The Sahelian juntas have signed a military alliance as jihadist and separatist groups step up their attacks, As Mali s military regime pursues its drive to reassert central government authority over the Kidal region hitherto dominated by Tuareg former separatists, conflict has spread across the north, with jihadists seizing the opportunity to step up their own attacks west of Timbuktu (AC Vol 64 No 18, As Bamako pushes out the UN, Islamists seize new opportunities).
A palace putsch fired by anger over a disputed election ends Ali Ben Bongo s rule but not the old elite s influence, The speed at which General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who is due to be sworn in as transitional president on 4 September, has consolidated power suggests his putsch against President Ali Ben Bongo Ondimba in the early hours of 30 August had been well prepared among a few senior officers and politicians, many nursing personal grievances against the regime.
The mercenary Wagner group will be the main beneficiary as international peacekeepers prepare to quit and jihadists step up attacks, Malian junta leader Col Assimi Goïta pronounced himself very satisfied on his Twitter account following a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on 14 June. The two men discussed Russian deliveries of wheat, fertiliser and fuel, while Goïta also thanked Putin for the latter s assistance in fighting terrorism and stabilising the situation in Mali.
Clashes between jihadist groups are increasing as they seek to strengthen their territorial control, Jama a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), the Sahel s largest jihadist umbrella alliance, is under pressure from an aggressive fightback by Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), determined to reinforce its hold over much of Ménaka region in north-east Mali.
Ouagadougou is set to be the next military regime to invite Russian mercenaries after giving France a month for its troops to leave, Captain Ibrahim Traoré s regime has brushed aside the concerns of fellow members of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) and gone even further than Mali and demanded the departure of French troops. At the end of January his government cancelled the 2018 defence agreement governing France s military presence in Burkina Faso, amid signs that it is now turning to Russia, probably the Wagner Group, for support.