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Concept
Bouaké
Summary
Bouaké (or Bwake, N’ko: ߓߐ߰ߞߍ߫ Bɔ̀ɔkɛ́) is the second-largest city in Ivory Coast, with a population of 740,000 (2021 census). It is the seat of three levels of subdivision—Vallée du Bandama District, Gbêkê Region, and Bouaké Department. The city is located in the central part of Ivory Coast about northeast of Lake Kossou, the country's largest lake. It is approximately north of Abidjan on the Abidjan-Niger Railway and about northeast of Yamoussoukro, the capital of the country.
For the name of the city Bouaké, there are two possible origins:
The corruption of the chief name Kwa Gbéké that made the foundations of the city of Bouaké.
The name Bouaké coming from two Baoulé words: "Boua" which means sheep and "Ké" which means dry. Thus meaning the place in which sheep are dried as they would have seen Jola drying sheep skins when they arrived in Bouaké.
In the 1800s a group related to the Akan, the Assabou and Baoulé settled in the vicinity of where Bouaké was, initially the village was named Gbèkèkro, so named after the leader of the Baoulé, Gossan Kwa Gbeke and kro meaning town or settlement of.
Bouaké was established as a French military post in 1899 and has been an administrative center since 1914.
French and United Nations peacekeepers currently reside in the city as part of an enforced ceasefire between the rebel-held north and the government-held south. After the attempt to overthrow the president Laurent Gbagbo had failed, the rebel forces FN (forces nouvelles) led by Guillaume Soro made Bouaké their center of control. Subsequently, Bouaké University, opened in 1996, was closed down in September 2002. Financed by Unesco, the university reopened in April, 2005.
On 4 November 2004, governmental forces used Sukhoi-25s to raid the city as an opening movement towards "territorial liberation", according to Captain Jean-Noël Abbey of the Côte d'Ivoire army. Korhogo, north of Bouaké, was also targeted.
In 2014, the population of the sub-prefecture of Bouaké-SP was 71,949.
Official source
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