Charlotte Touati - Mondafrique: Two competing poles are now clearly taking shape in the contest for control over access to the Red Sea. The first, structured around the United Arab Emirates, Israel, and the Abraham Accords, includes Ethiopia and Somaliland, which has...
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Flashpoints: Benin-Niger Tensions Deepen as Diplomatic Relations Deteriorate
Relations between Benin and Niger have entered a new period of strain following reciprocal diplomatic expulsions. In recent days, authorities in Cotonou (Benin) asked two Nigerien embassy officials to leave the country. Niamey responded by declaring Benin’s chargé...
Europe’s New Migration Rules Shift Pressure South to North Africa
The European Union’s revised migration framework, set to take effect in mid-2026, is already reshaping how migration is managed across the Mediterranean. Recent coordination meetings between North African states and Italy are part of the ongoing shift taking place in...
Irregular Migration to Spain Falls Sharply in 2025 With Decline in Atlantic Crossings
After reaching a historic high in 2024, irregular migration to Spain fell sharply in 2025. Official data show a decline of more than 40% compared with the previous year, driven largely by a collapse in arrivals via the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands. Spanish...
How the US Intervention in Venezuela is Reviving Global South Fears of Power Politics
The US raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is resonating across Africa as part of a broader pattern of great‑power behavior that many on the continent see as a return to old hierarchies, rather than an isolated episode in Latin America. The...
Burkina Faso Faces New Security Tensions Amid Coup Allegations
Burkina Faso experienced a sudden spike in political and security tension overnight in early January, with coordinated public mobilizations in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso following warnings of a possible attempt to destabilize the country’s transitional...
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...
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...
Sahel: Five West African presidents gather in Mali to save it from complete collapse
Bamako, July 23, 2020 - West African leaders gathered in Bamako on Thursday in a fresh push to end an escalating...
Sahel: Mali crisis deepens after ECOWAS failed at mediation
Bamako, July 20, 2020 - Malian leaders are gearing up for more mediation talks on Thursday, when four African...
Mali: Mediators propose that the opposition participates in government
Bamako, July 19, 2020 - West African mediators trying to resolve Mali's political crisis on Sunday called for a...
Mali: Inside the June 5 Movement
Bamako, July 17, 2020 - Mali's protest movement against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has triggered the war-torn...
Mali opposition agrees to truce, announces cancellation of Friday protest
Bamako, July 15, 2020 - The Malian opposition alliance that demands President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita step down has...
Sahel: Regional initiative to ease tension in Mali
[Photo: Ex-Nigeria president Goodluck Johnathan leads ECOWAS delegation to mediate in Mali crisis]: Envoys from Mali's...
Sahel: Understanding the crisis in Mali
A protest movement in Mali has snowballed in just six weeks, shaking the presidency of Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and...
Mali: Embattled president seeks to appease tension with release of opposition figures
Bamako, July 13, 2020 - All opposition figures who were detained in Mali after violent protests against President...
Sahel: Tense situation in Mali after two people were killed
Bamako, July 11, 2020 - Tensions ran high in Mali Saturday, a day after deadly mass protests seeking the ouster of the...
Mali: Political unrest and protest in Mali. Protesters demand ousting of President
Bamako, July 10, 2020 - Protesters in Mali's capital Bamako blocked two of the city's main bridges and hurled stones...
Mali: Opposition’s stance hardens despite president speech
Mali president's speech fails to appease opposition Mali's main protest leader called for fresh anti-government...
Mauritania: Former President snubs parliament hearing on oil revenues
Nouakchott, July 9, 2020 - Mauritania's former president on Thursday skipped a parliamentary hearing examining his...
Sahel: Mali opposition wants President Keita to resign
Mali's protest leaders stepped up pressure on President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Sunday, calling for more...
Burkina Faso: From favored tourist destination to a hotbed of terrorism
By Armel Baily with Patrick Fort in Abidjan: Little more than five years ago, Burkina Faso was on the up, priding...
Niger: General Djibo enters the presidential race
General Salou Djibo, former head of Niger's military junta, will contest the 2020 presidential election after being...
Sahel: Understanding the political crisis in Mali
Bamako, June 25, 2020 (By Amaury Hauchard and Laurent Lozano) - Mali's government is facing a rising wave of protests,...
Mali: Mass rally in Bamako to demand resignation of president
Bamako, June 19, 2020 (By Amaury Hauchard, Serge Daniel and Kassim Traore) - Tens of thousands of people rallied in...
Mali braces for mass protest despite presidential call for talks with opposition
Bamako, June 17, 2020 (By Kassim Traore) - Malian opposition leader Mahmoud Dicko on Wednesday urged people to protest...
Mali’s beleaguered president says he is open to talks with opposition
Bamako, June 14, 2020 - Mali's beleaguered President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, made overtures on Sunday to the...
Sahel: Chad ruler Deby delays national assembly election for fifth time since 2015, his party stays in power
N'Djamena, June 9, 2020 - Chad's repeatedly delayed legislative elections set for December this year have been...
Mali: Religious leader takes center stage in Mali political crisis
Officials from the UN, West Africa and the African Union (AU) have met an influential Muslim cleric behind...
Sahel: The people of Mali launch their anti-regime Hirak movement
Tens of thousands of people rallied in Mali's capital Bamako on Friday demanding the departure of President Ibrahim...
Sahel Podcast: Covid-19, the insurgency and the brutality of government forces
In this latest brief podcast, MEA Risk's Arezki Daoud addresses the issues of instability and security in the Sahel,...