Russia

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 The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) is working to close 12 camps and one temporary operating base and hand them over to Malian authorities by the end of the year.…

ADF STAFF Yevgeny Prigozhin built a violent and profitable mercenary network over the past five years in the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, Mali and Sudan. His last days before his death in a plane crash on August 23 were spent in…

ADF STAFF Sometimes called a hermit state, Eritrea is one of the most diplomatically isolated countries in the world. A history of repression, human rights abuses and conflict with neighboring countries has left it with few allies on the…

ADF STAFF Nothing could rattle the foundation of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group more than the death of founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. Yet even that dramatic news is not expected to significantly impact the group’s operations in Africa.…

ADF STAFF A woman who lives in Moura, a town in central Mali’s restive Mopti region, recalled the horrors inflicted on her when Malian soldiers and Russian Wagner Group mercenaries launched a five-day assault in March 2022. After days…

ADF STAFF There was no surprise when military junta leaders in Niger reached out to Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group for help just days after overthrowing a democratically elected government and suspending the country’s constitution.…

ADF STAFF As Niger’s military junta has held the deposed president in isolation, the country has become increasingly isolated by the international community — one of the many consequences of unconstitutionally seizing power. Nigerien…

ADF STAFF Several Malian Soldiers died when they were ambushed by terrorists linked to the Islamic State group (IS) in the northeast Ménaka region, near the Nigerien border, in early August. The Soldiers were in a convoy headed for Niger…

ADF STAFF Members of the Malian armed forces and Russian Wagner Group mercenaries reportedly are sowing terror and committing “grave human rights abuses.” The reports of atrocities come from multiple sources: a United Nations panel of…