West Africa Trade Will Take a Hit As Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso Leave Ecowas

[ad_1] The membership of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has been whittled down from 15 to 12 following the unilateral withdrawal of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in February. Founded in 1975, Ecowas is one of eight regional economic communities recognised by the African Union to foster regional integration on the continent. Its main objective is to create a single, large trading bloc through economic cooperation. Since 1975, Ecowas and its sister organisation the West African Economic […]

February 15, 2024 3

Africa

Africa: Wagner Group Is Now Africa Corps. What This Means for Russia’s Operations On the Continent

[ad_1] In August 2023, Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin died after his private jet crashed about an hour after taking off in Moscow. He had been Russia's pointman in Africa since the Wagner Group began operating on the continent in 2017. The group is known for deploying paramilitary forces, running disinformation campaigns and propping up influential political leaders. It has had a destabilising effect. Prigozhin's death - and his aborted mutiny against Russian military commanders two months earlier - has […]

February 15, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: Senegal’s Democracy Is in Peril

[ad_1] The looming danger of democratic collapse is a challenge to friends of Senegal and democracy to do better. The sudden actions by Senegal's president to postpone this month's presidential election by 10 months threaten to seriously undermine political stability and peace in a nation that has been a resilient democracy in West Africa, where multiple military coups d'état have occurred in recent years. This move poses risks of authoritarianism, violence and economic setbacks for Senegal's 17 million people, and […]

February 15, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: Mali – Defiant and Alone, Will the Junta Defeat the Jihadis?

[ad_1] Revolting against the French, expelling a UN force and walking out of ECOWAS, the Assimi Goita junta is taking out its frustrations with the jihadis on everyone. How does it save the beleaguered republic? The symbolic lowering of the United Nations flag at the headquarters of UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) in Bamako on 11 December marked the closing chapter of the 15,000-strong force's presence, but more grimly, the fall of 311 peacekeepers. MINUSMA, which was […]

February 14, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: Impact of Red Sea Crisis On Africa – Red Flag or Red Herring?

[ad_1] Africa will feel the effects, but smart countries could derive some benefits from the Red Sea turmoil. Still reeling from the effects of COVID-19 and the Ukraine war, African countries face yet another geopolitical hurdle with the Red Sea crisis and its potentially significant economic ramifications. While current disruptions will primarily affect trade routes and supply chains between Europe and Asia, African countries won't escape the contagion. But smart countries could derive some commercial and strategic benefits from the […]

February 13, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: 25 Years, 224 Abuse Allegations, No Peace – DRC Kicks Out UN Peacekeeping Mission

[ad_1] Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo — The longtime mission leaves a complex legacy, providing safety to displaced populations even as some peacekeepers stood accused of sexual abuse. While some celebrate their departure, others predict a dangerous security vacuum. At the end of September 2023, President Félix Tshisekedi called for withdrawal of a peacekeeping mission to Democratic Republic of Congo. Tshisekedi was speaking at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and was referring to MONUSCO, the United […]

February 13, 2024

Africa

Africa: The Kremlin’s Efforts to Spread Deadly Disinformation in Africa

[ad_1] Today, the U.S. Department of State's Global Engagement Center is exposing Russia's intelligence services for providing material support and guidance to "African Initiative," a new information agency focused on Africa-Russia relations that has spread disinformation regarding the United States and European countries. The Kremlin's disinformation campaign in Africa: In addition to its own staff, African Initiative recruits African journalists, bloggers, and members of local publics to support and amplify the organization's work of bolstering Russia's image and denigrating that […]

February 13, 2024 1

Africa

Africa: Once More Into the Breach – SADC Troops in DRC

[ad_1] SADC's second military intervention in eastern DRC in a decade raises many questions. The long-simmering conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is starting to boil over again. On 2 February, a South African Airforce Oryx helicopter participating in MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, was seriously damaged by ground fire and some of its crew and a medical officer were injured. This week, missile, mortar and artillery fire were exchanged in the Goma area […]

February 10, 2024 3

Africa

Africa: After Wagner, Russia Makes New Military Plans in Africa

[ad_1] The Wagner Group used to serve Russia's interests in Africa -- unofficially. But with Wagner's collapse, Russian President Vladimir Putin has launched a new Africa Corps, with soldiers officially deployed to Burkina Faso. The depth of the ties between Burkina Faso and Russian President Vladimir Putin was made clear a few days ago, when Moscow decided to help the country's military junta out by sending 100 military staff to Ouagadougou -- even as the war in Ukraine continues unabated. […]

February 10, 2024 2

Conflict