Politics

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Niger Moves Uranium From SOMAÏR Mine Despite Arbitration Ruling$

Niger’s decision to move uranium from a disputed mine in the country’s north is deepening its confrontation with French nuclear group Orano and raising fresh questions about security and safety in the Sahel’s conflict‑affected transport corridors. Disputed shipment...

Benin Soldiers Mount Brief Coup Attempt$

Benin’s government says it has put down a brief but serious military uprising after soldiers appeared on state television on December 7 claiming to remove President Patrice Talon from power and suspend the constitution. The confrontation lasted only a few hours before...

Mauritania: Medical Equipment Contract Controversy Deepens in Mauritania$

A medical procurement deal in Mauritania has turned into a governance controversy, after an investigation by independent outlet Alakhbar alleged serious irregularities in how the military managed a multimillion‑euro contract to equip public hospitals. Instead of...

Mauritania Confronts Concentrated Desert Locust Outbreak With Regional Spillover Risk$

Mauritania is facing a concentrated desert locust outbreak in several western and northern regions, prompting intensified surveillance and control operations as ecological conditions continue to favor breeding. While the current wave of activity remains primarily...

West Africa: Allegations of Staged Military Takeover Cloud Guinea-Bissau’s Electoral Crisis$

Guinea-Bissau, a small West African nation of 2.2 million people sandwiched between Senegal and Guinea, has been thrust into political turmoil following a military takeover that prominent regional figures allege may have been staged. The November 26 seizure of power...

Mauritania: New Rescue Off Nouadhibou as Regional Migration Pressures Intensify$

Mauritanian authorities and local rescue teams recovered a pirogue carrying 156 migrants on Monday off the coast of Nouadhibou, ending a ten-day drift that left the passengers in severe physical distress. The operation adds to a growing number of maritime incidents...

Sahel: 50 civilians killed in anti-junta protests in ChadF

Djimet Wiche: Tensions eased in Chad on Friday following a day of unprecedented violence at protests that left around 50 people dead across the country. Chad's government had on Thursday announced an overnight curfew after the deadly clashes between police and...

Burkina Faso coup leader Ibrahim Traore crows himself country’s presidentF

Captain Ibrahim Traore was appointed as president of Burkina Faso on Wednesday, according to an official statement, after the West African country's second coup in less than nine months. Traore has been appointed as "Head of State, Supreme Head of the Armed Forces",...

Sahel: Anti-France protestors brandish Russian flags in OuagadougouF

By Armel Baily and Amaury Hauchard: Several dozen protestors waving Russian flags rallied in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou on Tuesday as West African delegates arrived on a fact-finding mission following the country's second coup in less than nine months....

Burkina Faso: Deposed junta leader Colonel Damiba steps down, flees to TogoF

By Olympia de Maismont with Pierre Donadieu in Abidjan: Burkina Faso's junta leader agreed to step down on Sunday, religious and community leaders said, two days after army officers announced his ouster in a coup that sparked internal unrest and international...