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1. Withdrawal of the French military contingent from Burkina Faso
In January, Burkina Faso's transitional government denounced an agreement on the presence of French troops and demanded that 400 French soldiers leave within a month, which Paris did on February 20. This followed a sharp deterioration in relations between Paris and Ouagadougou, including a request by Burkina Faso that France recall its ambassador.
2. African mediation in the Sudanese conflict
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an eight-nation trading bloc that includes Kenya, Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, South Sudan and Uganda, has been involved in mediating peace initiatives since the conflict in Sudan erupted in April between Sudan's regular armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF).
3. African peacekeeping mission in the Ukraine crisis
In June, the leaders of South Africa, Comoros, Senegal and Zambia presented the African Peace Initiative to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin with a 10-point proposal to help resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
4. Russia-Africa Summit in Saint Petersburg
In late July, St. Petersburg hosted the Second Russia-Africa Summit, where Russian President Vladimir Putin met with African leaders and signed a number of agreements on cooperation between Russia and the continent in a wide range of areas.
5. Coup d’état in Niger, ECOWAS sanctions and threats of intervention
On July 26, Niger's presidential guard removed elected President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum from power and the guard's commander, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, proclaimed himself the country's new leader. The coup drew condemnation from the ECOWAS bloc, which halted all financial aid to Niger, froze rebel assets, banned commercial flights in and out of the country, and closed all borders, threatening to resort to military intervention if the leadership did not reinstate Bazoum.
6. Coup d’état in Gabon
On August 30, Ali Bongo Ondimba, the president of Gabon since 2009, was re-elected for a third term with 64.2% of the vote. The Gabonese military then ousted Ondimba in a coup, declaring the election results invalid and dissolving all institutions.
7. BRICS Summit in South Africa, invitation to two African countries to join BRICS
In August, the 15th top-level BRICS summit in Johannesburg extended invitations to Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to join the bloc. Their full membership is expected to take effect on January 1, 2024.
8. Formation of the Sahel Alliance
On September 16, the military leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger signed a charter for the Alliance of Sahel States to "create a collective defense architecture" amid deteriorating relations with France and ECOWAS following the July coup in Niger.
9. Free delivery of Russian grain and fertilizers to several African countries
The decision to provide free grain to six African countries, including Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea, was announced by the Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year. On November 17, the first Russian shipments, each carrying 25,000 tons of wheat, were dispatched to Somalia and Burkina Faso.
10. Erosion of the G5 Sahel after the withdrawal of Burkina Faso and Niger
In early December, Chad and Mauritania said in a statement that they were planning steps to dissolve the regional grouping known as the Sahel Five (G5). Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger had previously withdrawn from all organs of the bloc, which aims, among other things, to fight terrorism and strengthen security in the region.
11. Breakdown of the military agreement between Niger and the EU, signing of a memorandum with Russia
In early December, Nigerien authorities announced that they had terminated an agreement with the European Union to deploy a civilian European Union Capacity Building Mission in the West African country. At the same time, Russia and Niger have signed an agreement to increase military cooperation.
12. Withdrawal of MINUSMA from Mali
On June 30, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to terminate the mission in Mali and complete its withdrawal by the end of 2023. The decision came at the request of the Malian government, which cited the mission's 10-year failure to address the country's security situation.
13. Withdrawal of French troops from Niger
Niger asked Paris to withdraw its troops following July-26 coup that broke military agreements with France. The last of the European country's soldiers were withdrawn from Niger in late December, prompting a positive reaction from local population.