The United States is reviewing a plan to withdraw nearly all American counterterrorism forces from African countries, the New York Times reported on Sunday. Three Defense Department officials told the Times that if the plans are approved by U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, the U.S. would shut down seven…
Hundreds of migrants rounded up in Algeria have arrived in Niger, despite the Algerian government’s strong denials that it is forcibly removing the primarily West African migrants and dumping them in the desert. Migrants from Guinea, Cameroon and other nations tell the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that they are…
The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement has been signed by 80 percent of African Union member nations, paving the way for expanded markets and economic growth and development. Eighty percent of the 55 AU nations heeded the call of AU Chairman Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, and AU…
The United States military responded Monday to the weekend release of a propaganda video, reportedly from Islamic State in West Africa, that appeared to show graphic depictions of the deaths of four U.S. personnel who died in Niger in October. The video shows footage from the body cam of at…
A bottleneck for refugees fleeing Libya into Niger – and waiting to continue on to Europe – is threatening the success of an agreement to free migrants and refugees from Libyan detention centers and slave markets. The deal between the European Union (EU), African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN)…
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 Emmanuel Macron of France has announced €400 million (USD$474 million) in financial aid to Niger during his weekend press conference with President Mahamadou Issoufou in Niamey. Macron said the funding, planned through 2021, will support development in Niger and security in the Sahel. His remarks alongside Issoufou, who Macron praised…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The United States said Tuesday that human remains found in Niger have been identified as those of Sgt. La David Johnson, one of four American soldiers who died near Tongo Tongo in October. “On Nov. 12, 2017, a joint U.S Africa Command military investigation team discovered additional human remains at…
The international news coverage on Libyan slave markets over the past week has resulted in a lot of issued statements, coming from outraged and passionate Parisian street protesters to British sports heroes to presidents and diplomats. “I am here because I saw my brothers sold in Libya as tomatoes on a counter,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
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….
Decades ago, during the U.S. presidency of Richard Nixon and the war in Southeast Asia, political cartoonist Garry Trudeau of “Doonesbury” fame created some classic commentary on a U.S. Senate inquiry into “secret” bombing raids that weren’t in Vietnam at all, but rather in Cambodia. The 1973 Sunday cartoon made…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria is headed for Niger to discuss progress on a long-awaited common currency for the region’s West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ). Buhari, along with Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun and Nigerian Central Bank head Godwin Emefiele, leave Tuesday for Niamey along with other common currency task…
Officials in the United States confirm that three U.S. service members killed Wednesday in Niger were members of a U.S. Army Special Forces unit involved in counterterrorism operations. “Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, confirmed for The Washington Post that those involved were…
The annual Gallup Global Law and Order report, a poll-based measure of how safe citizens feel in their day-to-day lives when it comes to crime, finds a number of African nations where people report they are victims far too often and don’t have confidence in their police agencies. Rwanda, with…