seen as
   a test of Ivory Coast's stability.

   On Saturday, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara saidSoro was not
   above the law and would face justice for allegedlyseeking to
   destabilize the country.

   That came after a group of Ivory Coast opposition partiesaccused state
   authorities on Friday of trying to intimidate thembefore the
   presidential election, and denounced the warrantagainst Soro.

   Soro said he had not had any contact with French PresidentEmmanuel
   Macron's office during his time in France and had notsoughtprotection.
   Macron visitedIvory Coast in late December, before the warrant emerged.

   Soro said he would work on a form of political resistancefrom overseas
   for now.

   "I am and remain a candidate for the presidency," he said.

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