Shield and Alert: Sahel Bound

Mauritania is getting €210 million in EU funding to act as a migration gatekeeper to fortress Europe. but there are growing reports of human rights abuses, deportations, and corruption raising concerns about the costs of this strategy.

Mali’s ruling junta has officially suspended all political party activities, marking the most sweeping crackdown yet on democratic institutions since the 2020 coup.

The first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project, located offshore between Mauritania and Senegal, has been successfully loaded for export, marking a key milestone for both countries as they join the ranks of LNG-exporting nations.

West Africa’s economic grouping, ECOWAS, faces a new crisis as former chairman and Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo refuses to step down despite his mandate ending on February 27, 2025.  Embalo, who once criticized Sahelian coup leaders on behalf of ECOWAS, now defies the organization, even expelling its mediation delegation.