Troubled by Moscow’s rising influence in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean, the United States has carried out military exercises with North African states Tunisia and Morocco in a show of strength against Russia.

Details of the Airforce Drills

The September 7 exercise with Tunisia included two nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and two Tunisian F-5s. The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said the training mission aimed to enhance interoperability and collective responsiveness “to ensure security and stability prevails within the African continent”.

A day earlier, the B-52s joined four Moroccan F-16s in another training mission to intercept the USS Roosevelt, which was simulating a hostile vessel in the southern Mediterranean Sea.

“The Security and Stability of the African Continent Remains a Vital US Interest”

Maj. Gen. Joel Tyler, US Africa Command Director of Operations, said the exercises showed “the strategic reach of our joint force and our collective commitment to preventing malign influence in Africa”. Tyler pointed out that “The security and stability of the African continent remains a vital US interest.”

Tunisia also saw talks between senior officials and AFRICOM commander, Gen. Stephen Townsend, who visited the North African country on September 9. A statement released after the talks said Townsend’s discussions with Tunisian officials focused on shared concerns over regional stability and the desire to degrade violent extremist organizations.

“Tunisia is a critical partner to the United States and a major non-NATO ally. We share mutual security concerns, common threats and a commitment to enhancing regional security and stability,” Townsend said in the statement.

Russia’s Foothold in Libya

Tunisia is a next-door neighbor to war-torn Libya, where mercenaries from the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group are fighting alongside forces of eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar against the UN-recognized, Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).

Haftar is backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt, while the GNA is supported by Turkey, whose military support has helped turn the tide of the war in the GNA favor and forced Haftar’s forces to end their year-long offensive on Tripoli and to retreat to the oil-rich city of Sirte.

The US military exercises with Tunisia and Morocco reflect the rising concerns in Washington over the Russian attempts to gain a foothold in war-torn Libya.

In July, AFRICOM accused Russia of supplying Wagner mercenaries with fighter aircraft, military armored vehicles and air defense systems. “Russia continues to play an unhelpful role in Libya by delivering supplies and equipment to the Wagner group,” US Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Bradford Gering, AFRICOM director of operations, said in a statement. “Imagery continues to unmask their consistent denials.”

The accusation came almost two months after AFRICOM said in May that Russia had sent at least 14 MiG-29 fighter planes to Libya via Syria, where they were painted to camouflage their Russian origin.

US-European Fears of Russian Meddling

Washington fears that Moscow is attempting to control Libya’s oil wealth and secure major energy deals by consolidating Haftar’s role in eastern Libya. US officials believe that Russia is seeking to compensate its losses in Libya following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. Gaddafi’s ouster and death following a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 cost Moscow billions in contracts that had been signed with his regime.

The Americans and Europeans also fear that the Russian support to Haftar could earn Moscow military bases on Libya’s coast and consequently threaten Europe’s southern flank.

In May, Gen. Jeff Harrigian, the head of US Air Forces in Europe and Africa, warned that Russia could seize bases on Libya’s coast, allowing them to deploy air defense batteries that could prevent American overflights. “If that day comes, it will create very real security concerns on Europe’s southern flank,” Harrigian said.

In a show of force against emboldened Russia, the US dispatched six B-52 Stratofortresses last month to join aircraft from 20 allied nations to fly over all NATO countries in an exercise dubbed “Allied Sky”. The training came amid tensions between NATO members Greece and Turkey over gas exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean, which Moscow sees as an area of competition with the US and Europe.

“Training events like this help ensure that we fulfill our core mission: to deter aggression, prevent conflict and preserve peace,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.

Russia to Hold Live-Fire Drills in Mediterranean

In response, Russia, as announced by Turkey, will hold live-fire naval exercises in the eastern Mediterranean between September 8-22 and September 17-25 in areas where Turkish seismic research vessels are operating.

The Russians see an ample opportunity to boost their influence in the eastern Mediterranean, given that Moscow now has access to a naval base in Tartus on the Mediterranean coast in Syria. This base can accommodate 11 warships and perform operational capabilities throughout the Mediterranean. Moscow also operates the Khmeimim airbase in the Syrian city of Latakia.

Moscow sees its military support to the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria as a golden chance to increase pressure on Turkey and the EU, who both oppose the Assad regime. Russia also uses its military involvement in Syria as leverage in its relations with the EU to convince the Europeans to increase funding to rebuild war-torn Syria and to stop irregular migration and other effects of the war.

In all, the Russians seek to use their presence in Libya and the Mediterranean to undermine US military capabilities, including through the supply of military equipment and energy cooperation with Turkey, and to weaken NATO, which it perceives as the most important threat to its security.

L'articolo US B-52 Maneuver Sends Strong Message to Russia proviene da InsideOver.

In February 2011, protests began in Libya and quickly evolved into a widespread revolution against the regime of strongman Muammar Gaddafi. The protests were inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions that swept numerous countries in the Arab world.

The NATO Intervention in Libya and Overthrow of Gaddafi

As Gaddafi’s crackdown on protesters intensified, the United Nations authorized military intervention in Libya to protect civilians. On March 17, NATO initiated its military assault, launching aerial attacks on government forces and imposing a no-fly zone.

As protesters gained the upper hand against the Gaddafi’s regime, the Libyan strongman came out to warn in August 2011 that the revolt in the country was a “conspiracy to control Libya’s oil.”

“There is a conspiracy to control Libyan oil and to control Libyan land and to colonize Libya once again,” he said in an audio message to his supporters.

Two months after this message, Gaddafi was captured by his opponents, dragged and killed in his hometown city of Sirte.

Gaddafi’s Warning Now Seems Prescient

Nine years now after his death, Gaddafi’s warning appears to have come true, as regional powers fight a proxy war on the Libyan soil for control of the country’s oil wealth.

After Gaddafi’s ouster, two rival seats of governments emerged in Libya; one in Tripoli, which is backed by Turkey and the other in eastern Libya, which is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, France and Russia.

The Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) is now preparing to launch a military offensive to capture the oil-rich city of Sirte from the Libyan National Army (LNA) of eastern commander Khalifa Haftar.

Proxy War Fever

The GNA is militarily backed by energy-hungry Turkey, which has sent between 3,500 and 3,800 paid Syrian fighters to Libya in the first three months of the year, according to the Pentagon.

The Turkish military support to the GNA has been instrumental in repelling a year-long offensive launched by Haftar’s forces on the Libyan capital Tripoli, pushing him back to Sirte.

On June 20, Egypt, Libya’s next-door neighbor which backs Haftar, threatened to militarily intervene in Libya if the Turkey-backed GNA forces moved on to capture Sirte from the LNA forces. The Egyptian parliament followed suit by authorizing the sending of military forces to Libya.

Sirte is a strategic gateway to Libya’s oil crescent, which stretches along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Sirte, where four of Libya’s six hydrocarbon export terminals are located and through which more than 50% of the Libyan crude oil exports leave the country.

Libya’s Massive Oil Industry

With 48,363,000,000 barrels of proven oil reserves, Libya has the largest crude wealth in Africa. It ranks ninth in the world, accounting for about 2.9% of the world’s total oil reserves.

Until 2013, Libya, an OPEC member, produced 1.65 million barrels per day of crude oil and 594 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Oil production, however, dropped to nearly 90,000 barrels daily due to the ongoing fighting between rival Libyan forces.

The Libyan economy is largely dependent on the oil sector, which represents about 69% of Libya’s export earnings. Before 2011, revenues from oil exports accounted for 65% of Libya’s gross domestic product (GDP). This helped the Gaddafi’s regime to amass cash reserves and run a debt-free economy. In 2019, Libya’s earnings from oil sales amounted to $22.5 billion. Several international oil companies are operating in Libya, including France’s Total, Eni of Italy, US firms ConocoPhillips and Hess, and Germany’s Wintershall.

Foreign Powers Push to Get the Oil Flowing

In late June, Russian and foreign mercenaries took control of El Sharara oilfield — Libya’s largest — and the exporting port of Es Sider, according to Libya’s state-run National Oil Corporation. In an effort to resume oil exports from the conflict-ridden country, the White House on August 4 called for demilitarized solution Sirte and an immediate reopening of its oil facilities.

“The ongoing efforts of foreign powers to exploit the conflict – for example, by establishing an enduring military presence or exerting control over resources that belong to the Libyan people – pose grave threats to regional stability and global commerce,” US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said in a statement. He said Washington was diplomatically engaged with Libyan rivals, external stakeholders to reach a solution to the Libyan conflict.

“To that end, we call on all parties – both those responsible for the current escalation and those working to end it – to enable the National Oil Corporation to resume its vital work, with full transparency, and to implement a demilitarized solution for Sirte and al-Jufra, respect the UN arms embargo, and finalize a ceasefire under the UN-led 5+5 military talks.”

As the rivalry between regional stakeholders for control of Libya’s oil wells rages on, Gaddafi’s prediction of his country’s fate looks like to be materializing, with no solution appearing on the horizon.

L'articolo Is Gaddafi’s Bleak Prophecy for Oil-Rich Libya Coming True? proviene da InsideOver.

Germany, France and Italy are increasing pressure to resolve the conflict in Libya, at least officially: Germany’s Angela Merkel, France’s Emmanuel Marcon and Italy’s Guiseppe Conte have stated openly that states that violate the UN arms embargo on Libya should be seriously punished. The only question now is how exactly this would happen.

Will Sanctions Be Enough to Enforce a Libya Ceasefire?

Germany, France and Italy have threatened to punish countries that fail to abide by the UN arms embargo on Libya. Chancellor Merkel, President Macron and Premier Conte said on the sidelines in a joint statement that they were ready to “consider imposing sanctions” should violations of the embargo at sea, on land or in the air continue of the EU special summit was published.

However, names of states that could be considered for sanctions are not mentioned in the declaration, even if the suspects are widely known. France, for example, has long accused Turkey of violating the arms embargo by delivering arms to the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA). Turkey, in turn, accuses countries such as the United Arab Emirates and France of supplying the opposite side of the Libyan National Army (LNA) with weapons.

What About Operation Irini?

The EU launched Operation Irini in spring to monitor the Libyan arms embargo. The primary aim of the military operation is to stabilize Libya and to support the UN-led political peace process. In addition to arms smuggling, the EU operation is designed to prevent illegal oil smuggling. Moreover, the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy personnel will continue to be trained to help break the business model of trafficking and trafficking networks.

If the sanctions were actually enforced they would presumably be imposed on persons or companies involved in arms deliveries to Libya in the EU framework. Those affected should fear asset freezes and EU entry bans. The punitive measures could be based on reports from the United Nations on violations of sanctions. In this way, the knowledge gained during the EU operation Irini is also transmitted to New York for evaluation.

The Reality of the Libyan War

In Libya, an internationally recognized but almost powerless government is fighting in the capital, Tripoli, and a counter-parliament in the east of the country is dominating led by General Khalifa Haftar. The latter control the oil wells in the east and recently tried to conquer Tripoli, which did not succeed. For weeks, both sides have been preparing for a fight for the city of Sirte, which is essential for oil exports and is considered key to the outcome of the war.

Both warring parties are supported logistically, financially and militarily by foreign actors. Turkey and Qatar are behind the GNA government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj. Haftar and the LNA are supported by Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates. The USA had also helped Haftar in the fight against the Islamic State.

Proxy War Intensifies

Some of the foreign countries that support one of the warring parties are becoming increasingly aggressive in the Libyan civil war. The US military recently announced that Russian mercenaries were said to have laid landmines around Tripoli. The so-called Wagner group, a private unit equipped by the Kremlin, made 800 to 1,200 fighters available to Haftar, according to UN experts. Russia, as usual, denies playing a role in the conflict.

The situation could now come to a head again, as threats have been coming from Egypt since Monday that Cairo will go straight into the conflict after Parliament approves an intervention. In keeping with this, the Haftar camp in Egypt recently called for military operations to begin in the neighboring country.

The Importance of Egypt’s Role

The parliamentary mandate only provides that the Egyptian armed forces only have the right to intervene in Libya if they see “an immediate threat to security.” In Egypt’s view, however, this seems to be the case. Turkey has invaded Libya militarily, has occupied the country and is now threatening Egypt, Cairo claims.

Last month, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt warned that an attack by Libyan government forces on Sirte was a “red line.” Haftar’s troops have held the city so far but were pushed back with Turkish help after their failed offensive on Tripoli.

Civil war has raged in Libya since the downfall of long-term ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011. After a temporary relaxation of the situation, the violence escalated again. In 2014, a general election failed, and numerous militias began to fight for influence. By now the violence has spiraled completely out of control. While Europe has a key interest in stabilizing the country, Russia and Turkey, in particular, are continuously attempting to subvert European effort – albeit for different reasons.

L'articolo EU Seeks to Impose Sanctions Over Libya Ceasefire Violations proviene da InsideOver.

The Daily Sabah reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov both expressed support for an immediate ceasefire in Libya during a phone call on Thursday night. The two politicians also called for the resumption of the United Nations political process in the African state.

Their calls for peace come as the Russian-backed Libyan National Army (LNA) declared that it was preparing to launch a significant air campaign against Turkish targets “in the coming hours,” according to Bloomberg. 

The statement suggests a likely escalation in the battle between the Turkish-backed government in Tripoli and the eastern-based LNA forces led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who may be seeking revenge following the loss of a crucial airbase southwest of Tripoli on Monday. 

Libya: Proxy War Central

Since Muammar Gadhafi was ousted from power in 2011, Libya has become a political playground for both Turkey and Russia. Haftar not only has the support of Russia, but Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli enjoys international recognition.

Turkey and Russia pushed for a resumption of peace talks in January, but the peace process collapsed after the ceasefire was repeatedly violated, and the GNA and the LNA’s foreign supporters continued sending weapons to the country.

The only nation that seems to have gained anything from this conflict is Turkey. The Jerusalem Post’s Seth J. Frantzman argues that Ankara appears to be winning in the African state because it sought to prevent Tripoli from falling to Haftar. This was nothing more than an opportunity for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to prove that he can embarrass major players in the Middle East.

For example, he proved to the US that his nation could slaughter Washington’s former Kurdish partners in the country, and that he can control Iraq’s airspace by bombing it.

Has Russia Lost the Libyan War?

Russia, Egypt and the UAE, meanwhile, seem to be interested in waging a proxy war in Libya to keep the conflict going. It was always unclear what Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aims in the country were. Equally, Putin sold Turkey S-400s and agreed to allow Ankara to occupy Afrin, Idlib and Tel Abyad in Syria.

Regardless, Ankara is able to request a ceasefire from a position of strength and this will transform Russian-Turkish relations further. It is difficult to predict what the outcome of a Libyan ceasefire would be, but Turkey would be in a powerful position to dictate peace terms considering it has technically won the war there.

Putin must now accept that Moscow is not the only player battling for control over the Middle East, but both Moscow and Ankara have been allowed to fight over the region because the US has retreated from the global stage.

Russian-Turkish Relations Likely to Strengthen

Like with Syria, both Turkey and Russia have squeezed the US out of Libya. Beyond a potential ceasefire, both nations have an opportunity to collaborate with Iran and exert their control over the Middle East.

Ankara and Moscow are collaborating on a pipeline under the Black Sea called TurkStream, whilst Tehran is seeking to boost trade with Ankara by $30 billion from the $10 billion figure in 2017.

Russia’s war in Libya has been a catastrophic failure and they can only succeed in breaking the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces’ grip over Syria with Turkish help. Moscow must accept that it can either collaborate with Turkey in the long-term or, like with the US, witness its influence in the Middle East being eradicated by an arguably more prominent player. Putin has met his match in Erdogan.

Either way, the US should be deeply concerned that two autocratic regimes are determining events in the Middle East. The 2003 Iraq War and the 2011 Libyan conflict may have killed US voters’ appetite for wars, but without American involvement in the region, Russia and Turkey are only likely to strengthen their ties and become the new superpowers that dominate Middle Eastern geopolitics.

L'articolo What Would a Libyan Ceasefire Mean for Turkish-Russian Relations? proviene da InsideOver.

Libya has become the global epicenter for military drones, with foreign powers deploying ever-more stealthy killers and fueling a conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives, the United Nations warned on Monday.

Jordan Has Now Deployed Drones To Libya

Speaking recently with reporters in New York, Yacoub El Hillo, the UN’s resident and humanitarian coordinator for Libya, said that Jordan was the latest nation to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to try and break a stalemate in Libya’s grinding conflict.

As the costs of drones go down and their ranges increase, military commanders across the region have deployed ever-more UAVs in surveillance and assassination operations that are viewed as less risky than missions involving personnel.

Libya “is the world’s largest theater for the use of drones,” El Hillo told reporters in New York, via a video connection from the capital, Tripoli. “Everybody has something flying in the Libyan sky, it seems” he added.

Khalifa Haftar’s Drone Army

El Hillo cited reports about Jordan selling six, Chinese-made CH-4 drones to renegade commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA), which dominates the east of the war-ravaged nation.

Haftar’s LNA already had access to drones, including Chinese-made Wing Loongs and other UAVs supplied by the United Arab Emirates, as well as devices from the Russian-backed mercenaries operating in Libya.

Meanwhile, the UN-backed, Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), which has been besieged by LNA forces since last April, has received Bayraktar TB2 drones alongside a recently-dispatched Turkish deployment.

“It’s clear that Turkey has moved in a very heavy way, militarily speaking, to support the GNA and to create, as they claim, a balance in power so that the capital does not fall. So Turkey is definitely supporting and Turkey has drones flying,” said El Hillo.

Libya’s Post-2011 Civil War

Since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of power have emerged in Libya: Haftar’s LNA in the east supported by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and others and the Tripoli-based GNA, in the west, which is backed by Turkey and the UN.

Khalifa’s LNA launched an offensive to take Tripoli last April, which led to chaos and bloodshed but stalled on the outskirts of the city – meaning commanders have turned to air power to gain a tactical advantage and break the deadlock.

Drones have been used to launch assassination hits on enemy commanders, spy over large areas of territory and to spot enemy positions and guide conventional weapons, like mortars, so they can better hit their targets.

For commanders, there are few downsides to drones. UAVs expose personnel to fewer risks, and the cost of drones has fallen massively since Middle Eastern militias like Hezbollah started getting their hands on them in the early 2000s.

Last month, the GNA said it had downed a Russian-made reconnaissance drone over Tripoli as well as a UAE-owned armed UAV in the skies above Misrata, a northwestern coastal city almost 200km east of Tripoli.

Last August, UAE-operated Chinese drones fighting for Haftar’s forces were blamed for a double strike operation that devastated a town hall meeting in south-western Libya that killed at least 45 people.

UN: Foreign Powers Should Stop Contributing to the Libya Conflict with Drones

According to El Hillo, foreign powers need to make good on pledges made in Berlin last month by bolstering an often-violated ceasefire deal, abiding by a UN arms embargo and stop sending UAVs and other hardware to Libya.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called for a European Union mission to enforce Libya’s arms embargo, including by better monitoring shipment routes into Libya.

On February 12, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Libya and tasked UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres with devising an “effective ceasefire monitoring” mechanism in what could be a precursor to a blue-helmet deployment.

According to the UN, more than 1,000 people have been killed in the clashes between Haftar’s forces and the GNA since the offensive began in April, while another 140,000 have been forced to flee their homes.

This week, El Hillo announced an appeal for $115 million to get food, medicine and other forms of support to the 900,000 Libyans who need handouts, including the 345,000 of them who are extremely vulnerable.

UN: Libyan Civilians ‘Endure Appalling Hardship and Suffering’

“We are witnessing a protracted conflict severely impacting civilians in all parts of the country on a scale that Libya has never seen before,” said El Hillo. “Tens of thousands of Libyans, in addition to an increasing number of vulnerable migrants and refugees, continue to endure appalling hardship and suffering,” he added.

As well as a large and growing number of UAVs, Libya’s armed groups also possess the “world’s largest uncontrolled ammunition stockpile ever” with between 150,000 and 200,000 tonnes of uncontrolled munitions across the country, said El Hillo.

“The increasing use of explosive weapons has resulted in unnecessary loss of life, displacement, destruction, and damage to vital civilian infrastructure, such as hospitals and schools,” said El Hillo.

L'articolo Libya “World’s Largest Theater” for Drone Warfare: UN proviene da InsideOver.

“Happy birthday Africa!” Exactly 60 years have passed since 1960, also known in the news as the Year of Africa. During those 12 months, 17 African countries achieved full independence. Even though it was celebrated with excessive lyricism and, on occasion, saw historical study and analytical investigation give way to political rhetoric and militant enthusiasm, it was nevertheless a significant year historically: an annus mirabilis for Africa and modern history.

1960 was a year full of contradictions. On the one hand, it was indeed yet another display by colonial powers to continue writing Africa’s history behind the “independence” label, by tightening its economic and political reins. On the other hand, 1960 was also a social turning point for Africans because it symbolized freedom – culturally speaking – from the shackles of colonialism and the horrors that it entailed.

Therefore 1960, for better or for worse, was a founding stone of our present, and today we must review and become familiar with that year to better understand a continent which, for too long and too many, has been treated as marginal and subordinate, but has proven itself over the last six decades as a protagonist in the world’s present and future. In fact more than half a century later, many issues the African, and even European, future faced back in the days of anthems and new flags, still persist. The phenomena and causes, whose consequences we see and experience today, are also rooted in the not-too-distant past of 1960. So if we want to understand how Africa emerged from the initial euphoria of independence, calls for national unity, the sanctity of borders and African irredentism to neocolonialism, ethnic massacres, the cross-border threat of Salafism and migrants fleeing Africa, a good starting point is to retrace historical schematics, and political and economic structures. Over the years, these have distinguished the 17 states that reached independence in 1960 and whose anniversary is celebrated in 2020.

Before going into each country’s history, a short introduction is needed into the revolutionary process at the end of World War II known as “decolonization”, where the modern Africa as we know it today first emerged.

Decolonization

Starting in 1946 the world’s peripheries—until then mere appendices and sources of men and raw materials for the world’s superpowers—began to break away from their respective homelands and gain full independence. The leaders of this process were Lebanon, Syria, the Philippines, the Transjordan and then Indonesia, India, Pakistan and followed by Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Algeria, which meanwhile had taken up arms.

This brings us to the crucial year 1960, when decolonization was embraced by sub-Saharan Africa. The first states to become independent were the former French colonies. This happened primarily because, compared to British colonialism, the French had focused more on assimilation, so the links between the colonizing country and its territories politically, economically and even culturally were closer. France had also just lost the war in Indochina, and needed to concentrate all its forces on Algeria. In 1956 the “framework law” or “Defferre law” established an autonomous regime in French West African and French Equatorial African territories. In 1958, Charles De Gaulle proposed the creation of a community, hoping to set up a French Commonwealth, which was approved on 28 September. However this solution did not last long and in fact within a few months—starting in 1960—local governments ruled in favor of independence, while maintaining relations with the former motherland. The experiences of the former French colonies motivated other territories such as Somalia, Nigeria and the Belgian Congo, also becoming independent in 1960.

Independence for these territories took place peacefully and was effectively granted, rather than gained. To conclude and summarize, from a political and economic point of view, what was known as the Year of Africa, simply review the words expressed by one of Italy’s greatest Africanists, Professor Giampaolo Calchi Novati: “Colonial governments generally support the process of independence to prevent radicalization, using Algeria as an example, ensuring the transfer of power benefits governments, which are the expression of trusted, controllable ruling classes capable of managing ‘neocolonialism’. This is especially the case in the former French colonies. In the Congo, Patrice Lumumba’s attempt to initiate (albeit without the necessary political preparation) a program that would make independence effective—if not quite “revolutionary”—ended in tragedy. These very events show that Africa is still effectively “‘under protection’”.

The 17 countries that became independent in 1960 were: Cameroon, Togo, Senegal, Mali, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, Mauritania.

Cameroon

On 1 January 1960, Cameroon became independent under the leadership of Ahmadou Ahidjo. In power, with France’s help, Ahidjo immediately put an end to the federal system between the French-speaking and English-speaking parts of the country. He started a protracted Marxist-inspired war, lasting until the seventies, against the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC). In 1966, a single-party regime was established. However, strong state intervention in the economy and the availability of raw materials allowed economic growth in the 1960s. Ahidjo’s resignation in 1982 and Paul Biya’s rise to the country’s top seat initiated a period of instability, culminating in an attempted coup in April 1984, followed by harsh repression from the regime. Biya, still at Cameroon’s helm, has ruled autocratically for the past thirty years and has in fact never allowed a period of democratization in the state. The country, overwhelmed by the scourge of corruption and with foreign debt of 8.36 billion dollars, today faces two armed crises: the war of the Boko Haram jihadists in the north and the rebellion of the English-speaking separatists in the south.

Togo

The first president of Togo was Sylvanus Olympio who, after studying in Europe, returned to his native country in 1958 when Togo broke away from Ghana. Olympio negotiated the country’s independence with De Gaulle, in the 1960s, and from that moment its leader started such a repressive regime that he was assassinated in ’63 by Nicolas Grunitzky’s men. Once in power, Grunitzky embarked on a democratic and liberal path in domestic politics, respected a multi-party system and adopted a non-alignment strategy in its foreign policy. On 13 January 1967, however, he was dismissed following a putsch led by general Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who remained in power until his death in 2005. The supreme leader of Togo created an autocratic regime, reformed the constitution, abolished multi-partism until the 1990s, and nationalized highly important production sectors such as mining. His sudden death in 2005 was followed by a military coup and his son Faure Gnassingbé took over as leader and remains so to this day.

Senegal

On August 20, 1960, Senegal gained full independence and Léopold Sédar Senghor was elected president. The leader of the newly born West African state, maintained close political, economic and military ties with France and secured considerable stability for the country. However, despite working on an international level for the formation of an “African Socialist International” and seeking credit in the West as the promoter of moderate African socialism, internally he centralized power in his hands, imposed a one-party system and was guilty of corruption. In the seventies, in the face of widespread discontent and protests by students and unions against pro-French politics, a relative democratization of the country was established. Senghor voluntarily resigned in 1980 and power passed into the hands of Abdou Diouf. In foreign affairs, the 1980s were characterized by Diouf’s personal commitment to the African continent as president of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Traditional ties with the West were also maintained. In the 1990s, however, due to the devaluation of the CFA franc, the country faced a difficult economic crisis and many people fell into poverty. Despite internal democratization in the early 2000s the country continued to be troubled by the violence of the Casamance region’s separatists. However the victory of Macky Sall, former premier and current president, saw peace come to the area along with an ease in tension with its neighbors and an improved economy, thanks also to the funds sent home by Senegalese immigrants and the return to Senegal of many who emigrated in the 1990s.

Mali

The Republic of Mali was born on September 22, 1960, following the secession of Senegal. The first president of the republic, Modibo Keita—closely linked to Pan-African concerns in the 1930s—adopted a socialist approach which however worsened the economic situation and triggered widespread social discontent. These factors aided the 1968 coup, seeing Colonel Moussa Traoré become head of state and government. In domestic politics, supporters of the previous government were brutally repressed by the new leader. In 1974 he had a new constitution approved which established a one-party regime. At the same time, the precarious economic situation, caused by dependence on foreign aid and agricultural speculation, was aggravated by the severe drought that hit the entire Sahel region in the 1970s and 1980s. In foreign affairs, the military regime embarked on an unrealistic enterprise of reconstituting the ancient empire of Mali, leading to a real border war with Burkina Faso in 1985. In March 1991 new mass demonstrations against the regime led to the fall of Traoré and a process of democratization and relaxation in relations with the Tuareg groups began. In 2002, Amadou Toumani Touré won, and was re-elected in 2007, but in recent years Mali saw a disastrous failure in its economic, political and social situation. A serious drought hit the country again, relations with the Tuareg groups deteriorated on a daily basis, Al Qaeda cells began to infiltrate the country and many Malian citizens left, fleeing to Europe. This was how the 2012 crisis began and continues to this very day. In the spring of 2012, a military coup deposed President Touré, at the same time Tuareg rebels of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) took control of the entire northern part of the country and, joining the jihadist groups, decreed the birth of an Islamic state in the north. A French military intervention and United Nations peacekeeping contingent then followed but, despite peace talks and the formation of a new government led by Boubacar Keita, the unrest did not stop. Jihadist groups are still rife today and now there are clashes over land control between the different ethnic groups that populate Mali.

Madagascar

Madagascar gained independence on June 26, 1960 while remaining part of the French community. The first phase of the new state was marked by President Philibert Tsiranana. The leader of the newly formed republic, while declaring himself a supporter of moderate and liberal socialism, created an extremely authoritarian and pro-Western government until 1972, the year of his resignation. On 14 June, 1975 Captain Didier Ratsiraka was appointed president of the Supreme Revolutionary Council and head of state. A new constitution was promulgated, relations with France became increasingly weak while ties with the USSR were strengthened to such an extent that a socialist policy was introduced on the Indian Ocean island, based on the fokonolona ​​community structures that became the nuclei of a new administrative organisation. With the collapse of the Soviet world, Ratsiraka tried to open up to the West, especially faced with a wave of citizen protests calling for the abolition of the socialist constitution. Although a new constitution was approved in 1992, a real change at the top of the country only occurred in 2002, when Marc Ravalomanana declared himself president. After a period of tension and armed clashes, Ravalomanana gained the support of the military and forced Ratsiraka into exile. In the last twenty years political tensions have not abandoned Madagascar; unrest and attempted coups have marked the recent history of the Malagasy archipelago. However, in addition to the internal problems that seemed to have ended after the election of Andry Rajoelina as leader in January 2019, Madagascar in recent years has also had to face crises caused by cyclones and hurricanes. In 2017 an outbreak of pneumonic plague further aggravated the humanitarian situation of a state where 90% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Democractic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has had a troubled history since its origins. A few months after its proclamation of independence in 1960, the country plunged into a bloody civil war. The Kasai and Katanga provinces, rich in raw materials and close to the former Belgian colonisers and Western mining companies, proclaimed the secession. Patrice Lumumba, prime minister and leader of the Africanist MNC party, found himself alone and marginalized both nationally and internationally. After the coup by Colonel Mobutu (14 September 1960) he was arrested and then assassinated. The Katanga crisis only ended in January of 1963 thanks to UN intervention but instability continued to reign in the country, which became the scene of a violent civil war between the China-backed forces of the National Liberation Council and the loyalist army which enjoyed Western support.

As a result of the victories against the rebels, Mobutu launched a new coup in November, 1965, and established a dictatorship that lasted for the following thirty years. During his administration Mobutu heavily repressed any opposition. He launched a policy celebrating national character by renaming the country “Zaire”, sold off deposits and lands to foreign companies and created a system so heavily based on corruption it was renamed “kleptocracy”. Zaire’s economic difficulties became unsustainable in the 1990s and were exacerbated by the humanitarian emergency linked to the arrival of over a million Rwandan refugees. It was in these years that the AFDL rebel army was born, headed by Laurent Désiré Kabila. Starting in the Rwandan hills, in just one year, they reached the capital of Kinshasa and in 1997 put an end to the Mobutu regime. In 1998 a new conflict broke out in the Congo and this time saw Rwanda and Uganda clash against the new president’s government backed in turn by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe. In 2001, Kabila was assassinated and succeeded by his son Joseph who, despite bringing the country to its first elections in 2006, never pacified the region. Congo is still the scene of ongoing crises and guerrilla warfare, mostly conducted by proxy to acquire natural deposits, particularly coltan. In the eastern provinces, at present, over 50 rebel formations have been registered and, in recent months, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the poorest countries in the world with over four million internal refugees, has also faced one of the worst epidemics in the history of the Ebola virus.

Somalia

In 1950, the UN made Somalia a trust territory of Italy to prepare it for independence which it gained in 1960. The first president of the country was Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke who was however assassinated a few days before the military coup in October 1969, bringing General Muhammed Siad Barre to power. The new leader of the former Italian colony launched a “scientific socialism” experiment based on a Soviet model and was watched with interest by global powers. He waged a bitter struggle against clan institutions, prevented any encroachment by the religious sphere in politics and launched a literacy campaign that achieved significant results. His rule proved authoritarian and repressive and then, following a severe famine and defeat in the war against Ethiopia, he was hit by a serious economic crisis, finding himself isolated on an international level. Somalia was in a desperate situation from the late 70s to the late 80s. The country was overwhelmed by civil war and in January 1991 the Barre regime collapsed. Aidid and Ali Mahdi, the leaders of the struggle against the regime, never managed to reach an agreement. They started a bloody conflict that led the country into a catastrophic state with dozens of militias, under the orders of ‘warlords’, to impose a single law of weapons and violence. The nation was also struck by a ferocious famine, and the distribution of international aid was made harder than ever by internal struggles and looting. There were about 300,000 deaths and the sending of a military contingent under the auspices of the UN as part of the Restore Hope operation (1992-95) did not help resolve the fate of a country that had become the epitome of a failed state. The first of a long series of peace conferences was held in Djibouti in 2000, allowing a provisional government to be formed in 2004. Meanwhile in Somalia, however, the problem of Islamic fundamentalism emerged in an increasingly radical way, first with the Islamic Courts Union, then with Al Shabaab. Al-Qaeda jihadists had still not ended its war against the central government and, although the first elections have taken place in recent years since the days of independence, and the people of Somalia have shown that they want a return to normal, however disorderly, piracy off the coast and the crisis situation continue, as demonstrated by attacks killing hundreds of people between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020.

Benin

The West African state became independent on August 1, 1960, retaining the name of Dahomey. The first years of the new state were marked by serious political instability caused by the conflicts between northern and southern ethnic groups, the lack of experienced leaders and scarcity of raw materials. It was for this reason that, from 1960 to 1972, there were five constitutions, ten presidents and continuous clashes and coups d’état. A radical change occurred in 1972, when Major Mathieu Ahmed Kérékou took power, introduced a single-party regime, transformed the nation into a Marxist-style republic and sought to ensure the country’s relative political and social stability. In 1975, the name of the state was changed to Benin, the most important sectors of the economy were nationalized and, in 1979, a new constitution was established. A serious economic crisis, and an authoritarian government in difficulty, marked the end of the Kérékou government in 1989 and from that moment a process of political democratization and economic liberalization began. In 1991, Nicéphore Soglo won the Western-style elections, and a new wave of political and social unrest ignited the country between 1996 and 2000. However, with the appointment of economist Thomas Yayi Boni first and then Patrice Talon as president of the Republic, the African state waged a bitter fight against corruption, improved its economic situation thanks also to the discovery of oil fields, and committed itself to stabilizing the region by supporting contingents engaged in the war against Boko Haram.

Niger

Senior Member of the French National Assembly Hamani Diori was the first President of the Republic of Niger and, during his rule, the country enjoyed considerable political stability and a healthy economy thanks to the discovery of rich uranium deposits. In April of 1974 Diori was deposed by a coup. Seyni Kountché, chief of staff of the armed forces, took charge of the reins. On the one hand he suspended the constitution and on the other he maintained excellent relations with France. The second half of the eighties was marked by serious ethnic conflicts but also by the nation’s progressive democratization. 1993 was the year of the first open elections in Niger’s history but the democratic turning point did not last long, as a new coup brought the military back to power until 2000 when a new constitution was promulgated and Mamadou Tandja became president. But the new leader also tried to centralize state power in his hands by dissolving parliament. Only a military putsch led to his dismissal in 2010, the formation of a transitional government and the call for open elections in 2011, seeing current President Mahamadou Issoufou victorious. In recent years Niger has renewed uranium mining contracts with the Avrea company and has also become a crossroads for African migrants traveling to Europe.

Burkina Faso

On August 5, 1960 Upper Volta was proclaimed independent with President Maurice Yaméogo, leader of the Voltaic Democratic Union (UDV). In January 1966, Colonel Sangoulé Lamizana carried out a coup d’etat and created a military regime with very unique characteristics. Although the army and Lamizana retained power, a certain amount of freedom was still granted to civil society: political parties and unions were authorised and a new constitution was established. In 1974, a power struggle between the pretenders to the throne of Upper Volta’s supreme leader, and a serious economic crisis, led Lamizana assuming absolute power until 1977 when a new constitution restored democracy. A radical change in the history of the African country and the entire continent took place in the 1980s when Colonels Saye Zerbo, Jean Baptiste Ouedrago and Thomas Sankara took power, renaming the country Burkina Faso (land of the honest men), and started a real revolution. Sankara sought to develop a policy aimed at cultural independence, economic emancipation from the West, environmental protection and nationalization of raw materials. Due to his express desire to stop paying off their debts, Sankara was killed in October 1987 during a coup d’état, allegedly ordered by France and led by Captain Blaise Compaoré. The Compaoré regime was bloody, repressive and ruthless as witnessed by illustrious arrests and murders as that of journalist Norber Zongo. After twenty years of repression, in 2014 and 2015 a real popular uprising brought down the dictatorship and led to the formation of the new government with President Christian Kaboré. Hit by a severe drought and environmental crisis, Burkina Faso has now become one of the countries hardest hit by the growth of Islamic jihadism. The northern area of ​​the region is now in the hands of groups linked to the world of black flags.

Ivory Coast

After the Ivory Coast gained independence, a presidential republic was established and, for thirty years, Félix Houphouët-Boigny was confirmed as leader every five years. An anomalous situation but it allowed the country, for its first years as a sovereign nation, to enjoy a stability rarely seen in Africa. Problems emerged in the second half of the 1980s when the collapse in coffee and cocoa prices caused a serious economic downturn and while social tensions worsened. In response to the protests in May 1990, Boigny, as a token gesture, declared himself willing to welcome a multi-party system but it was only a political statement. In 1993 Boigny died and was succeeded by Henri Konan Bédié. A serious internal crisis erupted in 1999, when Bédié had several hundred opponents arrested and a coup d’état dismissed the president at the end of the year, bringing a military junta to power. In October 2000, power passed into the hands of Laurent Gbagbo, but an attempted coup in 2002 threw the country back into chaos and a fierce civil war. Only in 2007, following repeated negotiations, a new transitional government was inaugurated with Gbagbo president and Guillaume Soro, a rebel leader, prime minister. The presidential elections of 2010, which were hoped to be an event capable of bringing peace to the region, instead marked a return to tensions as both Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara emerged victorious and formed, in their respective areas of influence, two different governments. So, in the early months of 2011, the crisis rekindled, until Ouattara re-assumed the position of president and made a strong commitment to reviving the economy and reconciling the country. In recent years the Ivory Coast has supported the manufacturing sector to such an extent that today it has the best economy in West Africa, but political tensions have never entirely waned and the elections scheduled for the end of 2020 will be a pivotal moment.

Chad

The history of Chad, from independence to the present day, is one of the most troubled in Africa. The country in fact, because of its profound criticalities: few resources, an unfortunate geographical location and strong ethnic tensions, was always upset by civil wars and bloody dictatorships. The first president of Chad was François Tombalbaye who—from 1963 onward—started a single-party and repressive regime that represented only the interests of the southern ethnic groups. In 1966, against this political line, the National Liberation Front of Chad (FROLINAT), backed by Libya, started the first phase of the Chadian Civil War that opposed the north, supported by Muammar Gaddafi who in 1973 occupied the Aouzou belt, in the pro-government south. On April 13, 1975, a military coup brought General Félix Malloum to power, but the civil war continued. In August 1979, thanks to an agreement between Malloum and Hissène Habré, leader of a rebel faction, a temporary division of power came. However a battle between the two sides in the capital N’Djamena, sanctioned the de facto victory of northern rebels. Peace did not last long because a rift within the insurgent front sparked a new conflict, this time between Hissene Habre and Goukouni Oueddei. Habre opposed Libya’s pursuit of the Aouzou belt, while the latter Oueddei proved to be getting closer to the Libyans, envisaging the union of Chad and Libya. Thanks to French support, Hissène Habré’s troops conquered the capital in June, 1982 and Habré proclaimed himself president, creating one of the bloodiest regimes in all of Africa, so much so that he was nicknamed the “African Pinochet”. At the beginning of the 1990s, however, a new front opened in the Ouaddaï region which saw the rebels of Idriss Deby and the government army clash. The former unleashed an offensive that resulted in the fall of the president and the seizure of power by Deby, who is still leading the Sahelian state.

Uprisings and military escalations marked the first decade of the 2000s, but today Chad is faced with two new enemies: Boko Haram, which has established one of its strongholds in the basin area of Lake Chad, and climate change which is leading to a desertification of country’s entire northern area and an uncontrolled increase in poverty and misery.

Central African Republic

The national hero who guided the country to independence was Barthélemy Boganda, although he died a year before CAR became independent. After his death in 1959, David Dacko became head of state and government, but Colonel Jean Bedel Bokassa seized power in 1965 and established a terrible dictatorship, abolishing all individual freedoms and unleashing pathological delusions to then proclaim himself empire in 1976. In September 1979, David Dacko dismissed Bokassa and restored the republic with a coup, but in September 1981 General André Kolingba seized power until 1986, when a new constitution was approved. The country’s economic situation, due to the rulers’ reckless policies and the nation’s extreme backwardness, has always been critical and the continued state of insecurity has contributed to making the Central African Republic one of the poorest and most problematic countries on the African continent. In 2012, a civil conflict broke out that saw Christian and Muslim communities clash and that state of war continues to this day, condemning the inhabitants of the Central African Republic to live in a perpetual state of insecurity and crushing poverty.

Republic of the Congo

The first years of independence were marked by political clashes and coups. In 1963, the military seized power and Alphonse Massamba-Débat was proclaimed president, and immediately drew closer to the socialist bloc. A radicalisation of Marxist ideology in the country took place between 1968 and 1970 when Massemba-Débat had to resign and was replaced by Captain Marien Ngouabi who, in 1970, proclaimed the birth of the “People’s Republic of the Congo”. The Congo then became an increasingly important point of reference for African revolutionary movements. Within the country there were several coup attempts culminating in the assassination of Marien Ngouabi in 1977. Colonel Denis Sassou Nguesso has been president since 1979 and, in 1990, accepted the introduction of a multi-party system and abandoned Marxism-Leninism. The end of the Marxist experience and military regime saw ethnic tensions heighten and a serious economic crisis escalate. It was in this context that, in 1997, Deniss Sassou Nguesso, took the power he still holds today with a coup. Over the years, the country has managed to improve its economic situation thanks mainly to exporting the raw materials it is rich in (oil, timber, sugar, cocoa, coffee and diamonds) and which guarantee revenue of over five billion dollars a year.

Gabon

Gabon is an African country that has never known true democracy since its independence in 1960. A country rich in resources (oil, natural gas, diamonds, manganese, uranium, gold, iron ore, hydroelectric energy and timber), it has only experienced long periods of authoritarianism from independence to the present day. Léon M’Ba, who founded the Gabonese Democratic Bloc (BDG) in 1946, was the first president of independent Gabon and ferried the country towards a one-party system and personal control. When he died in 1967, power was taken by Vice President Omar Bongo who sought to strengthen the economy through the exploitation of mineral resources (uranium, manganese) and oil fields and centralised all the power in his hands. After his death in 2009 he was replaced by his son, Ali Ben Bongo who, despite several riots and an attempted coup d’état at the beginning of 2019, still holds firm the reins of a country that, in matters of domestic politics, has only known the authoritarianism of the Bongo family for the past 40 years.

Nigeria

Nigeria, the most populous country on the African continent with 190 million inhabitants, has had a complex and articulated history since its origins. The 1954 constitution made Nigeria a federal state, a choice made while taking into account the profound ethnic differences that exist and particularly the fundamental rifts between the Northern, Western and Eastern regions. On October 1, 1960, the country became independent under the leadership of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a member of the Northern People’s Congress party. The north of the country strengthened politically, to the detriment of other regions and ethnic groups that lived in the east and south. This rift quickly led to an armed confrontation. On January 15 1966, a coup took place that brought General Ironsi of the ibo ethnic group to power but on 29 June of the same year he was assassinated, and the leadership of the new military government was taken by General Yakubu Gowon, of Hausa ethnicity, rooted in the northern regions. It was at this point that Colonel Ojukwu declared the Eastern region independent and proclaimed the birth of the republic of Biafra (30 May 1967). In those days the conflict was known globally as the “Biafra war” which opposed the mostly Hausa north and the Ibo-populated southeast, and only ended in 1970 when the separatists surrendered.

A desperate economic situation, a huge waste of resources and a tragic loss of human lives (about 1.5 million dead and injured) were all factors that contributed to the birth of Nigeria, which for the next thirty years knew only military regimes, coups d’état and an improvement in wealth for northern lobbies who, through governments close to them, managed to get their hands on the proceeds from the sale of oil in the Southern. The dictatorship ended in 1999 when General Olusegun Obasanjo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was elected president in the general elections, who pledged to bring peace to the country. Despite these efforts, however, Nigeria was hit by two new conflicts. In the south guerrilla warfare from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) developed, which mainly attacked foreign oil refineries. Meanwhile, in the north the jihadist sect Boko Haram was born and made their name. Over the years, despite the alternation in power between the south with GoodLuck Jonathan, and north with the current President Muhammadu Buhari, the country has still not managed to reach stability. If the war in the South by the MEND independence activists dropped in intensity, the conflict in the North intensified and the jihadist sect linked to the self-styled Islamic State has expanded. The African nation is pervaded by the scourge of corruption, boasting a debt of over 35 billion dollars. Despite revenues from crude oil sales, 65% of the population live in extreme poverty.

Mauritania

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania gained independence under the leadership of Moktar Ould Daddah, who remained in power until 1978. In domestic politics he tried to modernise the country, while in foreign politics he initially committed to a moderate pro-French position. He then approached the socialist bloc and in ’73 joined the Arab League. The country was always imbued with serious ethnic tensions due to the difficult relationship between Arab and African groups. Moreover, a critical economic situation and defeat in the war against the Polisario Front were events that made Ould Daddah so unpopular that, on July 10, 1978, he was overthrown by a coup. Until 1984, the Sahel was subjected to continuous military coup, and the clash with the southern Sahara independence activists also intensified. On 12 December 1984, Colonel Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya became head of state, who tried to steer the country towards general elections that took place only in the late 1990s. In the early 2000s, the country was marked by a new phase in political instability which, in 2008, brought General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to power. Today, Mauritania is one of the countries most committed in its fight against jihadism but also a country with a system of slavery that is still so rife that in 2018 the African Union reprimanded the country for not doing anything to eradicate “hereditary slavery” despite it being formally banned in 1991.

L'articolo Happy Birthday Africa! proviene da InsideOver.

With ISIS severely enfeebled since the killing of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019, another geographical zone has become the new base of Islamic fundamentalism: Africa’s Sahel region.

Where Is The Sahel?

The Sahel extends across 5,400 kilometers, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, and crossing North Sahara up to the South of the Sudanese savanna. It is a vast transitional zone that includes the countries of Senegal, Mauritania, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

Drought and famine throughout the years have impoverished the area which is deeply economically depressed and deficient in its primary industrial sector. However, the Sahel is one of the richest regions in the world in terms of natural resources. Mali is Africa’s third-largest gold producer, while Niger is the world’s fourth largest producer of uranium and also has a significant amount of gold, coal and oil production. Chad’s oil fields have drawn the attention of many multi-national corporations including ESSO and China National Petroleum Company, while Burkina Faso’s gold production ranked the country as the fourth biggest gold producer of the African continent. Nevertheless, the extractive industry in the Sahel is not as profitable as it should be due to multiple factors such as taxing company profits and the impossibility for the natural resources sector to create new jobs nationwide.

Security Challenges Facing The Sahel

Currently, the most worrisome problems facing the Sahel region are terrorism and weapons smuggling. The latter is highly connected with Islamic jihadist activity, as it involves the main crossroads of the region. In 2005, the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Initiative was launched with the backing of the United States. The Trans-Saharan partnership—comprising the Maghreb and the Sahel countries—focused on fighting terrorism by enabling local governments to gain significant control over the deserted Trans-Saharan territory, otherwise easily used as a clever and efficient hideout for jihadist groups. The United States also engaged the Sahel issue ahead of time by promoting the Pan Sahel Initiative in November 2002 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom within the context of the wider Global War on Terror. Another initial attempt at combating the danger of terrorism in the region was the Resolution 2071 that the UN adopted in October 2012, along with the sending of NATO troops to put an end to human rights abuses and violations in Mali.

The G5 Sahel

Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Chad formed the G5 Sahel in February 2014. It is an institutional cooperative organization aimed at guaranteeing the region’s long-term stability with several developmental projects in the member countries. Among the G5 Sahel countries, only Chad and Niger seem to have reached any noticeable semblance of improvement in political stability. However, Chad’s President, Idriss Déby, has been in power for 30 years, and a new constitution was approved in April 2018 to expand his powers and leave him in charge until 2033. Moreover, from an economic perspective, Chad is the seventh most impoverished country in the world, according to The United Human’s Nations Development Index. Fully 80 percent of the population lives in miserable conditions as per the Internatioal Monetary Fund.

Like all former French colonies, Niger also experienced periods of turmoil following independence from the Hexagon, turning into a stable country only in 2010, in the wake of a coupe d’état carried out by its army. Niger adjoins with Mali, Burkina Faso, Libya, Chad, and Nigeria, and its geographical location places it in a hotspot as a transit zone for armed and terrorist groups. Indeed, Niger is currently engaged on a twofold front: first, at the border zones with Burkina Faso and Mali where it has to deal with the terrorist group Boko Haram’s ongoing forays and attacks; second in its attempt to reassert control over the transit route most widely used by criminal couriers.

Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Mali also went through enduring political upheaval due to their independence from France, achieved in 1958 and 1960, respectively. Years of continuous coups d’état, together with fragile economies, have affected security at the cross-border areas of all countries, paving the way for the proliferation of terrorist activity in the whole Sahel. Although Mauritania and Chad also contend with the scourge of terrorism, international observers locate the most critical situation in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

Proliferation Of Jihadist Groups In The Sahel

A number of armed extremist Salafist groups such as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISIS-GS), Ansar Dine (AAD), the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa’ (MUJAO), the Macina Liberation Front and Boko Haram operate in the Sahel. The latter started its activity in 2002 for no reason other than to supposedly purify Islam in Nigeria, turning into an armed group later. The most influential group among these, AQIM, burst upon the scene back in 2007 as a Salafist militia focused on unseating the Algerian government.

Mali’s Civil War

AQIM drew international attention in 2013 because of its role in the In Amenas hostage crisis, in which 67 people were killed. However, it must be said that safety across the Sahel first sharply and noticeably deteriorated following the Libyan Civil War in 2011, which greatly contributed to destabilizing the area. Tuareg mercenaries, who fought on the frontline by the side of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, returned to Mali provided with new weapons to conduct their longed-for irredentist clash, building an alliance with the Islamic terrorist militias. The outbreak of civil war in Mali, which led the north of the country being under the control of Ansar Dine and AQIM, triggered the swift intervention of France with Operation Serval in 2013. This operation was unavoidably bound to financial interests in Mali, but it was through Operation Barkhane (2014) that France hoped to fully eradicate jihadism from the entire Sahel by employing over 3,000 service members.

Jihadist Modus Operandi

The hurdle international forces are encountering in vanquishing Islamic terrorism is most likely connected to the layered network that the armed groups have established beyond borders and countries. It is widely understood that AQIM has woven beneficial linkages with al-Murabitun, MUJAO, and the Nigerian terrorist groups Boko Haram and Ansaru. As members of AQIM left the group to merge into other Salafist projects, new connections were established. For instance, AQIM former leader, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, merged his newly moulded group with MUJAO to form al-Murabitun in August 2013. Abdelmalek Droukdel’s statements about AQIM supporting Boko Haram with training and weapons corroborates the thesis of a multilateral affiliation between manifold Sahel terrorist groups. In addition, the capacity of self-financing demonstrated a clear similarity among different Islamic armed groups with regards to the kidnapping of civilians, showing some commonality and falling within the same modus operandi.

Jihadist Kidnappings On The Rise

Borderless abduction is a common practice for terrorist groups given that the targeted hostages are foreign citizens —aid workers, diplomats, or tourists—whose governments have shown themselves willing to pay ransom. The Algerian, US, and UK governments have never acquiesced to ransom payments in order to prevent Salafi-jihadist groups from enriching themselves, in contrast to the decisions of European governments regarding payments throughout the years. The 2003 Sahara hostage crisis, for example, yielded $6 million to AQIM. Despite European governments never having admitted to having paid such sums of money, AQIM’s kidnapping industry revenue has been estimated at between $50 and $90 million from 2003 to 2013. France’s Operation Serval not only undermined Salafi terrorist activity but also had the effect of spurring the armed groups’ determination in hitting Western countries by persisting in kidnappings.

Counterterrorism Strategy For The Sahel

In June 2017, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2359, deploying 10,000 soldiers as The Sahel Group of Five Sahel Joint Force. The resolution also performed the functions of supporting French forces as well as the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The EU participated in the multilateral coalition by donating €50 million in financial support. The United Nations harbored a certain concern over the threat of terrorism, organized crime, and human trafficking across the Sahel. It also observed a dramatic upturn in Jihadist activity, registering a five-fold increase in terrorist attacks between 2016 and 2019 in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, with 4,000 deaths reported in 2019. Almost 1,800 people died in Burkina Faso in 2019 due to continuing attacks perpetrated by terrorist groups. The beginning of terrorist incidents dates back to 2015 in Mali with the Hotel Bamako attack and the November shooting at the Hippodrome district, causing the overall death of 25 people. Ansar Dine was responsible for the 2016 Nampala attack, in which 17 Malian soldiers died.

Persisting attacks are plaguing the Sahel region, spreading from Mali to Burkina Faso and Niger, making 2019 the most catastrophic year for the whole area in decades. On 20 January 2020, an unspecified terrorist group killed 36 people in Sanmatenga Province in Burkina Faso. Even though it is not yet clear who the perpetrators are, it is sure that this new attack adds a surge of desperation over the renewed bloodshed. The January attack reached a new spike of atrocity, previously reached only by the 2016 Ouagadougou attacks, in which 30 people perished at the hands of AQIM.

The Security Situation In The Sahel Is Extremely Serious

The Sahel issue is so dire that it has required a new summit between France and the heads of the G5 Sahel countries. The meeting was held in Pau on Monday January 13, 2020 with a dual purpose: the first was associated with Macron’s desire to be reassured about the G5 Sahel countries’ endorsement of France’s entanglement in the conflict as a sentiment of disinclination toward the foreign troops has arisen among Sahel populations. The second objective was to strengthen the alliance’s commitment to facing terrorism whereby both parties called for a more systematic use of joint programming and for reciprocal delegation mechanisms. Although it is not possible to make any predictions about the forthcoming developments of France’s engagement in the region or its relationships with the Sahel countries, it is quite certain that this huge area of the African continent drew the heightened attention of major international political actors as soon as its extractive sector was jeopardized by the rise of the new flourishing industry of jihadist terrorism.

L'articolo Africa’s Sahel Region: The New Cradle Of Jihadism proviene da InsideOver.

The Arab League has denounced approval by the Turkish parliament of a bill that allows Ankara to send troops to Libya.

In a statement on December 2, the pan-Arab organization said it would continue to offer backing to the political process in Libya on the road to a negotiated settlement to its crisis.

“The Arab League underscores the importance of stopping foreign interference in Libyan affairs,” the league said.

Turkish troop deployment

The statement came only hours after the Turkish parliament approved the bill, which was submitted by Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In his letter to the Turkish parliament, Erodgan said the deployment of Turkish troops in Libya would protect Turkish interests in North Africa and offer support to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA).

The expected troop deployment came in the light of a security cooperation deal the GNA signed with Ankara on November 28. This was one of two deals which also included another on the delimitation of maritime boundaries between Turkey and Libya.

Erdogan said the security cooperation pact allows his country to send troops to Libya at the request of the GNA. The GNA requested Turkish military support on December 19.

Escalation of tensions

Turkey’s deployment of troops in Libya will exacerbate tensions in North Africa and in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Libya now has a fully-fledged civil war, in which Islamist militias affiliated to the GNA and backed by Turkey are pitted against the Libyan National Army (LNA), which contains some of the military commanders that served under the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The LNA controls almost three-quarters of Libya, including the country’s eastern part, its south and some parts of western Libya.

The GNA is locked in Tripoli, some parts of Misurata and some parts of western Libya.

The LNA is now marching towards Tripoli and has succeeded in overrunning some of the districts of the Libyan capital. It wants to significantly reverse the military situation in Libya before Erdogan can send any formidable military support to the GNA and its Islamist militias.

Opposition

By deploying its troops in Libya, Turkey will be part of this civil war, but it will be there to back one party, namely the GNA, against the other: the LNA.

Some of the Turkish lawmakers who debated Erdogan’s troop deployment request on December 2 expressed fears from this.

One of these lawmakers even asked about why Turkish troops would be sent to fight in the deserts of Libya.

There is also regional opposition to Turkish military presence in Libya, including from Egypt, Greece and Cyprus which see in the planned Turkish troop deployment an increasing of tensions in the region.

Arab League

The Arab League’s December 2 condemnation of the Turkish parliament’s approval of the expected Turkish troop deployment came only days after the league called for preventing foreign interference in Libyan affairs.

At an emergency meeting at the league headquarters in Cairo on December 31, the league said foreign interference in Libyan affairs would ease the relocation of extremists and terrorists from some conflict zones, including Syria, to Libya.

It expressed concern about what it described as “military escalation” in Libya.

“This escalation makes the Libyan crisis worse and threatens the security of Libya’s neighboring countries,” it added.

Limits

On December 2, the Libyan parliament, which is based in the northeastern Libyan city of Tobruk, called on the league to ask its member states to activate a 1950 common defense pact between Arab states.

Nevertheless, the league’s ability to take action in this regard is very limited, given rifts among Arab states on what is happening in Libya, analysts said.

The league has 22 member states, but these states do not share the same view on developments in Libya, they added.

“Some of the states inherently back Turkey, like in the case of Qatar,” said Libyan affairs specialist, Abdel Sattar Heteita. “Other states support opposing parties in the conflict.”

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated his intention to provide military support to Libya’s recognized government in his latest attempt for increased geopolitical relevance and projection of Turkish power. In order to facilitate the deployment of Turkish troops, Erdogan will request the Turkish parliament to vote on the plan early next month. The corresponding law will likely be submitted by the beginning of January Erdogan confirmed in a speech to representatives of his party AKP.

Turkey’s Libya Deployment Timeline

Erdogan stated that “based on the security and military cooperation memorandum, once Parliament opens the first thing we will do is to submit a resolution on the deployment of soldiers.” Specifically, the resolution authorizing deployment to Libya is expected to be passed on January 8 or 9.

Moving forward, Turkey would go to places where it was invited but never anywhere where it was not wanted, Erdogan continued. The latter is his rationale for his Lybia plans, as Libya’s GNA government has invited Ankara to intervene and requested it. It’s an invitation that Erdogan is more than willing to accept. In fact, Turkey will provide the Tripoli government with “any kind of support against a coup-planning general backed by several European and Arab countries,” Erdogan said, adding that “we stand alongside Libya’s legitimate government.” The legitimization of the current government, however, remains a conundrum among the international community.

Libya’s Bloody Civil War

Libya has been suffering from a civil war since 2014. Erdogan already agreed on Sunday to provide more military support to the UN-recognized government in Tripoli, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, and to examine the possibilities of deploying boots on the ground, as well as air force and navy assets. At this stage, it is hard to predict what type of troops Erdogan will ultimately send. However, as NATO’s biggest army other than the US, Erdogan certainly has several options to explore.

Turkey and the al-Sarraj government in Libya had already concluded on a comprehensive security and military cooperation agreement, which allows Turkey to send military trainers and advisers. The Turkish government also has authorization for joint military exercises and may send weapons and military vehicles to Libya on request. Moreover, Turkey has pledged to help build a protection force to undertake police and military duties. In order to deploy combat troops, Erdoğan’s government requires separate parliamentary approval. The latter can be seen as a pure formality, however, as Erdogan’s AKP and his coalition partner, the MHP command a majority in the Turkish parliament.

Turkish Deployment Could Lead To An All-Out Proxy War In Libya

Nonetheless, Turkey’s increased involvement will likely further complicate the current situation in Libya with the fear of an actual proxy war becoming conceivable. The UN-recognized al-Sarraj GNA government and the powerful opposition Libyan National Army (LNA) forces commanded by dual American-Libyan citizen, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, have been competing for power since the overthrow of Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011. Haftar’s Libyan National Army has been trying to capture the capital, Tripoli, since April. According to the UN, more than 280 civilians have been killed and more than 140,000 people displaced since Haftar’s offensive began eight months ago.

Amongst as-Sarraj’s primary supporters are Turkey, Qatar, and Italy. On the other side, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE have been supporting Haftar. Meanwhile, Russia, which also supports Haftar in Libya, has expressed concern about Turkey’s possible involvement. A delegation from the Turkish government traveled to Moscow on Monday to speak to Russian diplomats about Libya and Syria. The latter demonstrates Turkey’s status as an opportunistic power, as Ankara has been increasingly fraternizing with Russia in recent times, a development that is seen highly negatively in the West. The move now appears to be solely in Turkey’s interest.

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The interim Libyan government has started taking measures to return hundreds of thousands of externally displaced Libyans, especially in Egypt, to their country.

Interim Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani, held a series of meetings in the past few days to check progress on the implementation of the plan.

The plan is part of a national reconciliation initiative launched by the government, which is based in the eastern commercial industrial city of al-Bayda.

The initiative aims at bringing the Libyans together, following years of fighting and unrest in the oil-rich North African state.

On November 28, al-Thani held a meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo with some members of his cabinet to discuss incentives in the plan for returning Libyans living in Egypt home.

To convince them to do this, the interim government is offering to pay for their travel and provide them with accommodation and financial support once they return, according to Ali al-Sagheir, the head of the Committee on Externally Displaced Libyans.

He said the government would find jobs for unemployed externally displaced Libyans when they return home and return civil servants to their original jobs before the 2011 revolution against longstanding ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

Over a million Libyans flocked to Egypt following the eruption of the Libyan civil war in 2011.

Nonetheless, with eastern Libya becoming more stable, hundreds of thousands of Libyan nationals returned to their country. Now, around half a million Libyans live here.

These are the people al-Thani and the members of his cabinet want to return home.

However, the new initiative raises questions on whether these Libyans would be ready to go back home, especially with the situation in Libya still uncertain.

Although most of eastern Libya is stable, there are turbulent areas in the North African state, including in southern Libya. Some territories are controlled by terrorist groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and al-Qaeda.

A war is raging on now on the fringes of capital Tripoli between the National Libyan Army, which controls most of eastern and central Libya, on one hand, and military groups operating under the internationally recognized National Accord Government, which controls the capital and most of western Libya, on the other.

Efforts are being made by the United Nations and different members of the international community to bring about a peaceful settlement to the conflict in Libya. Nonetheless, this conflict is set to exacerbate even more in the coming days with rival regional and international powers backing rival Libyan forces.

These deteriorating conditions are a major hurdle on the way of the return of Libyans displaced outside their country.

Most of those who ran away from Libya were backers of Gaddafi and members of his tribe or members of tribes allied to him.

After Gaddafi’s overthrow, these people were at the centre of public reprisals, which was why they had to run away.

In 2012, the Libyan parliament passed a law that denied Gaddafi’s backers the right to participate in Libya’s political life. The same law stipulated penalties for Gaddafi’s supporters.

Nevertheless, in 2014, the eastern Libya parliament passed a law that offered a general pardon for Gaddafi’s backers. The law is part of a nationwide reconciliation campaign aiming at settling conflicts between Libyans peacefully.

Interim Social Affairs Minister, Fathia Hamed, said huge efforts are made to bring the Libyans together.

The initiative for bringing externally displaced Libyans back home, she said, is based on the national reconciliation plan.

“We will use this plan to convince the Libyans return to their country,” Hamed said. “It is an integral part of the general pardon initiative launched by Libyan state institutions.”

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