Dakar to Riyadh: Links for 1/24/2025
News and analysis from the Sahel, North Africa, the Horn, and the Middle East
Last week’s links can be found here.
General
Abdi Latif Dahir for the New York Times: “In African Publishing, ‘There Is a Renaissance Going On’.”
Sahel and West Africa
The journalist Olivier Dubois, who was held captive in 2021-2023 by the jihadist group Jama‘at Nusrat al-Islam wa-l-Muslimin (the Group for Supporting Islam and Muslims, JNIM), has published a book about his experience. At AfriqueXXI, Nathalie Prévost interviews him.
Senegalese President Diomaye Faye received a high-level delegation from BP this week.
The Nigerian authorities must impartially and transparently investigate disturbing threats to the lives of Hamdiyya Sidi Shariff and her lawyer Abba Hikima – as the trial continues – in which Sokoto state government is charging Hamdiyya Sidi Shariff with the “use of insulting or abusive language” and “inciting disturbance” for criticizing the governor of Sokoto state Mr Ahmed Aliyu.
Paul Burkhardt and Emele Onu for Bloomberg: “Nigeria’s Oil Comeback to Test Its Commitment to OPEC+ Cuts.”
Tife Owolabi at Reuters: “Nigeria Oil Spill and Fire Sparks Concern from Environmental Groups.”
Obiora Ikoku at Africa Is a Country: “President [Bola] Tinubu’s reforms have plunged Nigerians into economic despair, with soaring costs and violent repression, exposing the brutal toll of neoliberal policies.”
Chad’s President Mahamat Déby has publicly fallen out with his older brother Adam.
North Africa
At the Associated Press, Nicole Winfield and Sam Magdy discuss how Italy sent Libyan national Ossama Anjiem/Ossama al-Masri back to Libya despite him being wanted for alleged war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
Al-Masri had been arrested Sunday in Turin, where he reportedly had attended the Juventus-Milan soccer match the night before. The ICC warrant, dated the day before, accused al-Masri of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Mitiga prison in Libya starting in 2015 that are punishable with life in prison.
At Ultra, Zina El-Bakry covers the movement of Tunisian female agricultural workers demanding greater rights and benefits.
Schoolchildren are protesting in Algeria, calling for fewer hours in school, better teaching, and lighter workloads.
There are tensions between the National Rally of Independents and the Party of Authenticity and Modernity, the top two parties in the Moroccan parliament, and part of a governing coalition alongside Istiqlal, another party.
At TelQuel, Ghita Ismaili reports on Moroccan transportation companies that continue to do business in the Sahel’s conflict zones.
Mauritania and Morocco have signed a new MOU on electricity and renewable energy partnerships.
Greater Horn of Africa
The Sudanese Armed Forces recaptured the major town Wad Madani - but infrastructure and services are in a catastrophic state.
Middle East Eye’s Oscar Rickett: “Sudan's [Rapid Support Forces] Attacks el-Fasher in Darfur as Fighting Rages on in Khartoum.”
The Economist: “Government by Social Media in Somalia.”
Million Haileselassie for DW: “Ethiopia: Tigray's Forgotten Internally Displaced People.”
Fred Harter writes in The Guardian about survivors of prison and torture in Eritrea.
Victor Abuso at The Africa Report: “Kenya: Embarrassment for Ruto as Key Figures Decline Job Offers.”
Mashriq
Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Mariam Barghouti at Drop Site News:
Israel launched a major military operation on Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, raiding the city with troops, military vehicles, and bulldozers backed by airstrikes, drones, and Apache helicopters. At least nine Palestinians have been killed and more than 40 wounded in the ongoing operation, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry, which Israel has dubbed “Operation Iron Wall.”
[…]
Tuesday’s operation came just two days after the start of the “ceasefire” in Gaza, whose first phase is supposed to last for six weeks. Israeli ministers and media reports have suggested the military operations in Jenin and other areas of the West Bank are part of a deal Netanyahu made with his cabinet ahead of the ceasefire in Gaza.
Eric Reidy in The New Humanitarian: “Gaza Ceasefire: The Sobering Reality of a Day After That May Never Come.”
Sara Halimah and Salmaan Keshavjee at Carnegie’s Emissary:
The prolonged war has left a broken health system. According to the UN, only half of the thirty-six hospitals in Gaza are partially operational, and only 38 percent of primary healthcare facilities are functional. The supply of fuel, medical supplies, equipment, and deployment of specialist staff to sustain these facilities will be essential in the coming days and weeks. And as people return to what was once their homes as the ceasefire continues, health needs in different geographical areas will dramatically shift.
Given these circumstances, healthcare delivery must be scaled up to meet demand, both inside Gaza and by transporting some patients elsewhere. Inside Gaza, mobile health units can help provide immediate relief. Rather than focusing on single-disease treatment, these mobile units should be designed and deployed to provide comprehensive care directly to communities. These services include primary healthcare, emergency care, obstetric care, surgery, and rehabilitation. This bespoke model could provide needed flexibility and access while focusing on patient outcomes within Gaza.
Raya Jalabi and Sarah Dadouch at the Financial Times: “Syria to Dismantle Assad-Era Socialism, Says Foreign Minister.” The headline aside, the most interesting part of the interview to me was Shaibani’s comments on the Syrian Democratic Forces:
“The existence of the SDF no longer has justification,” Shaibani said, adding that authorities pledged to guarantee Kurdish rights in the new constitution and ensure their representation in the government."
Related, from Reuters’ Orhan Qereman: “Exclusive: Syrian Kurdish Forces Oppose Handing Jihadist Jails to Islamist Rulers.”
The Syria Report’s Jihad Yazigi reflects on his “short trip to Damascus, from January 9 to 14, for the first time in 13 years.” One excerpt from his thread:
Not a single person I met (and I met many from minority communities) regretted the regime, not even one. And the defining feature of my trip was the sense of hope I felt everywhere. However, there is some nuance between Syrians coming from abroad, who are overwhelmed with joy and generally very optimistic about the future, and those inside, who are relieved by the end of the regime, but some of whom also have concerns. Clearly, those inside Syria have adapted to their very difficult life, learned to survive in their very difficult circumstances. December 8 was a great relief, but it forces them to adapt to a new change without them knowing where the road ends. Should anything bad happen, expats/refugees can fly back to their countries of refuge; Syrian residents will not have that option.
Marsin Alshamary and Hamzeh Hadad at Brookings: “Iraq’s Search for Security and Sovereignty after Assad’s Collapse.”
Fahad Abduljadayel and Christine Burke for Bloomberg: “Saudi Arabia Faces Investor Doubts Over Big Mining Ambition.”
Bijan Khajehpour at Amwaj Media: “Iran’s Government Wary of Upheaval Amid Mounting Pressure to Ax Fuel Subsidies.” My unsolicited advice: don’t remove them (see Nigeria).