Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to Launch New Biometric Passports to Harmonize Travel
Their decision marks the latest step toward solidifying a deepening Sahel alliance to rival the West African bloc known as ECOWAS, from which the three pulled out in January (Reuters)
Reuters: Veteran Wagner Fighters Were Among Those Killed in Mali in July
Mali rebels are believed to have killed dozens of fighters from Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group in a July ambush (CNN)
Among them were two former Russian veterans who had served in Libya, Syria, and Ukraine, Reuters reported; multiple men had survived the siege of Bakhmut in Ukraine (Reuters)
Mali’s defeat of such experienced fighters reveals setbacks Russia is facing in its push in Africa (The Conversation)
Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger Accuse Ukraine of Supporting Rebel Groups in the Sahel Region
Ukraine has repeatedly called the accusations by the three military-led countries groundless; Russian paramilitaries are allied with Mali’s junta and were among those targeted by rebels last month (Reuters)
U.S. Military Completes Withdrawal From Niger Base in Broad Country Drawdown
U.S. troops have left an air base in Niger that previously monitored Islamist militant groups; they withdrew from another base last month as part of a drawdown of U.S. forces that is due to be complete by September 15 (Reuters)
Niger ordered nearly one thousand U.S. military personnel to leave the country following a coup last year (NYT)
Rebels in Northern Mali Kill Wagner Group Fighters in Attack
A coalition of rebel groups in northern Mali said that they killed dozens of government fighters and Russian mercenaries (AP)
While Mali’s army claimed the night before that only two soldiers had been killed, Telegram channels linked to the Russian military and mercenary groups cited dozens of deaths; it appeared to be one of the deadliest attacks on Russian personnel in Africa in recent years, the Wall Street Journal reported (WSJ)
Mali Junta Reauthorizes Political Party Activities After April Suspension
Activities had been banned after a period of protest over the junta’s announcement that it would remain in power beyond a March 2024 deadline to return to civilian rule; Mali’s military rulers seized the office in a 2020 coup (AFP)
Junta-Led Sahel States Announce Confederation, Heightening Rift With ECOWAS
Omar Touray, president of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, said the bloc’s benefits of freedom of movement and a common market were under threat after junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger announced the previous day that they were forming their own economic cooperation bloc; it was not immediately clear how ECOWAS would respond, though Touray said the move could result in the suspension of some $500 million in funding for economic projects (Reuters)
Northern Nigeria Suicide Bombings Kill at Least Eighteen People
The apparently coordinated attacks targeted a wedding, funeral, and hospital, leaving at least eighteen people dead, officials said; no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, which took place in an area historically plagued by the Boko Haram extremist group (AP)
ECOWAS Weighs Size, Cost of Regional Counterterrorism Force
Leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met in Nigeria and discussed options for sustaining a regional security force; they considered a proposal for a force of 5,000 troops that would cost up to $2.6 billion annually, and another making up 1,500 troops totaling $481 million annually (Reuters)
West Africa has been rife with political rifts and coups since 2020, when several governments failed to stop insurgencies, which have led to junta-ruled countries withdrawing from regional cooperation (Freedom House)
Armed Attacks on Farming Communities in Northern Nigeria Causing People to Abandon Farms
These attacks and the resulting abandonment of farms are driving food prices up in what is already Nigeria’s worst cost of living crisis in a generation, Reuters reported; northern Nigeria grows most of the country’s staple crops such as rice, yam, and maize (Reuters)
ICC Unseals Arrest Warrant for Malian Militant Leader
The International Criminal Court (ICC) unsealed an arrest warrant for Islamist militant leader Iyad Ag Ghaly, who is wanted for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity that were allegedly committed in 2012 and 2013 (Reuters)
The warrant was not immediately made public when it was issued in 2017 because of “potential risks to witnesses and victims” (VoA/AFP)
AFP: France to Reduce Troops in Central, West Africa to Around Six Hundred
France has gradually reduced its military presence in the region in recent years and now plans to reduce its footprint in Chad, Gabon, the Ivory Coast, and Senegal from some 2,300 troops to around 600, three unnamed sources told AFP; the troop presence could be expanded in each country based on local needs, the sources said (AFP)
Al-Qaeda Claims Responsibility for June Attack in Burkina Faso
An armed group affiliated with Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for an attack on June 11 on the border of Burkina Faso and Niger that killed 107 Burkina Faso soldiers; the attack was one of the deadliest suffered by the Burkina Faso army (Al Jazeera)
Amnesty: Nigerian Military Illegally Detained Women and Girls Who Escaped Boko Haram Captivitity
Nigeria’s military denied the allegations; Amnesty said the Nigerian government had failed to adequately protect the women fleeing Boko Haram between 2015 and mid-2023 in a new report (Reuters)
United States Begins Pulling Troops and Equipment from Niger
With a September withdrawal deadline, the United States began pulling personnel and military equipment out of Niger per an agreement with the ruling military junta; Niger was previously a hub from which U.S. forces monitored violent extremist activity across the Sahel and trained Nigerien troops (CNN)
Benin Special Prosecutor Accuses Nigerien Nationals of Entering Oil Pipeline Terminal
The special prosecutor claimed that “recurring information suggests the planning of acts against the security of the state of Benin;” Niger’s oil minister rejected the claims, which come amid a broader dispute over goods and oil export blockages (Reuters)
Moscow Will Boost Number of Russian Trainers in Burkina Faso, FM Says
Russia will continue to supply equipment and increase the number of security trainers supporting Burkina Faso’s military government, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a visit to the country’s capital of Ouagadougou; Lavrov is on a three-country tour of West Africa that includes Guinea, which is also run by a military junta, and the Republic of Congo (AP)
Burkina Faso Junta Scraps July Election Timetable, Extends Rule by Five Years
The five-year transition period will begin on July 2, according to a new charter signed by military leader Ibrahim Traoré at a meeting on Saturday; the military government pledged to restore civilian rule by July 2024 after seizing power two years prior (Reuters)
Chadian Opposition Leader Succès Masra Resigns as Prime Minister
Masra was appointed to the position for the country’s transitional government in a move to appease Chad’s opposition; his resignation comes after he lost the May 6 presidential vote to incumbent Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno (Reuters)
Hundreds of Hostages Rescued From Boko Haram Captivity, Nigerian Army Says
Nigerian military forces rescued 350 hostages who had been held captive for months or years by Boko Haram extremists in the country’s northeast, the army said; nearly all were women and children, officials said (AP)
Chad’s Constitutional Council Declares President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno Victor of May 6 Election
The court declared that Déby Itno won with 61 percent of the votes; it also rejected an appeal by his top challenger (AP)
WaPo: Niger PM Blames U.S. Threats for Bilateral Dispute
U.S. attempts to dictate which countries Niger can partner with and failures to justify U.S. troop presence in the country prompted a worsening of bilateral relations, Niger’s Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine told the Washington Post; despite Niger insisting that U.S. troops leave, Zeine said that “no Nigerien considers the United States as the enemy,” and he welcomes more economic relations alongside maintaining diplomatic ones (WaPo)
After a coup in Niger last year, Washington froze security support and paused counterterrorism activities in the country (Guardian)
Chad Declares Military Leader Déby Victor of Presidential Election
Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno won more than 61 percent of the vote, while opposition figure Succès Masra earned 18.5 percent, the election commission said; Masra contested the result of the vote, which was the first since Déby took power in 2021 after his father died while in the position (AP)
Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an extremist group linked to al-Qaeda, committed mass killings in several villages in central Mali in January, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday; survivors said that they were targeted because of their ethnicity and called on the government to protect them (HRW)
Mali’s junta has pushed out French and UN forces for security assistance in recent years (AP)
Chad Holds Presidential Election
Today’s vote comes three years after Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno took power following the killing of his father and pits Déby against his prime minister and former political opponent, Succès Masra; final results are expected by the first week of June (RFI, Reuters)