First Independent Mena Newspaper
The French Navy has intercepted nearly 10 tonnes of cocaine aboard a stateless fishing vessel off the coast of West Africa, marking one of the year’s largest drug busts and highlighting the region’s growing role as a key transshipment route in the global cocaine trade. The 9.6-tonne haul — valued at roughly $600 million — […]
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 […]
Gold mining companies across West Africa are turning to aerial surveillance technology to combat escalating incursions by artisanal miners, as record gold prices above $3,300 per ounce fuel increasingly violent confrontations at corporate mining sites, Reuters reported. At Gold Fields’ Tarkwa mine in southwestern Ghana, drone operators recently detected suspicious activity, leading a 15-person response […]
At least 50 million people in west and central Africa are facing the risk of hunger due to conflict, displacement, economic hardship, and repeated extreme weather, the World Food Program warned. “More than 36 million are struggling to meet their basic food needs, which is projected to rise to over 52 million during the lean […]
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has called for immediate action to combat a worsening food crisis affecting millions across West Africa and the Sahel. Speaking at the third meeting of the Regional Food Security Reserve Management Committee, which opened in Nigeria’s capital Abuja on Tuesday, ECOWAS officials warned that without proactive measures, […]
Interpol has announced the success of a large-scale operation aimed at rooting out illegal mining across several West African nations. During the coordinated raids in Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, and Senegal, law enforcement officials arrested 200 suspects and confiscated a range of harmful chemicals, explosives, and narcotics. According to Interpol, the operation—carried out between July […]
Illegal migrants who made it from West Africa to the Canary Islands surged 37% to 32,878 from January to October 15, highlighting the growing demand for this risky route, Spanish interior ministry data showed. On Oct 21, Spanish coast guard rescued 230 on a wooden boat off the Canary Islands, which have overtaken mainland Spain […]
Solar power companies are rapidly expanding in Central and West Africa, bringing electricity to millions in regions where 600 million people still lack access. These often African-owned businesses operate in areas with low electrification rates, offering products ranging from solar-powered lamps to complete home systems. In West Africa, where 220 million people live without power, […]
For over 20 years, kidnappings for ransom have plagued the border regions where Chad, Cameroon and the Central African Republic meet, but the lack of an effective response from the Chadian state raises fears of a regional security crisis affecting its neighboring countries. The kidnappings have become a scourge in southwest Chad, with over 1,500 […]
Mercenaries from a Turkish private security company, dubbed “Turkish Wagner,” are part of Ankara’s projection of military power in the Sahel, experts say, adding that these could also play a growing role in countries such as Mali and Niger. Sadat is a private military company reportedly with close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan […]