France

ADF STAFF In the immediate aftermath of the Niger military coup in late July, Russia’s formal and informal responses were at odds. The Kremlin’s spokesperson called for the immediate release of detained Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum…

ADF STAFF Faced with unrelenting extremist violence and a hostile host government, the United Nations mission in Mali (MINUSMA) announced it will end its mission by the end of the year. In a unanimous vote on June 30, the U.N. Security…

ADF STAFF A new joint investigation has found a prolific Russian disinformation campaign sowing division and spreading propaganda across the continent. A Belgian man with links to dictators and the infamous Russian mercenary Wagner Group…

ADF STAFF After Burkina Faso’s second coup d’état on September 30, people took to the streets of Ouagadougou waving Russian flags. They gathered, in part, as a result of Russia’s relentless disinformation efforts, which paint Moscow as a…

ADF STAFF Two military coups in eight months in Burkina Faso have failed to deliver promised security but may be opening the door to greater Russian interference. Between the coup at the end of January and the second coup in September,…

ADF STAFF In the pale light of dawn on July 22, two vehicles rigged with explosives set off on a deadly attack on Mali’s biggest military base in Kati, just 15 kilometers northwest of the capital of Bamako. Islamist militants entered the…

ADF STAFF The list of central Malian towns where massacres have occurred is growing as Russia’s notorious Wagner Group expands its reach in the country. In March it was the towns of Diabaly, Nioni and Moura. In April, Hombori, Boni and…

ADF STAFF Islamic State attacks in the Sahel have shifted in recent months toward towns along the Mali-Niger border. Civilians continue to pay with their lives. “Armed men arrived on motorbikes and shot at everything which moved,” a…

ADF STAFF In a matter of months, Mali’s relationship with much of the outside world has deteriorated profoundly, while Russia is trying to capitalize on a power vacuum it is helping to create. Experts say it’s all part of the…

ADF STAFF Since Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries arrived in Mali, civilians have been increasingly caught in their crosshairs. After hundreds of Wagner Group fighters deployed in Mali purportedly as “trainers” and “advisors” in…