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Dakar — A 72-hour nationwide strike launched on October 21, 2026, has plunged Senegal into a fresh wave of social unrest, with labor unions accusing authorities of failing to honor signed agreements while thousands of workers prepare for possible disruptions. The walkout, called by a coalition of major unions, underscores deepening frustration over unmet promises, delayed payments, and deteriorating working conditions—issues that now threaten to overshadow the country’s global standing as it prepares to host the Youth Olympic Games. From wage delays to administrative chaos: the roots of worker discontent The strike is not merely about pay disputes—it reflects years of pent-up grievances across critical sectors. In education, the G7 coalition of seven unions has taken the lead, citing gov...

Alors que les attaques continuent de frapper le nord-est du Mali et de provoquer des déplacements de population, le massacre de Tagadayat relance les interrogations sur l’efficacité de la stratégie sécuritaire du pays. Des enquêtes journalistiques antérieures estiment à près de 900 millions de dollars le coût du partenariat militaire russe entre 2021 et 2025. Un montant considérable qui pose la question des résultats obtenus sur le terrain. MÉNAKA, Mali — Le bilan est une nouvelle fois lourd pour les populations civiles. Plus de 40 personnes ont été tuées dimanche 18 octobre 2026 à Tagadayat, près de Tinabow, dans la région de Ménaka, au nord-est du Mali. Selon plusieurs sources locales et sécuritaires rapportées lundi par l’Agence France-Presse (AFP), les assaillants, circulant à moto, o...

As Niger grapples with worsening fuel shortages, the transitional government has taken a drastic step to silence dissent by banning all public demonstrations related to oil sector management. Under the guise of ‘public security,’ authorities led by Interior Minister General Mohamed Toumba issued an outright prohibition on marches and sit-ins scheduled for October 21 by the Citizens' Collective for National Salvation. From oil wealth to energy poverty: why Niger’s fuel crisis reveals systemic failure The protest ban comes at a critical moment—fuel scarcity has now reached Niamey’s streets, with long queues forming outside gas stations. For a country producing and exporting crude oil, this paradox highlights deep structural and political flaws in the hydrocarbons sector. Several interconne...

From military partners to economic players: the rise of Russia’s gold-for-security model The Central African Republic has become a testing ground for a new kind of geopolitical exchange: security in return for gold. What began as a military partnership under the Wagner Group banner has quietly evolved into an intricate web of economic influence, with revenues exceeding $400 million annually. Now, as the Sahel’s military regimes reassess their alliances, the fallout from this model is sparking urgent debate about sovereignty, transparency, and the true cost of security partnerships. At the center of the storm is Pavel Prigojine, the 28-year-old heir to what was once Wagner’s African empire. Following his father’s death in a 2023 plane crash, he not only maintained but expanded the group’s...

What really sits behind Benin's $730 million AIIB pipeline for 2027-2028When Benin and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank put their signatures to a $730 million indicative pipeline for 2027-2028 on September 24, the headline number travelled fast. The mechanics behind it travelled far more slowly. Understanding what this arrangement actually is — and what it is not — explains why officials in Cotonou treat it as a milestone while the bank itself keeps repeating a word that rarely makes headlines: preparation.The figure is a roadmap, not a cash transferNothing in the agreement locks in immediate disbursement. The $730 million is an indicative envelope designed to frame how future projects in energy, transport and climate resilience will be identified and prepared. Each individual oper...

BAMAKO — On Thursday, October 1, 2026, Mali officially opened its 2026-2027 academic year. The occasion was meant to be grand: transitional president General Assimi Goïta had declared it the "Year of Education and Culture." But the official slogan runs headlong into a brutal truth. More than 2,400 schools will not reopen their doors nationwide — a grim record that leaves over 730,000 children without instruction and exposes the strategic dead end into which Bamako's military government has sunk. How schools became the frontline of a deepening insurgency Nationwide, more than one in five schools is now out of service. This collapse is no accident. It stems directly from the steady territorial expansion of armed terrorist groups. Islamist katibas that reject so-called "Western" education l...

Benin has once again shown that a small West African economy can punch above its weight in global capital markets. Working alongside the African Development Bank Group, Cotonou has raised 500 million euros to bankroll a series of high-impact investments — an operation that reveals as much about financial engineering as it does about the country's spending plans. The anatomy of a successful eurobond At first glance, the headline number is straightforward: half a billion euros for Benin's priority projects. But the real story lies in how the money was secured. The bond carries a 12-year maturity, a profile that is increasingly rare for sub-Saharan issuers in today's volatile rate environment. That outcome was not accidental. It rested on a partial credit guarantee from the African Developme...

Coordinated assaults expose a strategic playbook Two simultaneous armed attacks struck Burkina Faso on Saturday, September 26, revealing a level of operational planning that continues to challenge the country's defense forces. In the Koulpélogo province in the Centre-East, a Burkinabè soldier was killed during an assault on a military position at Lalgaye. At the same time, in the north around Ouahigouya, coordinated incursions destroyed heavy equipment. The attacks were claimed on Thursday, October 1, by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), underscoring the sustained security pressure armed groups are exerting on the defense and security forces. Lalgaye: a military outpost targeted Saturday, September 26, saw a sharp spike in violence in the Koulpélogo province, part of ...

Ouagadougou — On 30 September 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power in Burkina Faso by toppling Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba. Four years on, the young junta leader presents his tenure as a radical reset: reclaiming territory, strengthening the armed forces, asserting national sovereignty and breaking with several Western partners. Yet behind that official narrative, the record remains fiercely contested — particularly on civilian safety, displacement and public freedoms. The war on armed groups: a defining priority From the moment he took office, Traoré made the fight against jihadist groups his foremost objective. His government bolstered the armed forces and expanded the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP), civilian auxiliaries enlisted to support the m...

Lamu, Kenya — September 30, 2026. Benin's President Romuald Wadagni took a decisive step into Africa's energy future on Wednesday, joining the groundbreaking ceremony for East Africa's landmark refinery at Lamu on Kenya's northern coast, spearheaded by the group of Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote. This is a turning point. By standing alongside several African leaders at the launch of a project billed as one of the continent's most consequential industrial undertakings, Wadagni signaled Benin's readiness to engage with the new dynamics reshaping African oil refining. A continental gathering at the heart of East Africa's oil gamble The ceremony drew a remarkable roster of African leaders. Alongside Wadagni were Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Togolese President Jean-Lucien Savi de T...

Air Sénégal crew suspension: the real fallout for travellers, trade and the Dakar-Paris routeReporting from Dakar, Léa-Lisa WesterhoffThe decision landed on 17 September: every steward and stewardess assigned to the Dakar-Paris route was grounded, pending an internal inquiry to establish who was responsible, a source inside Air Sénégal confirms.At the heart of the matter are suspicions that crew members carried parcels for payment. In plain terms, some staff are believed to have agreed to transport goods in exchange for a set rate per kilo — an activity widely known as a "GP", banned by Air Sénégal and linked to merchandise trafficking. So far, the airline has said nothing about what those parcels contained.How the route keeps flying with a Georgian crewSince the suspension, the cabin crew...