Dakar to Riyadh: Links for 1/3/2025

News and analysis from the Sahel, North Africa, the Horn, and the Middle East

Last week’s links are here.

Sahel and West Africa

Senegalese President Diomaye Faye fired a top staffer after the latter called Senegalese soldiers who fought in the World Wars “traitors.”

Mauritania launched a national campaign to vaccine livestock and protect pastures.

Two major kidnappings occurred in Mali in the past week or so: (1) a major Sufi leader, Amadou Hady Tall (a descendant of the famous 19th-century jihad leader Umar Tall) was kidnapped by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wa-l-Muslimin (the Group for Supporting Islam and Muslims, JNIM); and (2) Ibrahim Nabi Togola, an anti-junta politician, was kidnapped by unknown attackers in the capital Bamako.

UN Web TV: “From the 2020 coup d'état to neglected tropical diseases, Malian photographer John Kalapo documents in photo and video the daily life of this West African country. He focuses on the beauty of people and was recently featured in a global exhibition supported by the United Nations.”

Burkina Faso’s transitional national assembly adopted an amnesty/pardon (depends on who you ask) for people involved in the 2015 failed coup.

Also in Burkina Faso, two men convicted of participating in a 2017 attack on a café in Ouagadougou received life sentences.

Alamin Umar for HumAngle: “ISWAP’s ‘Tax’ System is Bleeding Farmers Dry in Northeastern Nigeria.”

Camillus Eboh at Reuters: “Nigeria Steps Up Crackdown on Oil Theft As It Targets 3 Million Bpd Production.”

Chad held local, provincial, and legislative elections on December 29, ending the country’s 3.5-year transition following the death of longtime President Idriss Deby in 2021. Prominent politician Succès Masra says the country now needs a new transition.

North Africa

Al Jazeera: “US Military Releases Long-Held Guantanamo Detainee to Tunisia.” More at Webdo and Middle East Eye.

Algeria takes the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of January.

In Algeria, the Tirek and Amesmessa gold mines in Tamanrasset province are restarting production.

Middle East Eye: “Morocco: Hopelessness and Social Media Drive Youth to Risk Their Lives to Reach Europe.”

MSF: “Abu Sanad was aboard a boat in distress in international waters when armed men arrived from Libya. They took the women and children at gunpoint onto their fast boat before @MSF reached the scene.”

Abdulkader Assad for Libya Observer: “Haftar's Forces Seize Control of Ubari's Tendi Military Camp Affiliated with Presidential Council.”

Greater Horn of Africa

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2767 endorsed the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia. Faisal Ali gives context at The Guardian, and Balqiis Insights sounds notes of skepticism: “On financing, key decisions have been deferred to May, and the composition of the mission remains a mystery.”

Reuters: “Ethiopia Defence Minister Visits Somalia, in Sign of Detente.”

On December 30, Nairobi saw major protests over police detentions of youth who criticized the government.

Julian Pecquet for The Africa Report: “Kenya on Track for IMF Funding as Central Bank Governor Highlights Economic Resilience.”

Sanjana Varghese et al. in the New York Times: “How ‘Trophy’ Videos Link Paramilitary Commanders to War Crimes in Sudan.”

Yusra Abdullahi at Geeska:

The Somali Youth League (SYL), known in Somali as Ururka Dhalinyarada Soomaaliyeed, was established in 1943 in Mogadishu. Formerly called the Somali Youth Club, the SYL was the first of its kind, transforming from a local grassroots movement into a nationalist organisation with international reach. It played a significant role in Somalia’s struggle for independence from the 1940s to the 1960s, fiercely resisting colonial rule in its various forms. The organisation also championed Pan-Somalism across the Somali territories in present-day Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti, envisioning territorial unification based on shared culture, language, and traditions. Although the notion of a Greater Somalia (Somaliweyn) was never realised, the nationalist league, composed primarily of young, well-educated Somalis, actively organised anti-colonial principles throughout its three decades of existence.

The League played a crucial role in shaping Somalia’s future during the 1950–1960 period, as the United Nations (UN) placed Italian Somaliland under its International Trusteeship System.

Mashriq

Justin Salhani at Al Jazeera: “The End of Fear in Syria.”

Yaniv Kubvich at Haaretz: “‘Flatten’ Gaza, Halt Aid: The Israeli Division Commander Overseeing Gaza's Brutal Netzarim Corridor.”

Nevzat Devranoglu in Reuters: “Turkey Announces $14 Billion Regional Development Plan for Kurdish Southeast.”

Emir Nader at the BBC: “Gaza Babies Dying from the Cold As Winter Temperatures Drop.”

Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut: “The Palestinian Authority has suspended Al Jazeera’s operations in the Occupied West Bank after continued coverage of the PA’s raid’s on armed Palestinian fighters in Jenin.”

Karim Abadani in Muftah: “What is the Islamic Republic of Iran During a Genocide?”

The Washington Post: “U.S. Amplifies Strikes on Yemen’s Houthis As Tensions with Israel Flare.”

AFP: “Saudi Executes at Least 338 People in 2024: AFP Tally.”