Latest News & Developments
Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso's withdrawal from ECOWAS marks a significant shift in West African politics and trade relations.
OPINION: Perhaps by lifting the sanctions, Ecowas is trying to de-escalate tensions and make room for diplomacy and negotiations, writes Dr Sizo Nkala.
A Burkina Faso activist has been kidnapped, this time, from his office in the capital, as the country cracks down on dissent and media.
OPINION: However, despite the punitive measures from Ecowas, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger dug in and responded by forming the Alliance of Sahel States in September 2023 to collaborate in fighting extremist violence in their respective states and also help each other economically to blunt the impact of Ecowas sanctions, writes Dr Sizo Nkala.
Ahead of the start of the knockout phase of the 34th edition of Afcon, we take a by-the-numbers look back at the group stages.
Former champions Algeria crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations in the group stage on Tuesday after a shock defeat against Mauritania
Baghdad Bounedjah headed home five minutes into injury time to earn Algeria a draw with Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Algeria were disappointing as defending champions in the previous Africa Cup of Nations, and will be out to make amends in the Ivory Coast.
The progress towards eliminating malaria by 2025 is ‘off track by a wide margin’ due to a number of threats, according to the WHO report.
Some of the more interesting things that happened on this day.
OPINION: After taking power in a military coup, Sankara said, ‘We are fighting this system that allows a handful of men on earth to rule all of humanity. ’ This put him in the crosshairs of the West, particularly his old coloniser, France.
OPINION: According to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigerians have an average of six hours of electricity supply from the national grid a day. Blackouts lasting up to 12 hours are frequent. To put things into perspective, electricity consumption per capita in the West African country is a low 144kWh, writes Dr Sizo Nkala.
OPINION: French President Emmanuel Macron said the coup was illegitimate and dangerous and called for an immediate restoration of the constitutional order, writes Dr Sizo Nkala.
OPINION: Wednesday’s coup d'état in Gabon is the ninth military takeover to have happened in the past three years in West and Central Africa, after Mali twice, in August 2020 and May 20021; Chad in April 20021; Guinea in September 2021; Sudan in October 2021; Burkina Faso twice, in January and September 2022; and Niger in July 2023, writes Dr Sizo Nkala.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the issue of coups showed that there were factors behind these events.
OPINION: If Niger’s putschists somehow manage to to survive the threats from Ecowas and the international community, militaries in other countries willing to seize power may be emboldened. This would see more coups happening and democracy backsliding further, writes Dr Sizo Nkala.
LETTER: For decades, France, acting as a metropole in relation to the independent Burkina Faso, has not been able to protect it from terrorist attacks, which sowed doubts about the commitment to its goals of ensuring security in the region.
OPINION: More than 80% of the people in the Sahel rely on agriculture to survive. Human rights bodies say that when violence moves through a region, people often must flee, writes Chad Williams.
OPINION: The nexus between peace, security, stability, and development must guide us in the prevention, management and resolution of the scourge, writes Welile Nhlapo.
The chairperson has called on the military to immediately and totally refrain from any acts of violence or threats to the civilian population. .
We want co-operation with Russia. We want the departure of Damiba and France, say protesters.
Military leader Captain Ibrahim Traore urged Burkinabes to go about their business as usual and to refrain from acts of violence and vandalism. The whereabouts of ousted president Paul-Henri Damiba remain unknown.
Burkina Faso's former president, Blaise Compaore, has apologised to the family of his late predecessor, Thomas Sankara, whose 1987 murder a military court found him complicit in earlier this year.
Seven children were killed and two others injured by an explosive device late on Saturday night at Natigou, a township in the north of Togo.
An estimated 1. 9 million people have been forced to leave their homes, while more than 500 health facilities have closed or are operating at minimal capacity.