The junta in Niger claimed deteriorating security was a justification for their taking over, but attacks by jihadist groups affiliated with both Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State on civilians and military targets have continued since the military takeover.
The Iranian regime is advancing its ideology and increasing its influence in Shia mosques throughout the United States, while the Biden administration is sitting idly by, presumably still seeking to return to a disastrous nuclear deal, lift sanctions against Iran, and fund the regime to launch more terrorist attacks, further repress its own citizens, and pave the way for it legally to obtain an unlimited supply of nuclear weapons.
A leader of the jihadist group Islamic State (EI), the “planner and sponsor” of three deadly attacks in 2018 in the capital Tripoli, has been captured, the head of Libya’s Government of National Unity announced on Thursday evening.
Niger has been hit by multiple jihadist attacks since its president was overthrown last month, but observers caution against concluding that a long-running insurgency is shifting into higher gear as post-coup uncertainty mounts.
Niamey, Niger, August 19, 2023: Thousands of young people queue to register to volunteer to defend their country as part of a volunteer initiative. General Abdourahmane Tchiani, head of the Presidential Guards Unit, has repeatedly warned ECOWAS and unnamed Western nations against stepping in. “We once again reiterate to ECOWAS or any other adventurer our firm determination to defend our fatherland”.
Whilst some may cheer on the anti-France feelings seen in protests in Niger, the military coup is unlikely to provide the people with relief from the current poverty, let alone put the country on a democratic path, argues Yasser Louati.
It was easier to approach Moscow in June than to leave it in August. Wagner Group mercenary leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who staged a short-lived mutiny against the Russian military two months ago, was reportedly killed in a plane crash along with nine other passengers on Wednesday while traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg, according to Russian authorities and Wagner-affiliated Telegram groups. Some reports have indicated that the plane was downed by Russian air defenses. Just hours earlier, General Sergei Surovikin, who allegedly had advance knowledge of the Wagner mutiny and had not been seen in public since it occurred, was removed from his post as head of Russia’s air force.
The Islamic State has exploited the chaos in Libya to extend its influence.
Libyan authorities have arrested an Islamic State leader suspected of having planned three deadly attacks in Libya’s capital in 2018, the UN-backed government announced on Thursday.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and intensified United States (US)–China competition have had two important geostrategic consequences. They have blown new life into the European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and accelerated expansion of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) bloc’s role and membership, as confirmed at this week’s Johannesburg summit.
Après le Mali, le Burkina Faso et le Niger, la France est-elle en passe d’être chassée du Sahel ?
Quelle est sa stratégie pour ne pas perdre le dernier pays où elle a repositionné ses troupes ? Parviendra t’elle à convaincre la CEDEAO de frapper les putschistes de Niamey ? N’est-ce pas la fin de présence française dans le Sahel africain ?