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...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
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...
Burkina Faso government says year-end army offensive killed hundreds of “terrorists” ($)
In a year-end offensive carried out by the Burkina Faso military from December 23, 2023 to January 2, 2024 in the East...
Sahel: Mali acquires lethal drones from Turkey
On January 4, 2024, the Malian military acquired six Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. The military authorities say the...
Mali army says it thwarted terror attack in Menaka ($)
Sahel: 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...
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...
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...
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...
Niger: Soldiers and insurgents killed in new clash near Burkina Faso border
Niger's military regime said Tuesday that six soldiers and 31 "terrorists" had been killed in fighting in a restive...
Niger ups pressure on UN to vacate the country
Niger's military leaders have ordered the United Nations coordinator to leave the country within 72 hours, blaming the...
Sahel: Touaregs say they seized military site in Gao province
Tuareg rebels on Wednesday claimed to have captured a camp of Mali's armed forces in the north of the country, where...
Sahel: Nigeria endorses Algeria’s mediation plan for Niger
The Sahel issues are now the domain of the Algerian military, who have sidelined the president and his aids due to...
UN and AU discuss funding for African peacekeeping
The security councils of the United Nations and African Union on Thursday began talks on funding for peacekeeping...
Sahel: French forces are leaving Niger this week
France said Thursday that it would start withdrawing its troops from Niger this week after a falling-out with the...
Sahel: 29 Niger soldiers killed by suspected jihadists
Twenty-nine soldiers were killed in western Niger in an attack by suspected jihadists, the defence ministry said on...
Sahel: Niger considering Algeria’s mediation offer and a transition period
Niger began three days of national mourning Tuesday after 29 soldiers were killed in a suspected jihadist attack, the...
Mali preparing offensive against Tuareg fighters in north of the country
A Malian army convoy was moving closer towards the northern rebel stronghold Kidal on Tuesday, following a resumption...
Niger: Dozen soldiers killed in Jihadist attack in Tijane
A terrorist attack took place in the Tijiane region, Niger, on September 29, 2023, resulting in the death of 13...
Sahel: Full-blown war in central and north Mali
Tuareg-dominated separatist groups said on Saturday that they had inflicted heavy losses on the Malian military in an...
Mali: Al-Qaeda offshoot intensifies attacks on Mali army
@northafricajournalMali #Lere: An attack on two #military camps in northern #Mali claimed by #Touaregs killed five...
Sahel: Mali buries officer killed crash
Mali's ruling junta on Wednesday paid tribute to a lieutenant colonel who relatives say was killed aboard a plane that...
Sahel: Mali warns ECOWAS against military action in Niger
Mali "will not stand idly by" if foreign governments intervene in neighouring Niger, Bamako's top diplomat warned the...
Sahel: Niger bans French aircraft from its airspace
Niger's military rulers have banned "French aircraft" from flying over the country's airspace, according to the Agency...
Mali: Tuaregs say they shot down two military planes, captured soldiers in intensifying conflict
An alliance of armed groups in northern Mali said it has taken several soldiers prisoner and killed a dozen others,...
Sahel: The demise of the ancient city of Timbuktu
When jihadists in Mali announced they would blockade the ancient city of Timbuktu, residents thought it was just...
Niger and ECOWAS: The cost of collective punishment
Lines of hundreds of trucks stretch back many kilometres close to Benin's northern border with Niger, their cargo...
Sahel: Growing tension between Niger and Benin
Niger’s junta dispatched army reinforcements in Gaya, a town located on the border with Benin, some 300 km from...
Mali: Touareg group kills five army soldiers in Léré
An attack on two military camps in northern Mali claimed by armed rebel groups killed five soldiers, while 11 others...
Sahel: US military resumes surveillance flights over Niger
The United States has resumed surveillance flights over Niger that were halted in the wake of the military takeover...
Sahel: Army-Tuareg war reignites in north Mali
Opinion by Arezki Daoud: The military junta in Mali is now confronted with the realities of war. It is battling on...