Lives upended in Ivory Coast as authorities push for development

Bertin Gnongan Aba was asleep when his home was torn down, forcing him to flee with just the clothes on his back. Like tens of thousands in Ivory Coast's economic capital, Abidjan, Aba's home was destroyed by government bulldozers in an effort initially meant to move residents out of at-risk areas, but there are plans to also develop the land cleared in a bid to modernise the sprawling city. Activists have labelled the destruction a "humanitarian disaster."