Ivory Coast has reinforced its border security after the arrival of “several unusual flows of refugees” from neighbouring Mali, officials in the West African country have said.

Ivory Coast’s National Security Council (NSC) said in a statement on Thursday that the “influx appears to be due to attacks against civilians by armed terrorist groups in several areas of southern Mali”.

“The National Security Council has instructed its Executive Secretary to take all necessary steps to register these asylum seekers,” the statement said.

“Furthermore, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces has been instructed to take appropriate measures to strengthen security at our country’s northern borders,” it added.

The al-Qaeda-linked Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) has waged an

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