Sierra Leone charged 12 individuals in connection with a failed coup attempt, according to a Wednesday statement from Minister of Information and Civic Education Chernor Bah. Among the accused is Amadu Koita, a former soldier and bodyguard to ex-President Ernest Bai Koroma. The charges encompass a range of offenses, including treason, misprision of treason, harbouring [...]
Search Results for: Gabon
Niger junta revokes law which restricted migrant smuggling routes to Europe
Niger’s junta issued a decree Monday revoking a law which had helped curb migration of West Africans to Europe. The law had been backed by the EU but faced strong opposition from certain regions of the country, who had depended on the migration routes for their economic survival. The migration law, originally passed in 2015, [...]
Sierra Leone declares nationwide curfew after attack on military barracks in Freetown
Sierra Leonean president Julius Maada Bio declared a nationwide curfew with immediate effect on Sunday, a few hours after several unidentified gunmen attacked the Military Barracks at Wilberforce in the capital Freetown in the morning. According to a statement released by Sierra Leonean Minister of Information and Civic Education Mustapha Jambai Massaquoi, the attackers were [...]
Security Council Paralysis in Face of Gaza Crisis Highlights Imperative of UN Reform
On November 15, 2023, more than five weeks after Hamas‘ heinous October 7 attack on Israel, and after thousands of lives were lost, the Security Council, the United Nations body with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, finally managed to pass a somewhat controversial resolution in response to the crisis. [...]
Uganda president claims Africa can grow without Western aid amid removal from US trade agreement
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday advised Ugandans not to be overly concerned about US President Joe Biden removing Uganda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). He stated that Africa has the capacity to grow without Western aid and that Western actors overestimate themselves. The AGOA is a major trade agreement that provides [...]
Why do coups d’état happen? Is it that bad leadership pushes people to their boiling points, compelling them to take matters into their own hands? Or is it a lack of adequate preventative laws? Do external factors play a role? And in Africa specifically, how much of an impact does history tend to have? Moreover, [...]
US President Joe Biden announced Monday that he will expel Gabon, Niger, Uganda and the Central African Republic (CAR) from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program due to their records on human rights and the rule of law. In a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Biden outlined his [...]
Gabon soldiers announce coup after release of disputed election results
A group of Gabonese soldiers announced on public television Wednesday that they had seized control of the country and canceled the results of its 2023 presidential election, just after incumbent President Ali Bongo was declared the winner amid claims of electoral fraud. The soldiers, part of the newly formed Committee for the Transition and Restoration [...]
UN removes Central African Republic peacekeepers after sexual assault allegations
The UN announced Friday that a Tanzanian unit of peacekeeping forces deployed with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) was removed after sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) allegations. The UN said that eleven members of the unit were found to have credible allegations from four victims. The entire [...]
Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland join UN Security Council
The UN Security Council Tuesday welcomed new members Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland. This is the first time Mozambique and Switzerland have held seats in the security council. The council consists of 15 countries. Five of them–China, France, Russia, the UK and the US–are permanent members with veto powers. The other ten members are elected [...]