Ibrahim Coulibaly

Ibrahim Coulibaly (nickname IB ; born February 24, 1964 in Bouaké , † April 27, 2011 in Abidjan ) was an Ivorian rebel leader .

Life

First political activities

From 1990 to 1993, Coulibaly was the head of the bodyguard of Alassane Ouattara's wife Dominique.

Although he was only a sergeant, he was one of the initiators of the coup in December 1999 that brought Robert Guéï to power in 1999. Then Guéï appointed him military attaché at the Ivorian embassy in Canada.

Escape

In September 2000, shortly before the 2000 presidential elections , Guéï was murdered and Coulibaly is believed to be the organizer. He fled Canada to Burkina Faso , where he encountered the 200 or so Ivorian deserters who were involved in the attack.

Coulibaly also took part in the September 2002 uprising against Laurent Gbagbo , in the course of which he had to hand over the leadership role to Guillaume Soro after an internal power struggle . In August 2003 he was arrested in Paris on suspicion of destabilizing the Ivorian government , but released on bail, after which he fled to Belgium , which he left in 2007 with an unknown destination. In June 2008 a French court sentenced him in absentia to four years imprisonment for “leading or organizing a mercenary force”. Together with him, 12 men were given sentences ranging from ten months on probation to thirty months.

Government crisis 2010/2011

→ Main article : Government crisis in Ivory Coast 2010/2011

After the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire (FN) had always spoken of " invisible commands " during the government crisis , Ibrahim Coulibaly appeared openly in Abobo , a district of Abidjan, in March 2011 and presented himself as one of them To recognize leaders.

According to eyewitness reports, on the night of March 31st to April 1st, a battle with many dead took place between the invisible commandos and the FRCI around the building of the state television station Radiodiffusion-Télévision ivoirienne (RTI). The alleged reason was Ibrahim Coulibaly's request to have a message read out, according to which he should take over power as head of a military transitional government. Ouattara and Coulibaly denied the incidents.

Although he confessed to Ouattara in an interview with the AP on April 17, just four days later there was an hour-long gun battle with the Forces républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire (FRCI), the successor organization to the FN, at his headquarters in Subscription. The FRCI attacked it on orders from Guillaume Soro, but were repulsed.

Ibrahim Coulibaly was killed on April 27 in an offensive by the FRCI in the PK18 district of Abobo. According to Leon Alla Kouakou, a spokesman for the FRCI, he took hostages after his soldiers were about to be disarmed. The FRCI soldiers fired two warning shots, which were answered with aimed shots. In addition to Coulibaly, six fighters from the Invisible Command and two members of the FRCI were killed.

The reason for the fighting between the Invisible Commandos and the FRCI was the refusal of the commandos to disarm. In addition, Coulibaly is said to have demanded a government office. His militia were also charged with numerous looting and other illegal acts.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Ivory Coast renegade warlord Ibrahim Coulibaly killed. In: BBC News . April 28, 2011, accessed April 28, 2011 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Battles among the victors in Côte d'Ivoire. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . April 21, 2011, accessed April 28, 2011 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b} Thomas Scheen: Renegade militia leader killed in Abidjan. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . April 28, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2011 . 
4. ^ ^{A b} Hans-Georg Toeche-Mittler: In Ivory Coast there is now a threat of a war among winners. In: Focus . April 22, 2011, Retrieved April 28, 2011 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Ivorian 'coup plotter' found guilty. In: iolnews. June 4, 2008, accessed March 18, 2011 . 
6. ^ Coup-plotter found guilty. (No longer available online.) In: Legalbrief Africa. June 9, 2008, formerly in the original ; Retrieved March 18, 2011 (English).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
7. ↑ Thomas Scheen: Heavy fighting in Abidjan. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. March 15, 2011, accessed March 18, 2011 . 
8. ↑ Militia leader admits problems within Ouattara's troops. (No longer available online.) In: Yahoo -News. April 18, 2011, formerly in the original ; Retrieved April 29, 2011 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
9. ↑ Renegade militia leader slain. In: ORF . April 28, 2011, Retrieved April 28, 2011 .