France has pledged to start boosting military support in Ivory Coast as part of a strategic adjustment in West Africa. The move by officials in France boosting military support in Ivory Coast follows Burkina Faso’s decision to order French troops to leave, marking the end of French military operations in the country. The region has been plagued by Islamist groups linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS, which have taken over large parts of land and displaced millions of people in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. France’s Defence Minister, Sebastien Lecornu, declined to comment on Burkina Faso’s decision, but reaffirmed France’s commitment to engagement with security issues in West Africa during an official visit to the Ivorian commercial capital Abidjan.
“We will strengthen cooperation with Ivory Coast in terms of training and equipment because it is an important country for us,” he said.
Burkina Faso has had the highest number of Islamist attacks in the Sahel, with about 3,600 people killed last year, according to the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies. The Burkinabe army said at least 51 soldiers had been killed in an ambush the previous week, one of the heaviest death tolls in a single attack on Burkina Faso forces in recent memory.
Why France boosting military support in Ivory Coast now?
The security crisis has spurred coups in Burkina Faso and neighbouring Mali, where military juntas have vowed to curb the violence and look beyond their traditional western and regional allies for support. France’s departure from Burkina Faso follows its withdrawal of troops from Mali last year after the authorities there started working with Russian military contractors.
France has not confirmed where it will move the troops, but French defence and diplomatic sources said in January the special forces could be moved to Niger, where a large contingent of French and European soldiers is based. Paris also has a large military presence in Chad.
The insurgency took root in Mali after an uprising in 2012. From there it has spread to Burkina Faso and Niger and displaced about 2.5 million people, according to the UN. The region now fears a rising threat to neighbouring states such as Ivory Coast, Benin and Togo, which have had increased attacks in recent years, prompting discussions about how to stem the insurgency’s southward spread.
Ivory Coast’s army is well positioned to become a major player in the regional fight against the insurgents, a French Defence Ministry official travelling with Mr Lecornu said. The official also praised Benin’s “impressive” investment in building up its armed forces. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to visit sub-Saharan Africa in early March, although he is expected to steer clear of former French colonies in the Sahel. The rejection of French military help by Burkina Faso and Mali could allow other states in the region to put themselves forward as more reliable partners to western powers.
Although the last terror attack conducted in Ivory Coast was in 2016, the country faces a significant security threat posed by Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQ-M) and its associated groups, which aim to showcase their capabilities and increase their influence across the Sahel region. While the main area of operation for AQ-M is the Sahel region, which comprises Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger, the threat could expand to other neighbouring countries in the region, including Ivory Coast due to the porous nature of the borders.
The northern border areas of Ivory Coast, including the Comoé national park area in the north-east, have become increasingly vulnerable to attacks throughout 2020-21, with improvised explosive devices being more frequently used. Other areas in Ivory Coast, including Abidjan, are at risk of terrorist attacks. An attack by Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQ-M) occurred on 13 March 2016, at Grand Bassam near Abidjan, in which 18 people lost their lives, including several foreigners.
What is Ivory Coast doing?
The Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, Patrick Achi, announced in 2021 that the country is ramping up its investment in schools, hospitals, and job opportunities in its northern region to combat violent extremism. The northern part of Ivory Coast is geographically distant from commercial hubs and shares borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, where extremist organizations are known to operate and have increasingly conducted attacks across the border. The prime minister expressed concern over the recruitment of local youth by these groups and said that the government will strengthen border security in collaboration with its Western allies.
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