Sahel

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Extraction Without Value: Mali’s Role in the Global Lithium Rush$

By Mohamed AG Ahmedou, via MondAfrique: Mali’s strategic resources are a formidable source of enrichment for Beijing, while leaving Bamako drained. On September 10, the African Union unveiled a draft declaration aimed at bringing together countries that produce...

Turkey: Erdogan’s Winning Strategy in Africa$

Despite the wave of coups d'état in West Africa, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had close ties to the ousted regimes of Guinea, Mali, and Niger, has successfully protected his country's interests in the region. He has done so through a strategy that...

The Human Cost of the EU-Mauritania Migration Partnership$

Since early 2024, the Mauritanian government has intensified its enforcement operations against undocumented sub-Saharan migrants in Nouakchott, Nouadhibou, and other urban centers. This campaign, which includes increased checkpoints and arrests, is a direct...

Geopolitics: Religion, Oil, and Minerals are Now Washington’s Africa Strategy$

Under Donald Trump, US Africa policy is zeroing in on oil and mineral wealth while using evangelical networks as a back channel into Central Africa — offering political cover to leaders and countering Chinese and Russian influence where Catholic voices are more...

Protests Erupt as Water Shortage Grips Mauritania$

Opposition lawmakers in Mauritania staged a sit-in at the Ministry of Water to protest a two-week-long water shortage in the capital. The demonstration, which included a demand for the immediate resignation of the Water Minister, comes amid growing public frustration...

Ivory Coast Edges Toward Political Flashpoint Ahead of 2025 Election$

Rising tensions, legacy rivalries, and fears of renewed violence loom over a fragile democracy. With just months to go before Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential election, the political atmosphere is growing tense—perhaps dangerously so. Both the ruling party and the...

Niger adopting traditional conflict resolution methods to end communal conflictsF

By Boureima Hama: Traditional chiefs, officials, human rights activists and NGOs have been criss-crossing the vast Tillaberi region of western Niger for several months. Their mission: to organise forums in a bid to ease community tensions revived by massacres of...

Mali accuses UN mission of fueling communal tensions, calls for its immediate withdrawalF

Mali's foreign minister called Friday for the UN Security Council to withdraw the peacekeeping mission in his country "without delay," denouncing its "failure" to respond to security challenges. The country's military rulers have increasingly imposed operational...

Niger: Mine blast kills seven soldiers in DiffaF

Seven soldiers were killed on Friday after their vehicle hit a landmine in Niger's southeast Diffa region, where jihadist groups are active, according to an army statement broadcast on state radio. The blast took place around 0000 GMT just 400 metres from a military...

Niger: Niamey hit with crippling power outagesF

Niger's capital Niamey is suffering major power cuts linked to disruptions in the supply of electricity from neighbouring Nigeria, according to Nigelec, the country's sole supplier. Since June 10, repeated blackouts lasting several hours have hit the capital and its...