First Independent Mena Newspaper
The Russian private military company Bear Brigade has confirmed earlier reports by the French daily Le Monde that it had departed from Burkina Faso after arriving in the country in May. The 100-strong Bear Brigade, with links to Russia’s Defense Ministry, is withdrawing its fighters from the conflict-torn West African country due to Ukraine’s incursion […]
Russia has accused Ukraine of opening a “second front” in the war between them in Africa, as information emerges that Kyiv may be participating in the war in Sudan, where it supports the government forces against Russia-aided paramilitaries, and most recently in Mali, where Ukraine aids anti-government rebels fighting against the Wagner-backed junta. The ambush […]
The most recent showdown at the UN Security Council between Russia and non-permanent member Algeria is indicative of an intensifying friction over much broader regional issues, where the two countries lie at the antipodes. Boxing Row At the Security Council meeting on women peace and security, Russia’s representative brought the row over the gender identity […]
Ukraine’s top diplomat has kicked off a three-country tour of Africa aiming to expand ties with the region that is increasingly looking toward Moscow, in a bid to drum up support for Ukraine’s military and diplomatic efforts in its ongoing conflict with Russia. The visit comes as Mali’s junta government announced on Sunday (4 August) […]
Russia and Turkey have recently strengthened their nuclear footprint in Africa, the former by inking a nuclear deal with the Congo and the latter through reported efforts by to acquire some of Niger’s uranium assets to support its growing nuclear-power industry. After being involved in several nuclear deals across Africa, Russia’s state company Rosatom which […]
Germany’s top diplomat has talked up the prospect of closer political ties with Senegal and the Ivory Coast, two of the last democracies in a region otherwise plagued by sectarian conflict, in the latest attempt by a senior EU politician to rebuild the bloc’s political influence in West Africa. Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is […]
The United States has completed the withdrawal of its military personnel from Niger’s Air Base 101 near the West African nation’s capital, Niamey, which comes ahead of its planned exit from another major drone base near the desert city of Agadez. A joint statement by Niger’s Defense Ministry and the US Department of Defense confirmed […]
Dozens of guests, many of them young people, at a wedding ceremony have been killed by a group of unidentified armed men in an attack on a village in central Mali that has been struggling with violence from extremist groups for over a decade. Unidentified armed men cut the throats of approximately 40 people in […]
Moscow has effectively dismantled and largely taken over the Wagner Group and its African operations, once led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, in the year since the mercenaries launched a mutiny against President Vladimir Putin’s government, according to experts. For years, the Kremlin worked through the paramilitary group to covertly prop up authoritarian leaders, exploit natural resources, […]
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 […]