Dakar to Riyadh: Links for 8/2/2024
News and analysis from the Sahel, North Africa, the Horn, and the Middle East.
Sahel and West Africa
In Niger, the anniversary of the July 2023 coup has come and gone. Overthrown President Mohamed Bazoum remains under arrest, but four ministers - those for Finance, Energy, Planning, and Interior - have been granted “provisional liberty.” Aoife McCullough takes a deep look at trends in violence under the junta.
Mali - and even to some extent Paris, Washington, and elsewhere - are buzzing with news of a serious defeat for the Malian Armed Forces and the Wagner Group/Africa Corps at Tinzaouaten. Who exactly were they fighting - rebels, jihadists, or both? Whatever your answer, it has significant political import. Meanwhile, the Malian authorities are opting for a predictable response: airstrikes.
Tensions between Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and the media in Senegal.
The BBC reports (video) from Katsina, Nigeria on child hunger.
The FT has a new documentary (video) on Nigeria’s “oil curse.”
Bloomberg: “Understanding Nigeria’s Currency Slump, and What Happens Next.”
North Africa
Algeria’s Constitutional Court has approved three candidates for the 7 September presidential elections: President Abdelmajdid Tebboune, socialist candidate Youcef Aouchiche, and Islamist candidate Abdelaali Hassani Cherif.
An anti-corruption investigation brings arrests at Tunisia’s national airline.
ISPI has a new set of briefs on Libya: “Libya’s Protracted Crisis, Ten Years of Electoral Deadlock.”
Peter Tinti with a new report: “Tackling the Niger-Libya Migration Route: How Armed Conflict in Libya Shapes the Agadez Mobility Economy.”
Greater Horn of Africa
Sudan’s army leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, says the military will not join talks next month in Switzerland aimed at ending more than a year of fighting with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Al-Burhan made the statement on Wednesday, shortly after the military said he survived a drone strike on a military graduation at the Gibeit army base in eastern Sudan that killed at least five people.
Kenya’s protests have echoed in Uganda. Gilbert Nuwagira argues that “most Ugandans like myself are trying to escape living in the luxurious discomfort of spectator citizenship.” In Kenya’s crisis, Ken Opalo sees implications for economic management across Africa: “So far official reaction to the Kenyan protests vividly illustrates African elites’ unreadiness to honestly confront the challenges facing the region.”
Samuel Getachew: “Ethiopia Floats Its Currency in a Bid to Secure Loans.” The IMF loans Ethiopia $3.4 billion.
Since May, the Islamic State (IS) in Somalia has been increasingly active in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. After airstrikes by the United States in May targeted IS positions and threatened the life of its leader, Abdulqadir Mumin, the Somalia branch of IS has waged several attacks on security forces and business centers, locking horns with al-Shabaab for control of strategic mountain ranges in Puntland. Elsewhere in Somalia, violent inter-clan fighting took place in the Mudug and Galgaduud regions of Galmudug state. In Lower Juba, Somali security forces intensified operations against al-Shabaab while the militant group continued to engage with security forces to protect its strongholds.
Mashriq
Hamas’ longtime political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran on 31 July. Mat Nashed assesses the ramifications. Meanwhile, a previous Israeli strike on 30 July killed Fouad Shukur, a top Hezbollah leader, in Beirut. Then, on August 1, Israeli authorities claimed to have killed Hamas’ military chief, Mohammed Deif, in a 13 July airstrike on Gaza. Talk of possible escalations, retaliations, and regional war is rising.
Diana Buttu on reports of Israeli soldiers raping Palestinian prisoners at the Sde Teiman base, and the wider politics surrounding the situation.
In Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in as president on 30 July.
Bilge Yesil on Turkey “talking back to the West” (title of her new book):
I began to systematically follow state-run and other loyalist media organizations and their English-language communicative activities. I examined a wide range of media content, from documentaries and television series to news stories and social media messaging. Over time, I noticed a set of recurring narratives that comprised the government’s global communication: Turkey as a benevolent force reshaping the global order; the West as a morally bankrupt and declining hegemon; Muslims as victims of Western hegemony; and Turkish Muslim civilization as superior.
Amwaj Media: “Amid ‘Politicization’ Claims, Iraq Prepares for First Census after Saddam.”