El pasado fin de semana, los jefes de Estado de Burkina Faso, Malí y Níger se reunieron en la primera cumbre de la Alianza de Estados del Sahel.

The West African bloc has lifted a majority of the sweeping sanctions it had imposed on Niger, including border closures and a freezing of state assets. The move followed soon after Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso declared their withdrawal from ECOWAS after forming the Alliance of Sahel States

Land area under ECOWAS, which is condemned by West Africa’s popular movements as an agent of French imperialism, has been reduced to less than half after their withdrawal

On December 4, President Umaro Sissoco Embalo dissolved the National People’s Assembly citing an alleged coup attempt. The move followed just months after a coalition led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC) won a decisive majority in the elections

The West African regional bloc has decided to negotiate with Niamey for a “short transition roadmap” that can potentially lift sweeping economic sanctions. Meanwhile, Niger, along with Mali and Burkina Faso, is strengthening regional integration

Peoples Dispatch spoke with Sani Adamou to discuss the recent coups which he claims are expressions of widespread discontent

At the UN General Assembly, Mali and Burkina Faso reiterated their rejection of a military intervention against Niger, recalling the devastating 2011 NATO-led war on Libya and its role in fueling violence in the Sahel

La reciente formación de la Alianza de Estados del Sahel es una prueba más de la consolidación del sentimiento antifrancés en la región. Philippe Toyo Noudjenoume, Presidente de la Organización de los Pueblos de África Occidental, afirma que este sentimiento es especialmente fuerte en la región del Sahel pero es común en toda el África francófona

The recent formation of the Alliance of Sahel States is further proof of the consolidation of anti-French sentiment in the region. Philippe Toyo Noudjenoume, President of the West Africa Peoples’ Organization, says that this sentiment is especially strong in the Sahel region but is common throughout French-speaking Africa

As an ECOWAS military threat looms over Niger, the three countries have formally declared that any act of aggression against one will be considered an aggression against all. The leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have come to power in popularly-backed coups amid mass anti-French anger and rising insecurity in the Sahel

The commander of French forces in the Sahel has discussed disengagement from Niger, yet Macron has refused to withdraw troops, whose continued presence in Niger was deemed ‘illegal’

The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) has dismissed all petitions filed by the opposition challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 polls. The ruling was issued in the midst of a two-day strike organized by the Nigeria Labour Congress against the government’s economic policies