Security

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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...

Mauritania’s Former President Loses Final Appeal, Will Serve 15 Years$

Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who led Mauritania from 2009 to 2019, has lost his final appeal and will serve 15 years in prison. The Supreme Court of Mauritania upheld his conviction for illicit enrichment and money laundering, following a years-long legal process that saw...

Sahel: Mali junta carries out air strikes on ‘terrorists’F

Mali's military junta said it carried out air strikes on Wednesday against "terrorist groups" that were planning attacks in the north of the country. "Preventive FAMa (Malian Armed Forces) air strikes followed by an airborne operation targeted armed terrorist groups,...

Sahel: Dozens dead in clash in north Burkina FasoF

The general staff of the Burkina Faso military said 53 people died in Koumbri, near Ouahigouya in the north of the country on 4 September, when the 12th commando infantry regiment was deployed to secure the resettlement of populations who have left the area for more...

Leaders of Francophone Africa gripped by fear, strengthen their own securityF

By Arezki Daoud: Leaders of Francophone Africa are in state of panic following a series of coups that toppled their peers in Mali, Burkina, Guinea, Niger and now Gabon. Last week, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame announced the retirement of hundreds of military...

Mali: Three wounded in attack near capital BamakoF

A policeman and two civilians were wounded when Mali's security forces repelled an attack near the capital Bamako on Sunday, the army said. The attackers targeted a post in Dialakoroba, Koulikoro region, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Bamako, at 01:40 GMT,...