Military officers ousted President Ali Bongo on August 30, just minutes after Gabon’s national electoral body proclaimed the incumbent as the winner of the August 26 general elections. Bongo was placed under house arrest as hundreds of people took to the streets in Libreville to celebrate the ouster of a family that has ruled Gabon for 56 years

France refuses to withdraw its ambassador and troops from Niger, and reiterates its threat of supporting military invasion by ECOWAS, while the regional bloc itself is “determined to bend backwards to accommodate diplomatic efforts”   

The CNSP has proposed a three-year transition period for Niger as ECOWAS threatens increasingly-unpopular military action. Nigeriens have continued to take to the streets to demand the removal of foreign troops from their soil and for the lifting of “inhumane” sanctions

Niger’s popular military government has been consolidating domestic and regional support. Meanwhile, ECOWAS is beset by disunity and domestic opposition after threatening military intervention to restore the ousted Mohamed Bazoum with the backing of France and US 

Ghanaian journalist Esther Yiadom reflects on the different social, economic, and geopolitical motivations behind the coup in Niger

The West African Peoples’ Organization said ECOWAS’ threat of military intervention was a maneuver by colonial France and Great Britain, under the hegemony of US imperialism. With Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso extending support to Niger’s new government, any use of force by ECOWAS may hurl the entire sub-region into war

The coup in Niger follows coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea. Each of these was led by military officers angered by the presence of French and US troops and by economic crises inflicted on their countries

ECOWAS has threatened military intervention if deposed President Mohamed Bazoum is not restored in a week. Bazoum was overthrown in a coup by officers who have received support from thousands in the country

The people of Martinique and Guadeloupe have been facing the consequences of chlordecone poisoning for decades. A new initiative has announced it is ready to take forward the struggle for justice

At least 16 people were killed after protests broke out in Senegal following the sentencing of leading opposition figure Ousmane Sonko to two years in prison. Mass public unrest has grown against President Macky Sall and the continued neo-colonial exploitation of the country by France

Looking ahead, the real danger is that, having failed to get the Taliban to bend while also unable to build an anti-Taliban resistance movement or incite the Central Asian states to decouple from Moscow and Beijing, the US and its allies may now be left with the only remaining option, which is to create anarchical conditions in Afghanistan where there are no winners

Roger Waters was invited to speak at the UNSC by Russia and called for a ceasefire but was criticized by Ukraine and the US. He has been critical of the West’s supply of weapons to Ukraine, which he claims may prolong the war