Cote d'Ivoire: The Battle of Abidjan

This research paper analyzes the precarious nature of President Ouattara's control over Cote d'Ivoire following the ousting of Gbagbo, arguing that the forces that secured his victory are not loyal to him but are fragmented rebel groups with their own agendas.

• President Ouattara lacks command and control over the troops that entered Abidjan and those that operated in the west of the country during February and March, contradicting international media reports that these forces were loyal to him.
• The rebel forces are divided into two primary blocks: one led by IB Coulibaly, who operated a clandestine force in Abidjan's Abobo district, and a larger block nominally loyal to Guillaume Soro and a military hierarchy of ten zone commanders.
• The ten zone commanders who ruled the north for over eight years have a history of in-fighting and corruption; for example, Fofie Kouakou has been under UN sanctions since 2005.
• Burkina Faso and its President Compaore have sponsored the rebellion and maintain leverage over the zone commanders, many of whom own property in Burkina Faso, though Compaore has not always been able to maintain total control.
• Ouattara's most urgent and difficult task is to secure a monopoly on the use of force by negotiating with both Gbagbo's former loyalists and the rebels to get them to lay down their weapons, as the international forces protecting him are insufficient to control the country.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2011). Cote d'Ivoire: The Battle of Abidjan. https://saiia.org.za/research/cote-divoire-the-battle-of-abidjan/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Cote d'Ivoire: The Battle of Abidjan. 2011. https://saiia.org.za/research/cote-divoire-the-battle-of-abidjan/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Cote d'Ivoire: The Battle of Abidjan |date=15 April 2011 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/cote-divoire-the-battle-of-abidjan/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2011cote, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Cote d'Ivoire: The Battle of Abidjan}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2011}, month = apr, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/cote-divoire-the-battle-of-abidjan/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }