Mali, a leading producer of gold, manganese and lithium, shakes up mining sector
Mali has adopted a new mining code allowing the state to take up to 30 percent stakes in new mineral projects and collect more revenues from the vital industry. Junta leader Assimi Goita signed the code into law on Monday, his office announced on social media Tuesday....
Libya PM fires Foreign Minister Najla El Mangoush after she met Israel’s counterpart
Libya’s internationally recognised prime minister has sacked his top diplomat after she met her Israeli counterpart, with news of the encounter triggering protests in a country that does not recognise Israel. Oil-rich Libya, which plunged into chaos after...
Sudan: Deadly violence grips Darfur
Sudan’s army chief on Tuesday visited Egypt on his first trip abroad since the outbreak of war in April, with the latest violence killing dozens of civilians in battle-scarred Darfur. As Abdel Fattah al-Burhan headed for talks with key ally Egyptian President...
Sahel: Sanctions imposed against Niger to trigger catastrophic humanitarian crisis
The United Nations warned Tuesday that the political crisis in Niger and the sanctions imposed against the coup regime risk triggering “catastrophic” humanitarian effects. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said it had revised contingency planning for Niger...
Algeria: In major win for pro-democracy activists, ex Defense Minister indicted for torture by Swiss court
Former Algerian defence minister Khaled Nezzar has been indicted in Switzerland on charges of committing crimes against humanity in the 1990s during the civil war, state prosecutors said Tuesday. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) said it had...
Algeria sentences 2 men to prison for allegedly “publishing classified info”
An Algerian court on Tuesday sentenced an Algerian-Canadian researcher and Algerian journalist each to two years in prison, one of their lawyers said. Raouf Farrah, 36, and Mustapha Bendjama, 32, were convicted of publishing classified information by the court in the...
Sahel: Mounting tensions in northern Mali, as army strikes positions of ethnic Tuaregs
Former rebels in northern Mali on Tuesday accused the armed forces of carrying out new strikes on their positions, reflecting mounting tensions in the flashpoint region. A spokesman for the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) told an AFP reporter that the armed...
Don’t expect Wagner to abandon Africa after Prigozhin’s announced death
Despite the reported death of the Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, Moscow has every interest in continuing his Wagner paramilitary group’s activities in Africa, experts told AFP on Thursday. Russia has been outsourcing activities in Africa to Wagner...
How Sudan is imploding
War and hunger threaten to “consume” all of Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of malnourished children are at risk of dying, the UN warned Friday, decrying a dire lack of aid funding. After four months of a bloody power struggle between Sudan’s army...
French prosecutors allege ex President Sarkozy took money from Libya to fund election campaign
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will be tried in 2025 over allegations he took money from late Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi to fund one of his election campaigns, prosecutors said Friday. The trial is set to hear explosive evidence that the rightwinger,...Libya says it captured IS militant behind three attacks in 2018
A leader of the Islamic State (IS) group who allegedly planned and sponsored three deadly attacks in the Libyan capital Tripoli in 2018 has been captured, the country’s prime minister said Thursday. “Our forces apprehended on Tuesday a leader of the...
Libyan warlord Haftar invites the Russian military
Russian military officials including Moscow’s deputy defence minister arrived in Libya on Tuesday after receiving an invitation from pro-Moscow military strongman Khalifa Haftar. Haftar, who backs the country’s eastern administration, is close to...
Algeria looking to ease tension in Sahel after Niger coup
Algeria’s top diplomat began a tour of West African countries Wednesday in a bid to find a solution following the coup in neighbouring Niger, where Algiers opposes any military intervention. Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf was “mandated by President...
Egypt releases political activist Ahmed Douma
Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma, a leading figure in the country’s 2011 uprising who has spent the past decade behind bars, walked free from prison Saturday following a presidential pardon. Douma, now 37, was a leading activist in the 2011 uprising that toppled...
Sahel: As political tensions persist, Niger population faces hardship
Floods this week have caused the death of 31 people in politically battered Niger, including eight following the collapse of dwellings and and 23 by drowning. On August 21, 2023, the General Directorate of Civil Protection (DGPC) said it recorded 88,516 victims...
Sahel: Political situation in Niger worsens with African Union suspending membership
By Aymeric Vincenot: The African Union said Tuesday that it had suspended Niger’s membership in the wake of a military coup, but responded cautiously to a threatened military operation to restore its ousted president, as Nigerien TV said 12 soldiers were killed...
Sahel: Boko Haram strikes in Konduga, Nigeria, killing 13
Suspected Boko Haram jihadists have killed 13 people including three soldiers in two separate attacks in northeast Nigeria, local militias told AFP Sunday. Gunmen launched a predawn attack on Saturday on a base in Wulari, a village near the town of Konduga in Borno...
Sahel: Mali government troops and their Wagner allies are now attacking the ethnic Touaregs
By Arezki Daoud: As I have been saying for a while, the Malian junta is leveraging its honeymoon period with Russia’s Wagner group and the withdrawal of the UN peacekeepers to unleash mayhem against the northern Touareg tribes. The army and Wagner mercenaries...
Environment: Coastal city of Agadir is hottest place ever in Morocco : 120F or 50.4C
Temperatures in Morocco have for the first time on record topped 50 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit), the North African country’s meteorological service said Sunday amid a scorching heatwave. The meteorological station in the southern coastal city of Agadir...
Mali: Mali junta face more disgruntled Ethnic Touaregs
Regional rebels in Mali who signed a peace deal in 2015 have withdrawn their representatives from the capital, a move signalling a widening rift with the country’s ruling military, one of their leaders said on Thursday. The Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA)...
Migrations: The deadly sea crossings of North Africa
A rubber dinghy brings back dozens of people from one of six boats the Tunisian coastguard intercepted in a 24-hour period off Sfax, a migrant launchpad for Europe. “Our priority is to save lives,” said Mouhamed Borhen Chamtouri, a commander of...
Niger crisis: Burkina Faso sides with Niger junta, suspends media for anti-Niger stance
Burkina Faso’s junta-led government has suspended one of the country’s most popular radio stations after it broadcast an interview deemed “insulting” to Niger’s new military leaders. Radio Omega was immediately suspended on Thursday...
Niger: Toppled president said to be “fine, given the situation”
Niger’s detained president was seen by his doctor on Saturday, his entourage said, amid mounting concern for his condition, while West Africa’s regional bloc scrapped a crisis meeting on the coup that deposed him. Mohamed Bazoum, 63, was toppled on July...
North African governments struggling with migrant crisis
Tunisia and Libya announced Thursday they had agreed to share responsibility for providing shelter for hundreds of migrants stranded at their border, many of them for over a month. The migrants, primarily from sub-Saharan African countries, had been driven to the...
Niger: ECOWAS walks away from early threat of using force to restore deposed president
West African leaders will make negotiations with the military leaders who have seized control in Niger the “bedrock” of its attempts to defuse the crisis, stepping back from a threat of military intervention to restore the elected government. “It is...
Morocco: 50 people arrested in anti-terror sweeps ($)
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Brief: Morocco’s overcrowded prisons ($)
🔒 Subscriber-Only Analysis This in-depth report is reserved exclusively for clients subscribing to The North Africa Journal. 👤 Already a subscriber? Log in here Not a subscriber? Click here for our lowest...Migration Crisis: Latest News
Four dead, 51 missing in shipwreck off Tunisia At least 11 migrants have died in a shipwreck off Tunisia’s coast and 44 others are missing, a judicial sources said Monday, revising an earlier toll of four fatalities. “Seven new bodies have been recovered...Niger crisis: Algeria opposes military intervention in Niger
Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the prsident of Niger’s northern neighbor Algeria, told reporters on Saturday August 5, 2023, that his country opposes any military intervention in Niger. “Military intervention in Niger is a direct threat to Algeria and we...Niger: Thousands of coup supporters gather in Niamey stadium
Thousands of supporters of the military coup in Niger gathered at a Niamey stadium Sunday, when a deadline set by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS to return the deposed President Mohamed Bazoum to power is set to expire, according to AFP journalists. A delegation...Migrants: Ten dead migrants wash ashore in Tunisia
The bodies of 10 migrants have been found on a beach in Tunisia, near the city of Sfax which has seen a spike this year in Europe-bound sea crossings, authorities said Sunday. Tunisia has become a major gateway for irregular migrants and asylum seekers primarily from...Egypt: One missing after tug sinks in Suez collision with tanker
A Suez Canal tugboat sank and a crew member was missing after the vessel collided with a Hong Kong-flagged tanker, the authorities in charge of the key waterway said. A salvage team had located the wreckage following the accident Saturday and the waterway was being...Tunisian brand turns sea plastic into green couture
By Francoise Kadri: The two men in bright overalls rooting for plastic on a Tunisian beach do so to make a living, but also in the knowledge that they are helping the environment. What they do not know is that the waste will become part of a synthetic plastic fibre...Sahel: Chad acquires military vehicles and security gear from the UAE
The United Arab Emirates has sent military vehicles and other security gear to Chad in support of anti-“terrorism” efforts and border rotection, the oil-rich Gulf state said on Sunday. Chad is a neighbour of Niger, where a coup late last month toppled one...Morocco: 24 people killed in bus accident
By Kaouthar Oudrhiri: A minibus carrying market-goers in Morocco plunged into a ravine on Sunday, killing 24 people in one of the North African country’s worst-ever road accidents, officials said. The passengers were travelling a mountainous route to a weekly...
Nigerian president Tinubu under pressure to avoid war with northern neighbor Niger
By Camille Malpat with Aminu Abubakar in Kano, Nigeria: Political leaders in Nigeria are urging President Bola Tinubu to reconsider a threatened military intervention against junta leaders in neighbouring Niger, ahead of a Sunday deadline to reinstate the...Morocco: Five years in prison for criticizing King over normalization with Israel
🔓 READ THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE This article is currently available to all registered users. Create a free account (or log in) to continue reading immediately. Create Free Account Already have an account? Log...Brief: Nigeria cuts electricity to Niger after coup
Nigeria has cut its electricity supply to Niger after West African neighbours imposed sanctions on the junta that ousted the country’s elected leader last week, a Niger power company source said on Wednesday. “Since yesterday, Nigeria has disconnected the...