First Independent Mena Newspaper
Cocaine, cannabis resin and pharmaceutical opioids are the internationally trafficked drugs most seized in the Sahel, a region used by criminal networks and armed groups as a “natural stopover point” on trafficking routes from South America to Europe, according to a new report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Drug trafficking in […]
Tunisia has intensified its crackdown on Sub-Saharan migrants abandoning scores on the borders with Algeria, which has been turning a blind eye to migrants’ crossing for years. Authorities have dismantled makeshift camps by migrants and took many to the borders with Algeria, the Tunisian forum for economic and social rights said. Tunisian elites are increasingly […]
A recent opinion poll found that China is now more popular in Africa than the United States. Yet, this popularity apparently goes hand in hand with a backlash the Chinese face in a growing number of African countries, with many accusing them of “malicious” behavior. According to a recent Gallup polling, 58% of respondents in […]
South Sudan has held up UN fuel trucks over a tax dispute, leaving scores facing aid shortages in the country where three quarters of the population risks famine. The trucks were denied entry at a border passage with Uganda until the tax is paid, despite earlier assurances from the South Sudanese government that UN aid […]
The Sudanese civil war pitting the army against the Rapid Support Force RSF is threatening to reproduce ethnical cleansing in Darfur and spill over to neighboring Chad. Both warring factions have tried to recruit among local African and Arab tribes in an area where the wounds of the past genocide have not yet healed, according […]
The Wall Street Journal highlighted the independence declaration by Kabylia’s MAK movement after years of repression under the Algerian regime. “After half a century of working with human-rights and democratic groups in Algeria to liberalize the one-party police state, Kabyle spokesmen, including Mr. Mehenni, brought the case for decolonization to the U.N. A few days […]
The United States has agreed to withdraw its about 1,000 troops from Niger, where it built and operated a major drone base in the desert city of Agadez, in a move that effectively marks a new regional gain for Russia. Washington has accepted the call to pull out its troops from Nigeria and is committed […]
Lawmakers in Togo have given final approval to a constitutional reform linked to presidential term limits and how presidents are elected, which some opposition politicians and civil society groups have denounced as a constitutional coup. Togo’s parliament had already adopted the amendments on 25 March, but following a backlash by the opposition who fear the […]
With geopolitical confrontation and tensions deepening, the key global players are swiftly turning their focus on Africa, experts and observers note, with some of them warning African leaders to exercise prudence in forging international alliances, in particular with countries led by such “‘power-drunk’ leader(s) like Putin”. As African leaders are making strategic choices based on […]
Morocco’s efforts in combating terrorism were under the spotlights during the High-Level African Counter-Terrorism Meeting held in Abuja this April 22 – 23, under the theme “Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Institutions to Address the Evolving Terrorist Threat in Africa.” Ismaël Chekkori, Director of Global Issues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made a presentation on […]