Ivory Coast officer killed in pre-poll shooting

A gendarme was shot dead Monday during a security patrol in Ivory Coast’s restive south as the country gears up for presidential elections Saturday, a gendarmerie statement said. The area where the shooting took place has seen several opposition protests and blockades in the run-up to the election, in which incumbent Alassane Ouattara is seeking […]

A gendarme was shot dead Monday during a security patrol in Ivory Coast’s restive south as the country gears up for presidential elections Saturday, a gendarmerie statement said.

The area where the shooting took place has seen several opposition protests and blockades in the run-up to the election, in which incumbent Alassane Ouattara is seeking a fourth term.

The officer from the Agboville unit “lost his life during a mission”, the statement said, without indicating who was responsible.

“As he was advancing with the gendarmes under his command along the Agboville-Azaguie route, the patrol came under gunfire 500 metres (1,640 feet) from the town of Grand Yapo,” said the gendarmerie.

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It added that the dead officer succumbed to wounds to the shoulder and abdomen.

Tensions have been high ahead of the weekend vote, with the opposition calling for demonstrations against the exclusion of its two main candidates, ex-president Laurent Gbagbo and international banker Tidjane Thiam.

The authorities have banned those protests, citing a risk of public disorder.

There have been sporadic rallies in recent days in some areas, notably the south and west, both regions where the opposition has historically been strong.

More than 700 people have been arrested, some for “acts of terrorism”, according to state prosecutor Oumar Braman Kone.

Some 30 people have been handed jail terms for public order disturbances while one person was shot dead during a demonstration by unidentified individuals, according to police.

Meanwhile, the Head of the ECOWAS Mission to observe the presidential election of October 25, 2025, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, arrived in Abidjan on the afternoon of Monday, October 20, 2025. 

Osinbajo is coordinating the joint mission comprising 207 observers from ECOWAS and 66 others from the African Union.  He will be assisted by Baboucarr Blaise Ismaïla JAGNE, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of The Gambia. 

Welcomed upon arrival in Abidjan by Dr. Abdel-Fatau Musah, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security of the ECOWAS Commission, and the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, H.E. Ms. Fanta CISSE, Prof. Osinbajo expressed his hope that the ongoing process would proceed in a peaceful manner and in accordance with regional and international principles, norms, and standards.

Four opposition candidates will go up against Ouattara.

They are former trade minister Jean-Louis Billon, representing a new grouping of parties, ex-president Gbagbo’s former wife Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, former minister Ahoua Don Mello and Henriette Lagou, who stood as a candidate in 2015.