Chad's new military government on Monday named Albert Pahimi Padacke as interim prime minister. The announcement comes a week after President Idriss Deby's death in the battlefield, which prompted a military council to seize power in the country. Opposition politicians have slammed the move calling the military takeover an "institutional coup." Yacine Abderamane, president of the opposition Reformist Party said the army had no right to install a head of government. Padacke served

The sudden and mysterious death of Chadian strongman Idriss Déby on April 20, 2021 - supposedly on the battlefield - has cast much doubt on the future stability of the region, writes Peter Fabricius for Daily Maverick. French Defence Minister Florence Parly described Déby, who ruled Chad for some 30 years, as "an essential ally in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel". The same sentiment was echoed

Research group Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has identified a link between climate change and extremism in Mali. This report detailed how environmental changes, including limited land, lack of fresh water and other natural resources, are at least partly driving the growth of extremist groups operating there. With most Malians relying on natural resources for their livelihoods, a lack of economic alternatives in some areas means other players, such as extremist groups, are

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said that Mali soldiers have allegedly killed at least 34 villagers, caused the disappearance of 16 people, and severely mistreated detainees during counter-terrorism operations in the country's central Mopti region. The government said it had opened investigations into incidents in the towns of Libé and Kobou, but family members of victims told HRW that the authorities have not contacted them. Mali security forces allegedly committed the abuses during military

National and foreign forces deployed to fight terrorism in the Sahel are increasingly harming civilians. Figures from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project  indicate that security forces caused more civilian fatalities in Mali and Burkina Faso in 2020 than violent extremist groups or communal violence. Things aren't getting any better in 2021. French Operation Barkhane, Chadian contingents of the G5 Sahel Joint Force and other national and international forces in the region, have