Africa

Tunisia’s president fires defence minister amid political upheaval

Tunisian President Kais Saied sacked the defence minister Monday, a day after ousting the prime minister and suspending parliament, plunging the young democracy into constitutional crisis in the midst of a pandemic.

Street clashes erupted Monday outside the army-barricaded parliament, after Saied dismissed Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and ordered parliament closed for 30 days, a move the biggest political party Ennahdha decried as a “coup”.

Enquête – Dans les coulisses du softpower russe en Afrique

« La symphonie africaine de Poutine » (2/2). Productions de contenus audiovisuels, financement de médias locaux, parrainage d’influenceurs « anti-impérialistes », campagnes de propagande sur internet… Les moyens déployés par Moscou pour promouvoir son action sont innombrables.

UN: Migrant boat capsizes off Libya, 57 thought dead

A boat carrying African migrants capsized off Libya’s coast Monday, leaving at least 57 people presumed dead, a U.N. migration official said. It was the latest disaster in the Mediterranean Sea involving migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

Is It Game Over for Tunisian Democracy?

In a move critics are calling a “coup d’état,” Tunisian President Kais Saied late Sunday gave a pink slip to the man he appointed exactly one year earlier to head the government, Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, dismissing the rest of the cabinet and freezing the activities of parliament for 30 days.

Russie-Afrique: Wagner, enquête sur les mercenaires de Poutine

« La symphonie africaine de Poutine » (1/2). Incontournable au Soudan et en Centrafrique, présente en sous-main au Sahel, cette société de sécurité privée officieuse liée au maître du Kremlin est de plus en plus active sur le continent. De Khartoum à Bamako, en passant par Bangui et Saint-Pétersbourg, plongée dans le monde interlope des vrais-faux mercenaires.

The Tunisian Army Blocks Access to Parliament Building

President Kai Said relied on Article 80 of the Constitution for ceasing the Lower House’s activities.

On Monday, the Tunisian army blocked access to several lawmakers to the Parliament building after President Kai Said removed Prime Minister Hichem Mechich and cease the Lower House’s activities for 30 days for their mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic.

US Lends More Airpower To Somalia’s Fight Vs. Al-Shabab

The United States is again targeting fighters with the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Shabab terror group in Somalia, launching its second airstrike in the past four days following a nearly six-month hiatus that began when President Joe Biden took office.

The strike, by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), appears to be part of an effort to lend U.S. airpower to what has been described as a fierce struggle on the ground between the Somali military and al-Shabab in Galmudug state, the same region targeted in Tuesday’s airstrike.

Burkina Faso: Increased Jihadist Attacks Spark Record-Breaking Displacement

Rising violent attacks by jihadist groups in Burkina Faso are forcing record-breaking numbers of people to flee both inside the country and across international borders, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, reported on Friday.

Six per cent of the population in the West African country is now internally displaced, with more than 1.3 million people uprooted in just over six weeks, according to latest Government figures.

Affaire Pegasus – Nasser Bourita : « Qui a intérêt à ostraciser le Maroc ? C’est là la vraie question »

Le ministre des Affaires étrangères marocain réagit aux révélations faites par Amnesty International et le consortium de journalistes Forbidden Stories, accusant les autorités du royaume d’utiliser le logiciel Pegasus pour espionner des journalistes, des militants mais aussi des personnalités de haut rang comme le président Macron ou même… le roi Mohammed VI. Entretien exclusif.