Ivory Coast is deploying additional security forces to its northern border following a sharp increase in refugees fleeing violence in southern Mali, raising concern that instability is spilling into the previously more stable coastal nation.
At an emergency meeting of the Ivorian National Security Council, officials ordered military leaders to fortify the frontier. The government attributed the surge to “unusual refugee flows” triggered by “attacks on civilians by armed terrorist groups in several localities in southern Mali.”
Authorities have begun registering asylum seekers arriving from Mali while stepping up security protocols in the volatile northern region. The council also instructed its general staff to implement enhanced border control measures.
The displacement is tied to growing operations by Jama’at Nusrat al‑Islam wal‑Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda–linked militant group, which has increasingly expanded into southern Mali. JNIM has reportedly enforced a fuel blockade in Mali, constraining deliveries and exacerbating economic hardship.
The refugee influx compounds a growing humanitarian challenge: UNICEF reports that thousands of people displaced by militant conflict in Mali and the Sahel region have crossed into coastal countries, including Ivory Coast.
In response to the crisis, the National Security Council has ordered the registration of asylum seekers and reinforced military presence along the northern border. The heightened security posture comes amid preparations for Ivory Coast’s upcoming legislative elections, with some 44,000 security personnel set to be deployed.
Experts warn that the intensifying conflict in Mali, and JNIM’s southward expansion, may threaten the stability of coastal West African countries that had previously enjoyed relative calm.
