West Africa Archive

Since his arrival in the U.S. nearly two decades ago, Mohammed Jabbateh has dutifully cultivated the image of a hardworking immigrant, building up a container-shipping business in Philadelphia and supporting his family, including five children. But it is another image that helps explain why the Liberian will stand trial next week in federal court. A photograph taken during the West African nation’s 14-year-long period of civil conflict, and submitted as evidence by prosecutors, shows Jabbateh as an unsmiling young man in dark sunglasses surrounded by combatants. Known to Liberians as “Jungle Jabbah,” Jabbateh served as a commander in the United […]

With the arrest of 60 supporters of the Biafra separatist movement this week, Nigeria has taken a step closer to provoking a violent insurgency in the southeastern region of the country. As tensions rise, both the government and the separatists are threatening to push Nigeria further into conflict. In an email interview, Ryan Cummings, director of Signal Risk, an Africa-focused risk management consultancy, examines what is driving the Biafra separatist movement, the evolution in the government’s response and the risks if the conflict escalates. WPR: What is behind the surge in pro-Biafra activism, and what do these activists hope to […]

China signed an extraordinary $20 billion loan agreement with Guinea earlier this month, providing the West African country with much-needed financial resources over the next two decades in exchange for concessions and access to its abundant deposits of bauxite, an industrial aluminum ore that is in high demand. The first phase of the deal involves three separate Chinese mining infrastructure projects in the northwestern town of Boffa: a planned alumina refinery and two bauxite extraction operations. China is currently a top global consumer of bauxite, an industrial ore that is first refined into alumina, also known as aluminum oxide, and […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. As United Nations peacekeeping missions struggle to adapt to sharp budget cuts, one of the factors that could affect future funding levels is the organization’s response to persistent allegations of sexual abuse by U.N. troops. Speaking at the U.N. Security Council earlier this year, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., warned that the U.S. could withdraw money for missions that fail to combat abuse and hold perpetrators accountable. New evidence of the U.N.’s shortcomings in cracking down […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Despite two years of protests, Tunisian lawmakers this week approved a so-called economic reconciliation law that allows for amnesty for officials accused of corruption under former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the first head of state to fall during the 2011 Arab uprisings. Predictably, the move was condemned by opposition lawmakers and civil society activists. One MP said the law signified “the return of the dictatorial state,” while another described it as “an advanced stage of counter-revolution.” The […]

Niger’s president, Mahamadou Issoufou, is a central figure in two distinct but overlapping crises: the elevated flow of migrants from Africa to Europe and the insecurity in Africa’s Sahel region. In both crises, European leaders are increasingly looking to Issoufou to implement solutions. Issoufou has used his international prominence to play up his leadership at home, which may not be as secure as it seems. Within the migrant crisis, Niger is a key partner for European leaders who hope to both block migration and prevent it through economic development. The northern Nigerien city of Agadez is a hub for migrants […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. On his first overseas trip since becoming administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Mark Green’s most confrontational interaction occurred when he sat down with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. Giving voice to Washington’s frustration with the country’s four-year-old civil war, particularly the dangers facing humanitarian aid workers and reports of atrocities, Green told Kiir the Trump administration would be conducting “a complete review” of its policy toward the world’s youngest nation. Kiir, however, countered that Green’s view […]

During a rally in Senegal’s capital last month, a fiery and prominent political activist, Kemi Seba, launched into his customary, extended harangue against France’s influence over its former African colonies. As he criticized African leaders he said were pursuing French interests at the expense of their own citizens, Seba became especially impassioned discussing the continued reliance on the CFA franc, a currency backed by reserves held in France that is used by more than a dozen African countries. At one point, with cameras rolling, Seba said, “Here’s what I think about this money,” before setting a pale green 5,000 CFA […]

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Among the observers endorsing Kenya’s election last month were representatives of the European Union, the African Union and the Carter Center, whose delegation was led by former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Kenya’s Supreme Court, however, has disagreed with their assessment. On Friday, it nullified the results giving incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta a second term and ordered that a new vote take place within 60 days—a ruling that was being described as a first for Africa. As Helen […]