Reports say security forces have been mobilized after fans of the host nation Cote d’Ivoire resorted to violence following the country’s disastrous 4-0 loss to Equatorial Guinea in their final group game on Monday 22 January 2024.
In a viral video, the body of a bus said to have been forced to be deserted as a result of the violence was riddled with holes that looked like it was pelted by stones. The windows of the bus were apparently smashed.
Meanwhile, in another video, things were seen been burnt in the streets of Abidjan as police could be seen trying to contend the situation.
A Nigerian journalist covering the AFCON 2023 revealed via his social media handle that he had to hide his tag and scamper for cover after escaping on the bus.
Recall that the Ivorian Elephant were trashed to a shocking defeat by Equatorial Guinea which left the host country with a very slim chance of advancing to the knockout phase of the tournament as one of the four third-best-placed teams in the group stage.
Meantime, while the Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria have already taken the two automatic qualification tickets to the round of 16 from Group A, with three points and a negative three-goal difference, the Ivorians can only hope that fewer than four teams better their group stage record to have the chance of reaching the round of 16.
