The body of the young Ivorian Laurent Barthélémy Ani Guibahi repatriated from France on Friday

Text by: RFI Follow

The 14-year-old boy was found dead on the landing gear of an Air France flight from Abidjan on January 8 at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

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With our correspondent in Abidjan, Pierre Pinto

His death had caused a great stir in Abidjan . The young Laurent Barthélémy Ani Guibahi, 14, a 4th year pupil in Yopougon, had decided to go " looking for himself " in France, according to the expression used here.

This frail boy had crossed Abidjan, foiled the security of the airport to get to climb into the landing gear of an Air France Boeing. His lifeless body was discovered on arrival the next morning at Roissy.

Six weeks later, the boy's mortal remains will be brought back to the country, at the expense of the government, his spokesman Sidi Tiemoko Touré said on Wednesday. The government will also pay for his funeral.

evictions

The boy's death had triggered investigations to try to understand how he had been able to enter a protected area like that of Félix-Houphouët-Boigny airport.

But above all, after this tragedy the government decided to raze any building located within a perimeter of 200 m around the airport. Evacuations that began in the village of Aérocanal, an illegal grip according to the authorities, where dozens of families lived who saw bulldozers disembark one morning in January.

On the other side of the airport is the much more populated Adjouffou district. Part of its inhabitants have already evacuated the premises. But most of the eviction from this area where there are also schools, shops and places of worship will be done in March. Residents to whom relocation solutions have been promised, without further details, because these solutions are still under consideration, the government spokesman conceded on Wednesday.

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