Six receive life sentences for 2020 Ivory Coast jihadist attack
via Punch Nigeria1 min read
Six individuals have been sentenced to life imprisonment in Ivory Coast for their involvement in a 2020 jihadist attack that resulted in the deaths of 14 soldiers at a border post. The attack occurred overnight on June 10-11, 2020, in the northeastern village of Kafolo. Of the 45 defendants on trial, 17 received 20-year jail terms and were fined 50 million CFA francs. One person was sentenced to five years, and 21 were acquitted. While no group claimed responsibility, the attack was attributed to jihadists operating from across the border in Burkina Faso, believed to be in retaliation for a joint Ivorian and Burkinabe operation against extremists in the region. Ivory Coast shares its northern border with Burkina Faso and Mali, both of which have experienced widespread Islamist extremist attacks that have extended south towards coastal nations. In a separate incident, three Ivorian soldiers were killed in March 2021 during an attack on two army positions near the Burkina Faso border, including in Kafolo. Additionally, 19 people died in an attack on the seaside town of Grand-Bassam in March 2016.
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