Africa

France’s Double Standard on Democracy in Africa

It all started in late April with an open letter written by a group of 20 retired French generals and published in a right-wing weekly news magazine, Valeurs Actuelles, known for its inflammatory provocations. Describing France as teetering on the edge of civil war, the letter called on France’s civilian …

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Egypt, UAE boost security cooperation in Chad, Sahel

In the wake of the killing of Chadian President Idriss Deby at the hands of rebel groups, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt agreed on the need to boost cooperation to preserve the stability and security of the Sahel region, while also seeking to counter Turkey’s influence. The Emirati Ministry …

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Ethiopian PM accuses Egypt, Sudan of backing unrest in western region

The Ethiopian Prime Minister called out his neighbors for fueling the recent round of violence in Ethiopia’s western Benishangul-Gumuz region where the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is located. Violence has been ongoing in Ethiopia’s western region of Benishangul-Gumuz where the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is located, with Ethiopia announcing …

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French journalist kidnapped in Mali appears in video asking for help

The head of Reporters Without Borders says that French journalist Olivier Dubois was kidnapped April 8 while working in Mali’s northern city of Gao. A video was released Wednesday showing Dubois saying he was kidnapped on April 8 by the al-Qaida-linked group JNIM. In the video he calls on his …

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Lethal Mediterranean Claims More Libyan Lives

At least 11 Libyans fleeing their homeland to Europe drowned on Sunday after their overcrowded boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration reported. An additional 12 would-be refugees who were aboard the rubber dinghy were drawn from the water by the Libyan coast guard …

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Scoop: Biden won’t reverse Trump’s Western Sahara move, U.S. tells Morocco

Secretary of State Tony Blinken told Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in a phone call on Friday that the Biden administration would not reverse President Trump’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, at least for the time being, two sources familiar with the call told me. Why it …

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Why the World’s Newest Country Has Only Known Conflict

Few nations have seen their dreams and hopes dashed as quickly and ruthlessly as South Sudan. A mere two years after thousands thronged the streets of the capital, Juba, to celebrate independence from Sudan’s autocratic rule, the country descended into a brutal civil war. The fallout between President Salva Kiir …

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Europe Has Spent Years Trying to Prevent ‘Chaos’ in the Sahel. It Failed

“The terrorists are quick,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters after a summit with the leaders of Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou in May. “This is why we have to be quicker, so that we can beat them.” What happens in the Sahel, the vast sub-Saharan …

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Libya: 5+5 Joint Military Commission meets in Sirte

Libya’s 5+5 Joint Military Commission held a meeting Tuesday in the coastal city of Sirte. The head of Libya’s Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Menfi, and UN Special Envoy to Libya Jan Kubis took part. Representatives from the warring sides discussed the opening of the coastal road along the north of the …

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Egypt seizes Brotherhood property in Sinai

An Egyptian court is examining a lawsuit that will ease the state’s confiscation of Muslim Brotherhood-owned real estate in Sinai. Egypt is inventorying Muslim Brotherhood assets in Sinai as the judiciary considers a lawsuit for the confiscation of real estate including houses, land and farms owned by Brotherhood leaders.

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