Senegal tense as nation awaits ex-president's return

Senegalese security forces were braced Friday for the controversial homecoming of exiled former president Abdoulaye Wade, two years after he lost office in an election marred by violent protests. Wade, 87, who held power from 2000 to 2012, was expected to land in Dakar in the afternoon, aides said, for his first trip back to the west African nation since he moved to France after a bitter defeat to arch rival and current leader Macky Sall. His return -- a show of support for his son Karim, who is in custody on multi million-dollar corruption charges -- has been delayed by 48 hours after his flight was grounded in Casablanca on Wednesday. Wade has accused Sall's government of "manoeuvring" against him by deliberately witholding permission for him to land in Dakar in an attempt to disperse the supporters who had planned to welcome him on his arrival.

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