Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announce joint anti-jihadist force

The army chiefs of military-ruled Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso on Wednesday announced the creation of a joint force to battle long-running jihadist rebellions raging in their countries. Issued on: 07/03/2024 – 05:09 1 min The new force “will be operational as soon as possible to take into account the security challenges in our space”, …

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The tech that helps these herders navigate drought, war, and extremists

Orenstein and the Garbal team—roughly a dozen local data analysts, project managers, digital finance experts, and tele-agents with degrees in livestock management and applied agriculture—have designed different tools for herders’ needs. For example, they’ve offered ways to connect with veterinarians, compare market prices for animal feed, and use satellite data to find seasonal migration corridors …

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With ECOWAS exit, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger leave democratic transition in limbo

The announcement that Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso will withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) “without delay” has put an abrupt end to fractious talks on organising elections and reinstating civilian rule. With their emphasis on restoring “national sovereignty” and driving out terrorist groups, the three West African countries’ military governments …

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Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to leave ECOWAS bloc with immediate effect

Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced Sunday they would be leaving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) “without delay”, citing the injustice of sanctions ECOWAS levied on each country following takeovers by military juntas. Issued on: 28/01/2024 – 14:37Modified: 28/01/2024 – 14:52 1 min The military regimes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger …

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France’s undocumented migrants face uncertain future under new immigration law

Despite facing serious labour shortages, the French government passed a more restrictive immigration bill this week after watering down measures that would have streamlined the legalisation of foreign workers. But some of the law’s new provisions may still offer a glimmer of hope for the country’s hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants.  Until it became …

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First photos of Wagner Group operating in Mali hit social media

The Malian army took back the town of Kidal from a coalition of Tuareg separatists known as the Permanent Strategic Framework for Peace, Security and Development (CSP) on November 14, with help from mercenaries with the Russian military contractor, the Wagner Group. The Wagner mercenaries allowed local people to take their picture – a first …

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Fighting resumes in Mali between army and rebel groups in key northern area

Fighting resumed Sunday between the Malian army and Tuareg separatist and rebel groups in the country’s northern region, military officers and elected officials said.  Issued on: 12/11/2023 – 13:45 1 min Since seizing power in a coup in 2020, the African country’s military rulers have made a priority of re-establishing sovereignty over all regions and …

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Africa’s Sahel region: A media desert

Issued on: 02/11/2023 – 19:23 Ten years ago, French radio journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were murdered by a commando from al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in the north-eastern Malian town of Kidal. Since then, the security situation in Africa’s Sahel region has continually worsened. Today, the vast area stretching from Mauritania to …

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France withdraws troops from Niger – POLITICO

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Sunday that French troops would be withdrawn from Niger in the next couple of months, in the wake of a coup d’état in the Western African country this summer. The military withdrawal from Niger comes after French troops were ousted from neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, amid growing anti-French sentiment …

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Notorious Russian general, master spy duo organise in Africa after Prigozhin’s demise

In recent weeks, Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and General Andrei Averyanov from the GRU military intelligence agency have made several trips to Africa. The two are increasingly seen as the main organisers of the post-Prigozhin era of Russian relationships with Africa following the Wagner Group chief’s demise in a fiery plane crash at …

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