Politics

Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso intensify talks for political, economic alliance

Published

5 months ago

December 11, 2023

Niger’s military leader, General Abdourahamane Tiani, has revealed that his country is considering political and economic alliances with West African neighbours, Mali and Burkina Faso.

Tiani, who had recently visited his neighbours, made the position public on national television about a move that could mark a further break with the sub-regional bloc, but did not give a timeline or details about the discussion.

“In addition to the security domain, our alliance must evolve in the political domain and in the monetary domain,” he said in an interview on Sunday.

A common currency factor in the three countries and five others in the region that has as legal tender, the West African CFA franc, is a likely factor in the proposed alliance.

In a speech on Sunday night, Ibrahim Traoré, the head of Burkina Faso’s armed forces, also outlined his plans for deeper relations with Mali and Niger.

“The Alliance of Sahel States … (is) a defence alliance a priori, but which will evolve toward an economic alliance and much more,” Traore said.

Since 2020, coups have resulted in military juntas ruling the three neighbouring states. They are now at odds with the other members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is pushing for their return to democratic governance, and is the primary political and economic bloc in the region.

The three, which have dubbed their new union the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), would become even more isolated if they were to leave the eight-member West African monetary union and adopt a new currency.

The region has witnessed five coups in the last three years, and the World Bank recently warned that the latest coup, which took place in Niger, may complicate issues around Nigeria and other West African nations’ food markets.

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Politics

Mozambique: Ruling FRELIMO announces Chapo as presidential candidate

Published

2 days ago

May 7, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Daniel Chapo has announced that he will run for president in the October election on behalf of the ruling FRELIMO party in Mozambique.

Since achieving independence in 1975, FRELIMO has ruled the nation in southern Africa, and the party is hoping that Chapo can lead it to another win in the election on October 9.

“The soap opera of speculation is over, including speculation about the third term,” President Filipe Nyusi said on state television on Sunday, dismissing the prospect of contesting elections again.

“We must all unite around comrade Daniel Francisco Chapo, in the demanding march towards electoral victory next October,” Nyusi said.

The president of Mozambique is limited to two terms of five years by the constitution. Nevertheless, following his reelection as party leader in 2022, there had been conjecture in the media that Nyusi may run for a third term.

Chapo, a relatively unknown person in national politics, is the governor of the province of Inhambane in southern Mozambique. As to the party announcement, he secured 225 votes (about 94%) from the central committee of the party.

“We are going to work with all social strata,” Chapo said on television after his win.

Chapo, a former radio host, was born in 1977, making him the first candidate for FRELIMO to be born since the nation gained its independence.

He has served in many governmental capacities, most notably as an administrator of the districts of Nacala and Palma. He also has a master’s degree in development management and a law degree.

Politics

Again, Rwanda denies it attacked displaced persons in DR Congo

Published

5 days ago

May 4, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

For the sixteenth time, Rwanda refuted US charges on Saturday that its troops attacked a camp for internally displaced persons in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), placing the blame instead on militants it claimed were backed by the military of the Congo.

The US State Department released a statement in which it vehemently denounced the incident that claimed at least nine lives on Friday.

There have been persistent accusations against Rwanda of providing support to the armed organizations, which has resulted in diplomatic tensions between the neighbours in East Africa.

Citing the threat that Rwanda’s surface-to-air missile systems posed to civilians, U.N. and other regional peacekeepers, aid workers, and commercial aircraft operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the US demanded in February that Rwanda remove its systems and all of its armed forces from the DRC immediately. Rwanda denies providing any assistance to the rebels.

According to the U.S. statement, the M23 rebel group, which Rwanda supports, and the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) held the positions from which the attack was launched. The United States is “gravely concerned about the recent RDF and M23 expansion” in eastern Congo.

Speaking on behalf of the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo refuted claims that the RDF was responsible for the attack, blaming instead rebels backed by the Congolese military.

“The RDF, a professional army, would never attack an IDP (displaced persons). Look to the lawless FDLR and Wazalendo supported by the FARDC (Congolese military) for this kind of atrocity,” she said in a post on X.

Wazalendo is a Christian sect, while the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a Hutu organization that was founded by Hutu officials who left Rwanda after planning the 1994 genocide.

Thousands of people from the surrounding areas have fled to Goma in eastern Congo as a result of the M23 rebels’ two-year offensive, which has advanced toward the city in recent months.