West Africa

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has questioned whether her country’s military mission in Mali should continue, the BBC reports. On Tuesday, France said it was reviewing its military presence in the West African nation following the expulsion of the French ambassador by Mali’s junta. “Given the most recent steps by …

Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo survived an attempted coup on Tuesday but said many members of the security forces had been killed repelling an attack on democracy that may have been linked to drug trafficking. Earlier, heavy gunfire rang out near a government compound where Embalo had been chairing a …

In a very brief telephone interview with AFP, Guinea-Bissau President, Umaro Sissoco Embaló reassured his population that everything was fine and that the situation was under control. This Tuesday, February 1, 2022, shootings were reported in the city center near the country’s institutions. Armed men in civilian clothes opened fire …

The European Union has said it will impose travel bans and asset freezes on five members of Mali’s government following the report on elections scheduled for February. The measures, which have political support of all 27 EU governments and should take effect later this month, follow a raft of restrictions …

Mutinous soldiers arrested Guinea-Bissau’s president Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his ministers as they were holding a meeting, BBC News reports, citing a local journalist. It has not been possibly to independently verify this allegation, and no official word has been given yet of the whereabouts of Guinea-Bissau’s president and prime …

Reports point to an ongoing coup attempt in Guinea Bissau where President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and Prime Minister Nuno Gomes Nabiam are missing. According to informations, armed men in civilian clothing opened fire at the ministerial palace in the capital, Bissau, where the president and prime minister were holding a …

Coup leader in Burkina Faso, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba has sacked the country’s military chief as well as the head of the intelligence agency. The former army chief, Brig Gen Gilbert Ouedraogo, has been replaced by the coup leader Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba – who will also serve as the country’s …

The military government in Mali has given the French ambassador three days to leave the country, as diplomatic relations between the two countries deteriorate. The French envoy to Mali, Joël Meyer, is ordered to leave the country following criticism of the junta. “The government of the Republic of Mali informs …

Over the weekend, attacks by gunmen on motorbikes in two communities in Nigeria’s Niger State left dozens dead and kidnapped, local media reported. The raids come two weeks after authorities in Nigeria launched a major military operation to crack down on bandits in the area. Residents of Galadima Kogo and …

One of Sierra Leone’s most senior judges, Nicolas Brown-Marke, is holding a session inside the Makeni prison facility in the north of the country, local media report. His is seeking to “right the wrong” of people spending long years in prison before conviction or acquittal, as well as instances of …