Suspected Jihadist Terrorist Attacks Kill Twenty-one in Burkina Faso
The first attack targeted soldiers and volunteer militia members in the central-eastern region, and a counter-attack neutralized fifty suspected terrorists; a separate attack killed two civilians and a police officer at a Burkina-Ivory Coast border post amid ongoing violence that has led around eighteen thousand Burkinabe to flee to Ivory Coast (France 24)
Washington Accuses Wagner Group of Planning to Move Weapons Through Mali
Mali did not immediately respond to the U.S. accusation that Russia’s Wagner Group is planning to ship weapons for fighters in Ukraine through Mali using false paperwork (Bloomberg)
Attack on U.S. Embassy Convoy in Nigeria Kills Four
Assailants killed four people in an attack on a U.S. diplomatic convoy on Tuesday, the State Department said; U.S. and Nigerian officials are investigating the attack (WaPo)
UN Report Alleges Malian Troops Executed Over Five Hundred People
The ruling military government rejected a UN human rights report that found that Malian soldiers and unidentified foreign fighters executed at least five hundred people during an operation last March (Reuters)
Interim Leader of Burkina Faso Recognizes Russia as Key Ally
Ibrahim Traore, the interim president of Burkina Faso, claimed during a televised interview that Russia had emerged as a key strategic ally but repudiated claims that Russian mercenaries were assisting Burkinabe soldiers in their fight against armed Islamist groups (Reuters)
Countries Raise Concerns Over Wagner Group in Mali
At a UN human rights meeting in Geneva, several nations, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine, expressed concern about the activities of the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group in Mali (Reuters)
Attack in Burkina Faso Kills Over One Hundred
Residents and survivors of an attack in the northern Burkina Faso village of Karma last week say that one hundred and thirty-six people were killed by assailants wearing security force uniforms; a local NGO said that the assailants also killed eleven people in nearby villages the same day (Al Jazeera)
Germany to Participate in EU Training Mission
Up to sixty German soldiers will participate in a European Union training mission in Niger; the EU established a three-year military mission to Niger to improve its logistics and infrastructure (Reuters)
Attack on Burkina Faso Military Station
At least thirty-three soldiers were killed when insurgents attacked a military outpost in the country’s east; the army said its fighters killed dozens of the attackers (Reuters)
Attack in Burkina Faso Kills Dozens of Civilians
According to a local prosecutor, about sixty civilians were killed in an attack on the village of Karma near Burkina Faso’s border with Mali; the assailants were said to be wearing the uniforms of the Burkinabe armed forces (AFP)
Attack in Central Mali Kills Ten, Dozens Wounded
In the town of Sevare in the Mopti region, a bomb attack near a military camp and airport killed at least ten people and wounded over sixty others, according to an official and a military spokesperson; no one has claimed responsibility for the attack (Al Jazeera)
Ambush Kills Malian Chief of Staff and Others
In Mali’s southwestern Koulikoro region, an ambush killed the Malian president’s chief of staff and three others; it also resulted in a missing driver from the delegation, according to the government, who did not provide more details (Al Jazeera)
UN: Highest Number of Food Insecure People in a Decade
Forty-eight million people in Central and West Africa are expected to face acute food insecurity in the coming months amid climate shocks, food shortages, and high food prices, the UN said; the estimate marks the most people in the region at risk of food insecurity in a decade (Reuters)
Attack Kills Forty in North Burkina Faso
According to a government statement, an unidentified group attacked the army and volunteer defense forces in the village of Aorema, killing forty and wounding thirty three others; the region is known to contain groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State (Reuters)
Germany Responds to Expulsion of Ambassador
Germany expelled Chad’s ambassador in retaliation for Chad’s expulsion of the German ambassador last week; two Chadian government sources told Reuters that the latter was due to the former German ambassador’s criticism of delayed elections and a court decision allowing interim military leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno to run for office (Reuters)
Chad Expels German Ambassador
An unnamed Chadian official told Agence France-Presse that the expulsion was due to the diplomat “interfering too much” in internal affairs and making divisive remarks; Germany called the expulsion “utterly incomprehensible” (AFP, Le Monde)
RSF: Sahel Becoming ‘No-News’ Zone
Africa’s Sahel region is being “dangerously deprived of independent journalists” due to armed conflicts and government suppression, Reporters Without Borders said as it launched a new report on the region; the organization urged governments and regional bodies to take action to protect journalists (RSF)
Additionally, Burkina Faso expelled two correspondents from the French newspapers Le Monde and Libération after the latter published an exposé that showed children being executed at military facilities (BBC)
Germany Pledges Troops to EU Mission in Niger
Germany plans to deploy up to sixty troops to Niger as part of a three-year counter-extremism mission by the EU; the plans, which are subject to German parliamentary approval, come as Germany moves to withdraw troops from neighboring Mali amid that country’s worsening relations with Europe (Reuters)
Burkina Faso Suspends French Outlet For Interview With Jihadi Rebel
The military government suspended broadcasts by France 24 after the channel interviewed the leader of a local al-Qaeda affiliate; France 24 journalists discussed the interview on air but did not actually broadcast it (AP)
French and American Hostages Released
U.S. aid worker Jeffery Woodke and French journalist Olivier Dubois were freed in Niger after being held hostage for years by extremists in Africa’s Sahel region; Woodke was abducted in Niger in 2016 and Dubois in Mali in 2021 (The Guardian)
Blinken Becomes First U.S. Secretary of State to Visit Niger
Secretary Antony Blinken is set to meet with Niger’s president and foreign minister to discuss advancing bilateral relations in several areas; Niger’s profile as a U.S. security partner in Africa’s Sahel region has risen in recent years as the Sahel struggles with extremist violence and a spate of military coups, including in Burkina Faso and Mali (Al Jazeera)
United States to Train West African Militaries
The United States began its annual Flintlock military training exercise in counter-insurgency tactics with 1,300 military personnel from twenty-nine African countries in Ghana and the Ivory Coast as extremist violence spreads from the Sahel region to coastal West Africa (AP)
Nigerians Protest Results of Presidential Election
Thousands of pro-opposition demonstrators marched to the electoral authority’s headquarters in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, yesterday and called for a new election (AP)
Nigerian Military Targets Militias Ahead of Elections
The Nigerian military killed one hundred and thirty-three extremists in territories controlled by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP) militias to prevent disruptions during the recently concluded elections; Bola Tinubu, the ruling party candidate, was declared the winner of the presidential election winning thirty-seven percent of the vote (The East African;BBC)
Macron: French Interference in African Affairs Is ‘Well Over’
French President Emmanuel Macron made the statement during a speech in Gabon yesterday; he is currently touring four countries in Africa to highlight a new strategy that seeks to reduce France’s military presence on the continent (RFI, AFP)