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Ahh that explains why South West Burkina has gone up in risk rating for France. Hopefully it stays a local thing .
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Aug 18, 2020 20:09
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 12:37 |
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My partner reports gunfire and flashbangs in the street outside our apartment in Abidjan - evidently Ouattara has a campaign office nearby our apartment. Hopefully it settles down quickly.
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Nov 4, 2020 18:39
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Squalid posted:So Cote D'Ivoire just had an election. The incumbent President was running for a third term despite that teeechnically being unconstitutional. The best known opposition leaders were disqualified from running in advance and most of the rest boycotted. Security services fired on protesters in aftermath and images show several killed. All seems a bit poo poo imo There is a little more to it than that, the incumbent originally was standing down but his replacement died due to ill health after surgery in France. The ruling party did not feel anyone else had the gravitas of the incumbent so lawyered the rules around terms (number of terms rule was brought in by the current incumbent after he started and therefore they decided it didn't count in the score when the obvious successor died). The best known opposition leaders are the leaders that refused to leave office when elected out 2010 and thousands of people died to force them to respect the election result after being in charge for a very long time. He was disqualified for the rioting and election violence he led in support of ignoring the election results. Boycotting the election was probably more a nod to that the party Ouattara has led been likely to win the election anyway because things overall seem to be getting better in Cote D'Ivoire. In fact the group of them (both the current incumbent and the best known opposition) have been at the center of Cote D'Ivoire politics for decades and are all old men - 70's. The fellow that died was ironically a decade or more younger than all the grizzled old veterans that can't let go. There certainly has been violence, I was stuck onsite while talking to my partner over the phone with gunfire and flashbangs in the streets directly outside our apartment in the background - evidently Ouattara has an election office nearby or something. After a week of that it rained quite a lot and it has since been calm in Abidjan at least. Turns out sticks and stones my break my bones but gently caress getting wet.
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Dec 15, 2020 12:28
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Our operations are gearing up to respond to the latest Ebola outbreak that is kicking off in West Africa. Definitely in Guinea and I heard as well in Mali. I am hoping that the stockpiled vaccines are effective because I am sure the WHO and CDC is more stretched then last time. It will be interesting to see how much Africa gets closed off from flights (more than it already is due to Covid) through this.
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Feb 15, 2021 11:02
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Hopefully not that. There is a post Ramadan uptick in violence across the region. Only a couple of days ago a few Burkinabé got taken over the border into Mali, convicted of theft by an ad hoc court and had their hands cut off. There are other nasty events as well so I hope the increased military effort is in relation to that and not a coup. I literally just finished a farewell speech for a guy heading to Mali tomorrow so double hope it’s not going that way.
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May 24, 2021 21:03
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Evidently the coup started on Friday as a strike by special forces for better pay and bonuses and evolved from there into a coup attempt. Reportedly when the coup was in the balance on Saturday, Traore took to social media to leverage the anti-French activists who then Molotov cocktailed the French embassy, waved Russian flags, etc to create more anti-Damiba noise. It was at risk of confrontation but both sides talked it out and it was apparent that the younger crowd (Traore is a captain about 32 years old) had more support within the army. Understanding is that this is a coup within a coup, Traore was part of the faction that overthrew the civilian leadership and that the intent is not to change direction dramatically but because they think they can run things better. It is still roughly that Burkina Faso needs to focus on the insurgency in the north and that the support of Niger, Cote D'Ivoire and France is needed for this (as opposed to the Mali path which is to enlist the help of Russia).
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Oct 5, 2022 07:21
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Burkina Faso is really going to poo poo. On top of the increasing attacks on facilities and convoys (now including fatalities on both sides), word on the streetis that Wagner is successfully pushing local forces around enough and creating enough dis-information out there that the French have been asked to withdrawal their special forces and army out of Burkina Faso.
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Jan 23, 2023 09:15
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tristeham posted:the french army has been doing way more harm than good there, it's not because of russian disinfo they're being kicked out but because they suck. imagine thinking that the people of burkina faso need russians to know that french neocolonialism is bad. The local forces on their own are getting pushed back steadily. Attacks on convoys have increased and local soldiers are getting ambushed foraging for food (one of my workmates lost his brother in such an attack). On my facebook are posts saying that the brand new 76 series Toyotas that are common to these attacks on Burkinabe forces is supplied by the French. It is a common local belief that Trump being illegally kicked from power in the US is a disaster for the Burkina people and part of the reason for the terrorist's success. Maybe it is true but the effectiveness of these attacks is why the government keeps getting changed and French influence is being reduced. If the French are supplying the Toyota's and arms for the fighters, I think it is a massive own goal. Toplowtech posted:I am french and i approve this message. Also why would a military-lead coup-government perceive the French army as a threat, i wonder? Part of the support of the current coup leader was him publicly hating on the French in line with the youth calls to get rid of the French. He rallied that support, the government changed and then he quietly kept receiving French support (as opposed to swapping the French out to Wagner support like has occurred in Mali). I am unsure whether the govt really wants the French support to go (it is mostly special forces guarding the Burkinabe govt itself - only small numbers really, even the drone support left awhile ago, maybe some funding as well).
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Jan 24, 2023 17:09
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Evidently Russian Foreign Minister is in Mauritania for a visit. My Mauritanian workmate doesn't think Mauritania will go for Russian support like the other Sahel nations have. It has had better success keeping the arms and incursions limited by patroling the vast desert border with camels and V8 petrol land cruisers.
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Feb 7, 2023 13:07
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So the Burkina Faso army withdrew and regrouped before pushing back into the north but got ambushed and have fallen back. They are not saying that they have lost the area but will need to collect significant forces before having another go. The French special forces element that was still in Ouagadougou departed Sunday. Médecins Sans Frontières ceased operations the end of last week. In words quoted in international news - "Walking with Russia is not a sin ... Russia is the solution," said 58-year-old protester Amadé Compaoré.
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Feb 20, 2023 09:30
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I think a big part of it is that coup leaders really did think that they were getting insufficient funds from their respective central governments (the coup leaders assuming it is all being stolen, which at least some is) and they could do better. They take over (often using the rallying cry of casting off the colonisers) and find that their respective central governments really ARE operating on shoestring budgets propped up by aid. Hence why the comments implying that the coup should be able to take over and still receive French aid. They have made promises to the populace that they will finally take ISIS seriously and improve fuel and food prices. It doesn't help the local tax base that they give mines to Wagner to pay for arms and merc support and empower externally supported artisanal miners to hinder productive industrial mining which is gutting one of their few sources of forex. For motivation of why Wagner is there, I think a big part of it is Russia making GBS threads in France's cheerios while also gaining access to more gold (and maybe cut off France from one of its sources of Uramium).
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Aug 3, 2023 13:28
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Burkinabe's generally believe the French are the ones funding ISIS, supplying new Toyota utes, motorbikes and arms. In Cote D'Ivoire the French are hated for being involved in the civil war and still having an outsize opinion, if not influence in the nation. In Senegal, it used to be way less acrimonious as the Senegalese are proud of Landing Senghor and his balancing relationships with the formal colonial power and maintaining their own path (which was very leftist at the time but avoided both the anti-west theme of a lot of ex-colonial nations and the ire of the US for being leftist) However, France has been blamed by the opposition for allowing Macky Sall to stay in power so long. Still way more positive than Cote D'Ivoire though.
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Aug 4, 2023 08:28
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As a bit of an update, my TikTok is now awash with anti-EU (with chat about US war machine always wanting more war) rhetoric. Talking about it being finally time to stop letting colonial powers keep stealing all the natural resources, stop toppling govts that support African interests in the name of democracy/freedom of speach, etc. Not sure if it is part of a Chinese/Russian continuation to court Africa onto the side of Russia/China through social media or natural upwelling but probably a bit of both.
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Aug 5, 2023 15:40
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My Tik tok is melting down at the concept of "Western Aligned" ECOWAS members going to war with Niger (and those same wankers outspokenly hope Burkina and Mali climb into it). I thought these people liked spheres of influence and on that basis surely Nigeria deserves to get to tell The Niger what to do if its own people aren't worthy of an opinion. It's going to be loving poo poo though. I was only within spitting distance of Niamey a month or so ago and it was already a bloody tough place. On trying to get news, it is hard as people keep their opinion to themselves in person unless they are far enough removed (say from Ghana or Liberia) to have no better vision than myself. You kinda have to read the tealeaves while trying not to look too inquisitive.
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Aug 11, 2023 09:54
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The US/EU/IMF do have a lot of influence though and are probably pushing behind the scenes to get ECOWAS to do something. It's not in US/EU interests that Russia continues to gain ground across North Africa and at the same time they would prefer other people to do the actual fighting.
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Aug 11, 2023 16:17
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It is a bit of old news but there was the brewing of another coup in Burkina last week. I heard it through the week so of course it had little chance of being successful (if I heard about it, the grown ups that really care also had to have heard about it) and by the end of the week it was reported as closed down. I have no idea of if it was just a local discontent or externally supported or whatever but the nature of the preparations I knew about it was a bit more than just one local unit getting antsy. In any event, the region remains hard yards even without Ukraine sending guys down to kill Africans in their quest to upset Russia at every turn.
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Oct 2, 2023 19:04
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Burkina Faso over the last few weeks has seen less incidents but more deadly. Bit hard to make out all the details but it seems over a hundred civilians were slaughtered in an attack by the military in the central north. Not sure if the terrorists attacked and the counter-attack resulted in collateral casualtlies. Also ~30 Russian soldiers turned up in Ouagadougou to assist. No Wagner but regulars including medics.
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Nov 13, 2023 09:12
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This is through colleagues/contacts that pass through Ougua. I seen a Russian VIP plane (IL-62) at the airport a few months ago and Russia has agreed to help Burkina build a nuclear power station so not terribly surprised. I can link the nuclear news at least..https://www.bbc.com/news/world-afri...post_type=share
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Nov 13, 2023 16:27
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So Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have issued a blunt communique informing they are pulling out of ECOWAS. The charter says it should require a year's notification but the notification came seemingly without consultation with other countries. Highlights how unpredictable these governments are. Not sure what it means for their use of the CFA, customs and the like. All three are landlocked nations requiring support of ECOWAS nations just for food and power so it seems a pretty brave (deluded? desperate?) move.
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Jan 29, 2024 09:11
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 12:37 |
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Saladman posted:They were already suspended from ECOWAS, so I'm not sure how much of a practical difference it makes. Good question about CFA; anyway there are already 2 CFAs that are pegged to the same amount but are not compatible, so might as well add in a third. Mali has been suspended for years already with no effect on CFA. They weren't suspended, just being sanctioned by the other countries within it. Agreed that they could not hope to launch their own currency, despite how minerally wealthy they think they are. They do think themselves fabulously wealthy, mineral wise and it is only that other countries taking it that is the problem. This is despite having a handful of mines in each vs say Australia which has a handful of mines that generate more revenue individually than all of theirs combined plus several hundred more smaller ones. They also don't realise that the governments of each of those countries take the biggest cut of the revenue from internationally operated mines within their borders. Another development a bit more worrying is that terrorists in northern Burkina have learnt from the Ukr/Rus conflict and have added drone dropped hand grenades to their techniques on top of the IEDs which they are using closer to Ouaga than they were before. Also evidently the Russia Africa Corp has suffered casualties patrolling in the north of Burkina.
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Feb 5, 2024 10:43
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