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...
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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...
Sahel/Sahara: Unprecedented Summer Flooding Devastates Numerous Regions
Every summer, the Sahara and Sahel regions experience floodings that cause deaths and damage. This year, however, the magnitude of the destruction appears more severe. In this month of August, devastating rains and floods hit the corridor stretching from southern...
Sahel: The demise of the ancient city of Timbuktu
When jihadists in Mali announced they would blockade the ancient city of Timbuktu, residents thought it was just...
Sahel: Army-Tuareg war reignites in north Mali
Opinion by Arezki Daoud: The military junta in Mali is now confronted with the realities of war. It is battling on...
Sahel: Deadly week in Mali
A suicide attack targeted a military base in northern Mali on Friday, the army said, a day after deadly strikes on an...
Sahel: Mass killings continue, another deadly week in Mali and Niger
Mali: Raids on army post near Ansongo claim lives of 33 soldiers By Serge Daniel - At least 33 soldiers were killed in...
Sahel: Unfolding humanitarian crisis in Niger with growing masses of refugees from Nigeria and from within
The United Nations warned Tuesday that bloodshed in northwestern Nigeria was fuelling an exodus into neighbouring...
Sahel: UN peacekeepers from Togo wounded in attack near Kerena in Mali
Around 20 United Nations peacekeepers were wounded in an attack on their base in central Mali on Wednesday, a UN...
Mali: Insurgents in armored vehicles kill ten Mali soldiers in Boni
Ten troops were killed in Mali's troubled central region early Wednesday when their camp came under attack from...
Sahel: More unrest in Mali with the killing of six soldiers in Boulkessy and Mondoro
Twin attacks on the army in central Mali killed six soldiers, while some 30 suspected jihadists were also left dead in...
Burkina Faso: Abbot Rodrigue Sanon found dead in the Cascades region
A priest missing since Tuesday in Burkina Faso's jihadist-plagued southwest has been found dead, security and local...
Sahel: Bad governance, terrorism and foreign meddling cause displacement of two million people in the Sahel
More than two million people have been forced to flee their homes within their own countries' borders owing to...
Sahel: Armed confrontations escalate in Niger and Mali
More troops killed by roadside bomb in central Mali Three Malian troops were killed and five wounded by a roadside...
Sahel: Catholic priest missing in jihadist-hit Burkina Faso
A priest has gone missing in southeastern Burkina Faso, triggering fears of a kidnapping in the Sahel state, which is...
Sahel: Roadside bomb kills soldiers in south Niger
Four soldiers were killed and eight others seriously injured by a roadside bomb in southeastern Niger, a region hit by...
Sahel: Foreign forces unable to bring stability to Mali, four UN peacekeepers killed in Bambara Maoude
The death toll from an attack on UN peacekeepers in Mali has risen to four after another soldier died from his wounds,...
Sahel: Reports of 20 villagers killed in Mali region of Bounti
France said on Tuesday it had killed dozens of jihadists in a weekend air strike in central Mali, while several...
Sahel: Massacre in west Niger, hundred killed in ‘terror’ attacks
"Terrorists" killed around 100 people in two villages in western Niger, the latest in a string of civilian massacres...
Mali: Two more French soldiers killed in IED explosion in Menaka
Two French soldiers died when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in northeastern Mali on Saturday, just...
Sahel: Three French troops killed by EID in Hombori, Mali
Three French soldiers were killed Monday in Mali when their armoured vehicle struck an explosive device in the Hombori...
Sahel: Funding the insurgency with illegally acquired gold
Several "suspected terrorists" were arrested and more than 40,000 sticks of dynamite and detonator cords for illegal...
Sahel: Boko Haram raids village in southern Niger, kills 27
Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist group on Monday claimed responsibility for the weekend attack on a village in...
Sahel: New terror attack in La Tapoa, Niger
Two forestry workers were killed and two soldiers were reported missing after an attack early Friday in southwestern...
Sahel: Military posts in northern Mali attacked
Suspected militants attacked several Malian and foreign military bases with mortars and rockets in the north of the...
Sahel: French forces intensify their operations in the Sahel, report killing Al Qaeda’s Ba Ag Moussa
France announced Friday that its anti-jihadist force in Mali had killed the military commander of an Al-Qaeda-aligned...
Sahel: Gunmen ambush bus in Mali, kill eight people
Gunmen have killed eight people in central Mali, a local official and security ministry staffer said Wednesday, in...
Niger: US national kidnapped in Tahoua
An American citizen has been kidnapped by gunmen in southern Niger, a senior official told AFP on Tuesday. The...
Sahel: As expected, France opposes dialogue in the Sahel
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, on a trip to Mali on Monday, ruled out dialogue with jihadists driving an...
Sahel: Another massacre in Mali, 12 civilian killed in Mopti
Twelve civilians were killed in volatile central Mali on Tuesday morning in addition to 12 soldiers who died in a twin...
Mali: Attack on base in Mopti leaves dozen troops dead
Twelve Malian soldiers were killed in attacks on their base in the volatile centre of the country, the army said...
Infighting inside the Sahel’s Jihadi movement
To the uninitiated, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group may be pursuing the same long-term goal of spreading...
Sahel: Boko Haram ambushes Chad soldiers, kills ten
Ten Chadian soldiers were killed while attacking a base of the Boko Haram Islamist group in the Lake Chad region, the...
Niger: Daesh says it killed French aid workers in Koure on 9 August
The Islamic State extremist group on Thursday claimed the killing in August of six French aid workers and their two...
Mali: Ambush claims lives of 10 soldiers in Koulioro
At least 10 Malian soldiers were killed in an overnight ambush in a central region near the Mauritanian border where...
Mali: Four soldiers killed near Mopti
Bamako, Aug 27, 2020 - Four troops were killed and 12 were wounded on Thursday in an ambush in central Mali, the army...
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...
Sahel: Chad army unable to contain Boko Haram in Lake Chad
Chad's President Idriss Deby said Saturday that Boko Haram jihadists would continue to wreak havoc in the Lake Chad...
Niger: Gunmen kill French tourists in Kouré
Niamey, Aug 9, 2020 - Six French tourists and their local guide and driver were killed Sunday by gunmen riding...
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: Boko Haram hits village in Chad, kills residents
Boko Haram jihadists killed at least 10 civilians and kidnapped seven others in an attack on a village in the troubled...
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...
Niger: Insurgents release kidnapped aid workers
Ten Niger humanitarian workers abducted by suspected jihadists as they were distributing food have been released a...
France’s massive challenges in the Sahel
France is increasingly optimistic about the effectiveness of its anti-jihadist campaign in the Sahel, but experts...
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...