Dakar to Riyadh: Links for 10/25/2024
News and analysis from the Sahel, North Africa, the Horn, and the Middle East.
You can find last week’s links here.
Sahel and West Africa
The BBC: “The Speaker of Ghana’s parliament has suspended proceedings indefinitely following chaotic scenes in the chamber over a row about which party holds the parliamentary majority.”
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has undertaken a minor reshuffle and restructuring of his cabinet. Core ministries such as Finance and Defence were not affected.
Ayoola Babalola at Africa Is a Country: “What’s Next for the Nigerian Left?”
At Jeune Afrique, Aly Asmane Ascofaré and Manon LaPlace look at the inner circle of Mali’s military head of state, Assimi Goïta.
In Niger, former Prime Minister and National Assembly President Hama Amadou has died at 74.
Mark Dike DeLancey, “Calligraphy in Mauritania: Creating a Lost Identity.”
North Africa
At Orient XXI, Salaheddine Lemaizi reports from the Moroccan town of Fnideq on what recent clashes tell us about the “externalization of [European] borders.”
Libya’s new Central Bank governor, Naji Issa, visited Washington and laid out his short-term plans.
In Algeria, socialists engage in some self-evaluation about their participation in the recent presidential election.
Prominent Tunisian lawyer Sonia Dahmani has received a two-year prison sentence on charges of disseminating “fake news.”
Greater Horn of Africa
Bloomberg’s Fola Akinnibi on Nairobi’s Governor Sakaja Arthur Johnson: “In a City of the Young, the Mayor’s Signature Policy Is School Lunch.”
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on Somalia: “At least 30,000 people have been displaced by ongoing clan violence in Luuq district, Jubaland State, and are facing a critical need for food, shelter, water and sanitation and basic health services.”
Alex de Waal at Responsible Statecraft: “Israel, a Behind-the-Scenes Powerbroker in Sudan.”
U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Today [October 24], the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Mirghani Idris Suleiman (Idris)pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14098, for leading the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) efforts to acquire weapons for use in its ongoing war with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Idris has been at the center of weapons deals that have fueled the brutality and scale of the war, serving as Director General of Defense Industries System (DIS), the SAF’s primary weapons production and procurement arm. OFAC designated DIS on June 1, 2023, for being responsible for, or complicit in, or having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Sudan.
Daniel Tester at Middle East Eye: “The Village Next to Paradise: Mo Harawe on his landmark Somali film and Cannes debut.”
Eskinder Firew at VOA: “Ethiopia’s state-owned telecommunications company has started selling shares to the public, in a move aimed at establishing a new national stock market and giving Ethiopians a stake in the company, one of the country's largest and most profitable.”
Mashriq
The UN: “Gaza: War Has Set Palestine’s Development Back Nearly 70 Years.”
The documentary “No Other Land,” on the destruction of Palestinian villages in the West Bank, is getting major international coverage in outlets such as the New Yorker and the FT.
Bruno Maçães in the New Statesman on Hamas’ Yahya Sinwar:
Another passage in his novel describes the general content of the conversations among Gaza refugees. “A minute of living with dignity and pride is better than a thousand years of a miserable life under the boots of the occupation.” A striking formula, but many or all the Palestinians I have met in the West Bank and in Egypt over the past year rightly point out that it was not for Sinwar to decide what they should sacrifice and how, or whether one minute of war or revenge is worth more than a life. The sacrifice now threatens to be total, a desperate gamble to ensure that Palestinians never forget about their national dream – provided there are any Palestinians left in Gaza when the bombs stop.
Jamie Dettmer at Politico: “Fears Grow That Israel Is Seeking to Reopen Lebanon’s Internal Fault Lines.”
In Iraq, “Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said [Islamic State commander for Iraq] Jassim al-Mazroui Abu Abdul Qader was killed in an operation by counterterrorism forces and the national security service under the Joint Operations Command in the Hamrin Mountains in Salahuddin province.”
The BBC: “Turkey's government says its military has struck sites in Iraq and Syria linked to Kurdish militant group the PKK, after blaming it for an attack near Ankara that killed at least five people.”
At the Stimson Center, an anonymous “Tehran-based analyst” has ideas on how Iran could try to negotiate its way towards a more peaceful Middle East:
The complex dynamics unfolding in Gaza and Lebanon highlight the urgent need for Iranian officials to transition from reactive measures to a more structured approach that prioritizes sustained dialogue and coalition-building. Engaging both regional partners and Western powers is crucial for alleviating sanctions and addressing domestic economic concerns while countering Israeli threats of a wider war. Iran not only should refrain from more provocative rhetoric and confrontational actions but also commit to meaningful negotiations with the U.S. and the European Union to enhance its standing in the international community, stabilize its position, and work towards a peaceful resolution of regional conflict.
Faisal Abbas at Semafor: “Memo from Moscow — How Russia Courts the Arab World.”