First Independent Mena Newspaper
A sweeping new offensive by the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jama’at Nasrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) in western Mali is rapidly reshaping the Sahel conflict, expanding both the geographic reach and economic impact of militant Islamist violence in the region, according to a new study by the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS). Led by the Maçina Liberation […]
Intelligence agencies from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso are reportedly set to release names of senior Nigerian political figures allegedly financing terrorism and aiding arms trafficking in West Africa, according to multiple regional sources. The unprecedented move follows coordinated security operations under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a bloc formed by the three countries […]
Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine delivered a scathing address at the United Nations General Assembly, accusing France of actively undermining his country’s sovereignty through what he called a “sneaky and subversive destabilization plan.” Zeine alleged that since French troops were expelled from Niger in 2023, Paris has been “training, financing, and equipping terrorists” […]
Ghana has joined a growing list of African nations cooperating with the United States in its controversial immigration enforcement policy, accepting 14 West African deportees recently removed from the U.S. President John Dramani Mahama confirmed that the arrivals — mostly Nigerians and one Gambian — landed in Accra and were swiftly assisted in returning to […]
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is seeking $2.61 billion annually to launch a 5,000-strong regional Standby Force aimed at combating terrorism, political instability, and transnational crime across the region. At a high-level meeting in Abuja, ECOWAS Ministers of Defense and Finance convened to finalize funding strategies for the ambitious counterterrorism initiative. A […]
In a landmark move to boost its influence in Africa, Russia last week hosted its first official military consultations with the defense chiefs of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — members of the recently formalized Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The high-level talks in Moscow, led by Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, concluded with the […]
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has raised the red flag following revelations of $2.1 billion in suspicious cryptocurrency transactions across West Africa in 2024, according to a study by the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA). SEC Director-General, Emomotimi Agama, speaking at the recent West Africa Compliance Summit in Cape […]
The military-led governments of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have unveiled plans to fund a new regional investment bank with a portion of their national tax revenues, signaling a deepening break from traditional financial partners and regional bodies. Each country will contribute approximately 5% of its annual tax revenues to the bank, which aims to […]
Rising costs of road freight across West Africa are threatening to derail the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), exporters and trade experts warn, as unofficial fees and bureaucratic bottlenecks mount along key trade corridors. A recent case study by the West African Association for Cross-Border Trade (WACTAF) reveals that transporting a truckload of goods […]
Mali’s military government has formally granted junta leader General Assimi Goïta a five-year presidential term, renewable indefinitely and without elections, marking a sharp turn away from democratic governance in the Sahel nation. The new law, adopted unanimously by 131 members of the National Transitional Council last week, states Goïta’s power may be extended “as many […]