More than 6,000 people have fled their homes in Gambia and Senegal following clashes between Senegalese soldiers and separatists near the Gambian border earlier this month, Gambia’s government said Tuesday. The Senegalese military launched an operation on March 13 against rebels fighting for independence in Casamance region, which borders Gambia. …
Read More »Nigeria: opening of a new terminal at Lagos International Airport
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has opened a new terminal building at Lagos’ main international airport that has the capacity to process 14 million travellers a year. He said it was part of a larger plan to build five new terminals at five different Nigerian airports, explaining that it was part …
Read More »Death of former Malian PM: shocking statement by Nigerien president
The death of former Malian Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubé Maïga rekindles tensions between Mali and Niger, as President Mohamed Bazoum accuses the Malian authorities of having assassinated the former Prime Minister, which provokes strong reactions in Bamako . “I have just learned with dismay of the death of Soumeylou Boubeye …
Read More »Nigeria: no more PCR tests for travelers leaving the country
The Nigerian government says fully vaccinated travellers coming into the country will no longer be required to take a pre-departure PCR Covid-19 test. This is the first major reversal to the public health safety protocols since Nigeria started seeing a decline in the number of infections. The chairman of the …
Read More »Nigerian student dies weeks after fleeing Ukraine
One of the Nigerian students who fled the war in Ukraine has died in his hometown of Sokoto in northern Nigeria. It’s not yet clear what exactly caused the death of Huzaifa Habibu. His father, Habibu Halilu Modaci, told the BBC that he was taken to hospital after complaining of …
Read More »Mali: death of former Prime Minister Boubèye Maïga
Former Malian Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga held in Bamako’s central detention center for four months, died Monday in a clinic in the capital, Bamako. He had been imprisoned after being charged in particular with “forgery, use of forgery and favoritism” within the framework of an investigation into the purchase …
Read More »Burkina Faso: several soldiers killed in a jihadist attack
More than 10 members of the security forces died in eastern Burkina Faso after an attack by suspected jihadists, military sources said. It followed Sunday’s attack on a military patrol and security team in Natiaboni, a rural town in the east. The region is among those hit by rising insecurity …
Read More »President Macron reacts after suspension of two French medias in Mali
French President Emmanuel Macron said he condemned Mali’s leaders’ decision to suspend broadcasts by French state-funded international news outlets RFI and France 24. “I condemn this decision in the strongest terms, which seems to me to be totally at odds with the values defended by the Malian people since their …
Read More »Niger: dozens killed in bus attack
At least 21 people have been killed and several others wounded in an attack by suspected Islamist militants in Niger, local media reported. The mayor of the town of Tera near Niger’s border with Burkina Faso said that gunmen on motorbikes had forced a bus to stop. They then ordered …
Read More »Mauritania: More than 1,000 anti-slavery activists meet for talks
More than 1,000 anti-slavery campaigners from across West Africa are meeting in Mauritania at a time when there is a renewed effort to eradicate the practice. In a rare public comment on the issue, Mauritania’s human rights commissioner told delegates that fighting the practice was a constant and irreversible priority …
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