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...
MEA RISK’s SHIELD & ALERT notifications: Access requires installing Shield & Alert mobile application. More info on S&A here or click here to signup and install
Sahel: Terror Groups Gain Ground as Armies Struggle to Contain Them
Al-Qaeda’s Sahel branch, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM or GNIM in French) is now emerging as the region’s dominant jihadist force. Even the brutal Islamic State has been largely unable to contain JNIM's expansion, which has been expanding its control...
Brief: Fifteen Migrants Found Dead in a Boat off the Coast of Nouadhibou, Mauritania
Fifteen undocumented migrants, including one Mauritanian, have died off the coast of Nouadhibou, according to a Sahara Media. Authorities in Nouadhibou discovered a boat carrying 39 migrants, among whom nine were found dead, and ten others were in critical condition....
Mali Keeps Pressuring Algeria, Accusing it of Interference
Mali has accused Algeria of interference and supporting terrorist groups after top Algerian diplomat criticized its counter-terrorism strategy. Bamako alleges Algeria maintains ties to insurgent groups, a reference to the Toureg tribes, [am4show have='g1;'...
Sahel: Mali and Canadian mining firm Barrick are talking again
Mali’s junta and Canadian gold mining firm Barrick Gold went back to the negotiating table to find a compromise in their ongoing feud. The two spent months fighting over the Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine, where the Malian authorities recently seized nearly three tons of...
Sahel: France Concludes Military Presence in Chad
France has officially ended its military presence in Chad, returning the Kossei base to the Chadian government. This marks the end of a long-standing French military footprint in the Sahel after similar exits from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. [am4show have='g1;'...
French energy firm TotalEnergies Exits Mali, Sells Operations to Bénin Petro-Backed Firm
TotalEnergies has exited Mali, finalizing the sale of its operations to Coly Energy Mali, backed by Bénin Petro. While...
Sahel: Senegal-Mauritania Gas Production Officially Launches
BP has officially launched gas production at the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) field, a major cross-border energy project...
Mining Standoffs in the Sahel: Two Companies in the Midst of a Foreign Investor Crisis
By Arezki Daoud - Foreign mining companies in the #Sahel are experiencing a nightmare scenario. Escalating tensions in...
Sahel: Foreign Mining Firms Face Growing Risks as Juntas Assert Control Over Resources
Mining companies that have been operating in the Sahel for a long time are now experiencing a tectonic shift in their...
Sahel: Tension over unfulfilled Niger fuel delivery to Mali
Niger is the new energy producing hub in the Sahel and as such, it is providing hope for other nations in the region...
Niger: Rebel group attacks pipeline, warns Chinese contractor to stay clear
By MondAfrique: The Patriotic Front of Liberation (FPL), a rebel group based between northern Niger and southern...
Sahel: French company Orano loses operating license of key uranium site in Niger
This followed months of demands for the project’s resumption, which had been stalled. Orano plans to contest this...
Senegal at the Center of Another Geopolitical Fight
By Arezki Daoud: France is experiencing an unprecedented backlash in the Sahel and in West Africa. Disastrous...
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 $700...
Russia-Africa: From weapon sales to economic ties
By Arezki Daoud: Has the war in Ukraine deter Russia from engagement in Africa? Certainly not! We know on the...
Sahel: Impoverished Niger now has oil but it needs to build a pipeline and circumvent sanctions to export it
The military leaders who took power in Niger this year have commissioned a giant pipeline that will carry crude oil to...
Sahel: Russia to build nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso's junta-led government signed a deal with Russia on Friday for the construction of a nuclear power plant...
Sahel: Niger bans French aircraft from its airspace
Niger's military rulers have banned "French aircraft" from flying over the country's airspace, according to the Agency...
Niger and ECOWAS: The cost of collective punishment
Lines of hundreds of trucks stretch back many kilometres close to Benin's northern border with Niger, their cargo...
Mali, a leading producer of gold, manganese and lithium, shakes up mining sector
Mali has adopted a new mining code allowing the state to take up to 30 percent stakes in new mineral projects and...
Niger: Nuclear industry in France seeks to appease concerns over Niger’s uranium
The military coup in Niger last week raises the question of Europe's dependency on uranium mined in the West African...
Mali resumes train service on Bamako-Kayes line
Les opérations de vente de tickets pour le 1er voyage du train ont commencé ce jeudi à Kayes L’engouement de la...
Nigeria: New president starts job on shaky ground after nearly tripling fuel prices
By Alexandre Martins Lopes with Louise Dewast in Abuja and Aminu Abubakar in Kano: Commuting to work in Lagos,...
Sahel: Burkina Faso junta issues decree to requisition gold from mining companies ($)
Burkina Faso is drowning in economic and financial hardship and the ongoing security environment mean that the country...
Niger has a non-existent economy despite uranium wealth
By Boureima Hama with Pierre Donadieu in Abidjan Prospects for the world's nuclear industry have been boosted by the...
Environment: Severe floods wreck havoc on West African agriculture
By Aminu Abubakar Nigeria rice farmer Adamu Garba squelched barefoot through his paddy fields, surveying damage from...
The Sahel is in permanent state of climate shock, the world’s most vulnerable to extreme droughts, floods and heatwaves
The World Bank on Monday urged five West African countries to diversify their economies to adapt to climate change,...
Sahel: As sanctions bite, regime in Mali pledges orderly return to civilian rule
Mali on Tuesday urged African organisations to lift the last sanctions they had imposed after the state underwent two...
Sahel: Despair in Chad as food crisis intensifies
Chad on Thursday declared a "food emergency" in the impoverished landlocked country, urging the international...
From spikes in food prices to canceled flights, Russia’s war on Ukraine is hitting Africa hard
By Patrick Markey and Joel Olatunde Agoi From airlines in Nigeria to shoppers in Malawi, Africans are feeling the...
Sahel: Denmark withdraws aid to Mali and Burkina Faso
Denmark will partially suspend its development aid to Mali and Burkina Faso, its foreign ministry said on Friday,...
Sahel: How to destroy a nation: ordinary Malians speak of their horrific life
By Amaury Hauchard Some are men of arms, who have taken up a gun out of need or for a cause. Others are just ordinary...
Mali’s new leaders are unflinching in face of economic turmoil
By Amaury Hauchard: Mali's ruling military junta has appeared unflinching so far in the face of economic sanctions...
Sahel: Flying to Timbuktu, anyone?
A commercial flight landed in Timbuktu on Monday for the first time since jihadists captured the fabled Malian city in...