We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Transcript/Script
IVORY COAST FULANI PERSECUTION (TVPKG))
HEADLINE: In Northern Ivory Coast, Fulani Men Say They Are Being Persecuted by Security Forces
TEASER: VOA spoke to victims and community leaders who said security forces drafted into protect against terror attacks are carrying out wrongful arrests and beatings
PUBLISHED AT: 4/7/22, 8:38p
BYLINE: Henry Wilkins
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Kong, Ivory Coast
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Wilkins
VIDEO EDITOR:
SCRIPT EDITORS: MAS, DLJ, DJones approved
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:20
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES:))
((INTRO)) [[As Ivory Coast beefs up its border security with Burkina Faso, ethnic Fulanis say they are being labeled as Islamist militant supporters and persecuted by security forces. Rights groups warn the heavy-handed tactics could backfire, providing fertile recruiting ground for the insurgents. Henry Wilkins reports from Kong, Ivory Coast.]]
((NARRATOR))
After attacks by armed groups on military targets near the border with Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast’s government has sent large numbers of troops to the north in the last two years.
In the town of Kong, close to where many of the attacks have taken place, VOA spoke to three Fulani men who said they were arrested, along with many other Fulani men, by Ivorian government forces that had recently arrived in the area.
They say they and their relatives were beaten by army troops and held for eleven days to two months, without charge, simply because of their ethnicity.
((Boubacar Koueta, Ethnic Fulani (in Fulani, ?? secs)))
“I was lying outside one day, there were many of us and there were also women in the house. Then, we saw two large vehicles arriving, [the soldiers] stopped us first and then some others before firing into the air and beating us. They tied us up, poured water on us and beat us. They left us in the sun until 1 p.m. or 2 p.m.”
((NARRATOR))
Throughout the Sahel, there is a common misconception that Fulanis are behind attacks linked to Islamic State and al-Qaida that have ravaged neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali.
A community leader for the Fulanis in Kong said they had good relations with security forces before new soldiers arrived two years ago.
((Amadou Sidibé, Fulani Community Leader (in French, ?? secs)))
“Before the arrival of the new military, everything was fine. We had no problems with the authorities and security forces. But, since their arrival, the Fulani are often arrested and called terrorists.”
((NARRATOR))
Officials with Human Rights Watch have said persecution of Fulanis in Burkina Faso and Mali are a major catalyst for recruitment by terror groups, who exploit resentment toward the state.
Long-standing tensions between farmers and herder communities like the Fulanis are also used by jihadist groups to stoke violent conflict, according to analysts.
((Lassina Diara, Timbuktu Institute Analyst (in French, ?? secs)))
“That's why I was saying that beyond the religious rhetoric, they are exploiting the social fractures and ethnicity. Indeed, there is a fracture between the Fulani communities and other communities in this region.”
((NARRATOR))
A farmer, near the northern city of Korhogo, who asked for his name to be withheld for reasons of safety, told VOA he is resentful for having to erect fencing, because herders allow cattle to graze his crops of cashew nuts.
((Korhogo Farmer (in French, ?? secs)))
It's the farmer who at all costs has to protect his plantation. I think herders do absolutely nothing because the herdsman just wants to see his cattle well fed.
((NARRATOR))
Lassina Sele runs an NGO that aims to reduce tensions by resolving disputes between farmers and herders. He says local militiamen called dozos are adding to tensions.
((Lassina Sele, NGO Director (in French, ??secs)))
“When the dozos arrest a thief and he is Fulani, he is treated worse than when he is of another ethnic group. I have seen this a lot and I say it loud and clear because I have been here for a long time and I have witnessed it.”
((NARRATOR))
Diara, the analyst, also told VOA he did not think the government was doing enough to relieve tensions between herder and farmer communities.
Ministers in charge of security and social cohesion did not respond to multiple requests by VOA for an interview.
((Henry Wilkins, for VOA News, Kong, Ivory Coast))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Kong, Ivory Coast
Embargo DateApril 7, 2022 23:01 EDT
Byline
((Henry Wilkins, for VOA News, Kong, Ivory Coast))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
