Mining companies that have been operating in the Sahel for a long time are now experiencing a tectonic shift in their industry’s landscape in the region. The Sahel has always attracted entrepreneurial companies from far away Canada, Australia, Russia, South Africa and...
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The US Africa Policy: Don’t Expect Anything New
Africa has been a low priority for virtually all US administrations, be they republicans or democrats. It is true that Donald Trump has been more belligerent and vocal about his positions on Africa, but even Democrats have shown no interest in playing a more effective...
Sahel: A Primer on the Northern Mali Crisis
Northern Mali has always been a region of turmoil, and the responsibility for the misery there starts with the central government in Bamako. Violence, social, economic and environmental turmoil has hit the people of the Azawad region hard, deeply affecting the Tuareg,...
Mali: Wagner and Junta leaders in tough spot with series of embarrassing defeats and decisions to make
(Photo from unconfirmed video showing an insurgent burning the presidential plane in Bamako. The person filming the attack speaks in Peul or Fulani language) By Arezki Daoud: This week’s attacks on the Malian capital of Bamako highlight the junta's difficulty in...
Mali: JNIM raids Bamako in direct threat to military junta
On Tuesday, 17 September 2024, Bamako, the capital of Mali, was the target of coordinated attacks claimed by the JNIM. At least two military sites, including a gendarmerie training facility, were raided as early as 5 a.m. The targeted sites were the Faladié...
Mali: The Failing Campaign of Wagner in Mali Presages Trouble for the Junta in Bamako
There have been more chatter and speculations about the activities of Russia’s mercenaries, formerly known as the Wagner Group, now reportedly called the Afrika Corps in the Sahel. It is unclear if the name "Afrika Corps" is official, but if so, it certainly confirms...
Mali: The Failing Campaign of Wagner in Mali Presages Trouble for the Junta in Bamako
There have been more chatter and speculations about the activities of Russia’s mercenaries, formerly known as the...
Sahel: Wagner Lost Men in Tinzouatin, but Russia Sees Real ROI in the Sahel. It May Now Make a Move on Nigeria
Russia is seeing a good "return on its investment" in the Sahel. Both Mali and Niger have cut their ties with Ukraine...
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 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 stills insists on restoring ousted president Bezoum
Niger's military regime fired a new verbal broadside at France on Friday, accusing Paris of "blatant interference" by...
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...
Gabon’s new junta makes promises of return to civilian rule
Gabon's coup leader vowed after being sworn in as interim president on Monday to restore civilian rule through "free,...
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,...
Gabon: Another domino in the French sphere falls, Gabon army ousts Ali Bongo
Rebel officers in Gabon announced Wednesday they had seized power following disputed elections in which President Ali...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
How Sudan is imploding
War and hunger threaten to "consume" all of Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of malnourished children are at risk of...
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...
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...
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: 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...
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...
Niger: Coup leaders get popular support amid rising regional tensions
By Boureima Hama with Delphine Touitou: Thousands of people rallied Thursday in Niger's capital in support of the coup...
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: 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...
Niger: New leaders launch purge of deposed regime ministers
Four ministers in Niger, a former minister and the head of ousted president Mohamed Bazoum's party have been arrested...
Niger military junta accuses France of plotting counter-coup
By Boureima Hama: Niger's new junta on Monday accused France of seeking to "intervene militarily" to reinstate deposed...
Niger: ECOWAS threatens Niger junta to return power to civilians
African leaders on Sunday gave the junta in Niger one week to cede power or face the possible use of force, and...
Niger: Athletes from Niger struggle to perform in Kinshasa after coup
Nigerien participants in the Francophone Games, which have kicked off in DR Congo's capital, have been left struggling...
Niger: Army General Abdourahamane Tchiani leads Niger’s new ruling junta
By Boureima Hama: Niger's putschists named an army general as the new leader of the unstable jihadist-hit nation on...
Niger: Army sides with presidential guard in ousting president Bezoum
Niger's armed forces chief on Thursday declared his support for troops who announced they had seized power, despite a...
Podcast: Sahel: North Mali is bracing for more violence
Mali in the Sahel region is facing unprecedented crises. With the withdrawal of France forces and the upcoming pull...
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...
Mali: Ethnic Tuaregs brace for attacks from army and Russian mercenaries ($)
By Arezki Daoud: The departure of the French forces and the forthcoming exit from Mali of the UN peacekeeping mission...
The militarization of the Sahel: Governments run by soldiers ($)
By Arezki Daoud: Military regimes now dominate the governments of the Sahel nations. The countries in the region have...
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,...
Senegal: President Macky Sall made the right decision by not seeking third term
By Adrien Marotte and Soulé Dia: Relief swept Senegal and its supporters on Tuesday after President Macky Sall...