In a statement on Thursday, Ivory Coast’s National Security Council said the surge in arrivals was driven by assaults carried out by terrorist groups fighting in the region. The council instructed its Executive Secretary to register all asylum seekers and ordered the military’s Chief of Staff to reinforce border defences.
The al-Qaeda-linked group Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, known as JNIM, has been waging an insurgency in Mali for nearly a decade. Formed in 2017 from the merger of several extremist factions, including al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and the Macina Liberation Front, JNIM is considered West Africa’s most active armed group.
Although its operations began in Mali, JNIM has since expanded into Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin and Togo. In late October, the group carried out its first attack in Nigeria, killing a soldier and looting ammunition and cash.
The group has claimed thousands of lives since its formation, though the exact toll remains unclear. It also seeks regime change in Mali and has warned foreign companies against operating in the country without its approval. Mali’s military authorities, who seized power in a 2020 coup, remain locked in conflict with the group as violence continues to spill across borders.