Cote d’Ivoire plans to socially resettle 18,000 ex-combatants very soon, the spokesman for the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Authority (ADDR) Boureima Ould Aidara said Monday.
Aidara who was speaking in Abidjan, urged the concerned youths to come out so that they can be integrated in socio-professional programs.
He said the socio-economic integration of ex-combatants during the post-election crisis had recorded real progress with over 60 percent of the 74,000 ex-combatants having been reintegrated socially in the last two years.
“The president of the republic has instructed us to resolve the issue of ex-combattants by the end of June,” he noted.
The youth took up arms at the height of the 2010-2011 post- election violence, fighting either on the side of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo or the current president Alassane Ouattara.
Disarmament and reintegration of the ex-combatants constitutes a major step towards the process of restoration of normalcy in the country.
According to ADDR, thousands of ex-combatants have already been resettled in diverse sectors such as customs authority and agribusiness while others were employed as forest rangers.
The demobilization and reintegration of the ex-combatants will cost a total of 140 million euros, an official source said recently. Enditem
Source: Xinhua