Vol 66 No 18 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGERRUSSIA Putin’s gambit in the Sahel as France leaves the stage 3rd September 2025 Moscow courts the three juntas with anti-western rhetoric and promises of gold refineries and nuclear power but is struggling to counter insurgents On 14 August, the defence ministers of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger – Generals Sadio Camara, Célestin Simporé and Salifou Modi – were in Moscow for talks with...
Vol 66 No 17 | NIGERSAHEL General Tiani tightens grip as regional rumblings grow louder 12th August 2025 After failing to repel determined jihadist attacks, the Sahel juntas crack down on internal dissent The latest round of arrests in Mali, amid reports of a planned putsch on 10 August, looks unlikely to change the centralisation of power in Bamako or in...
Vol 66 No 14 | NIGER Putschist faces his own mutiny 11th July 2025 Nigériens are two weeks away from the second anniversary of the putsch that deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, breaking military partnerships with France, the United States and the European...
Vol 66 No 9 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGER The juntas join the gold rush 2nd May 2025 On 23 April, Niger advanced its mineral development by partnering with Emirati firm Suvarna Royal Gold Trading LLC. The deal, formalised in Niamey, establishes Royal Gold Niger SA,...
Vol 66 No 6 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGER Security tops the Ecowas agenda 21st March 2025 Above all, civilian governments in the regional bloc want cooperation with the military leaders against jihadist insurgents Through his visits to the military rulers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in the week ending 14 March, Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama may have helped thaw...
Vol 66 No 3 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGERRUSSIA Sahel-exit tests western miners and Russia’s military muscle 29th January 2025 Everybody is losing as the Sahelian juntas break with the Ecowas bloc – except for the jihadi militias The crowds in Bamako, Ouagadougou and Niamey celebrating their countries’ break with the regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) on 29 January belie the...
Vol 66 No 2 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGERMINING Sahel’s juntas challenge western miners in geopolitical gold rush 17th January 2025 The fight over one of the world’s biggest gold mines points to the changing balance of power in the region The stand-off between General Assimi Goïta’s military regime and Canada’s Barrick Gold has reached a critical point with the mining conglomerate suspending work at the Loulou-Gounkoto complex after...
DISPATCHES Vol 66 No 1 | NIGERNIGERIA Junta accuses Nigeria of French kiss 31st December 2024 Regional security in the Sahel is deteriorating amid claim and counter-claim The diplomatic chill between the Sahelian military juntas and France grew colder over Christmas after Niger’s junta leader General Abdourahamane Tiani accused France of allying with militant groups,... READ FOR FREE