Latest news with #Burkinabe
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Politics
- Business Insider
U.S. Africa Command declares Sahel ‘global terrorism epicenter'
The top U.S. military commander leading AFRICOM in Africa has issued a stark warning about the rapid expansion of terrorist groups in the Sahel region. The Sahel region in Africa has become a critical hotspot for global terrorism, according to U.S. AFRICOM commander General Michael Langley. AFRICOM emphasizes enhanced cooperation with African nations to address these threats through intelligence sharing and capacity building. Terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and ISIS-affiliated organizations are significantly expanding in the region, posing severe security challenges. On May 30, Marine Corps General Michael Langley, head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), declared the Sahel the 'epicenter of terrorism on the globe.' U.S. Marine Corps General Michael Langley made the disclosure during a digital press briefing at the 2025 African Chiefs of Defense Conference, Africa's premier forum for military leaders to address key security challenges across the continent. He highlighted a worsening security crisis that threatens not only the affected African countries but also poses potential risks to global security, including the United States. General Langley described the Sahel, which includes Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, as a 'flashpoint of prolonged conflict and growing instability.' Terrorist organizations affiliated with Al-Qaeda and ISIS have expanded significantly in recent years. According to Langley, groups such as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin have grown substantially since 2022, spreading across multiple areas within the region. The security situation in Burkina Faso is especially alarming. General Langley noted that the Burkinabe government no longer maintains effective control over large parts of its territory, illustrating the depth of the crisis. More troubling still, Langley warned that these terrorist groups are seeking to extend their reach into West Africa's coastal countries, including Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Benin. If they succeed, these groups could increase their revenues through illicit activities such as smuggling, human trafficking, and arms trading. There is also concern that these coastal areas could serve as platforms to launch attacks beyond Africa, potentially threatening U.S. homeland security. ' We are monitoring this closely because they could develop the capacity to threaten the homeland, ' Langley said. AFRICOM lists challenges in Africa The briefing also acknowledged the challenges AFRICOM faces following the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Niger after the military coup in 2023. This withdrawal has limited the U.S. military's ability to track terrorist activity and conduct counterterrorism operations in the region. In response, AFRICOM is shifting its focus toward supporting African nations to assume greater responsibility for their security. This strategy involves enhanced intelligence sharing, leveraging new technologies, and strengthening regional cooperation. General Langley's warning reflects the deteriorating security landscape in the Sahel, where terrorist groups are exploiting weak governance, poverty, and ongoing conflicts to increase their influence. His message serves as a call to action for African countries and their international partners to work together urgently to address these threats. As these groups become stronger and more ambitious, the danger extends beyond Africa's borders, reinforcing the Sahel's emergence as a global terrorism hotspot. Coordinated efforts are crucial to safeguard peace and security not just in Africa but worldwide.
IOL News
3 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Africa Month shows that our continent is yet to benefit Africans
Pan-Africanist revolutionary and former Burkinabe President Thomas Sankara once said you cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. Image: Pascal George REVERED Pan-Africanist revolutionary and former Burkinabe President Thomas Sankara once firmly stated: 'You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. It comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future.' These sobering words have been significantly indisputable as we swiftly conclude the month of May, Africa Month, marked by Africa Day celebrations on May 25. This is the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now known as the African Union (AU). At the 1963 formation of the OAU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the crème-de-la-creme of African leadership came out in throngs in order to advance continental solidarity, and eradicate Western imperialism. In fact, the OAU was formed upon the foundations of Pan-Africanism and self-determination, by leaders who epitomised those values wholeheartedly. As such, this 2025 Africa Month has presented a momentous occasion to not only celebrate the 62nd anniversary of this revolutionary body but also to spotlight the grievous challenges that still plague contemporary Africa. Novelist George Orwell once wrote: 'The war is not meant to be won, it is meant to be continuous… The object of war is not to destroy but to preserve a state of controlled desperation.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading This echoes the state of conflicts that ravage contemporary African societies. Across the continent, wars have been proliferating rapidly since 2010. Today, we see headlines of the wars in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Mozambique, and the Horn of Africa make the headlines, often overshadowed by Western media's spotlighting of other conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Meanwhile, the African continent is experiencing more conflicts than at any point since at least 1946. In fleeting moments, we observe the painful horrors of war unfolding in the Congo, Sudan, and Mozambique emerge into the news cycles, but are quickly — and too often — drowned out by Euro-Western media's dominant, selective spotlighting of Ukraine and Gaza conflicts. According to Statista, today, over 10 million of Sudan's near-50 million inhabitants are internally displaced, and nearly 1.8 million have fled to other countries. According to the UN Refugee Agency, the Eastern DRC has been absolutely devastated and distorted by war, with over 7.3 million people displaced within the country, and more than 86 000 forced to flee to neighbouring countries. These wars are frighteningly only fragments of a much larger reality: Today, more than 35 non-international armed conflicts continue to wreak havoc across Africa — many of them underreported, and many more forgotten. Rampant war, civil conflicts, widespread poverty and forced displacement are certainly the straw that broke the camel's back in the mountain of problems that modern Africans contend with. However, major conflicts are not random, nor senseless. They are often the result of decades of neglect, greed, and failed leadership. They are born from fractured systems that deny people food, education, and dignity. They are fueled by poverty, corruption, and inequality. From dilapidated healthcare systems to mass unemployment to atrocious public service delivery, Africa is cracking under the weight of injustice, and these are the results. We must confront these roots, not just their violent consequences. For far too long, African nations have haphazardly embraced foreign-imposed structures and systems to rule African people. For far too long, these systems have been chastised and criticised, with very little reform. This is what the AU must be taking the reins on. African nations contend with a plethora of challenges. However, the biggest failure of bodies such as the AU is embracing structures that are designed to fail the many, while enriching the few. Contemporary African societies certainly reflect the harsh echoes of a long history of exploitation, instability, and neglect. However, modern day leadership is not effectively or sustainably engaging Africans in shaping a better Africa. Many of Africa's leaders are oftentimes condemned not just for failing to lift people out of poverty, but for actively preserving the inequality and corruption that keep them in power. However, wars and power struggles are not the only challenges faced by Africans or the AU. Outreach International stated that Africa has the highest rates of extreme poverty across the globe. Furthermore, a report by Compassion International revealed that 42 African nations, out of the 54 in the continent, live in severe poverty. This is an outrageous 78% of the continent. Contrarily, Africa is the richest continent by far in minerals and resource wealth. According to the UN Environment Programme, not only does Africa hold a significant chunk of the global oil reserves, it also holds 40% of the world's gold and about 90% of its chromium and platinum — with a significant share of global mining reserves in cobalt, diamonds, uranium, and various other valuable minerals. The contrast between Africa's wealth in mineral resources and its debilitating rates of poverty goes hand-in-hand. Our abundance has not translated into prosperity for the majority because our resources are exceedingly exploited, not only by foreign interests, but also by local elites who profit from backdoor deals, opaque contracts, and exclusionary systems. While billions are made from gold, oil, and cobalt, too many Africans still lack clean water, electricity, and access to basic healthcare. This is not a natural misfortune; it is a manufactured injustice, upheld by corruption, substandard governance, and global complicity. These are the human rights and dignities that are supposed to be upheld not only by governments across Africa, but by the AU itself. What's worse is the state of education across countless African nations. The crisis in Africa's education systems is not just about underfunded schools or overcrowded classrooms; it is rooted in a deeper, more insidious, imperialist legacy. Much of our formal education remains trapped in a colonial framework, designed not to liberate but to condition. In fact, this largely Eurocentric framework has been the foundation of critique in post-colonial African societies. As the late Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o once powerfully stated, 'The domination of a people's language by the languages of the colonising nations was crucial to the domination of the mental universe of the colonised.' To this day, African children are taught to memorize foreign histories while their own are erased, to speak in tongues that deny them access to their cultural identity, and to chase validation through imported curricula that ignore local and lived realities. Indigenous knowledge systems, rich in ecological wisdom, philosophy, communal ethics, and more, are sidelined or dismissed as inferior. This is not just a failure of the education system, it is its weaponisation. Any education system that alienates a child from their land, language, and lineage is not education, it is blatant indoctrination. It is the method employed by colonial rulers that seeks to literally erase the African identity, and discard African knowledge. The AU needs to centre its gaze upon this challenge, as it is one of the most pivotal keys to continental transformation and empowerment. As revered Pan-Africanist and Black Consciousness pioneer Steve Bantu Biko once purposefully wrote: 'The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.' The fact is that Africa would not be so rife with conflict and adversity if it were not something truly special. Africa's challenges are not rooted in its people, but in the persistent failure of systems built to serve the few, or outrightly serve foreign interests. However, these are the minerals and resources that build phones, computers, planes, factories, extensive infrastructure, complex structures, and various types of technologies. These resources are invaluable to the world, and they should be protected with the same ferocity. Collaboration and cooperation is not difficult to achieve, and is certainly not restricted to African continental zones. African nations that have an abundance of critical exports such as oil, foods, medicines, must be working together with all other African nations in establishing trade relations. African nations will go far if they bring serious focus to dependence on one another, above everybody else. The AU must be the driving force of this unification, identifying and connecting common economies and industries across the continent. The work of the AU is much more profound than they may realise. The AU must diligently do the work of imparting the values of Pan-Africanism, unity and the upliftment of human rights. Whether it's evident or not, the spirits of Kwame Nkrumah, Haile Selassie, Leopold Senghor, Sekou Toure, Julius Nyerere, and the other prolific founding members of the OAU remain embedded in the souls of African nations. Esteemed Pan-African revolutionary and founder of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), Robert Sobukwe, strongly affirmed this truth when he said:'We are fighting for the noblest cause on earth… the liberation of mankind.' This Africa Month, and everyday forth, may we remember the core of pan-Africanism: Africa is for Africans. * Tswelopele Makoe is a gender and social justice activist and the editor at Global South Media Network. She is a researcher, columnist and an Andrew W Mellon scholar at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, UWC. The views expressed are her own. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, Independent Media or IOL.
The South African
6 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
Kaizer Chiefs to buy Toaster?
No, Kaizer Chiefs aren't upgrading their kitchen facilities. They are, however, keen to reinforce the goalkeeping department. The latest reports indicate that Chiefs are open to selling Rwandan stopper Fiacre Ntwari. That leaves Bruce Bvuma and Brandon Petersen to fight for the gloves while there's potential in the untried Bontle Molefe. Nigeria and Chippa man Stanley Nwabali is a long-term option, as is the wonderfully named Toaster Nsabata from Zambia's Zesco United. Kaizer Chiefs' search for a reliable number one continues. Image: X Meanwhile, according to PanAfrica Football, Stephane Aziz Ki will be a Wydad player imminently. The 29-year-old Burkinabe star has been a standout performer for Tanzanian giants Young Africans. It's understood that Rulani Mokwena played a big role in convincing the talented goal-scoring midfielder to move to Morocco. As it happens, Mokwena will leave his post at the end of the season. Click for all of the latest rumours from Naturena Who should be the Chiefs Number 1 goalkeeper next season Let us know by leaving a comment below or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Also, subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
6 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
Kaizer Chiefs news: Appollis, Aziz Ki, four dream signings
Kaizer Chiefs are ploughing ahead with plans to make themselves title contenders next season. Here are today's rumours. Kaizer Chiefs are in pole position to sign Bafana and Polokwane winger Oswin Appollis. The 23-year-old has reportedly decided on a change of scenery for next season. Click for the story Four dream signings to transform Amakhosi's fortunes Meanwhile, according to PanAfrica Football, Stephane Aziz Ki will be a Wydad player imminently. The 29-year-old Burkinabe star has been a standout performer for Tanzanian giants Young Africans. It's understood that Rulani Mokwena played a big role in convincing the talented goal-scoring midfielder to move to Morocco. As it happens, Mokwena will leave his post at the end of the season. Click for more Yanga SC star Stephane Aziz Ki. Image: Weam MostafaBackpagePix Nwabali; Solomons, Msimango, Miguel, Dortley; Cele, Maart; Duba, Kingsley Michael, Appollis; Mayele. Click for the story Let us know by leaving a comment below or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Also, subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Kaizer Chiefs rumours: Five African stars
Kaizer Chiefs are chasing a quintet of exciting stars from the African continent. Who are they and what do they bring to the party? Kingsley Michael is still only 25, but the Nigerian midfield orchestrator has already been around the block. His club career has seen him enjoy stints across Europe. First in Italy with Bologna, Perugia, Cremonese and Reggina. Then, spells with SV Ried and DSV Leoben in Austria. Now he's on the books of Monastir in Tunisia. Surprisingly, he's only earned one cap for Nigeria's Super Eagles. Click for more on Michael Which other players are Kaizer Chiefs chasing? Kingsley Michael in action for US Monastir in Tunisia. Image: Goal Meanwhile, according to PanAfrica Football, Stephane Aziz Ki will be a Wydad player imminently. The 29-year-old Burkinabe star has been a standout performer for Tanzanian giants Young Africans. It's understood that Rulani Mokwena played a big role in convincing the talented goal-scoring midfielder to move to Morocco. As it happens, Mokwena will leave his post at the end of the season. Click for more Is Mdu Shabalala finished at Chiefs? Let us know by leaving a comment below or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Also, subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
