The United States said Wednesday that Sudan's rival forces have both committed war crimes in their brutal conflict and alleged a new ethnic cleansing campaign in scarred Darfur.
Geographic definitions of the #Sahel region vary. Commonly, it stretches from #Senegal on the Atlantic coast, through parts of #Mauritania, #Mali, #BurkinaFaso, #Niger, #Nigeria, #Chad and #Sudan to #Eritrea on the Red Sea coast.
Now add to this map, the latest military coups (incl. Wagner/Russia or not):
The boss lady on a #Caturday morning, after celebrating #TheGlobalJigsaw 's New York Festivals award... yet despite the jolly distraction, she subbed and updated our latest episode on #drones - including #Iran attacking #Israel , a deep dive into the #UkraineWar and drone use in the #Sahel , plus a bit of #Drone history from the Queen bee on and #Shahed and #Bayraktar production - tune in, #CatsOfMastodon, you'll like it:
It has a lot of interesting stuff you might not heard about: #uranium , #fertility rate, #German training base, #US investment in #Agadez , #Russia - Africa summit, #Wagner, Dugin, etc - please tune in and let me know if you have any questions
France’s Long Legacy of Colonialism Lives on in Sahel Crisis
"The invisible yet rampant exploitation of the postcolonial period, Françafrique meant colonialism without responsibility; the exploitation of African labor, resources and independence itself for foreign profit."
"French policy has heightened local conflicts: propping up undemocratic regimes, killing thousands of civilians and strengthening the very military forces seizing power."
Niger’s military government sides with Russia in the latest sign of Moscow’s growing influence in Africa. Armed troops in Niger overthrew the government in July 2023, seizing power for themselves. The following months were rife with speculation that the military government would align with Moscow and possibly form ties with...
The reported death of the leader of the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash yesterday has raised tension and speculations around the world especially concerning the alleged plot by the militant group to back the military junta in Niger Republic....
The two separate attacks targeted the Timbuktu boat on the Niger river and an army position at Bamba, in the northern Gao region with "a provisional toll of 49 civilians and 15 soldiers killed", according to a government statement....
What has #Russia been up to in the Central #African Republic?
We explore this in BBC Monitoring's latest #TheGlobalJigsaw#podcast episode - a long labour of love for me and all featured in it. Subscribe, listen, share - a second part looking at Russia in the #Sahel will be out next week and more episodes to come on our interconnected worlds
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has deployed Beninese President Patrice Talon to the Niger Republic over the unfolding tension in the country. On Wednesday morning, a heavy military presence was reported at the presidential palace in Niamey, Niger’s capital city.
Russia is going to build a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso. This news was reported by Reuters, citing statements by the local Ministry of Energy. If the project is implemented, the country will become the third on the continent to have a nuclear power plant. One plant is built on French reactors and operates in South Africa....
The leaders of the three Sahel nations said it was a "sovereign decision" to leave the Economic Community of West African States "without delay." Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, said Sunday they are leaving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) immediately....
The disruption of oil exports from South Sudan after one of its key oil pipelines to international markets was damaged in February could further escalate already acute level of violence and in security in the country, experts have warned....
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) press release 17. May 2023 - "There is a 66% likelihood that the annual average near-surface global #temperature between 2023 and 2027 will be more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for at least one year. There is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years, and the five-year period as a whole, will be the warmest on record.
“This report does not mean that we will permanently exceed the 1.5°C level specified in the Paris Agreement which refers to long-term warming over many years. However, WMO is sounding the alarm that we will breach the 1.5°C level on a temporary basis with increasing frequency,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.
“A warming El Niño is expected to develop in the coming months and this will combine with human-induced climate change to push global temperatures into uncharted territory,” he said. “This will have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management and the environment. We need to be prepared,” said Prof. Taalas."
Key points
The average global temperature in 2022 was about 1.15°C above the 1850-1900 average. The cooling influence of La Niña conditions over much of the past three years temporarily reined in the longer-term warming trend. But La Niña ended in March 2023 and an El Niño is forecast to develop in the coming months. Typically, El Niño increases global temperatures in the year after it develops – in this case this would be 2024.
The annual mean global near-surface temperature for each year between 2023 and 2027 is predicted to be between 1.1°C and 1.8°C higher than the 1850-1900 average. This is used as a baseline because it was before the emission of greenhouse gases from human and industrial activities.
There is a 98% chance of at least one in the next five years beating the temperature record set in 2016, when there was an exceptionally strong El Niño.
The chance of the five-year mean for 2023-2027 being higher than the last five years is also 98%.
#Arctic warming is disproportionately high. Compared to the 1991-2020 average, the temperature anomaly is predicted to be more than three times as large as the global mean anomaly when averaged over the next five northern hemisphere extended winters.
Predicted precipitation patterns for the May to September 2023-2027 average, compared to the 1991-2020 average, suggest increased rainfall in the #Sahel, northern #Europe, #Alaska and northern #Siberia, and reduced rainfall for this season over the #Amazon and parts of #Australia.
This is a one source piece by AP, but might be right:
Niger’s #junta rulers ask for help from #Russian group #Wagner as it faces military intervention threat
La répétition de coups d’Etats dans des pays du Sahel, qui s’est accompagnée d’une brutale dégradation des relations diplomatiques avec la France, accrédite l’existence d’une crise sahélienne. Dans des pays dont la population est encore très majoritairement rurale et agricole, nous questionnons les ressorts agraires de cette crise.
Même si nous mettons l’accent sur les trois pays du centre ouest du Sahel (Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger), notre propos vaut aussi pour l’ensemble du Sahel (voir carte en bas de page).
Nous considérons par ce terme la zone de steppes soumise à un climat semi-aride qui s’étend autour du 13e parallèle (400-800mm de précipitations annuelles), séparant le désert saharien des zones de savanes soudaniennes3 plus humides, allant d’Ouest en Est du Sahel atlantique (Mauritanie et Sénégal) à la vallée du Nil (Soudan).
Ce questionnement des fondements agricoles de la crise implique de prendre en compte un temps plus long que l’écume de l’actualité et de considérer les transformations profondes qui affectent les territoires ruraux dans leur diversité.
US finds war crimes and ethnic cleansing in Sudan war (www.france24.com)
The United States said Wednesday that Sudan's rival forces have both committed war crimes in their brutal conflict and alleged a new ethnic cleansing campaign in scarred Darfur.
Russia has tightened its hold over the Sahel region – and now it’s looking to Africa’s west coast (theconversation.com)
Niger’s military government sides with Russia in the latest sign of Moscow’s growing influence in Africa. Armed troops in Niger overthrew the government in July 2023, seizing power for themselves. The following months were rife with speculation that the military government would align with Moscow and possibly form ties with...
Niger Crisis: Concerns in Niger as Wagner boss, Prigozhin, dies In plane crash (leadership.ng)
The reported death of the leader of the Russian mercenary group, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash yesterday has raised tension and speculations around the world especially concerning the alleged plot by the militant group to back the military junta in Niger Republic....
More than 60 killed in attacks on passenger boat and army base in Mali (www.france24.com)
The two separate attacks targeted the Timbuktu boat on the Niger river and an army position at Bamba, in the northern Gao region with "a provisional toll of 49 civilians and 15 soldiers killed", according to a government statement....
First French troops depart Niger as military junta beds in (www.euronews.com)
Anti-French protests outside embassy compound in Niamey marked a new hostility towards Paris's operations in the Sahel....
Niger Coup: Economic Community of West African States Deploys Benin President To Niger (www.thetidenewsonline.com)
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has deployed Beninese President Patrice Talon to the Niger Republic over the unfolding tension in the country. On Wednesday morning, a heavy military presence was reported at the presidential palace in Niamey, Niger’s capital city.
[Op Ed] Why Russia is building a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso (english.nv.ua)
Russia is going to build a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso. This news was reported by Reuters, citing statements by the local Ministry of Energy. If the project is implemented, the country will become the third on the continent to have a nuclear power plant. One plant is built on French reactors and operates in South Africa....
Cameroon Hosted Sahel Cross-Boundary Pastoralists Forum Proposes Peacekeeping (www.voanews.com)
Ministers from eight of Africa's Sahel region countries are meeting in Cameroon to try to end conflicts between farmers and nomadic herders
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger quit Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) (www.dw.com)
The leaders of the three Sahel nations said it was a "sovereign decision" to leave the Economic Community of West African States "without delay." Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, said Sunday they are leaving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) immediately....
South Sudan’s disrupted oil exports due to neighboring Sudan’s civil war could escalate insecurity (northafricapost.com)
The disruption of oil exports from South Sudan after one of its key oil pipelines to international markets was damaged in February could further escalate already acute level of violence and in security in the country, experts have warned....