Africa

France is ending Operation Barkhane, shifting its counterterrorism posture in West Africa and attempting to devise a new approach in the Sahel. Without robust Western counterterrorism assistance, large swaths of West Africa could end up being controlled by al-Qaeda and ISIS affiliates.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi ruled out using force to stop Ethiopia’s second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Sudanese media reported on Friday. “The first filling of the dam was a stab in the back,” she conveyed in press remarks, noting that it caused a “massive …

EU leaders said Friday the bloc had rejected a push by Germany and France to relaunch meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin after fierce resistance from member states worried about Moscow’s aggressions. Berlin and Paris blindsided EU counterparts by putting forward a last-minute proposal for the bloc to resume meetings …

The boycott, divestment and sanctions movement slammed Ismail Haniyeh for meeting with Morocco’s prime minister due to Morocco’s relations with Israel. The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement is upset at a Hamas leader for meeting with the Moroccan prime minister due to Morocco having relations with Israel. BDS released …

Joey Hood, the acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, also said the United States expects the elections scheduled for December to take place. After a conference on Libya’s political future ended without a concrete plan for the withdrawal of foreign forces, a top US diplomat expressed optimism …

LIBYA Representatives of Libya’s new interim national unity government joined foreign stakeholders at an international conference co-sponsored by the UN and Germany in Berlin on Wednesday. The gathering aimed to renew foreign commitment to supporting Libya’s peace process, with a special emphasis on holding elections at the end of 2021 …

During his first four months in office, U.S. President Joe Biden did not speak with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi—a notable departure from precedent given the history of close security ties between the two countries. But after months of silence, Biden spoke with Sisi twice over the course of five …

Egypt’s sovereign bonds bill paves the way for Egypt to join the Islamic finance market, allowing foreign investment in national projects such as the Suez Canal and Aswan Dam, which affects Egyptian national security. The Egyptian parliament gave June 6 initial approval for a bill on the issuance of Sharia-compliant …

Egypt announces health projects and agreements with South Sudan, Djibouti and Rwanda. In a Facebook post on June 19, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the establishment of a malaria control project in South Sudan to be funded by the ministry’s Agency of Partnership for Development. The announcement came …

Libya’s transitional government underlined its commitment to holding elections on Dec. 24 at a conference Wednesday with powers that have interests in the North African country, while the German hosts vowed to keep up pressure until all foreign forces have been withdrawn from Libya. Germany and the United Nations brought …