Politics

West Africa juntas petition UN over Ukraine’s alleged rebel support

Published

4 weeks ago

August 21, 2024

According to Mali’s foreign ministry, the military juntas of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali have denounced what they perceive as Ukraine’s backing of rebel groups in the Sahel region of West Africa in a letter sent to the UN Security Council.

After remarks made by Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, regarding the combat in northern Mali that claimed the lives of Malian soldiers and mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group in late July, Mali severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine in early August.

A few days later, in support of its neighbour, the Nigeran military administration did the same. According to what Yusov indicated, the “rebels” in Mali had gotten all the info they needed “to conduct a successful military operation”.

Since Mali and Niger took Yusov’s statements to mean that Ukraine was directly involved in the conflict, they accused Ukraine of aiding international terrorism.

The Ukrainian government has always denied the claims. A request for a response on Wednesday went unanswered by the foreign ministry. After more than two years of Russian invasion, the country is still deeply embroiled in severe conflict.

According to a Tuareg rebel organisation, they were also not supported by the Ukrainians. North Mali is home to both ethnic Tuareg rebels and Islamic fighters. In July, there was intense fighting that the Tuareg claimed resulted in the deaths of 84 Wagner mercenaries and 47 Malian soldiers.

Separately, an Al Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack that killed ten Malian soldiers and fifty Wagner mercenaries on one of those days.

The foreign ministers of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso penned a letter to the Security Council, urging it to “take responsibility” for the activities of Ukraine and to avert “subversive acts” that endanger stability in the area and the continent.

The foreign ministry of Mali shared the letter’s wording on their social media account. It was reportedly sent out to the fifteen-person Security Council on Tuesday night, according to diplomats.

During the last four years, juntas in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have sided with Russia, which is currently in a war with Ukraine, rather than their long-standing Western and regional friends.

The assaults in July in the northern Kidal region of Mali, close to the Algerian border, may have been Wagner’s worst setback since it intervened two years ago to assist the junta in its struggle against Islamic rebels.

A distinct ethnic group residing in the Sahara region, which includes portions of Northern Mali, are the Tuareg. In 2012, Islamist militant groups took control of an insurgency that Tuareg separatists had started. The rebels were later driven back into the dry north of Mali.

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Politics

Tunisian court mandates electoral commission to reinstate presidential contenders

Published

7 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The highest court in Tunisia has issued an order requiring the electoral commission to re-enter two candidates for an October presidential election, cautioning that not doing so might compromise the election’s credibility.

The Administrative Court’s decision was made in rising political unrest in the nation of North Africa, where opposition parties and civil society organisations are concerned that a rigged election could give President Kais Saied a second term.

In the largest demonstration against constraints on liberties and the undemocratic electoral environment in Tunisia in two years, thousands of Tunisians came to the streets on Friday. Among the shouts screamed by the demonstrators was “Out with dictator Saied.”

Tensions increased after the electoral commission, citing purported flaws in their candidacy forms, rejected the court’s decision earlier this month to restore the candidatures of Abdellaif Mekki, Mondher Znaidi, and Imed Daimi ahead of the contest on October 6.

The president himself appointed the committee’s members, and major parties and civil society organisations claimed that this meant the president was using the inquiry as a weapon against his opponents.

Regarding the charges, commission president Farouk Bouasker has stated that “the commission is the only constitutional body entrusted with the integrity of the election” and refuted them. However, the commission must carry out its mandate and, if needed, revise the election schedule, the court ruled on Saturday. It’s unclear if this entails delaying the election or prolonging the campaign.

“Otherwise it would lead to an illegal situation that conflicts with the electoral law and the transparency of the electoral process”, it said.

Following their filing of a new complaint against the commission’s ruling, the court requested that Znaidi and Mekki be allowed to participate in the race. Daimi, the third contender, hasn’t yet submitted a second appeal.

After winning a democratic election in 2019, Saied strengthened his hold on power and started governing by decree in 2021—a move that the opposition has called a coup.

Politics

Under their new coalition, Mali, Burkina, Niger to launch biometric passports

Published

7 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

As part of their departure from the West African bloc in favour of a new Sahel alliance, military authorities in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger will implement new biometric passports, the countries’ leaders announced on Sunday.

Together, the three Sahelian neighbours run by juntas declared in January that they would be exiting the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), despite efforts by the organisation to convince them otherwise.

In July, the three West African nations signed a confederation treaty demonstrating their will to forge on together outside of the regional political and economic bloc that has been pressuring them to revert to democratic governance.

Earlier this month, Burkina Faso declared that it will no longer be issuing passports with the ECOWAS emblem.

“In the coming days, a new biometric passport of the AES (Alliance of Sahel States) will be put into circulation with the aim of harmonising travel documents in our common area and facilitating the mobility of our citizens throughout the world”, Malian junta leader Assimi Goita announced on Sunday evening.

On the eve of the decision to form their alliance, the foreign ministers of the three nations will meet on Monday. He made this statement beforehand.

In addition, Goita announced that they intended to open a common information channel “to foster a peaceful exchange of information among our three states.”

Meanwhile, ECOWAS had warned that the 400 million residents of the 49-year-old bloc would lose their freedom of movement and access to the common market if the three countries were to exit,

Their withdrawal coincides with their troops fighting militants associated with the Islamic State and al Qaeda, whose insurgencies have caused instability in the area for the previous ten years and pose a threat to those bordering West Africa.