Links between violent extremism and illicit activities in Côte d’Ivoire

This report by the Institute for Security Studies examines the intersection of violent extremism and illicit economies in northern Côte d’Ivoire between 2019 and 2023. It specifically analyzes how extremist groups, including those linked to GSIM and IS Sahel, have infiltrated the livestock economy and illegal artisanal gold mining to secure funding, logistics, and human resources. The document details a three-phase security sequence in the north-east, moving from exploratory incursions to active attacks and a subsequent lull, while providing policy recommendations for regulating the mining and livestock sectors to deprive these groups of resources.

• Côte d’Ivoire experienced a specific sequence of violent extremist threats starting in 2016, which escalated into a concentrated period of insecurity along its northern borders between 2019 and 2021. This period was marked by incursions, attacks on security forces, and intimidation of local populations, notably beginning with a June 2020 attack on a mixed army-gendarmerie post in Kafolo.
• Violent extremist groups have strategically infiltrated the livestock economy and illegal artisanal gold mining to generate financial resources, mobilize human resources, and secure livelihoods. In the north-east, these activities served as a basis for funding, recruitment, and supply.
• Extremist groups have transformed traditional cattle theft into an illicit cross-border economy. They use the threat of livestock loss to coerce herders and owners into collaboration, posing as 'protectors' in the Bounkani and Tchologo regions. Some owners are required to pay an annual contribution in cash or cattle, similar to zakat.
• In the livestock sector, extremist groups act as financiers, providing capital to traders to organize cattle convoys to the Port-Bouët abattoir in Abidjan. They also utilize a network of 'business partners', informants, and recruiters, many of whom belong to the Fulani community.
• Violent extremist groups have interfered in illegal artisanal gold mining, particularly within the Comoé National Park (PNC) and along the Comoé River. Their involvement includes acting as financiers for mining operations, providing ore-detection equipment, and occasionally confiscating gold from miners through intimidation.
• The Comoé National Park (PNC) is highly vulnerable to illegal gold mining and livestock incursions due to a history of fragmented control and the complicity of some agents from the Ivorian Parks and Reserves Office (OIPR).
• While the north of Côte d’Ivoire has seen an apparent lull in extremist attacks since late 2021 or early 2022, the threat persists due to ongoing insecurity in neighboring countries and the presence of nearly 32,000 asylum seekers from Burkina Faso in the north, which raises concerns about infiltration.
• The report recommends that Ivorian authorities reduce the financial and administrative costs of obtaining legal mining permits and accelerate the revision of the Mining Code to better integrate local populations into legal artisanal mining.
• To counter the livestock-based funding of extremists, the report suggests strengthening regulations on transhumance and improving the traceability of livestock from the north to cities like Abidjan through better control mechanisms.

APA

Assanvo, W. (2023). Links between violent extremism and illicit activities in Côte d’Ivoire. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/war-44.pdf

Chicago

Assanvo, William. Links between violent extremism and illicit activities in Côte d’Ivoire. Institute for Security Studies, 2023. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/war-44.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Assanvo |first1=William |title=Links between violent extremism and illicit activities in Côte d’Ivoire |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=August 2023 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/war-44.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{assanvo2023links, author = {Assanvo, William}, title = {{Links between violent extremism and illicit activities in Côte d’Ivoire}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/war-44.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }