REBELLION TOUAREG AU MALI ET AU NIGER

On ne saurait considérer que les territoires du peuple touareg se limitent aux seuls Etats du Mali et du Niger. Pourtant, force est de constater que les mouvements de rébellion touaregs se sont multipliés dans ces deux pays depuis la décolonisation.

Oil on the Jihadi Fire: The Repercussions of a Wagner Group Deployment to Burkina Faso

Abstract: On January 18, 2023, the military regime in Burkina Faso demanded that France withdraw its troops from the country within a month, stoking fears that another African country is set to hire the Kremlin’s favorite mercenaries, the Wagner Group, to help contain Burkina Faso’s worsening jihadi insurgency. There seems to be a very significant probability that the military government in Burkina Faso will indeed hire Wagner in the near future. The leader of Burkina’s junta, Captain Ibrahim Traore, currently faces intense pressure from both within his country and neighboring Mali to bring in Wagner mercenaries to stabilize the security situation. Though it is important to stress that Burkina Faso has already turned to private military companies, any move to hire Wagner Group would be a symptom of the malaise caused by weak and hollowed-out state institutions, corruption, and the increased militarization of Burkinabe society. Nevertheless, a future potential Wagner deployment to Burkina Faso would likely result in a further upsurge in jihadi violence in Burkina Faso given the fact that jihadi attacks, perpetrated by both JNIM and the Islamic State, have increased dramatically across Mali since Wagner’s deployment there just over a year ago. And a Wagner deployment to Burkina Faso would further entrench Russian influence in Africa, complicate Western policy in West Africa, and create humanitarian concerns given Wagner’s reprehensible human rights record.

Deux travailleurs humanitaires de la Croix-Rouge enlevés au Mali

Deux travailleurs humanitaires employés par le Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) ont été enlevés samedi dans le nord du Mali, a annoncé la branche malienne du CICR sur Twitter.

Deux employés du Comité international de la Croix-Rouge (CICR) ont été kidnappés, samedi 4 mars, au Mali, a indiqué la branche malienne de l’ONG sur Twitter.

Mauritanie: quatre jihadistes s’échappent d’une prison

En Mauritanie, quatre jihadistes membres d’Aqmi se sont évadés d’une prison de Nouakchott ce 5 mars 2023, après un échange de tirs qui a fait deux morts parmi les forces de sécurité.

En Mauritanie, quatre terroristes mauritaniens, tous membres d’al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique (Aqmi), se sont évadés de la grande prison civile de Nouakchott le 5 mars 2023, après avoir tué deux gardes et blessé deux autres.

Au Burkina Faso, une dizaine de civils tués par des groupes terroristes

Au moins douze civils ont été tués, jeudi, lors d’une attaque de groupes terroristes dans le nord du Burkina Faso, a appris l’AFP lundi de sources locales.

Nouvelle attaque au Burkina Faso. Au moins douze civils ont été tués, jeudi 2 mars, lors d’une attaque de groupes terroristes dans le nord du Burkina Faso, a-t-on appris lundi 6 mars de sources locales.

Ending Wars In The Horn Of Africa States – OpEd

Will the wars in the Horn of Africa States ever end? And how would they end? And who are the real protagonists in these wars? Who suffers most in these wars? These are all important questions one should ask oneself, especially in the light of the meaningless wars that continue to mar life and lovies in that part of the world, which did not see a day of peace over the past half a century or even more.

Qatar tests its new North Africa strategy in Tunisia

Doha maintains its objectives in the region, but opts for pragmatism after ironing out differences with its Gulf neighbours

The Arab Spring put the Gulf states in competition to gain weight and influence on a regional scale. The revolutionary onslaught that subdued Ben Ali’s Tunisia, Gaddafi’s Libya and Mubarak’s Egypt in a matter of weeks did not take long to suffer interference from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which sought to strengthen their internal allies by taking advantage of the prevailing chaos in a strategic area due to its energy resources and its endless connections with sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean.

Egypt just seized part of Libya’s maritime zone. What’s the story behind the Egyptian decree no one is talking about?

On December 13, 2022, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issued a presidential decree demarcating the country’s maritime borders with Libya. The presidential decree is believed to cut off thousands of square kilometers of Libya’s maritime zone. Egypt’s unilateral move was taken without prior consultation or negotiation with the Libyans, raising many questions about its content, timing, and justifications.

To counter the Wagner Group’s presence in Africa, the US will need to prioritize stabilizing Libya

The war in Ukraine has brought Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner Group to the forefront, with the United States now focusing on countering their presence beyond Ukraine, particularly in Africa.

One theatre Washington is now prioritizing as part of this burgeoning effort is Libya, where Russia’s influence is mainly projected through Wagner mercenaries. There, Wagner has acted as the Kremlin’s surreptitious foreign policy tool for over three years, significantly expanding its footprint in the country after supporting General Khalifa Haftar in his failed attack to capture Tripoli and oust Libya’s United Nations-recognized government in 2019. Quelling Wagner’s influence in Libya will be challenging, as the US must address Libyan realities and unite Europe and regional powers to support its foreign policy endeavor.