Vol 67 No 22 | RUSSIAAFRICA Putin’s energy pitch meets scrutiny over African recruits 3rd November 2026 Moscow’s summit aimed to deepen its influence through power and security partnerships but failed to allay concerns over Africans fighting for Russian forces in Ukraine Russia’s limited economic weight is not holding back its growing diplomatic and military weight in Africa as its officials showed by negotiating new security agreements with the African...
Vol 67 No 22 | RUSSIAWEST AFRICA Moscow courts both sides of the Sahel divide 28th October 2026 Russia’s proposed security accord with Ecowas would extend its reach beyond the juntas and expose divisions over regional security Having armed the military regimes that broke with the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), Moscow is now courting the organisation they left behind. Russia wants to...
Vol 67 No 21 | ANGOLAERITREAKENYAMADAGASCARMAURITIUSTUNISIARUSSIA Africa Confidential Pointers 23rd October 2026 Protests in Tunisia, Mauritius and Kenya; Britain/Eritrea visa ban; Angolan fuel subsidies; and rising Russian influence in Madagascar More than 3,000 people marched through Tunis on 18 October in the biggest pro-democracy protests since President Kaïs Saïed took power in 2019.
Vol 67 No 13 | ALGERIAMALIRUSSIA Moscow and Algiers agree that Goïta has got it wrong 16th June 2026 Russian and Algerian diplomats and spies agreed a year ago that the junta’s demonisation of the Azawad militants would fail In the wake of April’s attacks that killed Defence Minister Sadio Camara and sent junta leader General Assimi Goïta into hiding, it was with Russia’s ambassador in Bamako,...
Vol 67 No 9 | MALIRUSSIA Jihadist onslaught exposes fatal flaws in Moscow’s Sahel tactics 27th April 2026 The killing of Sadio Camara and the fall of Kidal to Tuareg rebels delivered a devastating blow to Assimi Goïta's junta and casts doubt on Russia's security claims Amid a combined offensive by Tuareg and jihadist fighters against the Bamako junta at dawn on 25 April, the killing of Defence Minister General Sadio Camara, the architect...
Vol 67 No 8 | BURKINA FASOMALINIGERRUSSIAAFRICA Propaganda swamps social media but Moscow fails to sway the juntas 16th April 2026 Leaked memos reveal millions spent on pro-Russian online stories, but the documents’ claims to be directing policies in friendly states don’t check out A cache of 75 secret Russian memos about the Kremlin’s propaganda offensive in Africa by the Wagner Group and its successor organisation, ‘The Company’, has exposed a vast... READ FOR FREE
Vol 67 No 8 | RUSSIAAFRICA How Moscow wages social media war 16th April 2026 Some 35 websites or media organisations published 700 stories at Russian instigation for fees ranging from $250 to $700 per article The documents leaked from ‘The Company’, the inheritor of the Wagner Group’s network in Africa, itemise US$7.3 million spent on social media ‘influencers’ and journalists to promote the... READ FOR FREE
Vol 67 No 4 | KENYARUSSIA Cannon fodder on the front line 20th February 2026 A report by the All Eyes on Wagner (AEOW) investigative group, published on 11 February, lists 1,417 fighters from 35 African countries who joined the Russian army between...
Vol 67 No 3 | NIGERRUSSIAFRANCE Attack on Niamey airbase sounds alarms on uranium security 4th February 2026 A 1,000 tonne stockpile of yellowcake is the latest flashpoint in General Tiani’s pivot from Paris to Moscow Concerns are growing for the security of a consignment of about 1,000 tonnes of uranium held at the Niger government’s military Air Base 101 next to the Diori...
