First Independent Mena Newspaper
Junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have agreed to create a joint force to battle security threats, most notably long-running jihadist rebellions, across their territories. Violence in the wider Sahel region fueled by the decade-long fight with Islamist groups has worsened since the three countries’ militaries seized power in a series of coups from 2020 […]
Mali’s top diplomat has met with his Russian counterpart in Moscow for talks aiming to boost security cooperation between the two countries just as Bamako is struggling to take a full control of the country’s restive north. Addressing journalists in Moscow, Mali’s foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov earlier this week […]
With ties already at their worst, the civilian façade of the military regime in Algiers has doubled down on its provocative acts against Mali by receiving last weekend in Algiers extremist religious leader Mahmoud Dicko, whom Bamako accuses of backing Tuareg rebels. This is the second public reception of Dicko after a meeting with Tebboune […]
Religious leaders and especially Salafists in the three coup-hit West African countries have reportedly emerged as the unexpected allies of the new military authorities. The largely popular regimes in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali — West African countries, which have also undergone military coups since 2020 — enjoy the support of the religious leaders that […]
Junta leaders in the coup-hit West African countries have recently made headlines when they pushed for the ditching of the West African franc (CFA), a colonial-era legacy, though the desire to change the currency seems to not be uniform yet among the three juntas. Since the coup in Niger in July last year, fissures within […]
African nations should unite against any form of uprising from jihadists in the Sahel region and other parts of West Africa following the withdrawal of the coup-hit Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from ECOWAS, Nigeria’s military chief, General Christopher Musa has said. The withdrawal of the three member states from the regional bloc, coupled with […]
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 […]
Mali has said it has no intentions of leaving West Africa’s currency zone, while Burkina Faso has hinted at its possible withdrawal after they, along with Niger, announced their departure from the region’s political bloc ECOWAS as a form of protest. In a blow to hard-fought regional integration, late January, the military governments of Burkina […]
Politicians and experts in Germany have called on the European country to continue its involvement in Africa’s Sahel region even after the 2020s did not turn out as expected for Berlin. According to Deutsche Welle, Africa’s Sahel is considered a strategic location for Germany, which has long been a significant player in stabilization and development […]
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), dealing a hard blow to France and the Algerian regime which is serving the agenda of the former French colonial power in the region. In a joint statement released Sunday, the three Sahel countries said they took […]