Dakar to Riyadh: Links for 9/26/2025
News and analysis from the Sahel, North Africa, the Horn, and the Middle East
Last week’s links are here.
Sahel and West Africa
Senegal’s former President Macky Sall has released a new book about contemporary Africa’s global role.
The arrest of Mauritanian writer Ibrahima Ba has prompted a collective of political parties and civil society groups to issue a call for better treatment of migrants and Black Mauritanians.
Veterans of the Wagner Group are not complimentary about the Malian soldiers they worked with.
A fuel shortage is making life even harder in Mali.
Two Emiratis and an Iranian were kidnapped near Mali’s capital Bamako.
Maxwell Adombila at Reuters: “Ghana Communities Face Hazardous Toxin Levels Linked to Mining, Study Warns.”
Chijioke Ohuocha and Elisha Bala-Gbogbo for Reuters: “Nigeria Central Bank Cuts Key Rate for First Time Since 2020.”
Garhe Osiebe at Africa Is a Country: “In Nigeria, the drive to cut corners has turned food and drink into vectors of illness, sacrificing health and heritage at the altar of profit.”
North Africa
Maroc360 interviews Miloudi Moukharik, Secretary General of the Moroccan Labor Union (French acronym UMT).
Algeria’s missing General Nacer El Djinn appears to be seeking refuge in Spain.
Marine erosion threatens 260 kilometers of Tunisia’s coastline.
UN News: “The President of Libya’s Presidential Council upheld the principle of national sovereignty, unity and stability in his speech to the UN General Assembly on Thursday.”
Greater Horn of Africa
Mahitab Mahgoub at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy: “Rebuilding Khartoum: The Same Old Tale of Power and Exclusion.”
The BBC: “Why Kordofan Is Key in Sudan’s Civil War.”
Mark Townsend at the Guardian: “‘We Will Never, Ever Escape’: Inside the Ever-Tightening Siege of the Sudanese City of El Fasher.”
Al Jazeera (video): “Ethiopian Coffee Farmers Struggle with Costly EU Origin Regulations.”
Jeronimo Gonzalez at Semafor: “Kenya’s Ruto Pushes to Improve US Trade Relations.”
Geeska: “Mogadishu Sees Clashes Between Opposition and Government Forces.”
Robert Kluijver at the New Humanitarian, on al-Shabab’s governance approach:
The group’s economic policies reveal a sophisticated understanding of Somalia’s structural challenges. Al-Shabab promotes economic self-reliance, encouraging consumption of locally produced foods over imports like rice and pasta, and frowning on processed foods and soft drinks filled with “chemicals” as unhealthy foreign products.
The group regulates cash crop exports to ensure domestic markets aren’t undercut by export-oriented production, and some districts under their control have experienced faster growth than nearby government-controlled areas.
The BBC’s Paul Nije interviews Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
International Crisis Group: “Electoral Showdown in Somalia: Averting Another Round of Turmoil.”
Mashriq
The FT: “Microsoft Cuts Off Some Services to the Israeli Military.”
Al Jazeera: “What Syria’s President al-Sharaa Told UN in Historic Speech.”
Reuters’ Michelle Nichols: “Iran Is Facing a Return of UN Sanctions - What Happens now?”
Jon Gambrell at the AP: “Iran Has Likely Carried out an Undeclared Missile Test, Satellite Photos Analyzed by the AP Show.”
Ibrahim Jalal al Amwaj:
Earlier this month, Israel launched a surprise attack targeting Hamas leaders in Doha, a mediation capital. The strike destroyed civilian residences, killed a Qatari officer and injured several civilians, crossing new lines in the region. Israel’s non-intercepted bombing on Gulf soil—coupled with Iran’s June attack on US military installations at Qatar’s Al-Udeid Air Base—is a significant rupture. It has transformed Gulf Arab capitals, many once viewed as neutral and safe diplomatic hubs, into contested battlegrounds. It also indicates a shift from covert assassination operations akin to Mossad’s 2010 killing of a Hamas figure in Dubai into overt extraterritorial strikes without any regard for state sovereignty.
Jon Gambrell at the AP: “Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh, Dies.”
Patrick Wintour in the Guardian: “Yemen Needs Two-State Solution as No Prospect of Ousting Houthis, Says Southern Leader.”