In Africa, about 15% of the population faces disability challenges despite advancements in technology. Limited infrastructure and high cost of assistive tech create barriers to digital access, leading to exclusion. A conference in Nairobi this week aims to help change that. Mohammed Yusuf reports.
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Month: May 2024
Russia sees ‘window of opportunity’ as Ukrainian forces await US weapons
LONDON — Russian forces are expanding their attacks on Ukrainian border settlements close to the northeastern city of Kharkiv, opening up a new front in the war, as Kyiv struggles to hold off a renewed Russian offensive.
Speaking Thursday on a visit to Kharkiv, where he held a meeting with senior military leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the situation remained “extremely difficult” and that his forces were strengthening their presence in the region.
With U.S. and European weapons finally due to arrive on the front lines in the coming weeks, can Ukraine hold back Moscow’s invading troops?
Kharkiv offensive
Mobile units of Russian troops are attempting to capture Ukrainian villages including Vovchansk and Lyptsi, which lies 30 kilometers north of Kharkiv.
Ukraine has fired missiles from the border region into Russia, including deadly strikes on the Russian city of Belgorod. Moscow wants to stop the attacks, said defense analyst Patrick Bury of Britain’s Bath University.
“There’s multiple reasons, I think, why Russia would try something here: obviously to create a buffer zone, but also to test the defenses and see what’s going on. But the way (Russian forces) are set up — and the amount of troops that they have, maybe 30,000 to 40,000, not that much armor, attacking in small groups of infantry — it doesn’t really suggest that they’re trying to sort of encircle Kharkiv or anything like that,” Bury told VOA.
Russian advance
Kyiv said Thursday its defensive moves had slowed the speed of Moscow’s advance. Russian attacks are likely to continue, said analyst Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute in London.
“Russia’s aim is not to achieve a grand breakthrough, but rather to convince Ukraine that it can keep up an inexorable advance, kilometer by kilometer, along the front,” Watling wrote in an email to VOA.
“Having stretched the Ukrainians out, the contours of the Russian summer offensive are easy to discern. First, there will be the push against Kharkiv. Ukraine must commit troops to defend its second largest city and given the size of the Russian group of forces in the area, this will draw in reserves of critical material, from air defenses to artillery.”
“Second, Russia will apply pressure on the other end of the line, initially threatening to reverse Ukraine’s gains from its 2023 offensive, and secondly putting at risk the city of Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine should be able to blunt this attack, but this will require the commitment of reserve units,” Watling added.
Western weapons
Ukrainian forces are still waiting for the bulk of the weapons deliveries under the United States’ $60 billion aid package that was finally passed last month, after a six-month delay.
“The United States aid is crucial, so the unfortunate pause in the delivery of arms had a significant impact on the situation at the front and this is what we are seeing now,” said Ukrainian lawmaker Serhii Rakhmanin, a member of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.
Ukraine says Russian jets and missiles are easily able to attack their positions, before infantry move in. Kyiv has repeatedly asked for more air defense systems, especially U.S.-made Patriot missiles. Germany has agreed to supply two Patriot batteries to Ukraine, and it’s reported that the U.S. is also working on supplying another unit.
The weapons will start to arrive in the coming weeks, analyst Patrick Bury said.
“The U.S. has pre-positioned stocks of stuff in Germany, for example, and also has strategic airlift so it can move stuff quickly over (from the US) should it need to,” he said.
“But it will take some time to be producing the number of shells that Ukraine needs at the moment, and they’re outgunned at about at least five or six to one at the moment by Russian shells,” he added.
Mobilization
Last month, Ukraine passed a mobilization bill to address a shortage of personnel. RUSI’s Watling said Russia had amassed a force of 510,000 troops.
“This means that Russia has established significant numerical superiority over the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” he said.
The next three months will be crucial for Ukraine, according to lawmaker Rakhmanin.
“The Russians currently have a window of opportunity. The power of Ukrainian Armed Forces has decreased, and Russians feel it. They have amassed quite a sufficient amount of resources — weapons, ammunition, manpower and now they are trying to use up a maximum of their reserves. They are trying to spread our forces thin across the entire front line,” Rakhmanin told Reuters Wednesday.
Bleak outlook
Can Ukraine and its Western allies turn the tide of the war?
“The chances of them taking back significant territory now in the medium term seem to be slipping away,” said analyst Bury. “Unless there’s some sort of step change in Western support — a large force-generation package and a long-term strategy for what success looks like — none of which at the moment are forthcoming, then I think Ukraine stays on the defensive and holds what it has,” he said.
RUSI’s Watling agrees: “The outlook in Ukraine is bleak. However, if Ukraine’s allies engage now to replenish Ukrainian munitions stockpiles, help to establish a robust training pipeline, and make the industrial investments to sustain the effort, then Russia’s summer offensive can be blunted, and Ukraine will receive the breathing space it needs to regain the initiative.”
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Russia sees ‘window of opportunity’ as Ukrainian forces await US weapons
Russian forces are expanding their attacks on Ukrainian border settlements close to the northeastern city of Kharkiv, opening up a new front in the war. With U.S. and European weapons finally due to arrive on the front lines in the coming weeks following delays, can Ukraine hold back Moscow’s invading troops? Henry Ridgwell has more
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South Africa urges UN’s top court to order cease-fire in Gaza
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — South Africa urged the United Nations’ top court on Thursday to order a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip during hearings over emergency measures to halt Israel’s military operation in the enclave’s southern city of Rafah.
It was the third time the International Court of Justice held hearings on the conflict in Gaza since South Africa filed proceedings in December at the court, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, accusing Israel of genocide.
The country’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, urged the panel of 15 international judges to order Israel to “totally and unconditionally withdraw” from Gaza.
The court has already found that there is a “real and imminent risk” to the Palestinian people in Gaza by Israel’s military operations. “This may well be the last chance for the court to act,” said Irish lawyer Blinne Ni Ghralaigh, who is part of South Africa’s legal team.
Judges at the court have broad powers to order a cease-fire and other measures, although the court does not have its own enforcement apparatus. A 2022 order by the court demanding that Russia halt its full-scale invasion of Ukraine has so far gone unheeded.
During hearings earlier this year, Israel strongly denied committing genocide in Gaza, saying it does all it can to spare civilians and only targets Hamas militants. The country says Rafah is the last stronghold of the militant group.
The latest request focuses on the incursion into Rafah.
South Africa argues that the military operation has far surpassed justified self-defense. “Israel’s actions in Rafah are part of the end game. This is the last step in the destruction of Gaza,” lawyer Vaughan Lowe said.
According to the latest request, the previous preliminary orders by the court were not sufficient to address “a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza.” Israel will be allowed to answer the accusations Friday.
In January, judges ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza, but the panel stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive that has laid waste to the Palestinian enclave.
In a second order in March, the court said Israel must take measures to improve the humanitarian situation.
South Africa has to date submitted four requests for the international court to investigate Israel. It was granted a hearing three times.
Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been displaced since the fighting began.
The war began with a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7 in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants in its count.
South Africa initiated proceedings in December 2023 and sees the legal campaign as rooted in issues central to its identity. Its governing party, the African National Congress, has long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to “homelands.” Apartheid ended in 1994.
On Sunday, Egypt announced it plans to join the case. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Israeli military actions “constitute a flagrant violation of international law, humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 regarding the protection of civilians during wartime.”
Several other countries have indicated they plan to intervene, but so far only Libya, Nicaragua and Colombia have filed formal requests to do so.
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Jailed former Pakistani PM Khan appears before top court via video
Islamabad — Pakistan’s popular former Prime Minister Imran Khan appeared before the Supreme Court via video link from prison Thursday in connection with a lawsuit he has filed against disputed amendments to the country’s anti-corruption laws.
It was Khan’s first court appearance since his arrest in August 2023. The 71-year-old former Pakistani prime minister has since been prosecuted inside the prison near the capital, Islamabad.
Khan has been sentenced on highly controversial charges of graft, a fraudulent marriage, and leaking state secrets. Media crews have been barred from accessing the trials to cover and film them.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ordered the government to make arrangements for Khan’s participation in the hearing on Thursday through video link, acknowledging his request to represent himself in the case instead of using a lawyer.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI, party posted on social media images from inside the courtroom of what it said was the “illegally incarcerated” former prime minister. It said the pictures were screen grabs from Khan’s virtual appearance.
The Supreme Court adjourned Thursday’s hearing, with Khan not getting an opportunity to speak.
The judicial proceedings were due to be streamed live on the Supreme Court’s website and YouTube as usual, but the broadcast was canceled just before the judges convened under Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s leadership.
Neither the court nor Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government explained why the hearing was not broadcast to the public.
“The judicial process demands fairness and openness. Transparency can only be ensured through public view of proceedings; refusal to stream proceedings advances unfairness and non-transparency and must be condemned,” said a PTI statement.
Khan was ousted from office in 2022 through an opposition-led parliamentary vote of no-confidence. The succeeding Pakistani government amended the anti-graft law, limiting the National Accountability Bureau’s powers to investigate corrupt practices of public office holders.
The deposed prime minister has filed a petition claiming that the amendments were intended to dismiss corruption cases against influential figures, including the prime minister, the president, and other top officials in Pakistan’s current coalition government.
Since his removal from office, Khan has faced scores of lawsuits, which he rejects as frivolous. He alleges that Pakistan’s powerful military was behind them to keep him from returning to power, charges both government officials and the military deny.
Khan has appealed his convictions in higher courts, resulting in suspended prison terms and bail in some cases, but he remains in jail and faces prosecution in connection with several other state-instituted lawsuits.
His PTI-backed candidates won the most seats in national elections in February this year despite Khan being in jail, but they could not get enough seats to form a government. The split mandate allowed Sharif and allied parties to cobble together a coalition government.
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Putin shakeup points to Russian preparations for long, costly war
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s naming of an economist as his new defense chief is a sign he is preparing for his costly war in Ukraine to go even longer, analysts say. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from Ricardo Marquina.
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Violence rages in New Caledonia as France rushes reinforcements to islands
Ghana’s civil society groups join anti-corruption fight
A 2023 Transparency International report found that most African nations have shown little progress in the fight against government corruption. Civil society groups in Ghana, however, are taking up the challenge to expose corruption and push for action. Isaac Kaledzi has more from the capital, Accra.
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Zelenskyy visits Kharkiv amid Russian offensive
Xi, Putin pledge to deepen strategic ties at Beijing talks
Religious polarization, jobs trouble India’s young voters, but Modi has support
NEW DELHI — As India holds a phased election, Pavni Mishra, an undergraduate student at Delhi University, would prefer to watch the country’s leaders focus on issues relevant to young voters like her, but she fears those issues are getting lost in the din of a polarized campaign.
“We should have a healthy competition in our politics rather than talking about religion,” said Mishra. “We should talk about education, we should talk about employment, about how to empower our women and enlarge the startups in the country.”
At the start of his election campaign last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of his vision of making India a developed country by 2047 and of welfare programs during his decade in power that had helped poor people.
But at his election rallies in recent weeks, the Hindu nationalist leader has accused the Congress Party of plans to give more benefits to Muslims if voted to power and warned women that the opposition would confiscate their gold and redistribute it to India’s largest minority. The divisive rhetoric is seen as a bid to galvanize support in the Hindu majority country as he seeks a third term in office.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is facing off with an alliance of opposition parties that includes the Congress Party, whose leader Rahul Gandhi is seen as the prime minister’s main rival.
Modi has denied criticism that he is stoking divisions between Hindus and Muslims to win. Gandhi has denied Modi’s charges of plans to favor Muslims, who make up India’s largest minority group.
India’s 18 million first-time voters in the general elections include millions of undergraduate students. For many of them, the top issue is how the next government will create more employment opportunities in a country where despite a growing economy, finding suitable jobs for graduates has become a key challenge.
“I want a fair government that ensures employment for everyone,” said 19-year-old Shreyas Sood. Another student, who did not want to be named, said even finding an internship was a challenge. “I think the concern is about getting jobs which pay you a good decent amount to live. Everyone is stressed,” she said.
They have reason to worry. According to a recent report by the International Monetary Fund, the unemployment rate for graduates is 29.1% — nine times higher than for the lesser educated.
Despite such concerns, Modi’s image as a strong leader who delivers results and has improved India’s image overseas has won him the support of many young students.
“You can trust on Modi. I feel the country is in safe hands with him,” said B. Prerna, an undergraduate student. Several students echoed that sentiment.
A survey among first-time voters by Lokniti research institute and the Center for Developing Societies indicated that Modi was the first choice for many who felt he could address youth-related challenges such as creating employment opportunities. Two-thirds of those surveyed said they would vote for Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and that Modi was best suited to lead the national government.
“In younger people, there is a natural tendency to veer towards someone who is very visible, strong, seen as an iconic figure, and as someone trying to deliver results. In that sense Modi ticks off most of the boxes,” according to political analyst Rasheed Kidwai.
Some students say a weak opposition has limited their choices. Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi has flagged the issue of employment in his campaign rallies, promised internships to college students and says his party will take steps to address growing economic inequality in the country.
But many perceive the Congress Party, which has been dislodged by the BJP as India’s dominant party in the last decade, as an ailing party that has not rejuvenated itself.
“We have to vote for the Modi government because currently he is the only one who is looking good, who has a good face,” said college student Satvik Sharma. “To be honest, opposition in the country right now is very weak.”
Analysts say many young voters do not see any alternative to Modi. “The opposition is fragmented and although several parties have strong leaders, they are not pan-Indian leaders. Rahul Gandhi is not a prime ministerial candidate,” pointed out Kidwai.
However, students like Sharma worry about divisive rhetoric and growing polarization during the BJP’s decade-long stint in power. “The country and the youth are becoming religiously too radical, be it any religion,” he said. “I want the government to be a little liberal, the youth to be a little liberal and think about the country as a whole and not their religion as supreme.”
The use of issues such as caste and religion by political parties, has disillusioned some students in the world’s youngest country – more than half of India is under 25.
“We are still fighting about mythical creatures and gods and religions. Rather, we should rather focus on the development of the country,” said Amaldev K. He could not travel to his home state, Kerala, to cast his ballot, but he said that had he voted, he would have chosen an option that India allows on the ballot – NOTA or “None of the Above” which indicates a voter’s dissatisfaction with all the candidates in the fray.
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Xi hosts Putin for Beijing talks
WFP warns window is closing to prevent famine in war-torn Sudan
United Nations — The World Food Program warned Wednesday that the threat of famine is growing for 5 million Sudanese in parts of the country affected by war.
“Commitments made by all parties to facilitate humanitarian access urgently need to be translated into realities on the ground,” Carl Skau, WFP’s deputy executive director, said in a statement.
Skau just returned from a mission to Sudan this week. He said the situation is “desperate and quickly deteriorating.”
“Only a few weeks remain to stock up food supplies in parts of Darfur and Kordofan before the rainy season starts and many roads become impassable,” he said. “Farmers also need to safely reach their farmlands to plant ahead of the rains.”
The rainy season in Sudan is from June through July.
In spite of fighting, border closures, checkpoints and other challenges, WFP says it is currently reaching some 2.5 million Sudanese with assistance.
Sudan was thrown into war 13 months ago, when fighting broke out in the capital, Khartoum, between the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The two generals were once allies in Sudan’s transitional government after a 2021 coup but have become rivals for power.
The fighting has since spread to other parts of the country, forcing almost 9 million people from their homes in search of safety. Two million of them have fled Sudan to neighboring countries. Of those who remain, 25 million need humanitarian assistance.
WFP says at least 5 million Sudanese are on the brink of starvation, but the number could be significantly higher, as the most recent data is from December.
The food agency has identified 41 hunger “hot spots” that are at high risk of slipping into famine in the coming month — most of them in hard-to-reach conflict-affected areas, including the Darfur and Kordofan regions and Khartoum.
Escalation in North Darfur
The United Nations has been raising the alarm on the situation in North Darfur for weeks. The RSF has reportedly started in recent days to move in on SAF forces inside El Fasher, the regional capital, endangering more than 800,000 civilians in the city.
On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the parties to immediately stop the fighting and resume cease-fire negotiations.
El Fasher is the only city in Darfur that the RSF has not captured. A full-scale battle there could unleash atrocities similar to those of the genocide carried out by Arab Janjaweed fighters against African Zaghawa, Masalit, Fur and other non-Arab ethnic groups in Darfur in the early 2000s. Janjaweed fighters make up today’s RSF.
The United Nations estimates 330,000 people are facing crisis levels of food insecurity in El Fasher due to a shortage of food items and soaring prices.
Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, said the weekend clashes in El Fasher reportedly caused dozens of civilian casualties and more displacement, with many residents seeking safety in the southern part of the city. She said aid cannot get through.
“More than a dozen trucks carrying health, nutrition and other critical supplies for more than 120,000 people have been trying to reach the city for weeks,” she told reporters at the United Nations on Wednesday. “They set out from Port Sudan on the 3rd of April — and still can’t reach El Fasher due to insecurity and delays in getting clearances at checkpoints.”
Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières, supports a hospital in El Fasher that is overwhelmed and running low on supplies.
“Until now, North Darfur had been a relatively safe haven compared to other parts of Darfur,” Dr. Prince Djuma Safari, deputy medical coordinator in El Fasher for MSF, said in a statement. “Now, there are snipers in the streets, heavy shelling is taking place, and nowhere in the city is safe at all.”
He said more than 450 casualties, including women and children, had arrived at the MSF-supported South Hospital in El Fasher since fighting began on Friday. He said 56 of the patients had died and 40 more are still waiting for surgery.
your ad hereIndia gets new ambassador from China, but mistrust lingers
New Delhi — China’s appointment late last week of a new ambassador to India fills a seat that Beijing left vacant for 18 months. It’s a small step for two big Asian rivals but one that is unlikely to resolve mistrust between the two countries, analysts say.
Arriving in New Delhi last Friday, Xu Feihong, 60, replaces Sun Weidong, who stepped down in late 2022. VOA reached out to the Chinese Embassy and China’s foreign ministry on the new posting and the long delay but did not receive a response to a request for comment.
In a post on X after his arrival, Xu said he was looking forward to “working hard with all for #China-#India relations.” The new ambassador has been busy on the social media platform highlighting the potential of ties, updating with a post and photo Wednesday of him handing over his letter of credence to India’s foreign ministry.
Xu has served as China’s ambassador to Afghanistan from March 2011 to August 2013 and as Beijing’s top envoy in Romania.
In one recent post on X, the new ambassador noted that the leaders of both China and India have agreed on an important assessment that both are “cooperation partners, not competitors,” and that the two are “each other’s development opportunities, not threats.”
Earlier this week, the India-based research group Global Trade Research Initiative said that according to data for the fiscal year of 2024, China narrowly surpassed the U.S. as India’s largest trading partner after a decline over the past two years. Prior to that, China was India’s largest trading partner from 2008 to 2021.
However, some Indian analysts see relations as strained and tense, particularly following a deadly 2020 border clash that saw Beijing take control of disputed territory.
“There is a desire for improved relations on both sides,” said Lt. Gen. SL Narasimhan, a New Delhi-based China expert and former Beijing-based military attaché. “But at the same time, not much should be read into the appointment of a new envoy. There is a serious trust issue between two countries after the Galwan Valley conflict in June 2020.”
“But for India, peace and tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) are central to this relationship,” said Narasimhan.
Some, like Associate Professor of China Studies Sriparna Pathak, say that leaving the position open for so long was a sign of disrespect from Beijing.
“Considering the state of India-China relations … China not sending the ambassador to India [for such a long period of time] clearly indicates that it … looks down upon India, and that has been made obvious an ample number of times,” said Pathak, referring to Beijing’s rejection of New Delhi’s request to pull troops back to positions that preceded the deadly 2020 border clashes in Galwan, a disputed region of the Himalaya’s.
Pathak, of New Delhi’s Jindal Global University, also said New Delhi took offense to Beijing’s decision to name People’s Liberation Army Commander Qi Fabao a torchbearer in the 2022 Winter Olympics torch relay. Qi was widely known for his involvement in a 2020 border clash that killed two Chinese troops and at least 20 Indians.
India responded by joining Britain, Canada and the U.S. in a diplomatic boycott of the games, which several Western nations launched in response to China’s treatment of ethnic Uyghurs in the remote western region of Xinjiang.
In 2022, the two militaries clashed at least two more times, though no casualties were reported. Tens of thousands of troops remain massed on both sides.
Beijing and New Delhi have so far held 21 rounds of military talks and 29 rounds of diplomatic negotiations to address the standoff.
Following a round of talks in March, India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar told India’s NDTV that his “first duty to Indians is to secure the border. I can never compromise on that.”
He also went on to say that a normal relationship cannot be envisaged between India and China until China moves back to its pre-2020 position on its borders.
In a May 7 interview granted to Indian and Chinese media, Ambassador Xu said relations between the two countries should not be defined by any single issue or area.
“The overall border situation is stable and under control, and border areas are peaceful and tranquil,” he said. “China is ready to work with India to accommodate each other’s concerns, find a mutually acceptable solution to specific issues through dialogue at an early date, and turn the page as soon as possible.”
The last time the role of China’s top diplomat to India remained empty for more than a year was from 1962 to 1976 and was also linked to a border conflict. The 1962 Sino-Indian War was fueled by border skirmishes and the 1959 Tibetan uprising against rule by communist China, which saw the Dalai Lama flee to India.
The fact that India has continued to give refuge to the Tibetan spiritual leader has been a thorn in relations between New Delhi and Beijing, which exercises strict control over Tibet and its leaders.
The 1962 war saw Chinese troops attack and take over disputed territory in the Aksai Chin region along the two countries’ borders. The fighting resulted in thousands of Indian soldiers, and hundreds of Chinese troops, being killed or captured.
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Georgian president says ‘foreign influence’ law threatens path to EU
US, Niger delegation meet to discuss US forces withdrawal
Pentagon — After nearly a two-week delay, U.S. and Nigerien officials are holding high-level follow-on meetings to coordinate the withdrawal of American troops from the country.
Christopher Maier, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, and Lieutenant General Dagvin Anderson, joint staff director for joint force development, are meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Niamey with members of Niger’s new government, known as the National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland, or CNSP, two U.S. officials told VOA.
The CNSP posted on the social platform X Wednesday that Maier and Anderson met Wednesday with Lieutenant General Salifou Mody, one of the military coup members who was named minister of national defense.
The CNSP noted that the meeting comes two months after Niger denounced its military basing agreements with the United States and aims to “ensure that this withdrawal takes place in the best possible conditions, guaranteeing order, security and compliance with set deadlines.”
There are about 900 U.S. military personnel in Niger, including active duty, civilians and contractors, according to the U.S. officials, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity ahead of the conclusion of the talks. Most of the U.S. military personnel have stayed in the country past their deployment’s planned end dates, as details for their withdrawal are ironed out.
“We’re still in a bit of a holding pattern,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said last week.
Counterterrorism in ‘disarray’
The U.S. has had two military bases — Air Base 101 in Niamey and Air Base 201 in Agadez —to monitor terror groups in the region. Officials say most U.S. forces are based in the latter, which cost the U.S. $110 million to build, and began drone operations in 2019.
Niger’s natural resources have increased its importance to global powers, and Niger’s location had provided the U.S. with the ability to conduct counterterror operations throughout much of West Africa.
“We’re in a different position now, and we’re going to continue to consult with the Nigeriens in terms of the orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces. We’re going to continue to stay engaged with the partners in the region when it comes to terrorism and countering the terrorist threat,” Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday.
Countries in the region, including Niger, Mali, Nigeria and Burkina Faso, have seen an expansive rise in jihadist movements.
According to the Global Terrorism Index, an annual report covering terrorist incidents worldwide, more than half of the deaths caused by terrorism last year were in the Sahel.
Niger’s neighbor, Burkina Faso, suffered the worst, with 1,907 fatalities from terrorism in 2023.
“These are some of the most dangerous areas in the world,” Bill Roggio, editor of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal, told VOA. “These countries are in dire threat of being overrun by jihadist groups.”
Now, Niger’s coup has put the West’s ability to monitor terrorists like the Islamic State and al-Qaida in the Sahel in “complete disarray,” according to Roggio.
The United States’ intelligence-gathering capacity was limited before, “but we’re approaching the point where intelligence-gathering is practically at zero,” he said.
A U.S. defense official told VOA that “basically every flight,” even intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone flights, must be approved by the junta.
“The beginning of April is when things started getting slower,” the official told VOA. The junta began delaying and canceling the types of U.S. military flights that had been quickly approved before then.
Carla Martinez Machain, a political science professor at the University of Buffalo, believes the Pentagon will try to negotiate with Chad for a more significant American troop presence, as the U.S. struggles to find allies in what she called the “coup belt” — a reference to the recent coups in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
However, most U.S. forces have temporarily left from Chad for Germany in recent weeks, a move the Pentagon called a “temporary step” as part of an ongoing review of its security cooperation with Chad, which would resume after the country’s May 6 presidential election.
Only a small group of service members remain in Chad as part of a multinational task force, officials tell VOA.
“Niger was somewhat of a rarity in the sense that it had one of the few democratically elected governments in the region, and also a democratically elected government that was friendly to the U.S. and willing to host a U.S. military presence,” Martinez Machain told VOA. “And so, finding a replacement for that for a military base is going to be somewhat difficult.”
Unless the U.S. can find another base to use in West Africa, counterterror drones will likely have to spend most of their fuel supply flying thousands of kilometers from U.S. bases in Italy or Djibouti, severely limiting their time over the targets and their ability to gather intelligence.
“The beauty of having drones based in Niger was that they were in the thick of the fight. They were in the middle of where jihadist groups are operating. So, once you launch the drones, they’re in the midst of it, and all of the flight time being used can be used to gather information,” Roggio said.
Resupply concerns
Amid the negotiations and flight cancellations, U.S. troops in Niger began raising concerns about their supply chain. Service members in Niamey told the office of Representative Matt Gaetz that blood for the blood bank, hygiene supplies, malaria pills and other medications were running low.
A U.S. defense official acknowledged to VOA that “they were concerned about medication levels.” The official also said that troops in Niamey had gone through April without a resupply flight but had received food and water supplies through ground-based transportation.
A flight with medical supplies finally went from Agadez to Niamey last week, the defense official told VOA.
Coup forced withdrawal
Tensions between the U.S. and Niger began in 2023 when Niger’s military junta removed the democratically elected president from power.
After months of delay, the Biden administration formally declared in October that the military takeover in Niger was a coup, a determination that prevented Niger from receiving a significant amount of U.S. military and foreign assistance.
In March, after tense meetings between U.S. representatives and the CNSP, the junta called the U.S. military presence “illegal” and announced it was ending an agreement that allowed American forces to be based in the country.
During that meeting, the U.S. and Niger fundamentally disagreed about Niger’s desire to supply Iran with uranium and work more closely with Russian military forces.
“They [Niger] saw this as kind of an imperialistic move, and this was seen negatively and was part of the reason why the U.S. was told to leave the country,” Martinez Machain said.
Russia has made significant military inroads across the African continent, Martinez Machain added, because human rights violators are able to obtain military training, assistance and defense systems “without the conditions that the U.S. would attach them.”
“Especially for nondemocratic countries, this can seem very appealing,” she said.
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