U.S. Declares Niger Military Takeover a Coup, Cuts Over $500 Million in Aid
The U.S. government skirted the term for months after the July takeover, as the designation requires that the United States halt all economic and military aid to Niger; while Washington is suspending non-humanitarian aid, it is maintaining some one thousand military personnel stationed at two bases in the country, though counterterrorism training in Niger has been suspended (NYT)
Meanwhile, Algeria announced it would postpone its mediation in Niger (Africa News)
Elsewhere, Malian President Assimi Goita held a phone call, the third in two months, with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss trade and security issues (Reuters)
Malian Army Makes Progress Toward Rebel Stronghold of Kidal
The army reported that it had reached Anefis, a key stopover town on the route to Kidal (AFP)
France to Begin Troop Withdrawal From Niger This Week
The decision comes after French President Emmanuel Macron said he would not allow France to be “held hostage” by the junta; the 1,500 troops will all depart by the end of the year, dealing a further blow to Western counterinsurgency efforts in the Sahel (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Tuareg rebels in the north of Mali said they seized another military base, the fifth they have taken in recent weeks (Reuters)
At Least Twenty-Nine Soldiers Die in Western Niger Attack
The junta declared a three-day national mourning period following an attack involving “improvised explosive devices and kamikaze vehicles by more than a hundred terrorists” (Al Jazeera)
Meanwhile, Niger banned the export of liquified petroleum gas, the surplus of which was typically sold to Nigeria (Reuters)
Malian Forces Redeploy to Northeast Rebel Stronghold, Lose Ground to Militants Around Timbuktu
A Bamako-based expert says the country is “at risk of a civil war” as Mali’s military battles on multiple fronts with few available troops following the departure of the UN force (Reuters)
The junta deployed a convoy of 119 vehicles to attempt to retake the northeast rebel-controlled town of Kidal after Tuareg fighters killed more than eighty soldiers and took the town of Bamba (BBC;France 24)
Meanwhile, Islamist militants have intensified their shelling of Timbuktu, which has suffered a blockade since August that has sent prices soaring (Reuters)
Renewed Fighting in Northern Mali As Rebels Take Military Base
The Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), a coalition of Tuareg rebels, has taken four bases from the Malian army since the departure of the UN peacekeeping mission in August (AFP;Reuters)
Burkina Faso Junta: No Elections Until It Is Safe to Vote
Despite pledging to hold elections and transition the country to civilian rule by 2024, leader Ibrahim Traore said the junta would prioritize security over elections (Reuters)
Meanwhile, seven soldiers died in an attack in southwest Niger, and five more died in a traffic accident while responding to it (AFP)
Burkina Faso’s Military Government Says It Thwarted Coup Attempt
The government said it has made at least four arrests after an attempted uprising earlier this week and is searching for other suspects; the current leadership itself took over in a 2022 putsch, the country’s second that year amid the rising threat from Islamist insurgents (BBC)
Burkina Faso Bans Another French News Agency for “Untruthful” Articles
Having already suspended Radio France Internationale, France24, and others, the junta suspended the French news magazine Jeune Afrique after it published an article reporting tension and discontent in the Malian armed forces (Reuters)
Mali Postpones Presidential Elections
The country’s ruling military junta said that elections originally scheduled for February 2024 will be postponed due to “technical reasons” but did not announce a new date (AFP)
France to Withdraw Ambassador, Troops From Niger
The French ambassador and several diplomats are returning to France immediately and troops will be fully withdrawn by the end of the year, French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday; Niger’s military leaders, who seized power in a July coup, celebrated the announcement (AFP, France 24)
Two Killed, Five Wounded in Shelling of Timbuktu, Mali
Militants have blockaded the city for a month and a half, cutting off residents and making it difficult to survive (Al Jazeera)
Attacks in northern Mali have more than doubled, killing more than 150 people since the UN completed phase one of its withdrawal last month (AP)
Islamist Extremists Blocking Food and Other Aid to Timbuktu
The blockade is part of a war on the country’s military government; analysts told the Financial Timesthatthe extremists were taking advantage of a security vacuum amid UN peacekeeping forces’ ongoing withdrawal by the end of the year (FT).
Three Junta-Led Sahel Nations Sign Mutual Defense Pact
The new agreement between Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger comes after the Economic Community of West African States threatened to intervene militarily in Niger to counter the junta’s coup in July; it pledges mutual assistance in the case of foreign attacks and domestic armed rebellions (Africanews)
Burkina Faso Junta Expels French Embassy’s Defense Attaché
The junta ordered attaché Emmanuel Pasquier to leave the country, claiming “subversive” behavior (Reuters)
Meanwhile, the government opened investigations into allegations of human rights abuses by security forces after a video surfaced depicting the extrajudicial killing of seven children (AP)
Niger Government Releases French Official
The French government said the official had been detained in the country after its July coup (Le Monde)
Malian Army and Tuareg Rebels Clash in Northern Mali
Both sides reported dozens of deaths in violent confrontations to control the northern town of Bourem, further undermining the peace deal signed in 2015 (Reuters)
U.S. Resumes Drone, Manned Air Operations Based in Niger
Talks with the military junta have allowed air operations to restart, though they are fewer in number than before July’s coup, a U.S. Air Force commander told the Associated Press; the United States has based counterterror operations in Niger in recent years, though a Pentagon spokesperson said the operations that had recommenced were focused on protecting U.S. personnel (AP)
France Calls on Niger Junta to Release Detained French Official
Niger’s military junta arrested an official serving French citizens abroad, France’s foreign ministry said yesterday; France has kept its ambassador to Niger in his post, refusing to acknowledge the junta’s order for him to leave (Le Monde, AP)
Niger Junta Accuses France, ECOWAS of Preparing for Military Intervention
In a communique read on state television, the junta claimed France was deploying troops in several West African countries in preparation for a military intervention in partnership with ECOWAS (Reuters)
Militants Kill Dozens in Mali
Islamist militants affiliated with al-Qaeda killed at least forty-nine civilians and fifteen soldiers in separate attacks on a passenger ferry and military camp in northern Mali, the government said; the army said it killed about fifty assailants (NYT)
Burkina Faso’s Army Claims Fifty-three Members Killed
The soldiers and volunteer fighters were killed in clashes with militants in the country’s north yesterday, marking the deadliest attack in months; Burkina Faso has been battling armed insurgent groups since 2015, but violence has surged this year (Reuters)
Russia Vetoes UN Proposal to Extend Sanctions on Mali
The proposal would also have kept a UN independent monitoring team in Mali, where the Russian private military company Wagner Group has been active. Thirteen of the fifteen UN Security Council members voted in favor of the extension, while China abstained (Al Jazeera)
Niger Junta Authorizes Burkina Faso, Mali Troops To Intervene If It is Attacked
The military authorities said they greenlit defensive actions by troops from Burkina Faso and Mali as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) continues to weigh its response to Niger’s coup; ECOWAS, a regional bloc, has said it could intervene militarily if diplomatic efforts to restore democracy fail (Reuters)
Humanitarian Supplies For Niger Backed Up At Benin Border
The hold-up is due to sanctions applied by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) following Niger’s military coup; the blockade has driven up food prices and caused a shortage of humanitarian goods inside the country (Reuters)