Ivorian Protection Minister Téné Birahima Ouattara, who was appointed simply over a month in the past, has simply accomplished a regional tour that took him to Ouagadougou and Bamako. Côte d’Ivoire has been combating jihadism since 2016 and has been concerned in two assaults in a single yr in Kafolo, close to the Burkinabè border, which killed a whole of about twenty individuals. Ivory Coast additionally displays its Malian border with anxiousness. The brand new minister due to this fact went to those two capitals to state the pressing want for extra cooperation.
as reported from Abidjan, Pierre Pinto
One yr in the past, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso led a joint anti-jihadist operation known as “Comoé” alongside their border. On June 11, 2020, Burkina Jihadists attacked an Ivorian place in Kafolo on the border, killing 14 Ivorian troopers. Based on many specialists, this was a retaliatory measure for Operation Comoe.
In Ouagadougou, Monday 12 Might, Téné Birahima Ouattara insisted on the necessity to pool assets towards terrorism and share intelligence. Does this imply that the collaboration is troublesome? “No,” solutions researcher Arthur Banga. “Nevertheless it should be accelerated, intensified, particularly when the risk turns into clearer within the Ivory Coast.”
“Comoe 2” might be launched quickly?
The nation was hit by a brand new jihadist assault in Kafolo at the top of March. The workers talk over with one another day by day, we guarantee the Ministry of Protection. The incontrovertible fact that the expertise of Operation Comoe was not repeated is claimed to be as a result of the home political calendar within the two international locations in 2020, the place presidential elections have been held. As well as, in response to a well-introduced supply, an operation “Comoe 2” could quickly start.
In Bamako, too, there was speak of cooperation, particularly with intelligence companies and the secure 500 kilometers of frequent borders. Based on the Malian military, the ministers determined “to perform joint or simultaneous patrols on the border” and insisted on “holding periodic conferences between the commanders of the border areas”.
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