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Burkina Faso’s anti-France posture continues as it expels ambassador, Luc Hallade

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Burkina Faso has continued its anti-French positions as its ruling military junta has expelled France’s ambassador, authorities said Monday.

The spokesperson of the junta, Jean-Emmanuel Ouedraogo confirmed to the Associated Press that Ambassador Luc Hallade was asked to leave, but provided no further details. The French embassy refused to comment.

Hallade’s expulsion comes less than two weeks after the military junta two weeks ago declared the United Nations coordinator in the country, Italian Barbara Manzi, “persona non grata” and “asked to leave the country.”

Anti-French sentiment has been growing in the former French colony since the new junta leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traore, seized power in September. Traore has been more overtly open to working with other countries, notably Russia.

Burkina’s neighbour Mali, also caught up in a serious security crisis, expelled Olivier Salgado, the spokesman for the United Nations Mission in Mali (Minusma), for publishing “unacceptable information” the day after the arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers in Bamako.

An associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank reacting to the development, Samuel Ramani said “this will clearly sharpen polarization among (West African countries), between the states that are opposed to the junta’s policies and those that want to transition towards democracy.”

The West Africa sub-region has witnessed a series of military coups in recent years. In Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso since August 2020.

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Nigeria’s Tinubu to call for Gaza ceasefire in Riyadh

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Nigeria’s presidency has announced that President Bola Tinubu will demand a truce and a peaceful settlement of the Israel-Palestinian dispute when he visits the next Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

“Nigeria will also advocate for renewed efforts to revive the two-state solution as a pathway for lasting peace in the region,” said presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga.

Nigeria, as a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member was invited by King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to an annual summit scheduled for November 11.

Along with the head of the security intelligence agency and his national security adviser, Tinubu will travel to Riyadh with a group of cabinet ministers, including those in charge of information and foreign affairs. Tinubu’s administration is currently engaged in combat with Islamist insurgents in the country’s northeast.

According to a United Nations estimate, 1.74 million more Palestinians will be forced into poverty throughout the State of Palestine as the conflict in Gaza approaches its seventh month.

Africa is a geopolitical interest for the Western powers, and its institutions, which are biased towards Israel in the conflict.

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Equatorial Guinea bans sex in govt offices after tapes leak

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Following the release of private recordings on social media that seemed to show a senior finance ministry official having sex with multiple women in a variety of locations, including his office, Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday announced a crackdown on sex in government offices.

The administration claimed that because the recordings had damaged the reputation of the small Central African nation, it was taking action.

Since the videos first surfaced last week, the controversy has been rocking the government of Equatorial Guinea, which has had the same president for decades.

Hundreds of amateur films were discovered at the finance official’s residence during a raid related to a corruption inquiry, according to local media sources.

According to local media, the women in the films seemed to be family members and the spouses of other influential government officials.

According to a government statement, Vice President Nguema Obiang Mangue issued fresh directives on Tuesday to stop ministry and court workers from committing crimes at work.

These included increased security and the installation of security cameras in every workplace.

“The executive is taking this decision following the videos of a sexual nature that have gone viral on social media in recent days and that denigrate the country’s image,” the state information agency said in the statement.

According to the statement, the measures were decided upon in emergency sessions with the attorney general, the Supreme Court, and other parties.

It stated that individuals featured in the sex tapes would be suspended without being given their identities, and those in charge of guarding the buildings where the videos were purportedly shot would receive reprimands for their negligence.

The longest-serving president in history, Teodoro Obiang, has led Equatorial Guinea, a country of around 1.7 million inhabitants on the west coast of Central Africa, for 45 years.

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