'They razed everything': Ivorians lose homes in murky operation

Souleymane Zebe is on the verge of tears as he tells the story of how the bulldozers arrived at dawn and razed his entire neighbourhood in Ivory Coast's economic capital, Abidjan.

For years, the Ivorian authorities have been waging an urban clean-up campaign in sprawling Abidjan, razing illegal settlements in the name of public safety.

But they say this demolition was ordered by an individual who had no legal authority, not the government.

Zebe, one of thousands of people left homeless by the destruction of the Campement (Camp) neighbourhood, near the city centre, says his family had built their home legally and paid for it with years of hard work and sacrifice.

The 46-year-old construction worker and his former neighbours are outraged by the murky, lawless circumstances that led to the demolition of their homes on June 3.

According to the authorities, Koumassi Camp was not in fact slated to be razed.

They say the order was given by a private individual who used a fake court document to arrange the demolition and then disappeared.

One resident described being woken by bulldozers and the stench of tear gas. By Sia KAMBOU (AFP)

Since the demolition, some residents have been living in the ruins of the neighbourhood, sleeping in tents or makeshift shelters and braving the rain and raw sewage trickling across the ground.

Others have taken shelter in a nearby school.

"It hurts. We've been left homeless," said Zebe, his eyes red and his voice strained.

Fellow resident Assana Traore, a pregnant 29-year-old, roamed aimlessly around the debris of her former home.

"You're born and raised here. Then one day they come and destroy everything with no warning," she said, staring blankly into space.

She described being woken early that day by the rumble of bulldozers and the stench of tear gas fired by law enforcement to force residents from their homes.

Murky document

Many say they lost everything, despite holding legal title to their land.

"It was brutal. They razed the whole thing in a day," said truck driver Issa.

"I have nothing left. Even the clothes on my back are donations."

Surrounded by a wasteland of rubble and mangled roofing, Zebe fumed.

"Who could destroy our houses and separate us from our families like this?" he railed.

Abidjan's population has roughly doubled since the late 1990s, to an estimated six to seven million people today.

The authorities say their "urban order" operation, launched in 2023, aims to protect people from deadly floods and landslides in disaster-prone areas swept up in the city's chaotic construction boom.

The neighbourhood was turned into a wasteland of rubble. By Sia KAMBOU (AFP)

But officials deny involvement in the destruction of Koumassi Camp.

After the neighbourhood was destroyed, a man named Jacques Alloui Brou emerged in a video posted on Facebook to say he was behind the demolitions and possessed a court ruling ordering them.

However, Abidjan public prosecutor Oumar Braman Kone said the document brandished by Brou "did not authorise the demolition of any building".

Kone launched an investigation and issued an order for Brou's arrest.

But the mysterious man has gone missing.

Some residents are sceptical about the version of events given by the authorities, who face accusations of brutality in some of their demolition operations.

The murky episode has raised thorny questions for the government. By Sia KAMBOU (AFP)

"I don't believe this one guy acting alone could have mobilised vehicles full of law enforcement officers and heavy machinery to tear down our houses," said Zebe.

The National Human Rights Council issued a statement on Wednesday expressing "deep concern" over the impact of the demolition operations.

The episode has raised thorny questions for President Alassane Ouattara's government.

"Who sent in law enforcement? Who gave the orders?" said Charles Ble Goude, head of opposition party Cojep.

The party said it would sue for damages for the neighbourhood's residents.