He landed in the country's economic hub, Abidjan, on Thursday in a Brussels Airlines flight.

The 76-year-old politician had been living in the Belgian capital since his release three years ago. He was welcomed by crowds of supporters, who were allowed in the airport to witness the arrival of their leader after a decade.

Gbagbo was sent to The Hague-based court in 2011 following the killings of 3,000 people in conflict that lingered for months, following his refusal to accept electoral defeat by incumbent president Alassane Ouattara.

He was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity but was acquitted of the charges in 2019 and earlier this year the judges upheld the ruling, opening his way to return back to Ivory Coast.

Al Jazeera reported that the situation in the city was very tense before the arrival of the former president and police had to barricade the entire area close to the airport and there were some incidents where they used tear gas to disperse crowds.

On his arrival, Gbagbo did not speak to journalists before entering his vehicle that was surrounded by his supporters, the report said.

He had plans to visit his strongholds in the city, but since his flight was delayed it was not immediately clear how it would affect those plans, the Al Jazeera report added.

However, his opponents are of the view that he should not be given a statesman's welcome and should be jailed in Ivory Coast, the report stated, adding that several people also demonstrated outside his residence in the Cocody, a neighbourhood of Abidjan on Wednesday.

The report further said that his return is being viewed as a test for the country and the bloody conflict, which he is accused of, is fresh in the minds of the people. Analysts have said that there are concerns over instability rocking the world's largest cocoa producer once again.

Meanwhile, Ouattara provided his political rival a diplomatic passport and made the presidential pavilion available for his arrival.

He has also assured him status and rewards reserved for the ex-presidents which include pension and personal security, the Al Jazeera report informed.

However, Gbagbo hasn't spoken much about the political role he would be playing after his homecoming.

He also faces a 20-year prison term handed down in November, 2019 on charges that he misappropriated funds from the regional central bank.

In April, Ouattara said Gbagbo was free to come back to Ivory Coast, but the government did not say whether Gbagbo had been pardoned.