Finally, France will be leaving Mali, nearly a decade after the original military intervention in 2013. The repercussions of this decision will hardly be confined to this West African nation, but will likely spread to the entirety of the Sahel Region; in fact, the whole of Africa.
War, as well as causing death and destruction, is harmful to economies: it destroys physical and human capital, increases uncertainty and stifles investment and consumption. But in addition to the direct economic impact of the war in Ukraine –which will bring both the Ukrainian and, owing to Western sanctions, the Russian economies to a shuddering halt– one must also mention the unclear effect of turbulence in the fuel and raw materials markets, with fallout that is still very uncertain for Europe, as well as the impact of other economic measures that may be adopted in the future if the conflict persists. All this will steer the world economy, in the best-case scenarios, towards lower growth and greater inflation; and, in the worst case scenario, to an acute stalling of growth that could turn into a recession in many European countries (and elsewhere) owing to shocks in the financial and commodity markets.
Vladimir Putin may have anticipated a repeat of Russia’s seizure of Crimea, but what we have seen is more similar to Chechnya.
At first glance, Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine seemed to suggest a change in the approach of the Russian armed forces.
“Information is often valuable, but you need to net it out of the agenda, of the noise, and find the valuable information,” Grozev said. He explained that this is why Bellingcat’s work is data-focused rather than based on sources, as sources often have agendas. Before the war, Grozev’s team received tip-offs about what was going to happen. As these were unverified claims from sources, they didn’t publish them, but they gave them some hints about the situation in the Kremlin.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has sparked an explosion of interest in what Moscow is up to around the world. With that in mind, GIJN has assembled a kind of starter-toolkit to help journalists track Russian assets, political interference, and disinformation in their countries. From oligarch planes to sanctions trackers, you’ll find over 30 useful sites here. We’ve also included some of the best tools we’ve seen for following Russia’s war on Ukraine. This is a work-in-progress, so be sure to send us your comments and additions.
Reporting violations in an active conflict, previously a daunting and life threatening task, has now become easier thanks to open-source reporting techniques. Thanks to much improved cameras in mobile phones, the digital media being uploaded by combatants themselves to social media and other sites online is now of a very high resolution. Couple that with the availability of high-quality satellite imagery and digital tools that let you sift through the masses of data being uploaded online, and reporters enjoy a much greater ability to investigate war crimes as they happen.
Mardi, le Groupe de soutien à l’islam et aux musulmans (Jnim ou GSIM), lié à al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique, a revendiqué l’attaque particulièrement sanglante de Mondoro dans des vidéos et un audio diffusés sur les réseaux sociaux. Une revendication rapide et hors des canaux habituels, comme cela arrive parfois pour les opérations d’ampleur. Les jihadistes y contredisent les bilans donnés par l’armée malienne.
Tensions entre la Mauritanie et le Mali, suite à la disparition d’éleveurs mauritaniens en territoire malien. Plusieurs dizaines de Mauritaniens sont portés disparus depuis près de trois jours. Des sources locales affirment qu’ils auraient été tués par des soldats maliens, des accusations qui n’ont pour l’heure pas été confirmées. Cela fait plusieurs semaines que la région frontalière entre les deux pays connait un regain de violence.
Le Haut conseil pour l’unité de l’Azawad (HCUA) de la Coordination des mouvements de l’Azawad (CMA) a renoué avec ses vieilles et mauvaises pratiques en mettant la pression sur le gouvernement malien avec des menaces à peine voilées. Et quand on sait qu’au même moment Mohamed Bazoum du Niger a décidé de fumer le calumet de la paix avec Boko Haram, on peut craindre une jonction dangereuse pour notre pays. Pour quelle raison aujourd’hui Bazoum fait-il la paix avec ceux qui ont endeuillé de nombreuses familles de son pays ? En tout cas ces deux situations (la menace de la CMA et la décision de Bazoum de faire la paix avec Boko Haram), ne sont pas anodines pour qui connaît la connivence entre la France et leurs auteurs.
Les prix des matières premières explosent depuis la guerre en Ukraine. C’est le cas du nickel, qui a atteint des sommets : plus de 100 000 dollars la tonne.