Telegraph: Why did Al-Qaeda attack the Ivory Coast? – Interview with Yan St-Pierre

March 14, 2016

Colin Freeman, Chief Foreign Correspondent of the UK daily The Telegraph, asked Yan St-Pierre for his analysis: “Why did Al-Qaeda attack the Ivory Coast?”

“They are trying achieve a kind of domino effect, starting with Mali, then Burkina, Ivory Coast, and next it will probably be Ghana or Senegal,” said Yan St Pierre, of the Germany-based Modern Security Consulting Group. “It is simply about expanding their zone of influence as much as possible.”

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“The presence of Isis [Isil] in Libya does have a galvanising effect on AQIM,” added Mr St Pierre. “It can impact on everything from recruitment and revenue, through to territory and smuggling routes.”

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