By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Ivory Coast says it is strengthening security along its northern border in response to “unusual refugee flows” believed to be caused by incessant attacks by armed groups on civilians in neighbouring Mali, a Sahel nation battling jihadist insurgency.
According to a government statement, the Ivory Coast’s National Security Council after a meeting on Thursday instructed the military leadership to reinforce security in the area.
The rise in the number of refugees is “reportedly due to attacks on civilians by Armed Terrorist Groups in several localities in southern Mali,” the statement said, adding that Ivorian authorities were working to register asylum seekers entering into the country.
It is however not clear which armed groups were behind the violent attacks, as the statement could not disclose.
The landlocked Mali has been dealing with al Qaeda-linked jihadists who in September announced a fuel blockade that has led to long lines at petrol stations in the capital and temporarily forced schools to close.
Recently, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has increased attacks in a demonstration of force, sparking concern abroad that it might eventually try to impose its rule over the country.
JNIM has expanded operations in western Mali while also advancing in the south towards Ivory Coast.
Mali’s foreign minister this week dismissed as “implausible” the notion that jihadists could soon take the capital Bamako.
More than a decade of insurgencies in the Sahel has displaced millions and battered economies, prompting Ivory Coast and other coastal nations to invest heavily to push back militants.
