By Arezki Daoud: France is experiencing an unprecedented backlash in the Sahel and in West Africa. Disastrous post-colonial policies forced the people of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to expel French troops and diplomats, reducing Paris' entrenched but...
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Mali: Al Qaeda attacks rebel convoy in the Ouagadou forest
By MondAfrique: A column of armed vehicles from the Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP), the Touareg rebel coalition driven out of Kidal, was attacked by fighters from the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (GSIM) on Friday in the Ouagadou forest, while that it was...
Niger and Algeria recall their ambassadors over undocumented migrants
The authorities in Niger summoned the Algerian ambassador Bekhadda Mehdi on 2 April, over Algeria’s treatment of undocumented migrants originating from Niger. In return, two days later Algeria also summoned the ambassador of the Republic of Niger in Algiers, Aminou...
Senegal: Disgraced President leaves office to find shelter in Marrakesh
By MondAfrique: A short video circulating on social media shows outgoing Senegalese President Macky Sall's departure for Morocco on April 2, the day of the inauguration of his rival Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Morocco officially welcomed the former President of Senegal...
US-Niger relations face uncertainty, with Niamey’s pivot to Russia
Audio version: The news: The visit a few days ago of a US government delegation to Niamey, the capital of Niger, did not go down well with the ruling junta there. Clearly as the junta is paving the way for the Russian military to enter Niger and expand their presence...
Bloody Sunday: The indiscriminate killing of Muslim and Catholic worshipers in Burkina Faso
Sunday, 25 February was a bloody day for religious groups in Burkina Faso. Two attacks against a church and a mosque confirm the utter instability of the northern and eastern regions of the country. In Essakane-village, in the northeastern Burkina Faso, a terrorist...
Mali: Al Qaeda attacks rebel convoy in the Ouagadou forest
By MondAfrique: A column of armed vehicles from the Permanent Strategic Framework (CSP), the Touareg rebel coalition...
Niger and Algeria recall their ambassadors over undocumented migrants
The authorities in Niger summoned the Algerian ambassador Bekhadda Mehdi on 2 April, over Algeria’s treatment of...
Senegal: Disgraced President leaves office to find shelter in Marrakesh
By MondAfrique: A short video circulating on social media shows outgoing Senegalese President Macky Sall's departure...
US-Niger relations face uncertainty, with Niamey’s pivot to Russia
Audio version: The news: The visit a few days ago of a US government delegation to Niamey, the capital of Niger, did...
Bloody Sunday: The indiscriminate killing of Muslim and Catholic worshipers in Burkina Faso
Sunday, 25 February was a bloody day for religious groups in Burkina Faso. Two attacks against a church and a mosque...
Niger and Mali up their anti-Western positions, lash out at France and US
Backlash against France continues in Niger, with several local media reporting that security and intelligence services...
Niger: Two soldiers killed in insurgent attack in Diffa
Mali: Katiba Mecina insurgents raid military camp in Niono, repelled
Senegal’s outgoing president prepares for disgraced exit
By Francis Sahel, Mondafrique: In the absence of any other alternative, Senegalese President Mack Sall announced last...
Africa’s 2024 Elections Off to a Bad Start
By Arezki Daoud: It’s an election year in Africa and it already started badly. The East African island of Comoros in...
Sahel: Wagner Group closes in on Mali’s N’Tillit gold mine
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso share a common border. GPS coordinates [14.9143, 0.2424] are where the three countries...
Economy: China’s commitment to Africa is being tested by its stance on the continent’s crippling debt
By MondAfrique: As a whole, Africa has seen its debt increase five-fold over the past twenty years, to reach $700...
Russia’s first African military base in a highly unstable nation
By Arezki Daoud: Since Russia started its war on Ukraine, we have been told that Moscow was headed towards disaster....
Senegal President Suspends Presidential Election, Pushes Country into Chaos
By Nicolas Beau | MondAfrique: The specter of an unprecedented political crisis looms over Senegal with President...
Podcast: The Sahel is the Next Big Geopolitical Crisis where Foreign Meddlers are Congregating
Transcript: The Sahel is now clearly the next big event in Africa's geopolitics. After the complete destruction of...
Mali junta ends Algiers Agreement
The ruling junta in Mali announced, on Thursday 25 January, the "end, with immediate effect", of the Algiers agreement...
Sahel: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger Announce Withdrawal from ECOWAS Bloc
In a significant development, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have decided to withdraw from the Economic Community of...
Sahel: Wagner Group and Mali army engaging in mass murder and forced displacement of northern populations
The Wagner Group is wracking havoc in northern Mali, with actions that hint on ongoing efforts to depopulate the...
Russia-Africa: From weapon sales to economic ties
By Arezki Daoud: Has the war in Ukraine deter Russia from engagement in Africa? Certainly not! We know on the...
Sahel: Russia to experience boost of its influence in the Sahel
By Arezki Daoud: Russia’s influence in the Sahel is about to expand further with more cooperation deals announced by...
How Sahel populations reject ECOWAS ($)
The West African group of ECOWAS is supposed to play the role of mediator in regional crises, with a combination of a...
Sahel: Niger looking for alternative partners to France and the west
A major Nigerian delegation traveled to Moscow on Monday, 15 January 2024, in a tour that will visit Serbia, Turkey...
Podcast: The Sahel Region’s 2024 Outlook
Burkina Faso government says year-end army offensive killed hundreds of “terrorists” ($)
In a year-end offensive carried out by the Burkina Faso military from December 23, 2023 to January 2, 2024 in the East...
Mauritania: Christian group released from detention, expelled from Mauritania
Media sources report that 15 Christians leaders and their families who were arrested by Mauritania at the end of...
Sahel: Mali acquires lethal drones from Turkey
On January 4, 2024, the Malian military acquired six Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. The military authorities say the...
Mali army says it thwarted terror attack in Menaka ($)
Sahel: Qatar helps dissipate diplomatic tensions between Mali and Algeria
The North Africa Journal - Qatar has demonstrated its diplomatic skills in the Middle East crisis but it has also been...
Sahel: Burkina Faso ratchets up war effort with new army units and taxes for voluntary militia
The North Africa Journal - The new year began in earnest in Burkina Faso, with fresh efforts from the government to...
Sahel: Kidnapped in Libya in 2017, South African medic released this week in Mali
A South African paramedic who had been held by jihadists in Mali for over six years has been released, security and...
Rising Storms: The Pact Uniting Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger Against Jihadists and Isolation
The military rulers of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have banded together in a joint defence pact to fight jihadists...
Sahel: Burkina Faso and Niger withdraw from regional anti-terror force
The military leaders of Burkina Faso and Niger said Saturday they would quit the G5 anti-jihadist force in Africa's...
Libya: Illegal gold mining network dismantled, foreign nationals arrested
An illegal gold mining network, comprised of Chinese, Chadian, and Nigerien nationals, has been dismantled in southern...
Sahel: Mauritania sends ex-president Ould Abdelaziz to prison for corruption
A court in Mauritania's capital Nouakchott on Monday sentenced former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to five years...
Niger ditches security arrangements with EU, engages more with Russia
Niger's military leaders said Monday that they were ending two European Union security and defence missions in the...
Mali: The taking of Kidal: Why the town in north Mali is so important
Mali's army has retaken the town of Kidal from Tuareg-dominated rebels. Here we look at the significance of the place...
Mali: Southern Malians celebrate army’s taking of northern city of Kidal
Jubilant Malians have taken to the streets and the ruling junta issued triumphant statements saying the military's...
Niger: UN resumes humanitarian flights in Niger
The United Nations said it resumed humanitarian flights in Niger on Wednesday, suspended after a July coup in the...
Sahel: Impoverished Niger now has oil but it needs to build a pipeline and circumvent sanctions to export it
The military leaders who took power in Niger this year have commissioned a giant pipeline that will carry crude oil to...
Sahel: As France’s presence in the Sahel deteriorates, US maintains ties and remains active
In a stark contrast to the declining French presence, the United States has displayed a robust commitment to the Sahel...
Niger braces for fresh EU sanctions
The European Union on Monday took a legal step towards imposing sanctions on Niger's new military rulers, who...
Sahel: Russia to build nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso's junta-led government signed a deal with Russia on Friday for the construction of a nuclear power plant...
Mali: UN withdraws troops adding more instability to the region
UN peacekeepers in Mali announced Monday their pullout has started from two camps in the tense Kidal region, opening a...