Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have signed a mutual defence pact, as the three Sahel countries aim to help each other against possible threats of armed rebellion or external aggression. The charter, known as the Alliance of Sahel States, signed on Saturday binds the signatories to assist one another – including militarily – in the … [Read more…]
Rescuers raced against time on Monday to find survivors in the rubble more than 48 hours after Morocco’s deadliest earthquake in over six decades, with nearly 2,500 killed in a disaster that devastated villages in the High Atlas Mountains. Search teams from Spain, Britain and Qatar are joining efforts to find survivors of the 6.8 … [Read more…]
A 24-month transition to elections in Gabon would be “reasonable” after last month’s coup, junta-appointed Prime Minister Raymond Ndong Sima was quoted as saying by French news agency AFP on Sunday. Army officers seized power on Aug. 30, annulling an election minutes after an announcement that President Ali Bongo had won, which they said was … [Read more…]
Hundreds of protesters have been camping outside a French military base in Niger’s capital Niamey for the past six days to demand the troops’ departure, the latest sign of swelling anti-French sentiment among supporters of a military coup in July. The demonstration started last Saturday, around five weeks after soldiers toppled President Mohamed Bazoum and … [Read more…]
A powerful earthquake in Morocco has killed more than 1,000 people and injured hundreds more, the country’s deadliest in more than six decades, toppling houses in remote mountain villages where rescuers dug through rubble for survivors. The quake struck in Morocco’s High Atlas mountains late on Friday night, damaging historic buildings in Marrakech, the nearest … [Read more…]
Ali Bongo, ousted Gabon president, has been granted freedom from house arrest by the military junta in Gabon to depart the nation for medical care. In a statement signed by General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, military spokesperson Ulrich Manfoumbi stated, “Given his state of health, the former President of the Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba is … [Read more…]
Niger on Monday reopened its airspace nearly a month after imposing a ban following a military coup in July, the official Nigerien news agency ANP said. After taking power on July 26, the coup leaders closed the country’s airspace before reopening it again on August 2 – a measure that was reversed on August 6 after … [Read more…]
The leader of a coup that ousted Gabon’s President Ali Bongo was sworn in as interim president and cheered by jubilant supporters on Monday in a televised ceremony designed to cast the military as liberators of an oppressed society. In West and Central Africa’s eighth coup in three years, army officers led by General Brice Oligui … [Read more…]
The African Union’s Peace and Security Council said it has decided to “immediately suspend” Gabon following the military coup in the country this week. The body said on X, formerly Twitter, that it “strongly condemns the military takeover of power in the Republic of Gabon” and has decided “to immediately suspend the participation of Gabon … [Read more…]
The Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) has retired 12 generals and others in a move to reshuffle the military while Cameroon’s President Paul Biya has made changes to the Central African country’s Ministry of Defence. Both moves are coming in the wake of the Gabon coup, the latest in a series of military takeovers in Africa. A … [Read more…]
Military officers in Gabon declared they were seizing power from President Ali Bongo Ondimba in a stunning coup on Wednesday, threatening the family’s half-century rule over the central African nation. Men in army uniform appeared on national television to announce the president’s house arrest during the military takeover, prompting celebrations and reports of gunfire on … [Read more…]
A group of Gabonese officers and soldiers appeared on television Wednesday announcing they were “putting an end to the regime” and cancelling the results of a recent election. Here is a translation from French of the statement, which was read out by one of the officers on Gabon 24 television channel: “Our beautiful country, Gabon, … [Read more…]