The president’s official reason for postponing the upcoming election has been met with suspicion. Analysts say: follow the money
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have left the Economic Community of West African States, which could adversely affect trade and the end of military rule
Far too many African assets are still under the control of Western powers
But the country is unlikely to intervene militarily because its forces are already overstretched at home
A Malian court last month sentenced the troops to 20 years in prison
Mali’s junta now finds itself ostracised by its regional peers – and at the centre of a dangerous new geopolitical game.
The highlights of 2021 in Africa
Colonel Assimi Goïta – now President Assimi Goïta – has once again thrown Mali’s politics into disarray
Citizens have for a year protested against the president seeking a third term in office despite a two-term limit. Many have been killed — and 90 more people died in this week’s crackdown
Sometimes, the best foreign policy might be not to get involved at all
The constitution puts him on fairly firm ground but citizens of post-dictatorship Gambia are determined to hold their leader to account
Nigeria’s borders crossings with Benin and Niger remain sealed despite a warning that the shutdown is harming prosperity
Maybe regional leaders should follow the West African playbook
The leaders for life will face challenges. Debt levels and servicing costs will plague governments. And conflict hotspots won’t cool down
This has been another tough year for the world, and the African continent has endured more than its fair share of conflict and crises.
Not feeling so hopeful? Click here for the other side of the coin in our ‘Africa for pessimists: 2017 in review’.
Germany has said it would supply two transport planes for the mission against rebels in Mali, in a bid to assist the country’s fragile government.
Guinea-Bissau’s junta has vowed to defend itself from interference as the international community condemns a two-year transition government.
Mali is waiting anxiously to see if the military junta would restore democracy after the toppled president formally resigned.
West African leaders have lifted all sanctions imposed on Mali with immediate effect following the agreement on restoring the constitutional order.
Ecowas has warned the Mali junta that it will close all its land borders and freeze the nation’s bank account if it does not step aside.
The battle for control of Côte d’Ivoire moved to Pretoria this week as lobbyÂists for the presidential rivals tried to swing the SA government.
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/ 17 February 2010
A summit of West African leaders on Tuesday told politicians in Côte d’Ivoire to preserve peace after last week’s sacking of the Cabinet.
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/ 27 October 2008
A West African court of justice convicted the state of Niger on Monday for failing to protect a 12-year-old girl from being sold into slavery.
Local and municipal elections in Benin passed off without evidence of fraud but with some functional problems, the head of a regional observer team said on Wednesday. The leader of the monitors from the Economic Community of West African States singled out in particular the lack of ballot papers and other materials.
Sierra Leone’s military chiefs are working on means to downsize from its current 10 000 soldiers to 8 500, Defence Minister Palo Conteh said on Friday, according to a state radio report. ”We cannot allow a large army …We have to downsize to a lean army that can react quickly to a given situation,” he said.
European Union member states and the United States have been excluded from a list of observers who will be invited to monitor the March 29 general elections in Zimbabwe, the government announced on Friday. The only European country that had been invited to send monitors was Russia, while the Commonwealth was also left off the invitation list.
Zimbabwe has invited 47 regional and sub-regional organisations as well as countries from Africa, Asia, the Americas and one European country — Russia — to observe this month’s election, the government mouthpiece Herald reported on Friday.
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/ 7 November 2007
West African military chiefs have charged that the United States has failed to consult adequately with countries that will be affected by a planned American military command for Africa. The group said the plan ”had not been fully understood” by African countries.
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/ 6 November 2007
Europe’s trade chief accused Nigeria and South Africa on Monday of trying to block negotiations for new trade and investment deals between the European Union and scores of former colonies. The EU wants to sign new Economic Partnership Agreements with nearly 80 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries before December 31.
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/ 16 October 2007
Landmark weekend parliamentary elections in Togo were ”free, fair and open”, observers from the Economic Community of West African States concluded in a report on Tuesday. ”In spite of a few shortfalls, the legislative elections on Sunday were free, fair and open,” stated the 15-nation group.
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/ 11 October 2007
Togo holds parliamentary elections on Sunday that, if free and fair, could convince international donors that the small West African state has fully embraced democratic rule. The European Union, once Togo’s biggest donor, froze most aid to the former French colony in 1993.