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The Gadaffi billions – how Libya plans to reclaim the stolen wealth

Libya's oil and gas resources: at the centre of the political fight
Libya's oil and gas resources: at the centre of the political fight

Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi stashed billions in US banks, and now Libya’s power brokers are vying for control of this hidden fortune. The scramble for wealth has ignited a fierce political battle in Tripoli – one so ruthless that the official leading the recovery has been forced into hiding, fearing for his life. An Africa Confidential Special Report by John Hamilton our North Africa correspondent and managing director of Cross-Border Information.

After three months in illegal detention – partly in one of Libya’s most brutal prisons – Mohammed al Mensli, Director-General of the Libyan Asset Recovery and Management Office (LARMO) has been released – opening the way for his agency to pursue the recovery of up to US$50 billion in assets stolen by Colonel Moammar el Gadaffi’s regime overthrown in 2011.

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Tinubu exudes confidence as opposition starts to fold

@officialABAT
Pic: @officialABAT

After failing to capitalise on deepening hardships and insecurity, opposition governors and lawmakers are defecting to the ruling party

As a political boss, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has run rings around his rivals. They lack his skills and tactical acuity but most of all they are just...


Cracks appear in Traoré’s YouTube persona

Captain Ibrahim Traoré. Pic: @CapitaineIb226
Captain Ibrahim Traoré. Pic: @CapitaineIb226

Burkinabés see the reality of military defeats, a cratering economy and growing authoritarianism despite millions spent on propaganda

Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s regime in Ouagadougou has uncovered yet another ‘plot’ showing that Burkina Faso’s security crisis is deepening in many different ways.

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Gulf States power play scuppers peace bid

London Conference on Sudan. Pic: @FilippoGrandi
London Conference on Sudan. Pic: @FilippoGrandi

A peace conference on Sudan declined to hold the Middle Eastern sponsors of the war to account. Now the conflict is spreading to Chad

If anyone questioned that the Gulf States United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, with their less pecunious partner Egypt, hold a veto on Sudan policy, the conference in...


Emiratis accused of shipping arms from the South

Inauguration the Madhol Field Hospital. Pic: mofa.gov.ae
Inauguration the Madhol Field Hospital. Pic: mofa.gov.ae

Diplomats suspect Abu Dhabi is building a new military logistics centre, hidden alongside a hospital, for Hemeti’s forces across the border

In a blaze of publicity the United Arab Emirates announced 10 March the opening of the Madhol Field Hospital in South Sudan’s Northern Bahr el Ghazal state, adjacent...


Ruto pivots from Washington to Beijing

William Ruto in China. Pic: @WilliamsRuto
William Ruto in China. Pic: @WilliamsRuto

Kenya’s embattled president calculates that being nice to Donald Trump can only get you so far – his meeting with Xi Jinping may have netted billions

For a cash-strapped government and a deeply unpopular president, William Ruto’s five-day trip to China could hardly have gone better. He returned with the promise of new investment...


Contest heats up as court blocks Thiam

Tidjane Thiam. Pic: tidjane.thiam
Tidjane Thiam. Pic: tidjane.thiam

The opposition prepares mass protests after the PDCI’s presidential candidate is taken off the voters’ roll

The main opposition Parti démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) is in crisis after an Ivorian court removed its presidential candidate Tidjane Thiam from the electoral register. The court...


Military alliance and port deal with Russia goes live

Pic: luzitanija / stock.adobe.com
Pic: luzitanija / stock.adobe.com

The pact has been ratified, expanding Moscow’s reach in the Gulf of Guinea and upsetting the US although it is retreating from the region

On 3 April Prime Minister Américo Ramos of the Acção Democrática Independente (ADI), approved a military cooperation agreement with Russia, first signed in St. Petersburg a year ago...


Security falls apart as Biya totters

General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema meets President Paul Biya, December 2023. Pic: presidentpaulbiya
General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema meets President Paul Biya, December 2023. Pic: presidentpaulbiya

Focusing on fixing national elections in October, top officials are failing to respond to the insurgents targeting the regime

The collapsing security system in Cameroon is seriously threatening 92-year-old President Paul Biya’s regime in what many in Yaoundé say is its twilight period. Determined to run for...


The juntas join the gold rush

Pic: Science RF / stock.adobe.com
Pic: Science RF / stock.adobe.com

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,...


Ailing Salva ups the ante

Benjamin Bol Mel and Salva Kiir Mayardit. Pic: @benbolmel
Benjamin Bol Mel and Salva Kiir Mayardit. Pic: @benbolmel

Salva has made aggressive moves with Ugandan backing as a visa row with the US marks the superpower’s turn away from its one-time friend


Mamady Doumbouya plots a popular mandate

Mamady Doumbaya. Pic: @presi_doumbouya
Mamady Doumbaya. Pic: @presi_doumbouya

The sudden release of former dictator Camara fits with the junta leader’s plan to silence party politics and fashion a presidential election victory