Author: M Barbu

The New Turn in Ukraine: Putin’s War Becomes Biden’s War

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, it was fair to call the ensuing conflict “Putin’s war.” True, the U.S. and Europe could probably have avoided the invasion by calling a halt to NATO expansion and negotiating seriously with the Russians about key security issues. True, U.S. arms had been pouring into Ukraine since the overthrow of the pro-Russian government there in 2014, and Ukraine was using them to kill pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region. But Putin was still responsible for crossing the line into organized violence. It does matter who shoots first, and he shot first.

The Second Level Geopolitical War in Ukraine Takes Over

It has become increasingly clear to the world that there is not one, but two, actually three, distinct levels of conflict embedded in what the world’s media and political leadership deceptively insist of calling the ‘Ukraine War.’ The first level was clearly initiated on February 24, 2022 when Russia launched an aggressive war against Ukraine imperiling its sovereign rights and territorial integrity. The second level was difficult to discern in the first weeks of the war, but became soon evident as the NATO countries led by the United States placed an increasing emphasis on lending escalating support to Ukraine’s adopted goals of achieving an unexpected military victory. This support took various forms including the steady supply of heavy weaponry, robust economic assistance, punitive sanctions, and a drumbeat of ‘official’ demonization of Russia and its leadership. In the beginning it seemed appropriate to lend support to Ukraine as the target of aggression, and hail the resistance effort led by President Volodymyr Zelensky, in defense of a relatively small country being overrun by its large neighbor.

AQIM’s Imperial Playbook: Understanding al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb’s Expansion into West Africa

In 2021, the United Nations noted the newfound threats of the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), a branch of al-Qa`ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), that extended into Burkina Faso and the Ivory Coast, stretching farther yet into Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Had an observer in 2006 had this information presented to them, they might have scarcely believed it. That year, in which AQIM was formed, the group was a thoroughly North African organization and based primarily in Algeria. Fast forward 15 years, how did AQIM end up nearly 1,300 miles away, now posing immediate threats in the states of littoral West Africa?

Méditerranée : selon l’ONU, en 2021, plus de 3000 migrants ont perdu la vie en mer, le double de 2020

Plus de 3000 migrants sont morts l’an dernier en mer alors qu’ils tentaient de rejoindre l’Europe, soit le double du bilan enregistré en 2020, a indiqué l’ONU vendredi.

“Sur ce total, 1924 personnes ont été déclarées mortes ou disparues sur les routes de la Méditerranée centrale et occidentale, tandis que 1153 autres ont péri ou ont été portées disparues sur la route maritime de l’Afrique du Nord-Ouest vers les îles Canaries”, a déclaré une porte-parole de l’agence de l’ONU pour les réfugiés à Genève, Shabia Mantoo.

Plus de 4000 réfugiés nigérians de retour dans le bastion des jihadistes

Plus de 4.000 Nigérians ayant fui les exactions jihadistes dans le nord-est du Nigeria vers le Niger voisin sont rentrés chez eux malgré l’insécurité et des services quasi-inexistants dans la région.

Les travailleurs humanitaires craignent que le retour fin mars des réfugiés à Malam Fatori, dans l’Etat du Borno, épicentre d’une insurrection jihadiste vieille de plus de 10 ans, cause davantage de victimes et de déplacés.

Russia’s war in Ukraine is making Saudi Arabia and the UAE rethink how they deal with US pressure over China

The response of the Gulf Arab states to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been somewhat revealing of the depth of fissures between the United States and its Gulf allies. The “stress test” United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al Otaiba, hinted at on March 3, was on full display in the pushback by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE—against pressure from Washington to condemn the invasion and side with Ukraine.

Nigeria: TotalEnergies to Sell Stake in Nigerian Joint Venture

TotalEnergies is the latest multinational to give up its onshore asset for deep-water fields.

French oil major TotalEnergies has announced it will put up for sale its minority stake in a Nigerian oil joint venture.

The firm wants to focus on deep-water fields away from the difficulties of operating in close proximity with local communities, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Libya is a ‘Market of Human Beings’

Many African migrants and refugees see crossing the Mediterranean Sea as the only chance for a better life. Sally Hayden tells their harrowing stories in My Fourth Time, We Drowned.

As the war in Ukraine rages on, the European Union and the rest of the world is witnessing the biggest influx of refugees into Europe since World War II.