Mali - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Mali political parties request elections after junta shuns transition promise

POLITICAL parties in Mali have requested a time frame for presidential elections after the ruling junta failed to organise polls within a promised 24-month transition back to democracy. Mali has been under military rule since August 2020, the first of eight coups in West and Central Africa over four years, including in its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger. Regional blocs have been trying to negotiate transitions but the interim governments are dragging their feet. Mali's current junta seized power in a second 2021 coup and later promised to take 24 months from March 2022 to restore civilian rule, with a start date…

Mar

2024

By THIERNO THIOUNE

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger hint at a new west African currency: what it’ll take for it to succeed

BUSINESS

ON 11 February 2024, the head of Niger’s ruling military junta, General Abdourahmane Tiani, spoke of the possible creation of a common currency with Burkina Faso and Mali. “The currency is a first step toward breaking free from the legacy of colonisation,” he said on national TV, referring to the CFA franc inherited from French colonisation. THIERNO THIOUNE, enseignant-chercheur, directeur du CREA, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, three former French colonies, have experienced military coups in recent years. They’re now all ruled by military regimes. They also formed a new defence alliance, known as…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Junta-led Sahel states to form joint force to fight insurgents

NEWS

JUNTA-LED Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali have agreed to set up a joint force to tackle security threats across their territories, Niger's armed forces chief Moussa Salaou Barmou said after a meeting with his counterparts. The decision is the latest sign of closer alignment to emerge since the three neighbours in West Africa's insurgency-torn central Sahel region severed military ties with longstanding allies including France and formed a cooperation pact known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). In a televised statement, Barmou said the new task force would be "operational as soon as possible to meet the security challenges," but did…

Mar

2024

By The African Mirror

Death toll in Mali bus accident rises to 40

NEWS

THE death toll in a bus accident near the southern Malian town of Kenieba on Tuesday has risen to 40, Burkina Faso's government said in a statement, adding that its citizens were among the dead. Mali's transport ministry said that at least 31 people were killed when a bus bound for Burkina Faso plunged off a bridge over a river.

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

West Africa trade will take a hit as Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso leave Ecowas

BUSINESS

THE membership of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has been whittled down from 15 to 12 following the unilateral withdrawal of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in February. Founded in 1975, Ecowas is one of eight regional economic communities recognised by the African Union to foster regional integration on the continent. Its main objective is to create a single, large trading bloc through economic cooperation. OLIVIER WALTHER, Assistant Professor in Geography, University of Florida Since 1975, Ecowas and its sister organisation the West African Economic and Monetary Union (known by its French acronym, Uemoa) have implemented numerous…

Feb

2024

By FELIX ONUAH

West African bloc lifts sanctions on junta-led Niger

NEWS

THE West African regional bloc said that it would lift strict sanctions on Niger as it seeks a new strategy to dissuade three junta-led states from withdrawing from the political and economic union - a move that threatens regional integration. Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) met to address a political crisis in the coup-hit region that deepened in January with military-ruled Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali's decision to exit the 15-member bloc. After closed-door talks, ECOWAS said it had decided to lift Niger sanctions including border closures, the freezing of central bank and state assets, and the…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Three dead as bus carrying B2Gold employees attacked in Mali

NEWS

B2Gold Corp said that three of its employees died after sustaining injuries in an attack on an employee transport convoy in Mali. A bus transporting B2Gold employees from the Fekola Mine to Bamako was attacked approximately 75 kilometres west of Bamako, the Canadian miner said. Mining and processing activities at the Fekola mine have not been impacted by the incident, B2Gold said, adding that it is working with the Malian government to understand further details of the attack. Initial reports indicate several other employees travelling on the bus were wounded, all of whom have been transported to a local hospital,…

Feb

2024

By JOE BAVIER and BOUREIMA BALIMA

For West African juntas, CFA franc pits sovereignty against expediency

NEWS

DAYS after Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced last month they were quitting the West Africa political union ECOWAS, Burkina Faso's military ruler Ibrahim Traore was already naming his next target: the region's CFA franc currency. "It's not just the currency. Anything that maintains us in slavery, we'll break those bonds," the 35-year-old army captain turned coup leader said in an interview, posted on YouTube. The three countries jointly announced on Jan. 28 they were pulling out of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after it pressured them to restore constitutional order following a string of coups. Having…

Feb

2024

By CAMILLUS EBOH

West Africa bloc urges Burkina, Niger and Mali not to withdraw

NEWS

THE West African regional bloc ECOWAS pushed junta-led Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali to reconsider their decision to quit the political and economic alliance, it said, warning of the hardships the move would force on their citizens. The three countries' self-appointed military leaders jointly announced on January 28 that they were abandoning the bloc after it pressured them to restore constitutional order following a string of coups. Their departure threatens to further weaken ECOWAS, which has struggled to curtail a retreat of democracy in West Africa that started with a military takeover in Mali in 2020. Its mediation and security council met…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger want to leave Ecowas. A political scientist explains the fallout

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

MALI, Burkina Faso and Niger have sent Ecowas, west Africa’s main political union of 15 countries, a formal notice of their withdrawal from the bloc. The three countries are governed by military rulers who have overthrown democratically elected leaders since 2021. The Conversation Africa’s Godfred Akoto Boafo asked political scientist Olayinka Ajala about the implications of the withdrawal. OLAYINKA AJALA, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Leeds Beckett University Why are Mali, Benin and Burkina Faso withdrawing? The three countries have given three main reasons. First is what they call the “illegal, illegitimate, inhumane and irresponsible sanctions” imposed on…