Category Archives: África

Russian troops deploy to Mali’s Timbuktu after French exit

2022, África, França, Mali, Rússia

Via: Aljazeera

Mali’s army spokesperson has said Russian soldiers have deployed to the northern city of Timbuktu to train Malian forces at a base vacated by French troops last month amid persistent insecurity in a country where large swaths of territory are out of the government’s control. The Malian government said late last year that “Russian trainers” had arrived in the country, but Bamako and Moscow have so far provided few details on the deployment, including on how many soldiers are involved or the Russian troops’ precise mission. On December 23, a group of Western countries led by former colonial power France, which in 2013 intervened militarily to help push back advancing armed groups that threatened to seize the whole of Mali, sharply criticised what they said was the deployment of Russian mercenaries working for the controversial Wagner Group.

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Gambia presidential candidates Darboe, Faal and Kandeh join forces to reject election results

África, África Ocidental, Eleições presidenciais, Gâmbia

Via: RFI Africa

Gambia’s Independent Electoral Commission declared incumbent President Adama Barrow the winner of the presidential election late Sunday evening (05/12) with 53 percent of the vote. Earlier Sunday afternoon, three Gambia presidential candidates rejected the election results after all but three constituency results were called. “At this point in time, we reject the results thus far announced by the Independent Electoral Commission,” read United Democratic Party (UDP) chair and candidate Ousainou Darboe. “We reserve the right to embark on any lawful course of action the situation requires. To this end all options are on the table,” he read. Darboe read the statement from his compound in the Pipeline neighborhood of Karaba Avenue, which was agreed upon by independent candidate Essa Faal and Gambia Democratic Congress candidate Mama Kandeh, who were present. They cited an inordinate delay in transmitting the result, that political party agents at polling centers and the Independent Electoral Commission had issues with some of the counts and refused to endorse the results.

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ECOWAS imposes individual sanctions on coup plotters in Guinea, Mali

África, África Ocidental, CEDEAO, Eleições presidenciais, Golpe

Via: Africanews

The West African regional grouping ECOWAS on Sunday (07/11) hardened its stance against military-ruled Mali and Guinea, imposing new individual sanctions and calling on both countries to honour timetables for a return to democracy. The Economic Community of West African States “has decided to sanction all those implicated in the delay” in organising elections set for February 27 in Mali, ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou told AFP after a summit of the 15-nation group in the Ghanaian capital Accra. He said Mali had “officially written” to Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, who holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS, to inform him that the Sahel country could not hold elections as planned.

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