Ig Eacute Rien News Today

The Sahelian juntas have signed a military alliance as jihadist and separatist groups step up their attacks, As Malis military regime pursues its drive to reassert central government authority over the Kidal region hitherto dominated by Tuareg former separatists, conflict has spread across the north, with jihadists seizing the opportunity to step up their own attacks west of Timbuktu (AC Vol 64 No 18, As Bamako pushes out the UN, Islamists seize new opportunities).

A palace putsch fired by anger over a disputed election ends Ali Ben Bongos rule but not the old elites influence, The speed at which General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who is due to be sworn in as transitional president on 4 September, has consolidated power suggests his putsch against President Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba in the early hours of 30 August had been well prepared among a few senior officers and politicians, many nursing personal grievances against the regime.

The mercenary Wagner group will be the main beneficiary as international peacekeepers prepare to quit and jihadists step up attacks, Malian junta leader Col Assimi Goïta pronounced himself very satisfied on his Twitter account following a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 14 June. The two men discussed Russian deliveries of wheat, fertiliser and fuel, while Goïta also thanked Putin for the latters assistance in fighting terrorism and stabilising the situation ...

Clashes between jihadist groups are increasing as they seek to strengthen their territorial control, Jamaa Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), the Sahels largest jihadist umbrella alliance, is under pressure from an aggressive fightback by Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), determined to reinforce its hold over much of Ménaka region in north-east Mali.

Ouagadougou is set to be the next military regime to invite Russian mercenaries after giving France a month for its troops to leave, Captain Ibrahim Traorés regime has brushed aside the concerns of fellow members of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) and gone even further than Mali and demanded the departure of French troops. At the end of January his government cancelled the 2018 defence agreement governing Frances military presence in Burkina Faso, amid signs that it...

Foreign Minister Diops attacks on France and peacekeepers meets sceptical silence at UN Security Council, After accusing France of supporting Islamist militia groups at a UN Security Council meeting on 18 October, Bamakos foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop dialled down the rhetoric five days later at the Dakar Security Forum, insisting Mali could work with any partner, including Paris, if they didnt dictate policy. But the Bamako juntas stance, including using Russias Wagner Group mercenaries, is d...

The death of a notorious jihad leader has shifted the balance of power among terrorist groups in the region, An unrelenting campaign of terror by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) continues to gather steam as it positions itself to succeed Boko Haram, from which it splintered, as the leading jihadist organisation on the continent.