First Independent Mena Newspaper
“They taught us a lesson, but they will also learn,” Burkina Faso’s junta leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has warned the regional bloc ECOWAS of a possible armed conflict amid escalating tensions, stressing that the united armies of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) are prepared to take on the ECOWAS forces that had been touted […]
Niger failed to make a debt payment of 13.4 billion CFA francs ($22 million) last week, the West African debt management agency said on Monday (19 February), bringing the total default to $519 million since a coup in July 2023 and its subsequent suspension from regional financial markets. The West African Economic Monetary Union (WAEMU) […]
The French government has sent a series of positive signals to mend ties with its once longstanding partner in North Africa, Morocco, after relations worsened to an unprecedented level threatening to sap decades of cooperation. Morocco’s news agency reported on Feb 19 that the King has given “high instructions” to his three sisters who met […]
French authorities banned a pro-Algerian regime rally in Paris due to the hateful slogans that protesters were planning to chant against Morocco and the restive kabylie population. The protest, called for by MOUDAF, said the rally was on the occasion of the Martyrs’ Day but nothing in the programme was about that specific occasion but […]
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have confirmed their commitment to form a confederation following their ‘exit’ from the regional bloc ECOWAS and called to “urgently” draft provisions ensuring the free movement of people and goods between the three West African countries. A trilateral meeting of ministerial delegations on 15 February also recommended expanding the Alliance […]
The three sisters of King Mohammed VI, Princesses Lalla Meryem, Lalla Asmae and Lalla Hasnaa, were guests to a luncheon hosted in their honor by France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron at the Elysée on Monday. The official statement announcing the news pointed out that “This luncheon is part of the continuity of the historic friendship […]
The United States, the United Kingdom and Spain have issued security alerts, warning their citizens residing in or visiting Algeria against any travel to the city of Tindouf or the surrounding Polisario-controlled camps. The travel warnings came amid ongoing demonstrations organized by young Sahrawis in the city and its surroundings against the Polisario and Algerian […]
Algeria is trying to catch up economically with Morocco in the Sahel. But observers see that Algerian diplomatic blunders are discouraging Sahel countries from engaging with Algiers. A new chapter of Algeria’s economic warfare was opened when Morocco had offered its ports and infrastructure to give landlocked Sahel countries access to the Atlantic and global […]
A patrol unit of the Moroccan royal navy rescued 141 Sub-Saharan migrants, including 3 women and 2 children, off the southern city of Dakhla on February 18. The migrant-loaded boat sailed from Mauritania en route to Canary Islands when the royal navy unit was asked for assistance by the national center for coordination and maritime […]
Morocco, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, which places the Palestinian cause and Al-Quds Al-Sharif at the forefront of its concerns, reaffirmed its unwavering support of the Palestinian question and defense of the Palestinian people, condemned the continuing war in Gaza, and reiterated its commitment to a peaceful settlement […]