Update & Resources on West Africa

  • Niger: American hostage rescued by US special forces

An American hostage kidnapped in Niger has been freed in a raid by US special forces.

Philip Walton was abudcted from a village close to the border with Nigeria by men armed with AK47s on motorbikes.

BBC reports that with jihadist and criminal groups known to operate in the Sahel area, at least six hostages are thought to be held captive.

  • Turning the Authoritarian Tide: Strategies For Transforming Securitisation

Watch a global debate by the Security Policy Alternatives Network (SPAN) & the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftun, on current trends in peace, security and human rights and prospects for adopting security policy alternatives.

Video Recording

English/French translation needed? Click here

Besoin d’une traduction anglais/français? Cliquez ici

  • The African Soldiers of the First World War

RUSI online conversation with the Rt. Hon. David Lammy MP and Professor Michèle Barrett on the forgotten African soldiers who fought for Britain in the First World War.

Date: 11 November 2020
Time: 1600 GMT

Register here

 

Solving political crises in West Africa & Sahel: Consensus rather than compromise

NIMD Sahel Director Mirjam Tjassing and Founder of WATHI Yabi Gilles argue if ECOWAS does not go beyond the usual worn-out political recipes – perceived by marginalised populations as cake-sharing between opportunistic actors – the chances of ending cycle of political crises plaguing Mali, the Sahel and West Africa are very slim.

Original article: