West Africa

"Behind the scenes of a liberation". It is a title that we find at the same time on the front page of Le Figaro and on the front page of Liberation exactly when Le Monde prefers to show "the end of the ordeal for Sophie Pétronin". Because, of course, the newspapers are returning to the release of this 75-year-old French humanitarian, Thursday night after nearly four years of captivity in Mali. A liberation, yes, and "a lot of questions" according to Le Parisien Today in France. The first of them on Emmanuel Macron's…

The release on Thursday night of the four hostages in Mali, Soumaïla Cissé, Sophie Pétronin and the two Italians, Nicola Chiacchio and father Pier Luigi Maccalli, came after long and difficult negotiations with a long uncertain outcome. A ransom would have been paid and many jihadists were released by the Malian authorities. A look back at what we know about the negotiations and the compensation required. with our correspondent in Bamako, On April 5, a few days after the kidnapping of Soumaïla Cissé, the then Prime…

In Abidjan, a large gathering of the entire front of the opposition is held. This major event worries as sporadic unrest has rocked the country since August between supporters of the outgoing president and opposition activists. Authorities and parties nevertheless ensure that all safety conditions are met. as reported from…

They are two candidates for the head of the organization: a Korean, Yoo Myung-hee, and a Nigerian, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Portrait of the latter carrying hope on the African continent. as reported from Lagos, Liza FabbianShe is the first woman to have held the positionMinister of Finance in her country she has been twice. Ngozi…

Another hostage in Mali, a Swiss woman, was killed by her captors. Bern officially announced it on Friday evening, October 9th. We do not currently know if his death has anything to do with the release of Soumaila Cissé and Sophie Pétronin. The Swiss authorities have not announced the name of the hostage who would have been…

Several hostages in the hands of jihadists were released on Thursday. Among them the leader of the Malian opposition. Soumaïla Cissé was kidnapped in March 2020 in the north of the country while fighting for the legislative election. And that is the relief in Mali after his release. as reported from Bamako For Soumaïla Cissé, it's a first day of freedom. The leader of the Malian opposition has returned home since Wednesday night after more than six months in captivity. "Physically, I have no problem. I feel good.…

This release comes less than two months after the CNSP's military coup, the junta that brought down President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta. Yet it was under the old regime that the negotiations were actively launched, but the moment of effective liberation necessarily favors the current strong men in Mali. The release of Soumaïla Cissé in Mali had become a national, transpartisan, unifying cause. While this is clearly not the primary goal, the associated political gain is indisputable. But to whom can this success be…

According to a report by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) Foundation, child labor increased by almost 20% in Côte d'Ivoire between mid-March and mid-May, when schools closed. More generally, the phenomenon has been on the rise for ten years, according to NGOs, but the Ivorian government wants to show its progress in the fight against child labor. as reported from Abidjan, Police said they had rescued eleven children and two youths who were working illegally in cocoa plantations in the southwestern part of the…

"The good news finally fell yesterday", poster in large letters on the front of L'Indépendant, the Malian daily. "Soumaïla Cissé and other Western hostages, including the French Sophie Petronin, are free," we read."It is now confirmed and official," the article insists. "After more than six months in captivity or more than 190 days, the leader of the opposition was released yesterday, Thursday 8 October." He was in the…

The release of Sophie Pétronin and Soumaïla Cissé completes an operation whose underside remains unclear. Prior to the release on the weekend of October 3 and 4, by the new Malian authorities, a significant number of prisoners - more than 200 years old, according to an al-Qaeda news agency - were presented by Malian officials as well as jihadists. Was the release of the jihadists as a bargaining chip…