Eye on Africa

Mali's interim president, Bah Ndaw, elected to lead a transitional government after last month's coup, was sworn in during ceremonies in the capital Bamako on Friday, AFP reporters witnessed. A committee appointed by the military junta that seized power on August 18 and overthrew President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita elected Ndaw, a 70-year-old retired colonel, as interim president. The Ndaw must lead a transitional government for a maximum of 18 months before organizing national elections. In a speech, Ndaw said he…

Ivory Coast Constitutional Court ruled last week that only four out of 44 presidential hopefuls would be allowed to run in the country's presidential election. Because they face criminal convictions, former President Laurent Gbagbo and former rebel leader Guillaume Soro, both giants of Ivorian politics, were among those prevented from running. Most of the others whose candidates were deemed invalid had failed to garner sufficient public support - a new electoral reform required candidates to request signatures from at…

Ivory Coast's head of state, Alassane Ouattara, has blown up two rivals' attempt to challenge next month's presidential election as "provocation", saying one of them is behind bars. In an interview published Thursday by the French magazine Paris Match, the 78-year-old sitting fired a verbal breadth against former President Laurent Gbagbo and former rebel leader Guillaume Soro. Both men live outside the country, but retain strong support at home, in a country still scarred by a post-election conflict that claimed more…

Bah Ndaw, a retired colonel who has been appointed Mali's interim president after last month's coup, made his first public appearance on Thursday and met with a regional mediator, AFP reporters said. Ndaw, 70, met former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in Bamako on a mission for the 15-nation bloc ECOWAS on the eve of his inauguration. Ndaw's appointment was announced Monday by Colonel Assimi Goita, who is leading a junta of young military officers who seized power on August 18, removing President-elect Ibrahim…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The United Nations has welcomed the appointment of Mohamed Hussein Roble as the new Prime Minister of the federal government of Somalia, which has struggled with stability, over 30 years after the ouster of military leader Siad Barre, who ruled the country for two decades. In July, the Somali parliament fired Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, claiming that after months of negotiations, he had not prepared for a one-person-one vote. Khaire served in the office for three years, the longest period ever…

French prosecutors have launched an investigation by banking giant BNP Paribas into allegations of complicity in crimes against humanity, genocide and torture in Sudan, sources said on Thursday. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), which had lodged a complaint against the French bank, announced on Twitter that an investigation had been launched, confirming information to AFP from a legal source. Almost a year ago, nine Sudanese victims backed by rights groups, including FIDH, filed a criminal complaint…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia-based Al-Shabaab militants on Wednesday attacked a base occupied by the National Intelligence Security Agency , officials said in a statement in the recent raid, which still shows the group's ability to launch sophisticated operations against the government. Al-Shabaab has struggled to overthrow the fragile UN-backed Somalia government, which has been under siege for the past few years, but their efforts have often been thwarted by security forces. Al-Shabaab announced allegiance to Al-Qaeda…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least one person was killed in Somalia on Wednesday, reports show, after a massive explosion on the outskirts of Afgoye city, located 30 kilometers northwest of Mogadishu, the still bustling Somali capital that has been the center of al-Shabaab attacks in the recent years. Police reports indicate that a grenade was thrown at a pet market on Wednesday by suspected Al-Shabaab militants, leading to the death of a person, in an incident that further questions the country's preparedness in the fight…

BAIDOA, Somalia - Relations between Puntland and Southwest received a major boost on Wednesday after Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni visited his counterpart Abdiaziz Lafta-Gareen, who has been in charge for the past few years in the southern Somali federal state. On Wednesday and in the company of senior officials, Deni, who has been at the helm since 2019, arrived in Baidoa, the regional administrative capital of the Southwest, and was received by senior officials waiting for him at the airport. This is the…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Former Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire has continued his "diplomatic" missions across the country, more than 50 days after he was unusually hounded from office, following disagreements with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who was accused of constructing his ouster. Khaire, who served as prime minister for longer than any of his predecessors, was ousted from parliament, citing, among other things, the failure to implement the one-on-one election model backed by several international…