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...
Niger and ECOWAS: The cost of collective punishment
Lines of hundreds of trucks stretch back many kilometres close to Benin's northern border with Niger, their cargo...
Libya: ‘Worse than war’: Flood trauma haunts survivors
By Fulya Ozerkan: Grief etched into her face, 15-year-old Ibrar struggled to find the words to describe her pain at...
Morocco: Earthquake kills hundreds of people in Marrakesh
A powerful earthquake that shook Morocco late Friday killed more than 600 people, interior ministry figures showed,...
Sahel: Mali braces for potential release of hostages by Jihadis
[Photo of French hostage Sophie Petronin] - A second batch of jihadists has been freed in Mali, sources said Tuesday,...
Sahel: Upsurge of malaria cases in Mali
Malaria cases in northern Mali have spiked, according to medical workers, claiming 23 lives in the often lawless...
Power politics in the Sahel: Profile of a Sufi leader
Cattle herders, traders and heads of state are among the people who have sought the ear of the sharif of Nioro, one of...
Niger frees campaigners detained in protests over military contracts
Niger's judicial system has ordered the release of three campaigners held for more than six months after staging...
Niger: Dozens of migrants saved in Niger desert after they were abandoned by smugglers
Eighty-three migrants were saved last week after their smugglers abandoned them in the Sahara desert in northern...
Sahel: Chad regime targets newspapers with forced closure
Chad's paramount media authority has suspended 12 newspapers for three months for failing to conform with a 2018 law,...
Niger to drive UN talks on post Covid-19
United Nations, United States, Sept 1, 2020 - Niger, the current president of the UN Security Council, said Tuesday it...
Sahel: Communal clashes claim several lives in southern Chad
At least ten people have been killed in fresh fighting between nomadic herders and farmers in southern Chad, a local...
Niger: Death toll in Niamey’s floods reaches 45
Niamey, Aug 27, 2020 - Several areas of the Niger capital Niamey remained under water on Thursday as the death toll in...
Niger: Dozen captives freed from Boko Haram
Niamey, Aug 17, 2020 - Troops from Niger have freed 11 villagers, four of them children, who had been seized by Boko...
Niger: Floods kill dozens, 80,000 people affected
Abidjan, Aug 13, 2020 - Thirty-three people in Niger have died and more than 80,000 have been affected by floods...
Mali security forces used excessive force against protesters
Bamako, Aug 12, 2020 - Security forces in Mali used excessive force in response to violent anti-government protests in...
Niger confronted with multiple natural disasters
Heavy rains that have struck Niger since June have claimed 19 lives and inflicted economic harm on tens of thousands...
Chad: Worsening human rights record in Chad after death of civilians in prison
N'Djamena, Aug 8, 2020 - Forty-four people who died in a Chad prison cell were civilians who succumbed to brutal...
Sahel: Some 40 migrants perish off the coast of Mauritania
Nouakchott, Aug 6, 2020 - About 40 people are feared dead after a migrant vessel sank off the coast of Mauritania, the...
Environment: The sad ending of a giraffe, killed by Niger’s heavy rains
Niamey, Aug 6, 2020 - An aged giraffe drowned after heavy rains in southwestern Niger while more than 30 others...
Sahel: UN seeks to integrate Mali refugees in Niger population
Some 15,000 Malians were moved out of two large refugee camps in western Niger in late 2019 to live in nearby towns...
Sahel: Restoring the world heritage site of Bandiagara in Mali
The UN's culture organisation will restore the world heritage site of Bandiagara, in central Mali, which has been hit...
Mali: UN plane careens off Gao airport runway
A United Nations plane careened off the runway while touching down in the northern Malian city of Gao on Monday, the...
Migration: Dozens die each month on Africa’s migration routes
Thousands of migrants have died after suffering "extreme" abuse while crossing Africa, according to a UN report on...
Sahel: 22 killed in Mali minibus accident
Bamako, July 28, 2020 - Twenty-two people were killed and 21 were wounded in southern Mali on Tuesday when a minibus...
Sahel to get $285 million of Covid-19 aid from AfDB
The African Development Bank said Thursday it would provide $285 million in aid to Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania,...
Sahel: Niger hit by devastating floods, nine killed
Niamey, July 21, 2020 - Heavy floods in Niger have claimed nine lives and destroyed more than 2,000 homes , affecting...
Mali: The unsolved grisly murders of Fana
Fana, Mali, July 10, 2020 - Boubou Sangare, his face blank, points at a patch of ground beneath the entrance to an...
Burkina Faso government under pressure over extrajudicial killings
The United States on Wednesday called on Burkina Faso's government to investigate reports that 180 men were...
Mali: New massacre in Mopti’s Bandiagara region
Unidentified armed men massacred 31 civilians in simultaneous attacks on several Mali villages this week, then killed...
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...
Sahel: Civilian death toll from central Mali’s crises nears 600 so far this year
Geneva, June 26, 2020 - Unrest in central Mali, plagued by jihadist attacks and inter-community violence, has killed...
Sahel: Rights group accuses Niger of ‘war crime’ in the execution of alleged Boko Haram fighters
Abidjan, June 12, 2020 - Human Rights Watch on Friday described as a "war crime" the summary execution of two alleged...
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: Government forces sowing terror in the Sahel
Bamako, June 10, 2020 - Amnesty International on Wednesday accused armies in Africa's sprawling Sahel region of...
Mali: Four inmates die in prison riot in Bamako
Four prisoners in Mali's capital Bamako have died after a "mutiny" which saw inmates break out of their cells and...
Sahel: Growing concern over soldiers’ misconduct in the Sahel
By Amaury Hauchard: Accusations of alleged forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings are mounting against...
Famine in Burkina Faso
Ouagadougou, June 4, 2020 - More than a tenth of the population in Burkina Faso, a drought-stricken West African...
Niger: Attack on IDP camp in west Niger prompts thousands of refugees to flee
Niamey, June 3, 2020 - Thousands of people have fled a camp hosting 20,000 Malian refugees in western Niger after a...
Mali: Teachers in Mali say school reopening without proper protection, go on strike
Bamako, June 2, 2020 - Teachers in the West African state of Mali went on strike Tuesday, the first day schools...
Burkina Faso: Rights group wants investigation into extra-judicial killings
Ouagadougou, May 20, 2020 - Human Rights Watch called Wednesday on the Burkina Faso authorities to hold an...
Mali: Bus crash kills 20 people near Narena
Bamako, May 20, 2020 - Twenty people have been killed and 11 seriously injured after a minibus and a lorry collided in...