Dubai, UAE -- A planned trade corridor linking the landlocked Sahel to the Atlantic is at the heart of an ambitious Moroccan project to tackle regional instability and consolidate its grip on disputed Western Sahara. The "Atlantic Initiative" promises ocean access to Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger through a new...
Coups, conflicts and crises confront African summit
Ahead of the gathering in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, African Union Commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat voiced alarm at the violence gripping many nations, both in Africa and other parts of the world. Sudan was in "flames", Faki said, while also highlighting the jihadist threat in Somalia, "eternal tensions"...
Niger regime vows to prosecute deposed president for ‘high treason’
The regime said it had gathered evidence that it would use "to prosecute the deposed president and his local and foreign accomplices before the competent national and international bodies for high treason, according to a statement read out by Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane on national television. The ousted leader has said...Niger regime vows to prosecute deposed president for ‘high treason’
The regime said it had gathered evidence that it would use "to prosecute the deposed president and his local and foreign accomplices before the competent national and international bodies for high treason, according to a statement read out by Colonel-Major Amadou Abdramane on national television. The ousted leader has said...
UAE sends military vehicles to aid Chad in counter-terror efforts
Chad is a neighbor of Niger, where a coup late last month toppled one of the last pro-Western leaders in the Sahel region. The UAE's official news agency WAM included a photo of several desert-colored armored vehicles, with the Emirati and Chadian flags draped over two of them. Emirati firm...
African Union, EU step up pressure on Niger coup leaders
The African Union demanded Niger's military "return to their barracks and restore constitutional authority" within 15 days as the EU intensified pressure on the coup leaders by suspending security cooperation with the country. General Abdourahamane Tiani, head of the Presidential Guard since 2011, appeared on state television to declare himself...
‘Coup attempt’ in troubled Niger as president held by guards
Niamey, Niger -- An attempted coup was underway Wednesday in the fragile state of Niger, where members of the Presidential Guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum, triggering a standoff with the army, sources said. The head of the West African bloc ECOWAS said Benin President Patrick Talon was heading to Niger on...Sahara salt diggers struggle to stay in business
Digging for salt is punishingly hard work, rewarded by an income that fluctuates according to whichever buyers happen to pass through town.
OFID to provide $25m for Niger’s solar energy development
Vienna, Austria - The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) is offering a US$25 million loan for solar energy development in Niger, scaling up electrification and access to renewable energy in the country. The loan will be provided to Solar Plant Development and Electricity Access Improvement Project (RANAA). The OPEC...
Abu Dhabi Fund allocates $45m for Nigeria road project
Abu Dhabi, UAE-- Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) has allocated AED165 million ($45 million) to the Nigerian government to finance the Minna-Bida Road project, ADFD's first development project in Nigeria, which is expected to stimulate commercial activities and improve transport links between the main cities in the country. The...
Algeria, Nigeria, Niger discuss gas pipeline to Europe
The Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) would transport billions of cubic metres of gas some 4,128 kilometres (2,565 miles) from Nigeria in West Africa.
Troubled land: The Sahel’s ‘three-border’ region
The vast arid region, along with central Mali, has become the worst-hit area in the jihadists' nine-year-old campaign
