Nine people have died and at least 84 injured in Beoumi, a small town in central Côte d’Ivoire, following ethnic violence for three days this week between indigenous (Baoulé) and non-indigenous (Dioula or Malinké, northern nationals) populations.
An altercation between a taxi driver (Malinke) and a commercial motorbike rider (Baule) on Wednesday turned into a battle in the city and then surrounding villages, according to witnesses.
The clashes spread to the village of Kongonoussou, separated from the city by a bridge over a dam.
“At about 9am on Thursday, I saw a crowd coming from Beoumi. Malinke youth armed with clubs, machetes and 12-gauge guns… They started shooting, I ran home. I was able to tell my cousin who went out with her two children,” says Désiré Kouamé, a Baoulé, who explains that he was injured in the back when he “wanted to go home to get my two old out”.
Hundreds of military and gendarmes have since been deployed throughout the area to avoid further clashes.
Tension remains high between the two communities, and some residents say that members of the Malinke community are still missing.
Each of the two communities lives in its own neighbourhoods. The market is closed, as are all shops and gas stations.
Shops and houses around the market were looted and burned down.
Transport has been interrupted while army patrols travel between burnt-out cars.
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