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ECOWAS fears disintegration if junta-led states leave

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The junta-led governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have made it apparent they intended to leave the bloc by signing a confederation treaty, prompting the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to warn on Sunday that the region risked disintegrating and experiencing increased insecurity.

Signed on Saturday, the Alliance of Sahel States treaty reaffirmed the three nations’ resolve to reject the 15-member ECOWAS, which has been pressuring them to revert to democratic governance.

The accord, reached during the inaugural meeting of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), signifies a closer alignment of the neighbors in the insurgent-torn central Sahel region. Through a series of coups, juntas in three states between 2020 and 2023 toppled their governments and severed diplomatic and military ties with Western countries and their regional allies.

Omar Touray, head of the ECOWAS commission, stated that some of the main advantages of the nearly 50-year-old bloc were freedom of movement and a 400 million-person common market, but that both would be jeopardized if the three countries quit.

Touray said during an ECOWAS summit in Abuja, Nigeria, that funding for economic projects in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger valued at more than $500 million might also be halted or suspended.

“Considering these benefits, disintegration will not only disrupt the freedom of movement and settlement of people, but it will also worsen insecurity in the region,” he stated.

He continued by saying that the three nations’ withdrawal would deal a serious blow to security cooperation, especially about intelligence sharing and involvement in the war on terror.

At the summit, leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened to deliberate on the ramifications of the treaty signed by the Alliance of Sahel States. The juntas that took over the three states in a succession of coups between 2020 and 2023 broke diplomatic and military connections with Western countries and regional allies.

Politics

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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Chad threatens to leave international security force

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Mahamat Idriss Deby, the temporary president of Chad, has threatened to withdraw the Central African nation from a multinational security force, claiming that the force has not been successful in combating rebel groups in the Lake Chad region.

During his tour of the area, which includes parts of western Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon, Deby made the declaration on Sunday. In late October, suspected Boko Haram militants attacked Chad, killing about 40 soldiers.

Deby declared that an operation against the invaders had begun and that he was thinking of leaving the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which is composed of troops from the nations that border Lake Chad.

 

Although disagreements and a lack of coordination have made the joint force’s job more difficult, Chad’s withdrawal would be a significant setback because its military is one of the most reputable in the area.

Deby cited “the lack of joint efforts against the common enemy, which is unfortunately always observed on the ground. This force – created to pool efforts and intelligence – seems to be in a slump.”

Insurgencies have frequently attacked the Lake Chad region, notably Boko Haram, which began in northeast Nigeria in 2009 and expanded to the west of Chad, and Islamic State terrorists in West Africa.

Moreso, an estimated 910,000 people have crossed into Chad since the onset of the crisis in Sudan, of which 222,743 are Chadian returnees as of the end of September 2024.

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