France expelled two Nigerien intelligence officers in September 2026, following a separate dispute involving two Malian officers a year earlier.

The Nigerien officials were assigned to their country’s embassy in Paris and left France after being declared persona non grata.

The incidents highlight the deterioration of France’s intelligence and diplomatic relationships with military-led governments in the Sahel.

#Niger, #Mali and Burkina Faso have increasingly pursued alternative security partnerships, including with #Russia. #Burkinafaso

The Sahel is no longer waiting for others to tell its story. 🇧🇫🇲🇱🇳🇪

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have launched Tafouk TV, the joint television network of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

The channel began broadcasting from Bamako on 16 September 2026 and is designed to strengthen information sovereignty, showcase Sahelian cultures and languages, and provide coverage of the activities of the three AES states.

And this is bigger than just another television station.

For years, the Sahel has largely depended on foreign media organizations to interpret its politics, conflicts, development and transformation for the rest of the world.

Now Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are building their own media infrastructure.

Their own cameras.
Their own journalists.
Their own languages.
Their own platforms.
Their own perspective.

Tafouk TV broadcasts in French and English alongside regional languages including Bambara, Mooré, Fulfulde and Hausa.

This is what information sovereignty looks like in practice.

The AES is not only building cooperation in defence and diplomacy. It is also building institutions capable of communicating directly with its people and the wider world.

The Sahel is learning to speak for itself. And this time, the microphone is in its own hands. 🌍🔥

#BurkinaFaso #Mali #Niger #Sahel

Mali inaugurates its first artificial intelligence and robotics centre today. General Assimi Goïta will cut the ribbon at Sirakoro Niaré, in Kati, on 150 hectares of land dedicated to the technologies that will define the next century .

This did not start today. The first stone was laid in June 2023. The centre, CIAR-Mali, welcomed its first two cohorts in 2025—54 undergraduate students and 40 elite high school graduates selected for a preparatory cycle in mathematics, physics, and engineering . The budget for 2026 has grown by 84 percent over the previous year, reaching nearly 400 million FCFA . The state is not treating this as a side project. It is a presidential priority.

The mission is clear. Train Malian youth in AI, robotics, mathematics, technology, and engineering. Build local expertise. Develop solutions to Mali's own problems—health, environment, mining, energy, defense .

Goïta said it plainly when he laid the first stone: "The world is undergoing major upheavals because of new technologies and is heading toward a new industrial revolution. Mali must be present at this revolution" . He called the students "an hope for Mali" and said the country trusts them .

The centre is already producing results. Malian robotics teams have won at least 40 medals in international competitions since 2017 . In 2026, they competed in the International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence in Kazakhstan . And Mali is not building alone. Teachers from CIAR-Mali are in St. Petersburg right now, training in AI and robotics at Russia's Polytechnic University, part of a six-month program to bring that expertise back home .

This is what technological sovereignty looks like in practice. Not waiting for Silicon Valley to notice Africa. Not importing solutions designed for other people's problems. Training your own engineers, in your own country, to build your own future.

The homeland or death. We shall overcome. Africa must rise ❤️🔥🔥

#Mali #AssimiGoita #AI

Guinea Joins Sahel Crackdown: France 24 Banned and Digitally Erased After Presenter Labels Elected President a “Putschist”

The country’s media regulator banned the French news channel from broadcasting anywhere in Guinea and ordered telecoms to block its websites, apps, and streams effective immediately.

The ban covers satellite, cable, mobile apps, websites, and social media. France 24’s license is revoked. All its journalists in the country lost their press credentials.

Why? On September 14 a presenter called President Mamadi Doumbouya a “putschist president.” The regulator warned the channel the next day and told it to take the clip down everywhere. France 24 admitted the mistake and said it would apologize. The regulator says the video was still online Thursday morning, so they banned the channel outright.

Doumbouya took power in a 2021 coup and won an election last December with no real opposition. Guinea has shut down other media before. France 24 has already been banned in #Mali, #Burkina Faso, and #Niger.

They also pulled the accreditation of a Jeune Afrique correspondent this week.
#Guinea #Mali #Niger #Burkinafaso

Ghana cuts fuel shipments to Burkina Faso and Mali - Ghana’s state fuel company has scaled back diesel and petrol exports to Burkina Faso and Mali since August. The reason is simple: keep more product at home.

BOST Energies managing director Afetsi Awoonor said domestic demand is rising, especially for diesel, and imported fuel is expensive. “Supply is available, but it’s at a high cost,” he told Reuters in Bangkok.

The numbers are blunt. Burkina Faso asked for 80,000 tons in July and August. It got about half. Mali got 10,000 tons in that period and had asked for another 40,000 tons for August and September.

BOST holds about 30% of Ghana’s fuel market. Diesel is two-thirds of what it sells. Officials say they are trying to keep local pumps supplied and prices from jumping. Pump prices did spike earlier this year, then eased some after the cedi strengthened and the government stepped in.

Burkina Faso and Mali are landlocked. They depend on coastal neighbors for fuel. When Ghana holds product back, they feel it fast. #Mali #Ghana #Burkinafaso