First Independent Mena Newspaper
The junta-leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are set to hold their first ever joint summit of the so-called ‘Alliance of Sahel States’ (AES) since seizing power in a series of coups in Niger’s capital Niamey this weekend. “Our country will be hosting on Saturday (6 July) the first summit of the AES heads […]
Niger is considering routing its oil through neighboring Chad and Cameroon, instead of using a China-backed pipeline running from Niger to Benin’s coast, after protracted diplomatic disputes with the latter and a recent rebel attack that damaged the vital pipeline. The China-backed pipeline, which the junta in Niamey hoped would turn Niger into an oil-exporting […]
The United States military commander is making a rare trip to Africa for talks on maintaining some of his troops’ presence in West Africa, after US troops were forced to withdraw from Niger and Chad and the Sahel countries’ shift to Russia for security. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown arrived […]
The US is withdrawing its troops from Niger ahead of schedule with only 300 soldiers left in the uranium and oil rich Sahel country. Niger authorities have given mid-September as a deadline for the troop withdrawal, which comes against the backdrop of an increasing anti-western sentiment in the military-ruled Sahel states. Niger is also shifting […]
Niger’s top court has lifted the immunity of the country’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, thus opening door for the country’s junta-ruled government to prosecute him for alleged ‘high treason’. Abdou Dan Galadima, president of the State Court, Niger’s highest legal authority that had been created by the military government, announced the decision on Friday […]
Iran bought 300 tons of uranium from Niger to be used for its nuclear program in exchange of drones and surface-to-air missiles, London-based media Iran International reported. The news came in a long report earlier this month by Iranian-American reporter Banafsheh Zand, echoing an earlier report on Africa Intelligence that raised secret talks between Tehran […]
Benin accused Niger of sending secret agents to spy in its Seme port where a Chinese-built pipeline was supposed to begin exporting Nigerien gas, before it was blocked by Beninese authorities last month. The arrest of five Nigerien nationals marks a new escalatory move in the standoff between the two ECOWAS neighbors. Benin said the […]
“If we don’t act now,” the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in the Sahel will “become a problem for the world,” a senior UNHCR official has warned, echoing a senior UNICEF official that has condemned a “distressing” 70% rise in grave violence against children in several strife-torn countries in the region plagued by jihadists and […]
Soldiers from five Sahel states are holding military exercises in Western Niger focusing on counter-terrorism, Niger’s defense minister said. The drills, to run until June 3, bring together Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger and Togo, marking the first exercise between the five countries. The exercise includes interoperability, tactical maneuvers, and offering health care to citizens. […]
Benin and Niger finally appear to have resolved their trade dispute following the mediation by the Chinese government, which has led Benin to lift the blockade preventing Niger’s oil export through its territory to China. Tensions between the two West African neighbors began last year after Niger’s ruling junta ousted the country’s democratically elected president […]