Vol 64 No 14 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICRUSSIAFRANCE Macron makes a U-turn on autocracy 5th July 2023 France has dropped objections to presidential assaults on democracy in a return of Cold War-style geopolitics designed to exclude Russia President Emmanuel Macron is leading an international effort, including Rwanda and the UN – with growing United States support – to lift the pressure on President Faustin-Archange Touadéra...
Vol 64 No 13 | CONGO-KINSHASAINTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT Hague court probes M23 fighters 23rd June 2023 International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan has announced plans to carry out a preliminary investigation of alleged human rights abuses in North Kivu by the M23 militia,...
Vol 64 No 13 | CONGO-KINSHASA Tshisekedi gives away gold rights to UAE 15th June 2023 Kinshasa stands to lose revenues worth tens of millions of dollars in opaque deal with company linked to Abu Dhabi's national security advisor In one of the most egregious mining contracts signed so far by President Félix Tshisekedi's government, he has endorsed the award of 'exclusive rights' over the country's entire...
Vol 64 No 12 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Touadéra tilts to Moscow again 8th June 2023 President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, who was previously thought to be bowing to French and western pressure to sever or curtail relations with the Wagner Group of mercenaries, appears now...
Vol 64 No 12 | CONGO-KINSHASA Tshisekedi returns empty-handed 8th June 2023 Hopes that President Félix Tshisekedi's trip to China would result in a major minerals trading deal and the start of a renegotiation of existing mining deals with Chinese...
Vol 64 No 11 | CHAD Succès on K-Street 25th May 2023 Opposition leader Succès Masra and his party, Les Transformateurs, have taken on the K-Street lobby shop, Scribe Strategies, led by Republican operative Joseph Szlavik, one of the most...
Vol 64 No 7 | CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Seeking a way out of Kremlin's embrace 30th March 2023 The west is pressuring the President to cut ties with the Wagner Group but the Russians won't go quietly, as diplomacy goes into overdrive President Faustin Archange Touadéra is at the centre of complex plotting by western countries, led by President Emmanuel Macron, Central African Republic's neighbours, and international financial institutions as...
Vol 64 No 5 | CHADSUDAN Border troubles threaten the region 23rd February 2023 The Chad-Sudan frontier and the restive militias which straddle it are looming larger as tensions rise On 29 January, Sudan's military leader, General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, went to Ndjamena to discuss growing insecurity on the Chad-Sudan border. No surprises there, perhaps, but the...
Vol 64 No 4 | CHAD Kaka falls back on authoritarianism 16th February 2023 The President has abandoned the trappings of 'transition' and is consolidating his rule for the long run Many of the efforts to broaden the support base of the regime of President Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno (aka Mahamat 'Kaka') during last year's reconciliation exercise included genuine...
Vol 64 No 1 | CONGO-KINSHASAAFRICA IN 2023 Horse-trading risks poll delay 5th January 2023 The President is trying to decide whether to contest or postpone December's polls while juggling his political alliances and musing on threats in the east President Félix Tshisekedi has been consolidating power, but that does not mean accountability and better governance are any closer than when he fraudulently won the presidency in 2018....