By Anait Miridzhanian DAKAR (Reuters) -At dawn on June 1, gunfire shattered the stillness of Mali’s military base in Boulkessi. Waves of jihadist insurgents from an al-Qaeda-linked group stormed the camp, catching newly deployed soldiers off guard. Some troops, unfamiliar with the base, which lies near Mali’s southern border with Burkina Faso, scrambled to find…
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Video footage circulating on social networks of a recent civilian massacre in Burkina Faso appears to implicate government-allied militia, Human Rights Watch said, calling on authorities to investigate and prosecute all those responsible. According to testimonies collected by the watchdog, security forces and allied militias carried out large-scale operations in the…
Three military-ruled countries have officially withdrawn from the West African regional alliance known as ECOWAS, the bloc said on Wednesday, defying pressure from the group to return the countries to civilian democratic rule. The alliance, the Economic Community of West African States, offers its members visa-free travel, favorable trade tariffs and access to a $702…
Beijing’s push for renewable energy projects across Africa has been highlighted at a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of a new Chinese-led geothermal power plant project to be built in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. State-owned energy and construction company PowerChina will build the 35-megawatt Orpower 22 geothermal plant at the Menengai Crater, with the facility…