Blinken hails Ivory Coast fight against armed groups on West Africa tour

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday praised the Ivory Coast for choosing a less militarised approach to security during his four-nation tour to rally African democracies as crises engulf the region.

In the capital Abidjan, the top United States diplomat hailed the Ivory Coast’s stand against last year’s coup in Niger and its approach of “building security together” by investing economically to combat rebel violence in northern areas bordering Mali and Burkina Faso.

“I have to applaud the approach that’s been taken by Cote d’Ivoire – working with communities, listening to communities, making sure that their security forces understand the needs, the concerns of communities,” Blinken said alongside the Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara. “I think that can serve as a very powerful model for other countries.”

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