Military leaders from nearly 50 African countries – The Gambia, Mali and South Sudan among them – completed on Tuesday a two-week conference in Beijing hosted by China’s Ministry of National Defense. The China-Africa Defense and Security Forum began June 26, with a focus on the security situation in Africa…
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…
The European Union has signed a new Economic Cooperation Agreement with Liberia, and provided an initial €27 million in funding for the West African nation’s budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The commitment follows President George Weah’s trip to attend the annual European Development Days (EDD) Summit, held this week…
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria announced Monday the creation of a new Nigerian Army battalion in Kaduna State, in response to a weekend attack on the village of Birnin Gwari that left 45 people dead. “I am deeply outraged by this unwarranted, unprovoked and reckless destruction of lives by bandits…
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria became the first leader of a sub-Saharan African nation to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington, where the two discussed counterterrorism and security concerns, bilateral trade and humanitarian issues on Monday. “Nigeria and the United States share a long history of close and cordial…
Cameroon continues to return Nigerian refugees and asylum seekers entering the country’s far north region in what the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says is a violation of the international principle of non-refoulement. Some 385 Nigerians have been forcibly returned by the Cameroonian government, despite the fact that…
United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson headed to Chad and Nigeria on Monday, resuming his tour of African nations after briefly falling ill at the weekend while in Kenya. While in N’Djamena, Tillerson was expected to focus on counterterrorism efforts in West Africa, where Chad plays a key role…
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…
The United Nations needs to “change the way we are doing business” when it comes to peacekeeping operations, because the high-risk environments encountered in today’s conflict zones – especially on the African continent – come with new and greater threats to the traditional mission. That’s the conclusion of a newly…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
There’s one thing readers and viewers can count on as the year winds down, and that’s a deluge of “Year in Review” stories and posts. The political changes, the celebrity news, the economic issues – media outlets contribute their take on what shaped our days and the shared history of…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A new eight-minute video from Islamic State is the first such material produced in Somalia and demonstrates the carefully cultivated IS influence in the Horn of Africa, according to a Washington DC-based security monitoring group. “So far, Somalia is the only ISIS entity to release a threatening video against the…
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
President Emmanuel Macron of France is headed back to the African continent on Wednesday, this time for another stop in Algeria before he continues on to Qatar for an official state visit. Macron is expected to meet with both longtime President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, who returned…
Spain is building a military outpost on Mediterranean islands off the coast of Al Hoceima, according to European and Moroccan media reports, but Spanish authorities deny there is any activity apart from routine operations. La Vanguardia in Spain, citing the country’s EFE news agency, said last week that there has…