Africa

Sudan’s foreign ministry on Tuesday denied the presence of Russian private military contractor Wagner Group in the country, in response to a statement by Western diplomats. Representatives of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway wrote in a piece published in a Sudanese newspaper on Monday that the mercenary group …

Madrid endorsed a plan for limited autonomy for the territory in northwestern Africa, but the change in policy was denounced by independence groups and could aggravate relations with Algeria. In a bid to ease tensions with Morocco, Spain has recognized for the first time a plan drawn up by the …

Authorities in Mali have taken Radio France Internationale and France 24 television off the air, accusing the media outlets of broadcasting false allegations against the Malian army. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says the suspension, which followed months of rising tensions between Mali and France, has serious implications for …

Tunisia says it has dismantled a terrorist cell linked to the ISIS group, according to an official statement from the country’s interior ministry. Units from the Anti-Terrorism department at Tunisia’s National Guard said they had been able to uncover a cell called “Al Muwahhidun” linked to an extremist group that …

The Islamic State group is moving to solidify support for its new leader, sharing photos on social media showing fighters uniting behind his rule. One set of photos obtained by JihadoScope, a company that monitors online activity by Islamist extremists, and shared with VOA on Friday, shows a small group …

Violent extremism is escalating in West Africa’s coastal states. This is terrifying for citizens but is just the tip of the insurgency iceberg. Under the surface lies a covert network that ensures terrorism continues in the region. Evidence is emerging that jihadists’ activities within and through coastal states are enabling …

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi stressed dialogue and diplomatic efforts to solve the Russia-Ukraine crisis in a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. Sisi emphasized the importance of “prioritizing dialogue and diplomatic endeavors for swiftly settling the crisis politically to curb …

Finally, France will be leaving Mali, nearly a decade after the original military intervention in 2013. The repercussions of this decision will hardly be confined to this West African nation, but will likely spread to the entirety of the Sahel Region; in fact, the whole of Africa. France’s decision to …

The United States on Tuesday reiterated its support for a Moroccan plan for autonomy in the Western Sahara to settle the kingdom’s decades-old conflict with the Polisario independence movement. “We continue to view Morocco’s autonomy plan as serious, credible and realistic,” US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said during …

Tunisia’s president on Monday appointed a temporary replacement for the country’s top judicial council, a body he dissolved last month in what his opponents called a move to consolidate his power. President Kais Saied seized executive authority last year and last month broke up the top supreme judicial council which …