Africa

BLOC-NOTES. Le drapeau européen n’efface ni ne parjure rien, rappelle le philosophe à ceux qui s’indignaient de le voir flotter sous l’Arc de Triomphe. Que s’est-il passé, au juste ? La France se prépare, comme il advient tous les treize ans, à la présidence tournante du Conseil de l’Union européenne. …

In Mali, a coalition of political parties has rejected the military government’s plan for a five-year transition before elections. Mali has been under pressure from West African governments to hold elections since a May military coup d’etat, the second in less than a year. Mali’s military leaders recently released a …

Abdalla Hamdok’s resignation is the latest blow to Sudan’s transition to democracy since the Oct. 25, 2021, military coup. Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned late Sunday, Jan. 2, amid a political impasse with leaders of the country’s military junta and a crackdown on protesters calling for full civilian rule, …

Beijing Isn’t Just Building Roads—It’s Making Friends When U.S. policymakers consider China’s influence in Africa, they often think of big-ticket infrastructure development programs such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the past two decades, Beijing has spent billions building dams, highways, railways, and ports in countries from Egypt …

Islamist militant attacks increased this past year in the Sahel region, leading to political instability that saw a coup in Mali, an attempted coup in Niger, and calls for Burkina Faso’s president to resign. Burkina Faso experienced the deadliest terrorist attacks since the conflict began, but analysts say the worst …

Postponing elections in Libya means more chaos, as the Libyan parliament postponed a vote on how to deal with the repercussions of postponing national elections after a chaotic session that reflected the fabricated political crisis over the fate of the peace process and instability. The Libyan people still want the …

Beijing Isn’t Just Building Roads—It’s Making Friends When U.S. policymakers consider China’s influence in Africa, they often think of big-ticket infrastructure development programs such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the past two decades, Beijing has spent billions building dams, highways, railways, and ports in countries from Egypt …

What Might Happen If Abiy Ahmed Falls In October, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered an offensive against the Tigrayan rebel forces that control much of the country’s northern Tigray region and part of the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions. His aim was to force the insurgents into a final …

Egypt has criticized Turkey’s plan for a two-state peace deal on ethnically divided Cyprus. Egyptian criticism of Turkey’s plan for a two-state solution peace deal on ethnically divided Cyprus has come as the latest sign of ongoing tension between Cairo and Ankara despite previous diplomatic efforts to rebuild their relations. …

President Buhari said that security forces have turned the heat on terrorists “who are getting frustrated and are soft-targeting innocent citizens, looting their assets, burning their homes and killing them indiscriminately.” The death toll from weekend attacks on villages in Nigeria’s northern state of Kaduna has risen to 38 as …