ROME (Sputnik) – On July 30, in response to a fresh coup in Niger, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) suspended all financial aid, froze rebels’ assets and imposed a ban on commercial flights to and from the country, as well as closed all borders. Nigeria, Niger’s southern neighbor, cut electricity supply to the nation.
EU Pleased Sanctions Cause Food, Medicine Shortages in Niger, Special Envoy Says
Video via Wongel Zelalem
Washington is halting some aid to Niger even as it eyes greater support for Burkina Faso’s military coup-maker.
At Least Five Members of Niger Junta Were Trained by U.S.
Why Is the Biden Administration Rewarding Elliott Abrams?
The United States owes other nations something different, something new. Democracy is in peril at home and abroad partly because of the impunity that keeps Abrams employed. Though his latest role may be somewhat ceremonial, his appointment is out of step with the demands of our time. There should be consequences for someone like Elliott Abrams. At minimum, it ought to be possible to fail out of public service, but for that to happen, we have to change the way we define failure. The massacre in El Mozote was one such failing — not a regrettable historical footnote but a catastrophic atrocity that indicts the administration Abrams served. His reward must be ignominy. The world deserves nothing less.
Previously:
Biden Nominates Elliott Abrams to Public Diplomacy Commission
Abrams led the Trump administration’s failed regime change effort in Venezuela and covered up atrocities in Latin American in the 1980s
Biden Nominates Elliott Abrams to Public Diplomacy Commission
Waiting to see if Abrams’ nomination is resisted as much as it was back when Trump nominated him! ☠️
Related:
Like a bad Pennywise, Elliott Abrams could bring a taste of Iran-Contra to Venezuela
When Will the Stars Shine Again in Burkina Faso?
Related:
War is a plague! My country might disappear! I tell you, war is not a solution! War has no friends nor allies, and there are no real enemies. All people are suffering from this war: Burkina, Ivory Coast… everyone! War rages everywhere in Africa, especially in the North and in the Center of Mali. Hey African people, War is not a solution! War is not a good thing, my poor Malian people. If we are not able to make peace, the whole world will laugh at us. Ageloc, Timbuktu, Kidal War has never built anything; it destroys all that it finds. My country might disappear in a war and its betrayals! War is in Timbuktu, war is everywhere in Mali… Let’s avoid war because it has never built anything.
Oumou Sangaré – Kêlê Magni (Acoustic Version)
During the recent anti-French protests, Nigeriens and Burkinabes waved Russian flags. This signals that Africans are moving away from their former colonial masters as they seek alternative partnerships to help them develop.
African trust in Russia grows as western influence wanes
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 