Aminata Dramane Traoré: “They Want to Lead Us Into War”

Raphaël Schmeller Aminata Dramane Traoré is an author, human rights activist and former Minister of Culture of Mali. She will be a guest speaker at the upcoming “International Rosa Luxemburg Conference. (Internationale Rosa-Luxemburg-Konferenz XXVIII. 2023)” An interview with Aminata Dramane Traoré on the chaos caused by Western states in the Sahel and the interests of…

Mali’s Break with France is a Symptom of Cracks in the Transatlantic Alliance

Tricontinental SEYDOU KEÏTA (MALI), UNTITLED, 1948–1954 On 21 November 2022, Mali’s interim prime minister, Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, issued a statement on social media announcing the government’s decision ‘to ban, with immediate effect, all activities carried out by [French] NGOs operating in Mali’. This announcement came a few days after the French government cut Official Development Aid (ODA)…

Is Russia Really the Reason Why Mali Continues to Push France Away?

Vijay Prashad A new burst of anti-colonial feeling has swept through France’s former colonies, where the debates are now centered around breaking with its stranglehold on their economies and ending the military intervention by its troops On November 21, Mali’s interim Prime Minister Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga posted a statement on social media to say that Mali has decided “to…

Germany is Forced to Give Up its Ambitions in Africa

Vladimir Danilov The US and the former European metropolises – France, Britain and Germany – have made desperate efforts in recent years to maintain their neo-colonial positions on the African continent. After all, the Western bloc views Africa primarily from a military-geopolitical and resource-based perspective, with projected prospects for global development. These aspects are viewed…

Why Nigerian Protesters Want the French Army Out

Ekaterina Blinova Nigerians took to the streets of the country’s capital Niamey on September 18, with some of the protesters carrying Russian flags and placards saying “criminal French Army – get out” and “The colonial army of Barkhane must go”. “The demonstration [on September 18] fits in a wider development and sentiment that has been…

Mali vs. Ivory Coast: When Dignity Must Confront Pro-Western Outsourcing

Mikhail Gamandiy-Egorov The current crisis between Bamako and Abidjan goes beyond the strictly West African regional framework. It is in fact and above all a confrontation between two diametrically opposed visions. The first is based on national sovereignty and pan-African values, while the second remains in a position of subcontracting in favor of Western neo-colonialism….

Mali Presents the UN with Evidence of French Support of Terrorists

Vladimir Danilov Recently, Radio RFI has announced that Malian authorities made accusations against France, citing a letter of Mali’s Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, that alleged that Paris was supplying terrorists with weapons and called for the convening of an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. In his August 15 letter, Abdoulaye Diop cited some…

Mali: Expectations and Challenges

Mikhail Gamandiy-Egorov Following the now complete withdrawal of the French military presence from Mali, challenges remain in a context where the former colonial metropolis and other Western regimes do not intend to ease the pressure on the country, which has become another example of a pan-Africanist and pro-multipolar orientation. After nine years of military presence…

Petition Against French Troops’ Presence in Niger Launched After Protest Rally Banned in Capital

Oleg Burunov On Monday, France withdrew its troops from Mali, bringing its anti-terror Operation Barkhane, which kicked off in 2017, to a close, and relocating its headquarters to Niger. Niger’s M62 public movement, consisting of 15 NGOs, has launched a petition against the presence of France’s Barkhane force in the country after the authorities banned…

Russia’s Latest Military Aid to Mali Confirms its Regional Anti-Terrorist Commitment

Andrew Korybko Instead of fleeing in the face of foreign-backed Al Qaeda-connected terrorists recently declaring war on it in Mali, Russia proved that it’s ready to double down by doing its utmost to ensure that its regional ally can wipe out these destabilizing forces once and for all after France failed to do so despite…

Once Led by a Fierce Champion of Anti-Colonialism, Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of Congo Has Been Recolonized by Western Capital

Owen Schalk Coltan mine, Democratic Republic of Congo. The United States does the heavy lifting, but Canada provides consistent behind-the-scenes support to enable the plunder of Congo and other nations in the Global South. On October 14, 2004, a group of ten armed men took control of the city of Kilwa in the eastern Katanga…

Mali’s Resistance Continues and Inspires

Mikhail Gamandiy-Egorov The lifting of economic sanctions by ECOWAS against Mali should certainly not be seen as the victory of a consensus or as a sign of goodwill from the regional organization towards Bamako. The reality is that the resistance of the country’s authorities and people has proven to be effective, and is extending its…

Is This the End of the French Project in Africa’s Sahel?

Vijay Prashad Mali recently announced that it would no longer be part of the G5 Sahel. From the beginning, it was clear that the formation of the G5 Sahel was encouraged by France, and that the real focus was to be security. On May 15, 2022, the military junta in Mali announced that it would no longer…

Mali is Deprived of an Opportunity to Follow Policies Independent of the West

Vladimir Danilov Attempts by the inhabitants of the states of the African continent to throw off the shackles of modern neo-colonialism and pursue a policy independent of the West are being met with active resistance from the very same West. Another confirmation of this is the recent coup attempt thwarted by the authorities in Mali….

Mali’s Military Ejects France but Faces Serious Challenges

Vijay Prashad French soldiers of the 126th Infantry Regiment and Malian soldiers in Operation Barkhane, 17 March 2016. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Colonel Assimi Goïta, who leads the military junta, said that the agreement with the French “brought neither peace, nor security, nor reconciliation” and that the population aspires “to stop the flow of Malian blood”…

Paris Gets Kicked Out of French Africa

Vladimir Danilov Mali’s government spokesman Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga, who was the country’s prime minister in 2017, announced in a televised address that the African country was tearing up defense agreements with France. Although Paris has called the decision “unjustified”, France is nevertheless continuing to withdraw its military from Mali, following the Malian government’s earlier call for…

France Shifting Blame on Russia in Mali as Paris is Losing Influence & Control in Africa

Ekaterina Blinova A mass grave discovered by Malian soldiers near a vacated French base prompted Paris to accuse a private Russian paramilitary organisation, Wagner Group, of planting corpses there to smear the French Armed Forces. However, Bamako renounced its military cooperation agreement with France on 2 May following the gruesome discovery. “France is desperate to…

Mali: Counter-Terrorism Successes and Effective Resistance to Interference

Mikhail Gamandiy-Egorov At the very moment when the Republic of Mali is experiencing successes on the ground in the fight against terrorism, and this without the involvement of any Western forces, the Elysée establishment and its Western allies are trying by all means to denigrate these successes. Although this was perfectly predictable. For Malians, the…