China’s state-owned oil company CNPC, the China National Petroleum Corporation, has signed a $400 million deal with the military junta that controls Niger, providing a much-needed infusion of cash after the coup damaged relations with Niger’s previous big oil customers, the United States and France.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Assimi Goita, the interim president of Mali, to talk about building a closer relationship.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for a deadly ambush on a military convoy in Niger, in which 23 soldiers were killed and 17 wounded.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced it will lift sanctions against the Niger junta.
The military juntas ruling the nations of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso issued a joint statement on Sunday announcing their exit from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso signed a mutual defense agreement called the “Alliance of Sahel States” on Saturday, committing all three juntas to defend each other if any of them is attacked. The pact also requires each country to help suppress armed uprisings in the others.
The military government of Niger on Sunday claimed France is positioning troops in surrounding countries and preparing an invasion to reverse the coup that forced President Mohamed Bazoum out of power in July.
A massive protest on Saturday in Niger’s capital city of Niamey drew tens of thousands of angry demonstrators who demanded France withdraw all of its forces immediately. France has been critical of the July 26 coup, but the public has demonstrated a great deal of support for the junta, and attitudes towards France soured even before the civilian government was overthrown.
Burkina Faso President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba resigned on Sunday, wiping out the government of the West African nation in the second coup of the year and bringing it closer to Russia’s dangerous orbit.
The Algemeiner reports: JNS.org – Senegal and Guinea, two Muslim-majority West African nations, will be sending their first-ever full-time ambassadors to Israel this week. Ambs. Talla Fall of Senegal and Amara Camara of Guinea are scheduled to present their credentials to Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed Israel Saturday night to take part in a summit of West African nations in Liberia’s capital of Monrovia, saying that he would use the trip to try and garner their support for Israel at the UN and other international forums.
Contents: Senegal’s troops enter The Gambia to force the ruler to step down; Why you have to say ‘The Gambia’, rather than just ‘Gambia’
Contents: The Gambia’s president prepares for war with Senegal on January 19; Congo’s president Joseph Kabila refuses to step down after losing election
