documentThe Brussels-based International Crisis Group has issued a 20-page report warning of the danger of jihadists operating in the Sahel region are moving south into countries such as Côte d'Ivoire. The Islamist militants in the Sahel have made repeated sorties into coastal West African countries, including Côte d'Ivoire. As jihadist groups in the Sahel move southward, Côte d'Ivoire has beefed up its security deployment in the north and rolled out a range of social projects to alleviate poverty and youth unemployment. Côte d'Ivoire, which has Francophone West Africa's biggest economy, appears uniquely well placed to guard against the jihadist expansion, but it faces risks nonetheless. Côte d'Ivoire's twin focus on security and economic development is yielding important dividends for the population in the north.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 12, 2023 12:24 UTC