Burkina Faso

Central African Republic

Eritrea

Mali

Somalia

Zimbabwe

Russia

Politics

Russian Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said Moscow had started shipments of free grain totalling up to 200,000 tons and destined for six African countries, Reuters reported on Nov. 17.

Sub-Saharan Africa: First Shipment of Russian Grain En Route to Burkina Faso and Somalia

Military & Security

Mali's army regained control of the northern town of Kidal from rebels after several days of confrontations with Tuareg insurgents, according to junta leader Assimi Goita on X, formerly Twitter, on Nov. 14. 

Mali: Army Claims to Have Taken Control of a Strategic Northern Town

Mali's military junta announced that it will postpone the presidential election scheduled for February 2024, Jeune Afrique reported on Sept. 25.

Mali: Junta Delays 2024 Election Due to 'Technical Reasons'

Niger

The military juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger signed a security pact under which they agreed to help one another in case of a rebellion or external aggression, Reuters reported on Sept. 16.

Sahel: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger Sign Alliance of Sahel States Security Pact

The Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), a coalition of formerly separatist Tuareg rebel groups that signed the 2015 Algiers peace deal, announced that it will launch "counter-offensive" operations against the Malian army in Mali's northern Kidal region, Radio France Internationale reported on Sept. 11.

Mali: Separatist Rebels Announce Resumption in Fighting Against Government

A U.N. report circulated on Aug. 25 said Islamic State in the Greater Sahara has almost doubled the Malian territory it controls in under a year, Al Jazeera reported on Aug. 27.

Mali: U.N. Report Says Islamic State Nearly Doubled Its Territory in Less Than One Year

Nigerien junta leader Abdourahamane Tchiani signed a decree on Aug. 24 that allows Malian and Burkinabe troops to intervene if Niger comes under attack, Bloomberg reported the next day.

Niger: Junta Invites Burkina Faso, Mali to Intervene if ECOWAS Deploys

Sudan

Libya

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of Russia's paramilitary Wagner Group, posted a video address on his Telegram channel on Aug. 21, his first since the short-lived Wagner mutiny in June, Reuters reported the next day.

Russia, Africa: Prigozhin Posts First Video Since Mutiny, May Be in Africa

Media

France

Graphics

A general view of a military crest of the French army in Niamey, Niger, on July 15, 2022.

French and U.N. troop withdrawals from the Sahel will open the door to jihadist attacks and external actors.

The Sahel's Security Environment Amid French and U.N. Troop Withdrawals

Snapshots

Sub-Saharan Africa

Cote d'Ivoire

Gabon

Protesters in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, wave Russian and Burkinabe flags on Oct. 4, 2022. 

Cyber

Many of the drivers that led to the recent coups in the Sahel are present in other African countries, granting Russian-sponsored influence operations more inroads.

Africa's Instability Creates Fertile Ground for Russian Disinformation

Assessments

Cameroon

Chad

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Equatorial Guinea

Republic of the Congo

People holding Gabon national flags celebrate in Libreville on August 30, 2023, after a group of military officers announced they were ''putting an end'' to President Ali Bongo Ondimba's regime. 

Rampant insecurity could precipitate the collapse of more Sahelian governments, while succession crises and patronage politics could do the same for Central Africa's dynastic leaders.

Assessing the Risk of Future African Coups, Part 1: The Sahel and Central Africa

Benin

Nigeria

Togo

French soldiers of the Barkhane force patrol the streets of Timbuktu, Mali, on Dec. 5, 2021.

In the wake of Niger's coup, France will be compelled to revamp its security strategy in the Sahel and West Africa at large.

What the Niger Crisis Means for France's Counterterrorism Strategy in Africa

Senegal

United States

Protesters hold placards denouncing ECOWAS on Aug. 3, 2023, in Niamey, Niger. While an intervention probably would topple the Nigerien junta, it could cause a regional conflict, boost jihadists and lead to a weak Nigerian civilian regime.

While an intervention probably would topple the Nigerien junta, it could cause a regional conflict, boost jihadists and lead to a weak Nigerian civilian regime.

How Might an ECOWAS Military Intervention Take Shape in Niger?

Belarus

Smoke billows north of the Khartoum Bahri district on July 17, 2023, as fighting continues in war-torn Sudan.

The Wagner Group's failed mutiny in Russia could facilitate its expansion in Africa, potentially including increased support of military rule in the Sahel and heightened involvement in Sudan and Libya's civil wars. 

The Wagner Group's 'New Path' in Africa

Mexico

Turkey

Australia

China

Japan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the 28th term deputies' oath-taking ceremony at the Turkish Grand National Assembly on June 2, 2023, in Ankara. Speculation is rife that former Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek will be appointed head of the Turkish Treasury in a move likely to delight international investors.

Economics

U.S.-China Relations

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: A Possible Economic Shift in Turkey, the Shangri-La Dialogue

Fighters aligned with the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) patrol a street in Kidal, northern Mali, on Aug. 28, 2022. 

The al-Qaeda-linked JNIM's non-aggression pact with other armed groups highlights its political power as Bamako scrambles to preserve what little control over the country it has left.

In Mali, Jihadists and Separatists Forge a Pact to Counter the Islamic State

Columns

On Geopolitics

South Sudan

Burundi

Ethiopia

Kenya

Mozambique

South Africa

Tanzania

Women sit under U.N.-branded cardboard boxes in Semera, Ethiopia, on Feb. 14, 2022, as they wait to be registered by the authorities at a hotel compound hosting civilians fleeing violence. 

Social Issues

GBV is often primarily seen as a women’s and human rights issue. But in sub-Saharan Africa, it is also a key constraint to stable (and democratic) governance, economic growth, and lasting peace.

The Geopolitics of Gender-Based Violence in Africa

United Kingdom

British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Oct. 14, 2022, at 10 Downing Street in London.

The Weekly Rundown: A Volatile Week in the U.K. and France, China's 20th Party Congress

On Security

A British soldier leaves the Hombori area aboard a Chinook helicopter on March 28, 2019 during the start of the French Barkhane Force operation in Mali's Gourma region. Countries in the region are embracing a military-led counterterrorism approach that will struggle in the face of various governance, economic and coordination challenges.

Countries in the region are embracing a military-led counterterrorism approach that will struggle in the face of various governance, economic and coordination challenges.

How Coastal West Africa Is Responding to an Expanding Jihadist Threat

Mauritania

French soldiers patrol the streets of Gao, Mali, on Dec. 4, 2021. 

France’s updated military posture in the African region focuses on supporting national armies, especially Niger’s. But this is unlikely to offset the impact of Paris’ withdrawal from Mali. 

France’s New Approach to the Sahel: Preparing for Sustained Regional Instability

<p>Mali&#39;s borders were created in 1960 from the division of colonial French West Africa. The country encompasses two geographically distinct regions. These two regions &mdash;&nbsp;defined by the fertile, densely populated southern savannas and the arid, sparse northern Sahara &mdash;&nbsp;are largely separated by the Niger River, which also serves as the historic lifeline of Malian commerce. These regions have independent geopolitical cores. The southern core is the Bambara agricultural triangle that includes Bamako &mdash;&nbsp;the nation&#39;s capital. It&#39;s home to the Bambara people who share ethnic ties with Mali&#39;s southern neighbors: Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Senegal. The northern core is found at the southern end of the Hoggar Mountains and is home to the nomadic Tuareg &mdash; a Berber people with ties to populations in Niger, Mauritania and Algeria. Projecting political authority over both distinct regions is Mali&#39;s primary geographic challenge. The two largest cities in the north &mdash;&nbsp;Timbuktu and Gao &mdash; are on the Niger River and once served as major trading outposts between the two cores. Over the centuries, the establishment of sea routes by Europeans lessened the role of the Tuareg and these cities. Subsequently, the Tuareg Islamic sphere of influence has diminished, and the Saharan trade routes that once transferred salt, gold, ivory and slaves deteriorated. Today, Mali is one of the world&#39;s poorest countries. Its economy is based on agriculture, particularly cotton, livestock and gold mining. As the country&#39;s 2012 coup demonstrates, Bamako faces considerable challenges projecting domestic power from the extreme southwest of the country into the vast stretches of Mali&#39;s Saharan desert.</p>

The Jihadist Wars

The Suitors of Sub-Saharan Africa

SITUATION REPORTS

Sub-Saharan Africa: First Shipment of Russian Grain En Route to Burkina Faso and Somalia

Mali: Army Claims to Have Taken Control of a Strategic Northern Town

Mali: Junta Delays 2024 Election Due to 'Technical Reasons'

Sahel: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger Sign Alliance of Sahel States Security Pact

Mali: Separatist Rebels Announce Resumption in Fighting Against Government

Mali: U.N. Report Says Islamic State Nearly Doubled Its Territory in Less Than One Year

Niger: Junta Invites Burkina Faso, Mali to Intervene if ECOWAS Deploys

Russia, Africa: Prigozhin Posts First Video Since Mutiny, May Be in Africa

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