Forced eviction operations underway in the Adjame Village neighborhood in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast
Regarding the ongoing operations in the Adjame Village district in Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, it should be noted that this is the continuation of the campaign against urban disorder decided by the Ivorian government and entrusted to Cissé Bacongo, the governor of the district of ‘Abidjan, the Ivorian political capital.
The day after the African Cup of Nations football organized by Côte d’Ivoire from January to February 2024, the district governor began forced eviction operations (evictions) causing enormous victims, namely families without shelters, children unable to go to school. Thanks to the strong mobilization of Ivorian and international civil society, particularly with Habitat International Coalition which had designed and published a warning message, and also thanks to the Ivorian political opposition, the Ivorian authorities had stopped their inhumane operations.
Against all expectations, on Wednesday June 24, the governor of the Abidjan district claimed to have received the order from the Ivorian head of state to once again fight against urban disorder.
Putting words into action, bulldozers and other machines burst into the Adjame Village neighborhood, putting people in panic and disarray. Faced with this situation, people made the decision to defend themselves by attacking the devices, destroying them and setting them on fire.
Why were these populations abandoned by their leaders?
It emerges after investigation and supporting evidence that the traditional chiefs of Adjame village received large sums of money from the Ivorian government, hence their silence and passivity.
Faced with this situation, we ask:
- The suspension of eviction operations currently underway in the Adjame Village district
- the summoning of the chiefs of Adjame village before the populations so that they can explain themselves
- the restitution by the chiefs of Adjame village of the sums of money collected from the Ivorian state and the direct compensation of the populations targeted by these forced evictions
- additional time to allow populations to reorganize or relocate
Report by HIC Member, Humanitas Solidaris
