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...
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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 no official explanation was provided, it is likely that tensions with Mali’s ruling junta may have played a role. Sources say that persistent tax...
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: Inside Chad’s Risky Alliance in Sudan’s Conflict
Chadian President Mahamat Déby’s support for Sudan’s Hemedti amid the Sudanese conflict has sparked tension at home,...
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...
Niger: Anti-France groups maintain pressure, want France out
"Macron, get out of our house," thousands of young demonstrators chant to the rhythm of reggae, making plain their...
Niger says France is planning to intervene to launch counter-coup
Niger's military regime, which took power in July, accused France of deploying forces in several West African...
Leaders of Francophone Africa gripped by fear, strengthen their own security
By Arezki Daoud: Leaders of Francophone Africa are in state of panic following a series of coups that toppled their...
Niger-France relations sour as pressure groups in Niger demand withdrawal of French troops
Thousands of demonstrators in Niger on Sunday held a third day of rallies calling for former colonial ruler France to...
Niger: Anti-France sentiment spikes in Niger, tense weekend of protests ahead
Niger braced Friday for a weekend of planned anti-French rallies as tensions mount between the country's new military...
Gabon: People waiting for junta to announce plan in coup aftermath
People in the central African state of Gabon awaited a steer on their future on Thursday after rebel army officers...
Sahel: Niger wants French ambassador out
Niger's new military rulers have stripped France's ambassador of diplomatic immunity and ordered police to expel him,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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"...
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,...
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...
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...
Sahel: West African states getting stressed over coup in Niger, do not rule out military action
Senegal said Thursday that it will participate if the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decides to...
Niger in the footsteps of Mali and Burkina, coup in the offing
The Militarization of the Sahel By Boureima Hama: An attempted coup was underway Wednesday in the Sahel state of Niger...
Sahel: Germany and Mali agree ‘smooth’ pullout of UN-backed troops
Germany and Mali agreed Thursday to pursue a "smooth withdrawal" of German troops from the troubled African nation...
Sahel: Russia pledges continued support to Mali as UN ends MINUSMA mandate
Russia has renewed its "unstinting support" for Mali after the end of the UN peacekeeping mission in the desert state,...
Sahel: UN Mission to leave Mali, but no timetable set yet
By Amélie Bottlier-Depois: With the imminent end of the UN's Mali peacekeeping mission seemingly no longer in doubt,...
UN peacekeeping missions in Africa at a crossroads
By Amélie Bottollier-Depois: When Mali recently called for a UN peacekeeping force to depart the country "without...
Sahel: Burkina Faso endorses Mali’s call for the withdrawal of UN mission
Burkina Faso on Sunday hailed the "courageous decision" by Mali's military regime to call on the UN to withdraw its...
Mali rulers pushing for a breakup with UN, accusing it of spying
Mali's ruling junta has asked prosecutors to probe the UN's peacekeeping mission for "espionage" following a report...
Mali accuses UN mission of fueling communal tensions, calls for its immediate withdrawal
Mali's foreign minister called Friday for the UN Security Council to withdraw the peacekeeping mission in his country...
Mali leader speaks to Russia’s Putin on deepening ties
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of Mali's junta, Colonel Assimi Goita, discussed security and economic...
Sudan truce extension brings renewed fighting, little aid
Fighting flared again in Sudan on Tuesday despite the latest ceasefire pledges of the two warring generals, meant to...
Sahel: Mali-UN relations worsening by the day as Malian forces are accused of committing mass murder
Mali's military junta on Saturday denounced as "fictitious" and "biased" a UN report that said the army and foreign...
Sahel: Germany announces end of its participation in the UN mission in Mali a full year ahead
The German government said on Wednesday it had decided to end its participation in the UN mission in Mali by next May...
Sahel: Despite closing its borders, Chad sees hundreds of Sudanese soldiers flee into its territory
Around 320 Sudanese soldiers have fled the fighting raging in their country to neighbouring Chad, the country's...
Rwanda promises help to Benin in fighting terrorism
Rwanda's President Paul Kagame met Saturday with his Benin counterpart Patrice Talon, promising military support to...
Sahel: Crisis in Sudan forces Chad to close border
Chad's government announced Saturday it was closing its border with Sudan after battles erupted between rival military...
Burkina Faso accuses French state media of “acting as communications agency” for Al-Qaeda
The military junta in Burkina Faso on Monday suspended all broadcasts by the France 24 news channel in the west...
Niger secures release of kidnapped French journalist Olivier Dubois and American aid worker Jeffery Woodke
By Camille Laffont: A French journalist and a US aid worker who had been kidnapped by jihadists in the Sahel have been...
Africa: Competition between France and Russia over Africa is getting more violent
By Barbara Debou: On a night in early March, arsonists attacked a brewery owned by the French drinks giant Castel in...
Sahel: Secretary Blinken visits Niger as US worries about Russia’s expanding influence in the Sahel
By Shaun Tandon: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Niger on Thursday for a rare visit to a country seen...
France to scale back military presence in Africa
By Valerie Leroux: President Emmanuel Macron on Monday announced a "noticeable reduction" of French troop presence in...
Sahel: Low-key flag-lowering ceremony marks end of French military operation in Burkina Faso
By Armel Baily: Burkina Faso announced on Sunday that operations by the French army in the jihadist-hit West African...
Sahel: Russia seeks greater influence over Mauritania, offers support
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday offered support for Mauritania in the fight against jihadism in...