Latest news with #Abidjan
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Can robots save farming? Ivory Coast youths turn to drones, AI in push to modernise cocoa sector
ABIDJIAN, July 15 — Stopwatch in hand, dozens of Ivory Coast students raced against the clock to design robots for the farms of the future in the world's top cocoa-producing nation. With each team facing off to draw up the best bot blueprint, the competition is part of a broader push to tempt the west African nation's large population of young people, disillusioned with farming life, back to the plough. Though farming has long been the pillar of Ivory Coast's economy, many young Ivorians have turned their backs on fruit-picking and tree-felling, discouraged by the hard labour and the slow pace of progress. 'I come from a family of farmers,' 20-year-old student Pele Ouattara told AFP at the event in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's largest city. 'My passion for robotics grew out of my desire to improve the conditions in which my parents used to farm,' he added. On a rival team several metres away, fellow student Urielle Diaidh, 24, feared that Ivorian farming 'risks dying out with time if modern technologies aren't adopted'. Dominated by the cultivation of cocoa, rubber and cashew nuts, nearly half of Ivorians with jobs work in agriculture in one way or another. Yet the country's farms have been slow to modernise. Less than 30 percent of farms are mechanised, according to the National Centre for Agronomic Research. And although three-quarters of Ivorians are under the age of 35, the sector is struggling to refresh an ageing workforce. Surrounded by a flurry of tiny white robots on their circuit rounds, digital transformation engineer Paul-Marie Ouattara said he has seen 'a real enthusiasm from young people' for bringing agriculture into the 21st century. This 'agriculture 4.0' that the competition wishes to promote is 'improved, enhanced through new technologies, whether they be robots, drones, artificial intelligence, or data processing', the 27-year-old said. All these 'will help the farmer', insisted Ouattara, who works for a private business which sponsored the contest. Change, but for whom? Young people have not wholly given up on farming, however — just on the old way of tilling the land. At the Ivorian digital transition ministry, Stephane Kounandi Coulibaly, director of innovation and private sector partnerships, said he had seen a boom in agricultural start-ups. Most of them were founded by young people, he added. The 'agritech' trend mirrors that already in motion across the continent, including in Benin, Nigeria and Kenya, with Abidjan hosting a forum for African start-ups at the beginning of July. Ivory Coast's world-leading cocoa growers, who produce 40 percent of the global supply, are also climbing aboard. 'We have noticed the appearance of new technologies since four or five years ago,' said Thibeaut Yoro, secretary-general of the national union of cocoa producers. Yoro hailed how those shiny new gadgets helped lighten a 'strenuous' job still riddled with 'archaic practices'. 'We dig, we hack through the bush, we harvest with machetes,' he said, with planters suffering from 'back aches and fatigue' as a result. 'These are things which could be changed with new technology,' the trade union leader argued. Who can afford those mod cons is another question altogether. A pesticide-spraying drone with a capacity of 20 litres can cost nine million CFA francs, or around US$16,000. That is nine times what the average farmer, owning one hectare of cocoa trees, would make in six months. 10 minutes vs two days To reduce those costs, out of the reach of most farmers, a number of Ivorian enterprises offering equipment and technology for hire have sprung up. In the verdant countryside outside of Tiassale, around 125 kilometres outside of Abidjan, Faustin Zongo has called in a contractor to spray his field of passion fruit plants with pesticides. Thanks to the drone, the job took 10 minutes per hectare to complete, for the cost of around US$27. Using traditional methods, 'it would take two days for each hectare', the farmer said. By his side, Nozene Ble Binate, project manager for Investiv — the company Zongo hired — said that using up-to-date technology made farming 'more attractive'. 'More and more young people are returning to the land and reaching out to us,' the 42-year-old said. Back in Abidjan, Jool has made a business of offering ranchers software-powered analysis of their crops, with prices starting under US$100. The start-up's 32-year-old founder, Joseph-Olivier Biley — the son of farmers himself — boasted of his tool's ability to 'know what to plant, where and how' and to 'detect diseases before they strike'. With it, farmers could expect yields 'optimised by more than 40 percent', Biley told AFP at Jool's offices, on the outskirts of the Ivorian economic capital. At the digital transformation ministry, Coulibaly, the innovation chief, said the west African country plans to build a centre for manufacturing state-of-the-art inventions and training farmers in their use. That would mean Ivorian businesses would no longer have to import their technology from abroad, often from China, he added. — AFP
France 24
2 days ago
- Science
- France 24
Ivory Coast farmers hope tech tempts jaded youth back to fields
With each team facing off to draw up the best bot blueprint, the competition is part of a broader push to tempt the west African nation's large population of young people, disillusioned with farming life, back to the plough. Though farming has long been the pillar of Ivory Coast's economy, many young Ivorians have turned their backs on fruit-picking and tree-felling, discouraged by the hard labour and the slow pace of progress. "I come from a family of farmers," 20-year-old student Pele Ouattara told AFP at the event in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's largest city. "My passion for robotics grew out of my desire to improve the conditions in which my parents used to farm," he added. On a rival team several metres away, fellow student Urielle Diaidh, 24, feared that Ivorian farming "risks dying out with time if modern technologies aren't adopted". Dominated by the cultivation of cocoa, rubber and cashew nuts, nearly half of Ivorians with jobs work in agriculture in one way or another. Yet the country's farms have been slow to modernise. Less than 30 percent of farms are mechanised, according to the National Centre for Agronomic Research. And although three-quarters of Ivorians are under the age of 35, the sector is struggling to refresh an ageing workforce. Surrounded by a flurry of tiny white robots on their circuit rounds, digital transformation engineer Paul-Marie Ouattara said he has seen "a real enthusiasm from young people" for bringing agriculture into the 21st century. This "agriculture 4.0" that the competition wishes to promote is "improved, enhanced through new technologies, whether they be robots, drones, artificial intelligence, or data processing", the 27-year-old said. All these "will help the farmer", insisted Ouattara, who works for a private business which sponsored the contest. Change, but for whom? Young people have not wholly given up on farming, however -- just on the old way of tilling the land. At the Ivorian digital transition ministry, Stephane Kounandi Coulibaly, director of innovation and private sector partnerships, said he had seen a boom in agricultural start-ups. Most of them were founded by young people, he added. The "agritech" trend mirrors that already in motion across the continent, including in Benin, Nigeria and Kenya, with Abidjan hosting a forum for African start-ups at the beginning of July. Ivory Coast's world-leading cocoa growers, who produce 40 percent of the global supply, are also climbing aboard. "We have noticed the appearance of new technologies since four or five years ago," said Thibeaut Yoro, secretary-general of the national union of cocoa producers. Yoro hailed how those shiny new gadgets helped lighten a "strenuous" job still riddled with "archaic practices". "We dig, we hack through the bush, we harvest with machetes," he said, with planters suffering from "back aches and fatigue" as a result. "These are things which could be changed with new technology," the trade union leader argued. Who can afford those mod cons is another question altogether. A pesticide-spraying drone with a capacity of 20 litres (five US gallons) can cost nine million CFA francs, or around $16,000. That is nine times what the average farmer, owning one hectare (two-and-a-half acres) of cocoa trees, would make in six months. 10 minutes vs two days To reduce those costs, out of the reach of most farmers, a number of Ivorian enterprises offering equipment and technology for hire have sprung up. In the verdant countryside outside of Tiassale, around 125 kilometres (78 miles) outside of Abidjan, Faustin Zongo has called in a contractor to spray his field of passion fruit plants with pesticides. Thanks to the drone, the job took 10 minutes per hectare to complete, for the cost of around $27. Using traditional methods, "it would take two days for each hectare", the farmer said. By his side, Nozene Ble Binate, project manager for Investiv -- the company Zongo hired -- said that using up-to-date technology made farming "more attractive". "More and more young people are returning to the land and reaching out to us," the 42-year-old said. Back in Abidjan, Jool has made a business of offering ranchers software-powered analysis of their crops, with prices starting under $100. The start-up's 32-year-old founder, Joseph-Olivier Biley -- the son of farmers himself -- boasted of his tool's ability to "know what to plant, where and how" and to "detect diseases before they strike". With it, farmers could expect yields "optimised by more than 40 percent", Biley told AFP at Jool's offices, on the outskirts of the Ivorian economic capital. At the digital transformation ministry, Coulibaly, the innovation chief, said the west African country plans to build a centre for manufacturing state-of-the-art inventions and training farmers in their use. That would mean Ivorian businesses would no longer have to import their technology from abroad, often from China, he added.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Why 'pan-Africanist' influencers and Ibrahim Traoré fans dey push fake claim about coup
Mafalda Marchioro wake up to messages from friends wey dey stay abroad dey ask am weda she dey safe for Abidjan wey be di biggest city for Ivory Coast. Social media bin dey full of posts wey claim say coup dey go on. Dramatic video comot wey show sojas dey waka for road comot platforms as AI generated and presenter led reports bin get millions of views for YouTube. Di management consultant tell BBC say, "I bin really worry, really fear, I bin tink say sometin dey happened." But di claims around 19 May na lie. Dem be di most recent example of lie-lie rumours wey dey spread about coups for West Africa, wey dey raisee tensions for region wey recently don see plenti military takeovers. Ivory Coast wey be one of di few French speaking kontris wey still be paddi wit di West, go hold presidential elections later dis year. Sabi pipo believe say e fit tirn target for dis kain disinformation wit tori to attack di electoral process. Dis na bicos di Ivorian president Alassane Ouatrra wan run for fourth term in office and e dey seen as pro-Western - and im critics accuse am say e dey jor--jor wit kontris wey dey exploit di continent. Ivory Coast Minister of communications Amadou Coulibaly tell BBC say dem don trace di origin of di fake informate go "neighbouring kontris" but im no add any oda informate. Di rumour be like say e comot from kasal wit Burkina Faso and dey promoted by growing wave of self styled pan-Africanist influencers. Dem reject ties wit di West, dey often support Russia and generate tok-tok across di continent to reach kontris like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. Di influencers don also promote pipo like Burkina Faso military leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré wey seize power for coup for 2022. Traoré dey show imself as pan-Africanist and get plenti genuine support from young pipo across di continent who dey see am as leader wey dey stand up to di West. Alex Vines, wey be di director of di Africa Programme at Chatham House think tank, tok say di influencers dey try to sow doubt on top di exsisting political leadership by say dem spreaf or ginger coup rumours to shift public confidence for di current institutions. E tell BBC say dem dey "find beta market of readers wey wan see more assertive African leaders wey dey developmental and dey bring peace and prosperity". Even though analysts dey suggest say dis Ivory Coast rumours resemble one Russian sponsored campaign, proof no dey say Russia get hand inside. Di kontri don dey linked to influence operations for French-speaking West African kontris bifor. According to di US Department of Defense Africa Center for Strategic Studies, di disinformation networks wey dey connected to di Russian Wagner Group bin try to spark rumours of coup for Niger for 2023. No proof dey say di Burkinabé authorities bin get hand inside di Ivory Coast coup rumours but pipo wey dey live for dia no spread am. Di relationship between Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast spoil well-well ova one year ago wen Traoré accuse im neighbour say dem dey tolerate militant groups for di territory and dey house who dem call "destabilizers" and dissidents wey dey openly insult im junta. Den dis April, im security minister blame plotters wey dey stay Ivory Coast say dem dey plan to overthrow Traoré, dis accuse bin spread well-well online. Di BBC Global Disinformation Unite analyse mentions of di fake Ivorian coup reports for TikTok, Facebook, X and YouTube and di earlies popular post wey we find na from 19 May, wey one pro-goment activist for Burkina Faso, Harouna Sawadogo wey dey make content for im 200,000 TikTok followers about almost only Capt Traoré. E bin post selfie video for French and Mooré wey be local language say sojas for Ivory Coast need rise up to run coup and encourage pipo to share im post. One hour later, e post video wey show picture of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara on top video of of rapid gunfre wit di caption wey tok sat coup dey happun even though di video clip comot from recent India-Pakistan tensions ova Kashmir. Di next day, social media users outside di Francophone West Africa chop di misinformation and push am give English speaking audience for Nigeria, Kenya nad South Africa wey encourage oda social media users to do di same. Wen di BBC message oga sawadogo weeks later wit di Facebook page wey dey post im live videos, to ask wia e for get im information, e no tok any details but tok say e "pray to God say Alassane [Ouattara] dey brought down by coup d'etat." Anoda pesin wey carry di rumour post am for English, na Turkish born South African Mehmet Vefa Dag wey dey run di Truth and Solidarity Movement wey be small political organisation for South Africa. E post plenti times for different platforms dey celebrate wetin im call "internal coup". In fact oga Dag wey dem don drag for offensive and false comments against Jews and LGBTQ+ pipo, bin also call for coup for Ivory Coast on X for 11 May. Wen BBC contact am for 3 JUne, wen e bin clear say no coup bin happun, e insist say e bin happun. E tok say, "we dey very proud of whoeva run di coup comot Ouattara. E bin sell im soul to imperialists and wan destroy Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger." E add say, "as pan-Africanists we no go eva give dem chance again. We go fight for our kontri. Dis na our continent". Di most popular YouTube videos about di alleged kasala for Ivory Coast wey bin dey viewed millions of times, bin dey shared by channels wey position demselves as dedicated to pan-Africanism or tok-tok about Burkina Faso junta leafer. According to Effiong Udo, wey be associate professor for Nigeria University of Uyo and president of di Pan-African Dialouge Institute, sone "opportunistic influencers" dey romantisize military goments dey pretend say na pan-Africanism wey be movement to promote unity and freedom for di continent. Dem dey do like dat, according to di prof to gain popularity and make moeny from dia content. But e tell BBC say dis kain content na di kain tin wey young pipo wey politics don tay, de like. E add say, " I fit understand dia ginger". Kenyan academic Karuti Kanyinga gree say dat kain social media content dey ginger desire for accountable leaders wey fit change Africa, wey no dey waste resources and dey try to comot pipo from poverty. Di research professor of development studies for di University of Nairobi Insitiote for Development Studies tell BBC say, "but di pipo wey dey try give misinformation and disinformation about Traoré for Burkina Faso and coup ofr Ivory Coast no be agents of pan-Africanism". Doubt no dey say Traoré get fans and for content creators na im be di tori of di moment, anytin about am and im political worldview dey do well online. Kenyan YouTuber Godfrey Otieno wey dey produce content on trending news sat e bin nack dis winning formula months ago wen e bin post video wey report on di fake news say Capt Traoré best friend shoot am. E tell di BBC say "e really trend" and since dat time im content na all about di Burkinabé leader. E be one of di pipo wey repeat di fake tori about Ivory Coast for May and im video get ova 200,000 viwes. E later tok sorry say e get am wrong. E admit say e dey make money from some of im content but e add say e no dey monetize all im posts and unlike some pipo wey dey call demselves "pan-African influencers", no be only money dey motivate am. E tok say, "dia be pipo for di space wey dey use misinformation and disinformation to take grow dia reach and do engangement farming." Pipo really get interest for dis content and comments for di fake coup videos na often positive, wey fit show say pipo for di continent wan chanfe. But to call make dem comot Ivory Coast goment cause real panic for di pipo wey dey live dia and all of dat dey lead to increase fear as di West African kontri dey ready demselves for dia elections for October. Additional reporting by di BBC Nicolas Négoce
Zawya
7 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
The task force on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Trade Liberalisation Scheme (TLS) has held a meeting to take stock of eight years of action in the field
The Task Force on the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (TLS) met from the 1st to 3rd of July 2025, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to take stock of the eight years of field missions across the ECOWAS Member States. The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the TLS Task Force, Dr Mohamed Ibn CHAMBAS, the ECOWAS Commission's Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Ms Massandjé TOURE-LITSE, members of the first and second teams of the TLS Task Force, executives from the Customs Union and Taxation Directorate, and representatives of associations lobbying for the free movement of people and goods in West Africa, including AOCTAH/WACTAF, the Borderless Alliance, ENDA-CACID, NANTS, and ROPPA. In his welcoming remarks, the Chairman of the TLS Task Force, Dr Mohamed Ibn CHAMBAS, recalled the main objective of the meeting, which is not only to take stock of the actions of the TLS Task Force since the installation of the first team in 2016 up to the present day, to analyse without complacency the strengths and weaknesses of the said actions, but also to make relevant proposals likely to reinforce the gains made and correct the weaknesses, with a view to eliminating obstacles to intra-regional trade. Opening the meeting on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E Dr Omar Alieu TOURAY, the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs Massandjé LITSE-TOURE, welcomed the key role played by the TLS Task Force in deepening intra-community trade through the free movement of people and goods. She praised the leadership of Dr CHAMBAS, who has brought a number of trade facilitation reforms to the attention of the region's highest authorities, with tangible results. The plenary session, which lasted three days, enabling participants to make proposals to allow the TLS Task Force to be more effective in its future actions. The participants also recommended that the TLS Task Force should advocate for the strengthening of Member States' commitment to regional integration through the appointment of a Special Adviser to the Cabinet of each President of the Republic or Prime Minister. This Special Adviser to the President or Prime Minister should, as a matter of priority, monitor the application by national administrations of Community texts on the free movement of persons and goods. It was also recommended that the TLS Task Force should step up its lobbying of governments on the issue of speeding up the digitisation of customs and trade procedures in order to facilitate the flow of goods along the various ECOWAS trade corridors. Beyond the question of the mandate of the Task Force on TLS, the participants seized the opportunity of this review meeting, in connection with the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of ECOWAS, to make proposals to be fed back into the reflection on the ECOWAS of the future. These include the creation of an ECOWAS solidarity fund to promote balanced development within the community. ECOWAS should launch federative infrastructure projects (roads, railways, energy, interconnectivity, etc.) based on endogenous resources. Finally, a panel of eminent personalities will be set up to review the ECOWAS Treaty, with a view to strengthening the roles of the Parliament and the Community Court of Justice. The Chairman of the TLS Task Force, Dr Mohamed Ibn CHAMBAS, will shortly be travelling to Abuja to report to the Chairman of the Commission on the results of the Abidjan meeting.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Why 'pan-Africanist' influencers pushed rumours of a coup
In May, Mafalda Marchioro woke up to messages from friends living overseas asking if she was safe in Abidjan, the largest city in Ivory Coast. Social media was full of posts claiming a coup was under way. Dramatic footage of soldiers on the street flooded platforms, while AI-generated and presenter-led reports were racking up millions of views on YouTube. "I was really worried, really concerned, I thought something had happened," the management consultant told the BBC. But the claims shared around 19 May were false. They are the most recent example of untrue rumours being spread about coups in West Africa, increasing tensions in a region that has seen several military takeovers in recent years. Ivory Coast, one of the few French-speaking countries still closely aligned with the West, is due to hold presidential elections later this year. Experts believe it could be an increasing target for this type of disinformation with narratives attacking the electoral process. This is because Ivorian President Alassane Ouattarra, poised to seek a fourth term, is seen as pro-Western - and his critics accuse him of aligning with countries that are exploiting the continent. Ivory Coast's Communications Minister Amadou Coulibaly told the BBC they had traced the origin of the fake information to "neighbouring countries", but did not specify further. The rumours appear to have grown out of a rift with Burkina Faso and have been promoted by a growing wave of self-styled pan-Africanist influencers. They reject ties with the West, often express support for Russia and generate conversations across the continent – reaching countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The influencers also promote figures like Burkina Faso's military leader Capt Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in a coup in 2022. Traoré portrays himself as a pan-Africanist and has lots of genuine support from young people across the continent, who see him as a leader who is standing up to the West. Alex Vines, the director of the Africa Programme at Chatham House think tank, says the influencers are attempting to sow doubt about existing political leadership by spreading or amplifying coup rumours, to erode public confidence in the current institutions. They are "finding an avid market of readers who want to see more assertive African leaders, who are developmental and bring peace and prosperity", he told the BBC. While analysts suggest the Ivory Coast rumours have similar traits to a Russian sponsored-campaign, there is no evidence of Russia's involvement. The country has been linked to influence operations in French-speaking West African countries in the past. According to the US Department of Defense's Africa Center for Strategic Studies disinformation networks connected to the Russian Wagner Group tried to spark rumours of a coup in Niger in 2023. There is also no evidence the Burkinabé authorities were involved in the Ivory Coast coup rumours but people based there did amplify the claims. Relations between Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast seriously soured more than a year ago, when Traoré accused his neighbour of tolerating militant groups on its territory and harbouring "destabilisers" and dissidents who were openly insulting his junta. Then this April, his security minister blamed plotters based in Ivory Coast for planning to overthrow Traoré – an accusation which was widely amplified online. The BBC Global Disinformation Unit analysed mentions of the fake Ivorian coup reports on TikTok, Facebook, X and YouTube – and the earliest popular post we found was on 19 May by Harouna Sawadogo, a pro-government activist in Burkina Faso who makes content for his 200,000 TikTok followers almost exclusively about Capt Traoré. He had posted a selfie video in French and Mooré, a local language, saying soldiers of Ivory Coast should rise up to carry out a coup and encouraging people to share his post. An hour later he published a video featuring an image of Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara superimposed over footage of rapid gunfire with the caption declaring a coup was underway - though the clip was actually from recent India-Pakistan tensions over Kashmir. The following day, social media users outside Francophone West Africa pounced on the misinformation and pushed it out to an English-speaking audience in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, encouraging other social media users to follow suit. When the BBC messaged Mr Sawadogo a few weeks later, via the Facebook page posting his live videos, to ask from where he had sourced his information, he provided no details but replied that he "prays to God Alassane [Ouattara] is brought down by a coup d'etat." Another who took on the rumour, posting in English, was Turkish-born South African Mehmet Vefa Dag, who runs the Truth and Solidarity Movement – a small political organisation in South Africa. He posted several times across different platforms celebrating what he called an "internal coup". In fact Mr Dag, who has been criticised in the past for offensive and false comments against Jews and LGBTQ+ people, had already called for a coup in Ivory Coast on X on 11 May. When contacted by the BBC on 3 June, when it was clear there had been no coup, he insisted it had happened. "We are very proud of whoever did this coup to remove Ouattara. He had sold his soul to imperialists and wanted to destroy Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger," he said. "As pan-Africanists we will never give them a chance ever again. We're going to fight for our country. This is our continent." The most popular YouTube videos about the alleged turmoil in Ivory Coast, viewed millions of times, were shared by channels that often style themselves as dedicated to pan-Africanism or discussions about Burkina Faso's junta leader. According to Effiong Udo, an associate professor at Nigeria's University of Uyo and president of the Pan-African Dialogue Institute, some "opportunistic influencers" are romanticising military governments under the guise of pan-Africanism – a movement to promote unity and liberation on the continent – to gain popularity and make money from their content. But he told the BBC that this type of content has appeal with young people disillusioned with politics, adding: "I can understand their overzealousness." Kenyan academic Karuti Kanyinga agrees that the social media content feeds into a desire for accountable leaders who can change Africa, do not misappropriate resources and try to uplift people from poverty. "But the people trying to provide misinformation and disinformation about Traoré in Burkina Faso, or about a coup in Ivory Coast are not agents of pan-Africanism," the research professor of development studies at the University of Nairobi's Institute for Development Studies told the BBC. There is no doubt Traoré has many admirers and for content creators he is the story of the moment – anything linked to him and his political worldview does very well online. Kenyan YouTuber Godfrey Otieno, who produces content on trending news, said he stumbled on to this winning formula several months ago when he posted a video reporting the false claim that Capt Traoré had been shot by his best friend. "That really trended," he told the BBC – and since then his content has almost all been about the Burkinabé leader. He was one those who repeated the unverified information about Ivory Coast in May and his video garnered more than 200,000 views. He later apologised and said he got it wrong. He admits that he does make money from some of his content, but adds he does not monetise all his posts and unlike some people identifying as "pan-African influencers" maintains his motivations are not purely financial. "There are people in the space who are using misinformation and disinformation to grow their reach, and for engagement farming," he said. There is real interest in this content and the comments under the fake coup videos were often positive, possibly reflecting an appetite for change across the continent. But calling for the removal of Ivory Coast's government did cause genuine anxiety for those living in the crosshairs – and it all contributes to increasing tensions as the West African state gears up for the vote in October. Additional reporting by the BBC's Nicolas Négoce Why Burkina Faso's junta leader has captured hearts and minds around the world War 'tour', football and graffiti: How Russia is trying to influence Africa Why France faces so much anger in West Africa Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
