President Nana Akufo Addo of Ghana has been elected the new head of the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and will replace outgoing chief Mahamadou Issoufou, his Nigerien counterpart. “I am fully aware of the challenges which confront West Africa,” said Akufo Addo in his acceptance speech,…
Leaders in Niger and France said they were in close contact following the deaths of eight people attacked at the Kouré Giraffe Reserve on Sunday, seven of them working with the aid organizations ACTED and IMPACT Initiatives. President Mahamadou Issoufou said he had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron by…
Filippo Grandi, head of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), has completed a three-nation tour of the Sahel, meeting with heads of state and other leaders focused on the security and humanitarian crises. Grandi wrapped up his mission in Burkina Faso, meeting with President Roch Marc Kaboré after stops in…
Cameroon will lose its preferred trade status under the United States African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on January 1, following the U.S. decision to revoke its status because of its human rights record. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the decision in October, but confirmed it by a proclamation issued…
Military officials in France say at least 33 members of a terrorist group died during an overnight raid on Saturday in the Mopti region of central Mali. The Ministry of Defense said the French troops targeted a large camp of the armed extremists in a wooded area after acquiring intelligence…
Leaders of the G5 Sahel nations meeting in Niamey this weekend vowed to continue their fight against extremists, while appealing to the international community for financing and support in the effort. The extraordinary summit was hosted by President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, who welcomed his counterpart Roch Marc Christian Kaboré…
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
Four African presidents will lead the discussion Wednesday on “what’s next for Africa” as global government and corporate leaders in Riyadh meet this week at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, often known as “Davos in the Desert.” The four – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, Niger’s Mahamadou Issoufou and…
Some 2 million people will experience this year’s hajj rites in Saudi Arabia, where roughly 10 percent of pilgrims in 2018 were from sub-Saharan Africa. Among this year’s pilgrims is Aisha Buhari, first lady of Nigeria. Buhari posted an Instagram photo Friday of herself, joined by the first ladies of…
China on Monday congratulated African nations following the weekend launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Niamey, Niger, during an African Union summit that saw Niger and Benin join the near-complete list of African nations signed to the trade deal. The achievement was welcomed by China’s ministry…
Eighteen members of the Islamic State affiliate active in Niger have been killed in a 10-day operation completed by the Nigerien military in partnership with France, Mali and the United States. That’s according to defense minister Kalla Moutari in Niamey, who announced the results of the ACONIT operation in a…
The nations of Niger and Tunisia were elected to two-year terms on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday. They join the 10-nation roster of nonpermanent members to the council, along with incoming nations Estonia, Vietnam and – in a first for the smallest country to ever hold a…
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, raised the alarm on Tuesday over increasing violence in Nigeria, this time in a northwest region where conflict is not related to the Islamist extremism that plagues Borno state. Rather, the violence is sparked by communal and ethnic violence, vigilantism and kidnappings for ransom in…
Humanitarian aid workers say the threat of violence because of armed groups along Mali’s border with Niger has sent more than 8,000 people into the village of Kongokiré in the latter’s Tillabéry region. “Many of the displaced in Kongokiré have already been forced to flee several times,” said Innocent Kunywana,…
The twin challenges of malaria and malnutrition are proving a challenge in Niger, where health and humanitarian aid workers say 10 children per day died during the month of August. “We have never seen anything like this before, and we fear it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr….