Category: Authoritarian Regimes & Africa

Rabat recently reiterated its steadfast support for Mali before the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU PSC), unequivocally condemning the synchronized terrorist and separatist assaults that rocked the West African nation last Saturday. During the AU PSC session focused on Mali’s evolving situation, the Moroccan delegation expressed its strongest condemnation of the “terrorist and separatist attacks targeting civilian and military zones.” The delegation extended profound sympathy and sincere condolences to the victims’ families and the Malian populace. Morocco’s representatives reaffirmed the Kingdom’s full backing for Malian sovereignty, security, stability,…

Deux personnes échangent des billets de Banque à Bamako, le 27 octobre 2023 📷 Studio Tamani/Fondation Hirondelle Mali has experienced a setback in the 2025 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The West African nation slipped from the 135th position to 136th globally, now finding itself behind regional allies Niger and Burkina Faso, members of the AES confederation. The Corruption Perception Index is a crucial tool for evaluating countries’ efforts in combating corruption. In 2025, a total of 182 nations were assessed. Mali, scoring 28 out of 100, landed at…

Click to expand Image (Nairobi) – The military junta governing Burkina Faso detained three journalists on March 24, 2025, for their reporting on the government’s escalating crackdown on media, Human Rights Watch announced today. Authorities apprehended Guezouma Sanogo and Boukari Ouoba, who serve as president and vice-president of the Association of Journalists of Burkina (AJB) respectively, along with Luc Pagbelguem, a journalist from the private television channel BF1, in the capital city of Ouagadougou. The current whereabouts of these three individuals remain unknown, raising serious concerns about potential enforced disappearances.…

Since the military coup on July 26, 2023, Nigerien authorities have engaged in arbitrary arrests of numerous former government officials and have actively suppressed critical media and peaceful dissent, according to recent statements by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. These organizations urge the authorities to immediately release individuals detained for politically motivated reasons and to ensure that all due process guarantees are rigorously upheld. On July 26, General Abdourahmane Tiani, alongside other Nigerien army officers forming the self-proclaimed National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland (CNSP), overthrew the…

The military takeover orchestrated by General Tiani, which led to the ousting of President Bazoum in Niger on July 26, marks the latest in a series of such events across the Sahel. Since 2020, the Sahel region has witnessed six coups; Niger’s adds a seventh to this concerning tally. The reactions from both regional and international stakeholders have been unprecedented in their intensity, yet simultaneously more fractured and uncertain than in prior instances. This particular coup raises profound international concerns and potentially graver risks than its predecessors. Indeed, we may…