Senegalese foreign minister Aissata Tall Sall recently called on China to become more involved in the Sahel region, specifically expressing a hope that Beijing will be a “strong voice” in combatting the rising tide of terrorism in the region. The appeal certainly has its logic, given Beijing’s expanding influence in…
Another 35 people have died in Chad following clashes in Salamat Province in the southeastern part of the country, a development that follows on this week’s regional security summit among the five Sahel nations and France. The communal fighting between farmers and herders began with an attack at a roadblock,…
The United States says it is “deeply concerned” by allegations of state security forces committing human rights violations in the Sahel region, including a troubling report of mass executions in Burkina Faso released earlier this week by Human Rights Watch. “Continued human rights violations and abuses risk undermining the state’s…
Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou, attending the Aswan Forum on African peace and security, has instead returned from Egypt to Niamey to deal with one of the worst extremist attacks on the nation’s military in modern history. Some 71 Nigerien fighters were killed at a military camp near Inates on Tuesday,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
French President Emmanuel Macron met with Nigerian entrepreneurs and business leaders on Wednesday, as he completes an African tour that included a stop in Mauritania to see African Union summit participants before heading on to Abuja and Lagos. Macron, who has made frequent visits to North and West Africa since…
A revised death toll now stands at three people killed, one a civilian, following the car bomb attack Friday on the G5 Sahel Force headquarters in Mali. The al Qaeda-affiliated militant group JNIM (Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims) has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack in Sévaré, in a…
The international community has pledged more than USD$500 million to support the regional G5 Sahel security force, the European Union said following a high-level conference hosted in Brussels Friday. The funding for the joint military force of the five nations – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger – includes…
The European Commission, speaking ahead of a Friday conference on the Sahel, reiterated its support for the G5 nations and the regional security initiative launched this year. “The EU has fully supported this African led initiative from the very beginning and provided an initial contribution of €50 million to help set it…
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta of Mali canceled his trip to the African Union summit in Addis Ababa on Saturday, heading instead to the site of Thursday’s civilian bus bombing near Boni – even as news came that 14 Malian soldiers died when gunmen stormed their camp in a fresh attack…
The United States pledged on Monday to provide $USD60 million in support for the G5 Sahel force, the joint effort of five African nations to work as regional partners on counterterrorism and security. “Defeating terrorism depends on making sure terrorist organizations cannot have safe havens on any continent,” said U.S….
Donald Yamamoto, the acting assistant secretary for African affairs at the United States Department of State, testified before a U.S. congressional committee on Wednesday in defense of a USD$5.2 billion foreign assistance budget request for FY2018. Yamamoto, in a position that President Donald Trump’s administration has yet to formally fill,…
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutteres urged the international community to support the regional G5 Sahel Joint Force in northwest Africa, while warning that the window of opportunity for bringing stability to Mali was slowly narrowing. Guterres, speaking at a ministerial meeting at UN headquarters Wednesday, said delays in implementing…
The Group of Five Sahel (G5 Sahel) Joint Force is expected to bolster existing efforts to combat terrorism in the region but requires international funding to succeed, said the United Nations head of peacekeeping operations during a UN Security Council briefing on Tuesday. Assistant-Secretary-General El-Ghassim Wane told the council that…
Mauritania’s borders with Algeria and Mali are now restricted military zones, following a defense ministry announcement that calls on all civilians to avoid the border areas. The government says the decision last week to seal off the border zones is part of an effort to combat illegal migration and criminals…
The G5 Sahel summit next Sunday in Bamako is likely to serve as a turning point in the years-long struggle for security, in a region where the threat of terrorism has only appeared to deepen and armed ethnic and jihadist groups remain firmly entrenched. The G5 nations – Burkina Faso,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times