Africa

The spate of military takeovers and attempted coups across Africa over the past two years has led to speculation in some quarters about a generalized “return to military rule” or “coup contagion” on the continent. In August 2020, a group of Malian officers led by Col. Assimi Goita overthrew the …

The war in Ukraine has exacerbated Europe’s energy crisis, leaving the European Union desperately seeking alternative sources of supply to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Among the states in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia the EU has turned to in efforts to diversify its energy …

Dans l’est du pays, il n’a pas plu depuis dix-huit mois, dévastant le cheptel et mettant une partie de la population en grave insécurité alimentaire. Quasiment pas une goutte de pluie depuis dix-huit mois. A Hargududo, village de la région Somali en Ethiopie, les habitants montrent à l’AFP les cadavres …

Le chef de la diplomatie russe, Sergueï Lavrov, a effectué une visite de deux jours à Alger, où il a été reçu par son homologue, Ramtane Lamamra, ainsi que par le président Abdelmadjid Tebboune, convié à Moscou par Vladimir Poutine pour une visite officielle. Le chef de la diplomatie russe, …

Although Ankara has secured several diplomatic strides by normalizing its relations with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, rapprochement with Egypt still seems a challenging prospect. Turkey’s efforts to turn a fresh leaf with its former Arab rivals have so far been fraught with U-turns and unilateral concessions from …

The Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor (PMC) that has been active from Syria to Ukraine, has continued to branch out globally, deploying troops to numerous countries in North and sub-Saharan Africa. Russia uses the Wagner Group in Africa to help achieve its foreign policy objectives and gain access …

On 21 April, an agreement concluded nine days earlier in Moscow between the Cameroonian Defence Minister Joseph Beti Assomo and his Russian counterpart Sergei Choigou was released. The content of the 13-page document is quite vague, mentioning the exchange of information in the field of international defence and security policy, …

Analysis: Wagner Group ‘like a bull in a china shop’ in unstable parts of Africa, say experts Western officials told the Guardian earlier this year that the Wagner mercenary group was the “thin end of the wedge” and a “Trojan horse” for a Russian effort to extend its influence covertly …

Mali’s decision to renounce a military cooperation agreement with France after it fell out with the ruling junta is “unjustified” and would not affect the military withdrawal, a French foreign ministry spokesman said Tuesday. Paris “considers that this decision is unjustified and absolutely contests any violation of the bilateral legal …

Germany will end its participation in the European Union training mission in Mali but is ready to continue with a U.N. peacekeeping mission in the country under certain conditions, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Wednesday. France and allies fighting Islamist militants in Mali earlier this year said they would …