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Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso agree to create a joint force to fight worsening violence

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11 months ago

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BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — A joint security force announced by the juntas ruling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to fight the worsening extremist violence in their Sahel region countries faces a number of challenges that cast doubt on its effectiveness, analysts said Thursday.

Niger’s top military chief, Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou said in a statement after meeting with his counterparts Wednesday that the joint force would be “operational as soon as possible to meet the security challenges in our area.”

The announcement is the latest in a series of actions taken by the three countries to strike a more independent path away from regional and international allies since the region experienced a string of coups — the most recent in Niger in July last year.

They have already formed a security alliance after severing military ties with neighbors and European nations such as France and turning to Russia — already present in parts of the Sahel — for support.

Barmou did not give details about the operation of the force, which he referred to as an “operational concept that will enable us to achieve our defence and security objectives.”

Although the militaries had promised to end the insurgencies in their territories after deposing their respective elected governments, conflict analysts say the violence has instead worsened under their regimes. They all share borders in the conflict-hit Sahel region and their security forces fighting jihadi violence are overstretched.

The effectiveness of their security alliance would depend not just on their resources but on external support, said Bedr Issa, an independent analyst who researches the conflict in the Sahel.

The three regimes are also “very fragile,” James Barnett, a researcher specializing in West Africa at the U.S.-based Hudson Institute, said, raising doubts about their capacity to work together.

“They’ve come to power through coups, they are likely facing a high risk of coups themselves, so it is hard to build a stable security framework when the foundation of each individual regime is shaky,” said Barnett.

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Associated Press writer Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria contributed.

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Joe Biden Grants Posthumous Pardon to Black Nationalist Marcus Garvey

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1 day ago

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January 20, 2025

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On Sunday, President Joe Biden made a powerful move by posthumously pardoning Marcus Garvey, the Black nationalist who left a lasting mark on figures like Malcolm X and other civil rights leaders.

Back in the 1920s, Garvey was hit with a mail fraud conviction that many believe was just a way to silence his growing voice in the fight for racial pride. Alongside Garvey, Biden also granted pardons to a prominent Virginia lawmaker and advocates pushing for immigrant rights, criminal justice reform, and gun violence prevention.

Congressional leaders had been calling on Biden to clear Garvey’s name, arguing that his conviction was more about politics than justice. After his conviction, Garvey was sent back to his native Jamaica, where he lived until his passing in 1940. This pardon is a nod to recognizing the legacy of a man who inspired countless others and fought fiercely for his people.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said of Garvey: “He was the first man, on a mass scale and level” to give millions of Black people “a sense of dignity and destiny.”

As President Biden wraps up his term on Monday, it’s still up in the air whether he’ll issue pardons for those who’ve faced criticism or threats from President-elect Donald Trump. Granting preemptive pardons for anyone who might be investigated or prosecuted by the incoming administration would push the limits of presidential power into uncharted territory.

Biden has already made history by issuing the most pardons and commutations in a single presidency. Just last Friday, he announced that he’s commuting the sentences of nearly 2,500 folks locked up for nonviolent drug offenses. He also gave a blanket pardon to his son Hunter, who faced charges related to gun and tax issues.

Additionally, Biden has commuted the sentences of 37 out of the 40 individuals on federal death row, swapping their death sentences for life in prison—this move comes right as Trump, who has been vocal about his support for capital punishment, is stepping into office. During his first term, Trump oversaw an unprecedented wave of executions, with 13 carried out even amid the pandemic.

It’s important to note that a pardon wipes the slate clean, lifting guilt and punishment, while a commutation simply lightens or eliminates the sentence without clearing the wrongdoing.

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At least seven people killed by army at Ghana’s AngloGold Ashanti mine

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1 day ago

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January 20, 2025

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ACCRA (Reuters) -A Ghanaian small-scale miners’ association on Sunday said soldiers killed nine unarmed people at an AngloGold Ashanti mine on Saturday night, while the army said seven illegal miners had been killed in a firefight.

Kofi Adams, local chairman of the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners, told Reuters that nine people had been killed and fourteen severely injured in the incident at the Obuasi gold mining site in the West African country’s Ashanti Region.

He said the people had not been armed.

Earlier, Ghana’s armed forces said that about 60 illegal miners carrying locally manufactured rifles and other weapons breached the mine’s security fence at around 11:00 pm (2300 GMT) on Saturday and fired on a military patrol deployed there, leading to a shootout.

“This is unprecedented (and) it’s difficult to understand why this happened,” Adams said, noting that in the past, trespassers on the site had been scared off with warning shots.

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama ordered an immediate investigation into the incident, the presidency said in a statement on Sunday, calling it “tragic”.

The government has asked AngloGold Ashanti to cover the medical expenses of the injured and the cost of burials, the presidency’s statement said.

AngloGold Ashanti could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Johannesburg-listed miner owns the Iduapriem and Obuasi mines in southern Ghana. The two mines produced more than 490,000 ounces of gold last year.

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Thousands attend funeral of Liberian ex-warlord Prince Johnson

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January 20, 2025

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Thousands gathered in northern Liberia on Saturday for the funeral of warlord-turned-politician Prince Johnson, a notorious face of the country’s brutal civil wars who died without facing trial.

Back-to-back conflicts devastated the small west African country from 1989 until 2003, claiming around 250,000 lives and resulting in massacres, mutilation, rape, cannibalism and the widespread use of child soldiers.

Johnson became infamous in 1990 after appearing in a video sipping beer as he calmly watched his fighters mutilate and torture president Samuel Doe to death.

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