Ibrahim Coulibaly

Who was Ibrahim Coulibaly?

Ibrahim Coulibaly was a military and rebel leader in Côte d'Ivoire. A Staff Sargent in the Armed Forces of Côte d'Ivoire, Coulibaly had served since at least the early 1990s. As Côte d'Ivoire slid into communal conflict, Coulibaly joined the 1999 coup led by Robert Guéï. A second coup, following 2000 elections that made Laurent Gbagbo President, saw Coulibaly in a leadership position, after which he came into conflict with fellow military leader Guillaume Soro. During the ensuing eight years of division in the country, Coulibaly came into conflict with both sides, eventually returning to lead an Abidjan based militia supportive of Alassane Ouattara. Following the end of fighting, Coulibaly was killed in Abidjan by Ouattara's forces during an attempt to disarm his group. Known popularly as "IB", he was 47 years old at the time of his death.