A recent jihadist attack on Mali's capital and a growing threat from northern rebels reportedly getting help from Ukraine begs the question: is the Sahel a new Russia-West battleground?
Niger accuses Algeria of mistreating EU-bound Nigeriens by dumping them back in the desert. Algeria accuses Niger of opening the floodgates. Neither is backing down.
The US and French withdrawal from the Sahel lets the Russians, Chinese, and Iranians in. Tehran, in particular, will be keen to buy Niger's uranium, despite this being a red line for Washington.
Washington has finally woken up to the importance of developing this vital region, with Nigeria showing the greatest investment potential — in the trillions.
Two months ago today, a coup took place in Niger that delivered yet another blow to France's declining influence in the Sahel. Without US support, Paris has decided to pack up and leave.
France's 'Suez Moment' has been a drawn-out one. Its influence has waxed and waned since the 1960s, but it has been on an overall downward trajectory throughout. Al Majalla explains.
ECOWAS member states are well aware that an armed conflict would worsen the region's existing instability. The mere mention of a military intervention has been enough to divide West African nations.
Until the West can prove that it can address the economic and security challenges Sahel countries face, the governance models represented by China or Russia will continue to gain more appeal.
France is especially affected by the coup, as it has previously lost similar bases in Mali and Burkina Faso due to coups allegedly linked to Wagner activities
Al Majalla outlines the common ground and key differences between the two presidential contenders on the three most consequential countries in the Middle East
Al Majalla's October cover story looks at Israel's unprecedented decapitation of Hezbollah's top-brass leadership and the escalating direct confrontation between Tel Aviv and Tehran
Many believe Tel Aviv covets more than the destruction of Hamas and Hezbollah. After Gaza and Lebanon, many in Turkey worry just how far Israel will go in its territorial ambitions.
Tehran has spent four decades building Hezbollah into a fighting force on Israel's northern border. It was Iran's first and best line of defence. Its crumbling might precipitate a change in approach.
Criminal extortion gangs at cash machines and high commissions from money exchange bureaus send war-ravaged Palestinians to look for digital alternatives