Ivory Coast plans to strengthen military force, to recruit 3,000 soldiers

The Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara has announced the recruitment of 3,000 soldiers in 2022, in a bid to strengthen the country’s defense system.

The measure is in response to the growing terrorist threat, which has seen several attacks by armed groups in the north of the country.

The recruitment of these 3,000 soldiers, provided for in the 2022 budget of the Ministry of Defence, marks the first wave of enrolment of a total of 10,000 new soldiers expected to join the Ivorian army by 2024.

The announcement came shortly after a meeting among the ECOWAS Committee Chiefs of Staff in Abidjan last week where all parties supported the need for intelligence sharing among the member states.

Since last year, Côte d'Ivoire has been at the forefront of fighting against armed Jihadists groups, which regularly launch attacks in the north of the country, near the border with Burkina Faso

The most recent attack took place in Kafolo in June 2020 where fourteen Ivorian soldiers were killed.