Africa

Il existe un continuum d’événements depuis l’intervention russe en Syrie et le coup d’État en Ukraine, qui culmine avec le détournement actuel des armes de l’OTAN vers les terroristes en Afrique.

En 2014, suite aux politiques de dé-russification mises en place par le Maïdan, une guerre civile a éclaté dans ce qui était alors l’est de l’Ukraine – qui fait aujourd’hui partie de la Fédération de Russie – aboutissant à la séparation de Donetsk et de Lougansk. Dans ce conflit civil, plusieurs militants salafistes de l’État islamique se sont alliés aux forces ukrainiennes, comme l’ont rapporté les services de renseignement russes et comme l’ont admis les agences de presse occidentales et les autorités européennes.

France’s relations in Africa have been strained. The setback in Niger jeopardizes the country’s entire positioning in West Africa, both militarily and politically. Unfortunately, for French President Emmanuel Macron, this is not the only place where his administration is facing failure. We might even dare to ask: Is France about to lose North Africa as well? Indeed, relations between France and Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya have been extremely tense.

Niger’s junta accused France on Wednesday of violating its airspace as part of a broader plan to destabilize the country, ratcheting up rhetoric in a way that left little hope for a swift diplomatic resolution of the crisis there.

As the world focuses on Niger and the junta’s standoff with West African states refusing to accept yet another coup d’état in their region, crises further east continue to deteriorate and merit more attention. On August 4, the Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency in Amhara, as clashes between the Amhara nationalist Fano militia and national defense forces escalated. The Ethiopian government’s April announcement that all regional security forces must integrate into the national military or police forces was always an easier-said-than-done exercise. The wartime coalition that Prime Minister Abiy assembled to fight Tigrayan forces has fallen apart, and peace has not delivered the rewards some were clearly expecting, making the prospect of giving up their leverage decidedly unappealing. With the terms of the Tigray peace still not fully implemented and heavy fighting in the city of Gondar, security remains elusive for many Ethiopians.

Que fait la France au Sahel ?

«On va pas révéler des secrets ici… Le déclenchement de l’Opération Serval, la lettre du gouvernent malien putschiste appelant l’armée française, elle n’a pas totalement été rédigée à Bamako, on le sait bien».

Libyan politicians have floated a plan to put together an interim government. The UN and other external actors should support this step toward breaking the country’s political deadlock. Libya’s political crisis took a new turn after its House of Representatives, based in the eastern city of Tobruk, approved a plan to appoint an interim government that would reunify the country’s two parallel executives as part of a roadmap to general elections. House members made this decision with backing from representatives of the rival Tripoli-based assembly, the High State Council, and from east-based military strongman Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

Est-ce que le président français actuel est un bon stratège politique ? À l’aune de la déroute de la France au Niger, au Sahel et plus largement sur le continent africain tant sur le point humain, militaire, et géopolitique, la question se pose.

At 3 a.m. on July 26, 2023, the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum in Niamey, the capital of Niger. Troops, led by Brigadier General Abdourahmane Tchiani closed the country’s borders and declared a curfew. The coup d’état was immediately condemned by the Economic Community of West African States, by the African Union, and by the European Union. Both France and the United States—which have military bases in Niger—said that they were watching the situation closely. A tussle between the Army—which claimed to be pro-Bazoum—and the presidential guard threatened the capital, but it soon fizzled out. On July 27, General Abdou Sidikou Issa of the army released a statement saying that he would accept the situation to “avoid a deadly confrontation between the different forces which… could cause a bloodbath.” Brigadier General Tchiani went on television on July 28 to announce that he was the new president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie or CNSP).

At 3 a.m. on July 26, 2023, the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum in Niamey, the capital of Niger. Troops, led by Brigadier General Abdourahmane Tchiani closed the country’s borders and declared a curfew. The coup d’état was immediately condemned by the Economic Community of West African States, by the African Union, and by the European Union. Both France and the United States—which have military bases in Niger—said that they were watching the situation closely. A tussle between the Army—which claimed to be pro-Bazoum—and the presidential guard threatened the capital, but it soon fizzled out. On July 27, General Abdou Sidikou Issa of the army released a statement saying that he would accept the situation to “avoid a deadly confrontation between the different forces which… could cause a bloodbath.” Brigadier General Tchiani went on television on July 28 to announce that he was the new president of the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (Conseil National pour la Sauvegarde de la Patrie or CNSP).