Mali

ADF STAFF As it seeks to expand its presence in the Sahel region, Russia appears to be following the same playbook in Burkina Faso that it used to embed itself into Mali’s security apparatus. Despite recent denials, Burkina Faso has…

ADF STAFF Stuck in a holding pattern since Mali’s 2022 withdrawal, the G5 Sahel gathered the foreign ministers of its four remaining member nations in the Chadian capital of N’Djamena on January 18 to discuss how to fortify and sustain the…

ADF STAFF When he opened a recent meeting of the regional bloc he chairs, Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló urged a new response to West Africa’s rash of coups. He was speaking from experience, having escaped a failed coup that…

ADF STAFF After visiting Kyiv, Ukraine, in April, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres took a delayed trip to the Sahel to focus international attention on the deteriorating security situation there. His dilemma, and that of…

ADF STAFF Mali’s decision to quit the G5 Sahel Joint Force in May has sent ripples of insecurity across the region. In speaking to the United Nations Security Council at the time, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Ama…

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 August, terrorists in Mali killed 42 Malian Soldiers in an attack that combined artillery and truck bombs with the use of airborne drones. Across Africa, drones — both sophisticated military hardware and off-the-shelf hobby…

ADF STAFF Extremist groups are again trafficking weapons from Libya and other sources into the Sahel, signaling a potential escalation of violence. Analysts say the increase comes after a period of relatively low trafficking levels. “The…

ADF STAFF The leaders of Mali’s ruling junta recently met with a high-level delegation of West African leaders seeking the release of 46 Côte d’Ivoire Soldiers held in Mali since July, a reflection of Mali’s increasingly strained…