Ivory Coast on Tuesday revealed that it would spend around $430 million in a three-year campaign which would be geared towards supporting young people in border regions at risk from Sahel jihadists.
The Youth Minister of Mamadou Toure who spoke to reporters said; ‘As part of the fight against vulnerability in northern areas, particularly the six regions bordering Burkina Faso and Mali, the government has launched an ambitious programme of integration and infrastructure for education and health’.
‘The cost amounts to ‘405 million euros,’ he added.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the Gulf of Guinea country has suffered sporadic cross-border attacks over the past two years.
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Armed incursions have also affected neighbouring Ghana, Togo, and Benin, strengthening fears of a southward push from the Sahel towards the coast.
Under the new plan, the government will earmark 33 billion CFA francs ($53 million) to provide 60,000 young people with professional training, apprenticeships, and startup financing.
‘Along with the military response, we want… to develop an ambitious social programme to… give young people prospects to prevent them from becoming easy targets for jihadist movements,’ Toure said.
‘Many young people sometimes have difficulty integrating after attending madrassas,’ or Koranic schools, he added.
Meanwhile, no fewer than 50 civilians have been killed following attacks by suspected jihadists in northern Burkina Faso, government spokesman Lionel Bilgo said Monday, in one of the bloodiest clashes since a military coup in January.
‘The army has so far found 50 bodies’ after the village of Seytenga was attacked yesterday, Bilgo said, adding that the toll ‘may rise.’
‘Relatives (of the victims) have returned to Seytenga and may have taken bodies away,’ he told a press conference on Tuesday morning.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that Seytenga was the site of bloody fighting last week.
