Global Voices » Mali

Africa: 2012 Cup Semi-Finals Put West Africa in the Spotlight

Jane Ellis — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:02:14 +0000

Three of the four teams remaining in the 2012 Cup of Nations at the time of writing [Tuesday 7 February, 2012] are from West Africa: Côte d'Ivoire, Mali and Ghana are set to play in the tournament semi-finals on Wednesday 8, 2012. Games will be played in Bata, Equatorial Guinea (Ghana) and at Libreville, Gabon (Mali vs Côte d'Ivoire). They are joined by Zambia, participating in their first semi-finals for 16 years.

The 3-0 quarter-final victory of Zambia against Sudan revived the hopes of supporters. A goal from defender Stopilla Sunzu in the fifteenth minute, followed by a second after 66 minutes from Captain Chris Katongo and another four minutes from the end by James Chamanga, clinched Zambia's first semi-final place since 1996.

eggwinedu commented on www.fifa.com:

Congratulations Zambia. You deserve it :) It may have occurred at the dismay of Sudan (another well improved team), but Zambia has now really set the world stage with great finesse. Good job

silvanorsa7 in South Africa added:

We are with you all the way Zambia…. the only Southern African country still in the competition! Viva Chris Katongo

Vicente Vizo Ngobeni tweeted:

@Mahuntsu: People are undermining Zambia. #Afcon2012

And Sipho Mazibuko replied:

@msiphola: They'so focused, they got a chance. Ghana is not convincing

Meanwhile, the Elephants of Côte d'Ivoire secured their seventh semi-final place since 1970, beating Equatorial Guinea, one of the host countries, 3-0.

Equatorial Guinea fan in tears by @Noella_ELLOH

The Eagles of Mali overcame the Panthers of Gabon with a 5-4 penalty shootout victory following a full time 1-1 draw:

The Black Stars of Ghana confirmed their place in the semis with goals from John Mensah and André Ayew giving a 2-1 victory over Tunisia. Tunisia held the score at 1-1 until injury time before bowing out after a 101st minute blunder from their goalkeeper, Aymen Mathlouthi, gave Ghana their second goal.

There is a great atmosphere of celebration and interest surrounding this tournament. From Mali to Zambia, fans have shared their excitement as well as their predictions regarding the 28th Africa Cup of Nations Final, scheduled to take place on Sunday 12 February, in Stade de l'Amitié, Libreville, Gabon.

Fans of Ivory Coast by @Ceschod

Fans shared reactions on Twitter [fr]:

@Monsieur__K: Moi je dis la finale c'est Ghana/Cote d'ivoire #can2012

@Monsieur__K: I think the final will be between Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire

@Ceschod: Football Africain: qui s'attend comme moi à une finale #GhanaVS #CôtedIvoire, #can2012 ? #afcon

@Ceschod: African Football: Who else is waiting for the final like me? #GhanaVS #CôtedIvoire

@aliounedia: #can2012 ça sent 1 finale Ghana Côte d'Ivoire … heureusement que yayah est la @miezanezo

@aliounedia: I think it will a Ghana Côte d'Ivoire final. Thankfully Yaya Touré is here @miezanezo

Swithin Swaray went further on Facebook, giving his opinion of some weak points of the Ghana team:

The Black Star has not got what it takes to win CAN2012….30 years down the line, we are still counting. Lacking ideas up front, no fire power, no man daring enough to shoot from around the 18.

Ghana and Mali each got the better of their respective opponents after long matches of more than 120 minutes. Will they have the necessary energy and stamina to face Zambia and the Côte d'Ivoire?

The semi-finals of Wednesday 8 February will reveal the answer.

Sahel Region: 1.6 Million Children at Risk of Malnutrition

Lova Rakotomalala — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:11:31 +0000

Afrik.com reports that [fr]: ” because of the low harvest and an increase of 60 to 80 % in cereal pricing, 10 millions people across Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Chad will be affected by food security issues, including 1.6 million children.”

Africa: Highs and Lows of the 2012 African Cup of Nations

Chellsy Alis Manning — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:43:56 +0000

Beyond their ethnic, political and regional divides, people unite together around their national football team. We saw the First Lady of Gabon dancing like an excited schoolgirl every time one of the eleven players of the ‘Azingo Nationale' scored a goal and became “the Panthers” for their country.

The people of Equatorial Guinea were ecstatic with the qualification of their national team, languishing in the midst of one of the most ferocious dictatorships. According to Human Rights Watch, journalists who have visited the country to report on the human rights situation have been detained, interrogated, censored and deported.

In the fervour surrounding the 2012 African Cup of Nations, there are two key points that attract attention. The first is the absence of some of the higher achieving teams in African football.

Michael Dodje's blog explains [fr] the unusual goings-on in this year's Cup of Nations:

Imagine a Euro competition without Germany, Spain, Holland and England. Impossible you say, even though Ukraine or Poland would not have to participate in the qualifying rounds as host nations. And yet, this is what happened in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Indeed, for the first time in ages we will not see Egypt, Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria or even South Africa in this championship. How did this happen?

Remembering that the five teams mentioned above have won 15 out of 27 previous Cup of Nations tournaments. Nicholas Mc Anally on le229.com responded [fr]:

…If these teams do not qualify then there will be others to replace them. It's a breath of fresh air seeing teams like Botswana, Niger and Equatorial Guinea making their debuts in the Cup of Nations.

Another novelty in this year's Cup is the way that the thorny issue of bonuses has been resolved. A post on the blog plat du pied explained [fr] what happened on the 15 November, 2011:

After the cancellations of the matches against China, Gabon, Salvador and Mexico, Cameroon has again cancelled a friendly match at the last minute for the fifth time since the start of the season. The players went on strike, once again, in protest against the federation over their bonuses for the match.

On the same blog, a statement issued by the Cameroon players, known as the ‘Indomitable Lions', said:

Due to the absence of attendance bonuses, the players have decided not to travel to Algiers and to not play any part in the match against Algeria scheduled for the 15 November.

Different solutions to the problem have been found by building on past negative experiences. A post [fr] on the blog marocfootball.info, concerning the Moroccan national team, the ‘Atlas Lions' stated that:

The President of the highest court in Moroccan football announced that a deal has been made with the Atlas Lions in that they accept that they will not receive any form of attendance bonus if they fail to reach the quarter finals of the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

Côte d'Ivoire, not long out of a prolonged and disastrous civil war, will pay their national team the ‘Elephants' a bonus of 5 billion CFA francs (1 million US dollars) if they win the final. The blog afrik11.com states [fr]:

The 23 players in the side receive 5 million CFA francs (10,000 USD) in attendance bonuses. This amount will be paid if the team is eliminated in the first round. In the quarterfinals, the bonus of each player will rise to 8 million, rising further to 10 million in the semifinals and then to 20 million in the final (40,000 USD). The coach, Zahoui François will also enjoy his share of the pie, receiving double the bonuses of his players.

afrik11.com also comments [fr] on the bonuses paid to the Mali national team, the ‘Eagles of Mali' at the beginning of January:

Earlier this week the Malian football team received their bonuses for qualifying for the 2012 African Cup of Nations. Two hundred million CFA francs (40,000 USD) were given in cash to the players and coaching staff before the national team left Lomé (Togo) for the final stage in their preparations for the competition.

The Equatorial Guinea team in training by @FlorianK_Sport

Equatorial Guinea, co-hosts of the event, is a country unable to build a stadium capable of hosting a match due to the frequent rains. Yet abidjan.net posted a blog surrounding their first victory [fr] in the competition:

Teodorin Obiang, the Minister for Agriculture presented a cheque for 500 million CFA francs (760,000 euros) to Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asué, the Minister for Sport, in the absence of the national team in Mbini (mainland Mali). He added a cheque for 20 million CFA francs (30,400 euros), 10 million that had been promised for each goal scored ; the team only won the match 1-0 but he explained that the goal disallowed by the referee deserved to be credited with a bonus.

This blog points out that the actions of Teodorin, tipped to succeed his father as president, are under scrutiny by the Americans.

The generosity of petrodollars being used for the bonuses for the Equatorial Guinea football team makes the Republic of Guinea look like a poor relation. In Conakry, the first problem was in trying to find the money to pay for the bonuses. As reported by lejourguinee.com, the country set up a National Committee for Support, led by General Mathurin Bangoura, Minister for Housing and Urban Development with the aim of raising funds for the bonuses. Notably, the first contributions came from the Indian community settled in the country.

The least well-spent money during the tournament, without doubt, has to be the bonuses awarded to the ‘Teranga Lions', the Senegalese national team, who had entered the competition as strong favourites and fell at the first hurdle. Yet, at the beginning of the competition the blog can.starafrica.com stated [fr] that:

There are some concerns surrounding the bonuses given to the Senegalese side. On Wednesday the Sports Ministry gave the squad bonuses amounting to 140, 650,000 francs in full for their qualification for the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

Africa: 2012 Cup of Nations Delivers Many Surprises

Jane Ellis — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:42:35 +0000

Unlike Senegal, who failed to win their opening match in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana, another competition favourite, managed to win their opener, beating Botswana, who were participating in this tournament for the first time. This, the first match in Group D, took place on Tuesday 24 January in the Stade de Franceville, Gabon.

The Black Stars of Ghana finished the match with ten men following a red card for John Mensah in the 66th minute. They did all they could to win [fr], and were not phased, according to FourFourTwo, who tweeted:

#Ghana show no remorse over Mensah red bit.ly/xkpul2 #AFCON2012

Botswana fought bravely during their first ever appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations. A video summary of the Ghana-Botswana match is available here [fr], courtesy of Direct 8 Sport.

Mali met Guinea for the other opening day Group D game, which saw the Eagles off to a promising start in the tournament, beating Guinea 1-0. Boukary Konaté, a Global Voices author who tweets under the name @Fasokan [fr], posted reactions from the stadium in Macina, Mali:

@Fasokan: Grand bruit et applaudissement à Macina pour le but malien #can2012

@Fasokan: Loud noise and applause from Macina following Mali's goal.

and also [fr]:

@Fasokan: les supporters de Macina espèrent sur un deuxième but malien

@Fasokan: Fans from Macina are hoping for a second goal from Mali.

On Wednesday 25, the first match on Day 2 of Group A, Zambia versus Libya, resulted in the first nil-nil draw of the competition. Torrential rain caused kick-off to be delayed by an hour and a quarter with the match finally starting at 6.15pm, after some doubt as to whether it would go ahead.

Zambia were anxious to secure their place in the quarter finals against a Libyan team who seemed re-energised following their defeat on the opening Saturday of the tournament. The match was played on a waterlogged pitch, as can be seen in this photo posted by Alexandre Nakbi (@Alex_Nak), showing its condition moments before kick off [fr]:

@Alex_Nak: Voila l'état du terrain actuellement. #CAN2012 #Libye #Zambie pic.twitter.com/MSHrD1ae

@Alex_Nak: Here is the state of the pitch right now. #CAN2012 #Libye #Zambie pic.twitter.com/MSHrD1ae

Rain also delayed the Day 2 Group A match between Senegal and Equatorial Guinea. Tournament favourites Senegal were eliminated in a surprise 2-1 win for Equatorial Guinea, assuring a place for the latter in the quarter finals. The defeat of the Lions of Teranga greatly disappointed [fr] their fans:

@observateurs: Le Sénégal sort de la CAN. “On aurait dit des jeunes de centre de formation” #can2012 fb.me/10kgX5eNf

@observateurs: Senegal exit the Cup of Nations. “They looked like kids from a training camp” #can2012

@founseni_soro: Sénégal Grande nation de football, . mais aussi grande déception de la CAN2012. Allez les zelephants #civ2010

@founseni_soro: Senegal - a great footballing nation, but great disappointment in the 2012 Cup of Nations.

In Day 2 of Group B, Angola could not overcome Sudan, one of the weakest teams in the Cup, despite two goals from Manuchi on Thursday 26 January in Malabo Stadium, Equatorial Guinea. If they had won, Angola would have qualified for the quarter finals. The four goals from the match can be seen in the following video [fr]:

Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso met at Malabo later that day for the second match in Day 2 of Group B. The Elephants of Ivory Coast beat the Stallions 2-0, qualifying for the quarter finals while Burkina Faso were eliminated.

Fans of Ivory Coast watching the match against Sudan by @FlorianK_Sport

Day 2 of Group C on the Friday saw Gabon beat Morocco 3-2 and Tunisia beat Nigeria 2-1, securing quarter final places for the Panthers of Gabon and the Eagles of Carthage.

The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations can be followed on the BBC website and on Twitter using the hashtags #CAN2012 and #AFCON2012.

Africa: 2012 Cup of Nations Kicks Off!

Dan Horlor — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:47:12 +0000

[All links to external content are in French]

The Africa Cup of Nations began in Bata, Equatorial Guinea this Saturday January 21, 2012, kicking off three weeks of fierce competition. The Cup of Nations, the most important international football competition in Africa, is taking place in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea between January 21 and 12 February.

Supporters in Africa and around the world have been enjoying the build-up to the two opening matches; dancing, light and sound were all part of the spectacle:

GaGuie the Mascot! With GAGUIE : GA as in Gabon, GUI as in Guinea and E as in Equatorial! Image from fr.cafonline.com with permission

Here is a round up of the first three days of the tournament.

Matchday One

Libya took on Equatorial Guinea in the curtain raiser on 21 January, and it was co-hosts Equatorial Guinea, making their tournament debut, who took a surprise 1-0 win.

With just six minutes remaining, Balboa, the Equatorial Guinea number 11 finally opened the scoring after a one-on-one with the Libyan goalkeeper. The score stayed 1-0 until the final whistle, to the delight of the Equatorial Guinea fans who had packed the stadium.

The Senegalese fluffed their entry to the competition with a 2-1 defeat inflicted by Zambia on the same day. Senegal fans took to the web to place the blame on coach of the national team.

Touy wrote on Seneweb News [fr]:

le souci avec un entraîneur local c'est que même s'il se rend compte que le capitaine par exemple Niang n'est pas au niveau il aura la crainte la peur ou la pudeur de le faire sortir au détriment de la victoire bien sur!!

The problem with having a local coach is that even if he realises that the captain, let's say Niang, is not good enough he'll either be afraid or too modest to take him off, to the detriment of getting the win of course!

Amara Traoré [fr] on RFI sheds some light on the subject for us:

Tout le monde savait avant même le début de la CAN que les zambiens sont très vifs et utiliseraient cette vivacité pour gérer les sénégalais beaucoup plus costauds. Alors lui l’entraîneur et son staff devraient trouver un bon système pour les contenir avant de les attaquer.Donc je trouve kil n'a pas fais son boulot qui était de voir les choses venir et de jouer avec des joueurs rapides mais surtout de ne pas trop bourrer cette attaque ou personne ne se retrouve .

Everyone knew, even before the Cup of Nations began, that the Zambians are very energetic and would use that energy to combat the much bigger and stronger Sengalese. So the coach and his staff should find a system to contain thembefore going on the attack. He hasn't done his job which is to anticipate and play fast players but above all not to throw men forward who then can't find each other.

Matchday Two

The second matchday saw the entry of one of the competition favourites: the ‘Elephants' of Côte d'Ivoire. A magnificent strike by Didier Drogba in the 39th minute secured the victory for Côte d'Ivoire over Sudan. The win for the Elephants wasn't enough for every Ivorian fan on the net however. Many felt that they could have done better.

Phox Hermann [fr] said:

la vérité est bonne à dire heinnn. ELEPHANT ke moi jai vu là c N'IMPORTE KOI

Good to tell the truth, riiight. That was no ELEPHANT that I saw

Bi Tia Vincent Toh [fr] added:

la conservation d'un unique but nous a donné des sueurs froides.
Que Mr Gervino soit un peu plus réaliste devant les buts,
Que Mr Yaya Touré regagne sa place au milieu et joue effectivement comme à city
Que la defense cesse d etre trop permeable,

keeping hold of a one goal lead brought us out in a cold sweat.
If only Mr Gervino [sic] was more realistic in front of goal,
If only Mr Yaya Touré could get his place back in the middle and play as well as he does at city
If only the defence stopped leaking,

Angola also played their first game and overpowered Burkina Faso with a 2-1 victory.

Matchday Three

Gabon, the second co-host team of the 2012 Cup of Nations showed their strength with a 2-0 win over Niger, the opening Group C match of the tournament played in a fantastic atmosphere in the Stade de l'Amitié in Libreville.

Rodrigue Magaya [fr] commented on Aubameyang's goal on Facebook:

que dire?!!!merci aux gars, il fallait ça pour la beauté du spetacle et naturelement monter a tt nos adversaires que nous sommes la!!bien en place et on a pas peur!!!vive la can, et vive encore plus nos pantheres;que Dieu benisse le gabon!!!!!!

what can I say?!!!thanks to the lads, we needed that for the beauty of the contest and naturally to show all our opponents that we're here!!right on the spot and with no fear!!long live the cup of nations, and may our panthers live even longer;God bless Gabon!!!!!!

The 2012 Cup of Nations can be followed on TV5 Monde, Canal+ Afrique and on Twitter and Google+ via the hashtags #CAN2012 (in French) et #ACN2012 (in English).

Africa: 10 West African Club Tracks

Ndesanjo Macha — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:15:56 +0000

This is Boima Tucker's 2011 10 club friendly Afropop tracks: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one song dominate a nation’s psyche like Junior Freeman and African Soldier’s “Dumyarea” did in Liberia this summer. Maybe it was because it was an election season, and all the politicians co-opted the song for their own campaigns…”

Video Highlights: Identity, Refugees, Conflict and Open Technology

Juliana Rincón Parra — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 03:33:09 +0000

This section aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel or by clicking on the regional header links.

East Asia

For our Special Coverage page on Languages and the Internet comes an article about the different languages of East Timor. This next short film shows us the importance of receiving education in the mother tongue and the innovative Education Policy for Multilingual Education that East Timor is adopting.

Sub-Saharan Africa

In the post ‘Mali, Niger: Tuareg Voices Barely Heard Over the Sounds of War ‘, a video amplifies the voices of the Tuareg:

In Kidal, a town in north-eastern Mali, an unofficial number of Tuareg people marched to claim the autonomy of the Azawad region on November 1.

In ‘Kenya: Life in Dadaab, the World's Largest Refugee Camp‘ we look through the eyes of different aid organizations the complexities of life in Dadaab, a refugee camp receiving more than 1,400 people every day:

Central Asia and Caucasus

In Armenia and Azerbaijan, video is being used to improve understanding of the complex issues dividing the people of both nations. We linked to this insightful blog post on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict as seen through YouTube videos. It included this next video, which shows an interesting experiment on both sides of the border. In the video, a taxi with a camera records passengers reactions to the taxi driver's musical selection: he plays Azeri music in Armenia and Armenian music in Azerbaijan. The passenger's comments have been captioned in English.

You can visit our Special Coverage page on Caucasus Conflict Voices to learn more about the region's situation. To read more about the role of video in the conflict, visit ‘Armenia-Azerbaijan Dialogue Through Film‘ and its second part, ‘More Armenia-Azerbaijan Dialogue Through Film‘ will provide extra information.

Latin America

Global Voices Author and Lingua Editor in Spanish Juan Arellano has been interviewing different Latin American experts. In this one he spoke with Santiago Hoerth of the Codigo Sur project about open technology and Open Software:

In another interview, he spoke with attorney and Creative Commons regional representative Carolina Botero and asked her to give her opinion on piracy.

Francophone Africa: The Important Literary Contributions from Former Colonies

Solène TRETOUT — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:36:57 +0000

The Genevan blog of Rémi Mogenet, Le Savoyard de la Tribune, explains with supporting examples that [fr]: “Mythological African traditional stories have made a remarkable entrance into francophone literature”. He quotes the Mandika epic tale of Soundjata, written and published in French by Guinean D. T. Niane, as well as, for Cameroon, Au Pays des initiés by Gabriel Mfomo and La Marseillaise de mon enfance by Jean-Marton Tchaptchet, without forgetting L' Anthologie nègre by Blaise Cendrars.

Understanding the Implications of the Kidnappings of 6 Westerners in Mali

Lova Rakotomalala — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:57:39 +0000

The Wal-Asat blog attempts to figure out the implications of the recent slew of kidnappings in Mali. Didier François highlights the mysterious background and activities [fr] of the two kidnapped Frenchmen while AllAfrica points out the poor regional coordination between the nations combating this issue.

Mali, Niger: Tuareg Voices Barely Heard Over the Sounds of War

Ahmed Medien — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:07:10 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Revolution 2011.

Since the break out of the Libyan war, many security and political experts have warned against potential threats posed by the Tuareg nomads of the Sahara, particularly in Mali and Niger. Is it a real threat or mere speculation? For the moment, the only place to hear the voices of the Tuareg is on the Internet.

It all began with substantial migration from Libya to its neighboring countries. Long ago, many observers believed that former Libyan leader Gaddafi may have recruited Tuareg people to secure the south of the country and sustain a booming Libyan economy, while taking advantage of a (mostly cheaper) alien workforce. The death of Africa's “King of Kings” (Gaddafi's nickname) has now pushed thousands of Tuareg people to return to Mali and Niger.

Realistic threat?

The return of the well-armed fighters as well as empty-handed civilians, has fed all sort of rumors in the region. There were rumors that the son of Muammer Gaddafi, Saif al Islam, was hiding in the region, however, these turned out to be false. On November 11, 2011, 14 Tuareg fighters returning from Libya were allegedly killed after exchanging fire with security forces from Niger at the border of Niger and Mali.

It is mostly local and international media that is highlighting the, as yet non-existent, threat of a rebellion coming from the north of the region. Media chatter is awash with the supposed anxiety of the authorities, who allegedly fear a Tuareg rebellion. Both Mali and Niger's governments are stepping up their military presence [fr] and initiatives to ensure order in the Tuareg regions. Missing amongst all this are the voices of the Tuareg people themselves.

Isolated and voiceless

Geographically, the region inhabited by Tuareg people is thousands of kilometers away from the Malian capital Bamako. The isolation of the Tuareg people is reinforced by the fact that the Al-Qaeda organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has kidnapped many foreigners in the region, which has discouraged most visitors to venture into the Saharan region.

The isolation is as much a psychological one as it is a geographical one, which makes the exploration of the area and the understanding of it by outsiders even more more difficult.

More effective than communiqués and declarations, YouTube has made it possible to realize that something has been stirring in the region. In Kidal, a town in north-eastern Mali, an unofficial number of Tuareg people marched to claim the autonomy of the Azawad region on November 1 (uploaded by YouTube user amassakoulable on November 2):

Others in the towns of Menaka, Gao and Tombouctou also marched in solidarity with the call by MNLA - a French acronym for the National Liberation Movement of Azawad - for autonomy.

MNLA is well organized on the Internet where it delineates its objectives on its website [fr]:

[The MNLA] aims to reinforce human and social relations between communities of the region and the rest of the nation in a democratic process. It has chosen a policy to push its agenda via legal actions and democratic spirit and therefore it condemns all sorts of violent actions.

Their demands are not quite well defined yet. They are asking for autonomy but they do not illustrate what this autonomy would practically entail.

Blogger Kal-Azawad highlights the pacifist purposes of the MNLA movement. He speaks about a social movement, not a rebellion and he also denounces the circulating rumors [fr]:

This is addressed to the national and international public opinion: know that the combatants returning from Libya do not intend to play the AQIM games, nor will they ever be tempted to do so in anyway. On the contrary, our compatriots hold a myriad of projects: the sustainable development of their territory and the security of the Azawadi populations and all its components: Songhai, Tuareg, Arabs, Fula people, the protection of their properties against rogue cases of vandalism and other car hijacking by insignificant uncontrolled armed groups, a massive campaign to raise awareness against any sort of indoctrination by the Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and the reconstitution of a local social base in order to reunite the people of Azawad!

An observer [fr] of French television channel France 24, explains that the discussion revolves around a political conflict for self-determination and not for revenge regarding Gaddafi's death or a partnership with AQIM.

The Tuareg people are still quiet regarding the panic that is taking over the region. However, it is yet to be seen how they will react to the post-Gaddafi panic.

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Revolution 2011.

Africa: Open Doors 2012: Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa

Ndesanjo Macha — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:25:19 +0000

Open Doors 2012 focuses on Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa: “Following on from India in 2011, the next edition of Open Doors, the Festival del film Locarno’s co-production lab, will be devoted to francophone Africa…Application forms for Open Doors 2012 are available on www.onopendoors.pardo.ch and are restricted to projects from francophone Sub-saharan Africa”

Gaddafi's Lost Arsenal, a Threat to the Sahel Region

Lova Rakotomalala — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:53:54 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Revolution 2011.

Since the beginning of the conflict in Libya that toppled the Gaddafi's regime, weapon trafficking has been on the rise in the Sahel region. The consequences of this trafficking threatens peace in a region that is already destabilized by poverty and vast uncontrolled areas.

The Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS in French) is an international organization whose mandate is to invest in research for food security and the fight against the effects of drought and desertification in the region. Its country members include Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Chad. All of them are on high alert regarding the potential impact of weapons on the loose reaching their borders.

Africa Boyebi repost a report from the AFP on his blog that describes an uncontrolled weapons site [fr]:

L'arsenal compte quelque 80 bunkers de béton peints couleur sable destinés au stockage de munitions, essentiellement de fabrication russe et française.
Dans un seul de ces bunkers, l'AFP a compté environ 8.000 obus de 100 mm. Dans d'autres, des centaines de bombes de 250, 500 et 900 kg larguées par avion, sont empilées sur plusieurs mètres de haut, mais aussi des roquettes, des bombes à fragmentation, des obus d'artillerie et de mortier de tout calibre, des munitions de canon antiaérien…

The arsenal includes about 80 bunkers painted sand color that were used to stockpile ammunitions, mostly made in Russia or France.
In one of those bunkers, AFP counted as many as 8,000 100 mm long shell bombs. In other bunkers, hundreds of 250, 500 and 900 kg bombs were also piled up to several meters high, as well as rockets, artillery shells and mortars of any caliber, and anti-aircraft gun ammunitions…

Peter Bouckaert, Human Rights Watch's emergencies director and an expert in humanitarian crises provides the details of the weapons [fr] that were found unguarded 100 km south of Syrte in the following video. He states that some of weapons here were retrieved in the Sinaï desert and even Gaza later:

Way before conflict broke out in Libya, there were weapons circulating throughout the Sahel region at the unguarded borders of many countries, but these weapons were much smaller in size and range. However, more sophisticated weaponry has been introduced in the past few months.

However, more sophisticated weaponry has been introduced in the past few months. Samuel Benshimon on Sahel Intelligence explains that AQIM (Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb - a radical Islamist militia) may have claimed some of these heavy weapons [fr]:

According to reliable sources from the capital cities of Chad, Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Algeria and Mauritania, heavy weaponry, including anti-aerial missiles abandoned in Libya were seized by mysterious terrorists groups. A military source in Bamako states that many of these weapons were already transported towards AQMI bases in the north of Mali by African mercenaries.

Samuel Benshimon adds that a high level officer has confirmed the accuracy of this information and that he also said [fr]:

The authorities of his country are very worried about AQIM reloading on weapons in such manner and that it presents a very palatable threat fro the entire region. He adds that amongs the weapons are Sam7, anti-aerial missiles made in Russia. Similar concerns were expressed by the president of Chad Driss Deby. The weapons were retrieved by African mercenaries or AQIM elements and were transported overnight to their final destination. The branches of AQIM based in the north of Mali are controlled by Algerian emirs Mokhtar Belmokhtar and Abdelhamid Abou Zaid

What ought to be even more worrisome are the issues that author and blogger Thérèse Zrihen-Dvir has listed in the following post [fr] :

The revolution is now over and Libya is free. However, the former rebels are not ready to let go of their weapons right away. Just in case, you know. The region is still not stabilized, the police is still composed of volunteers for half of them. No national army has been fully set up so the population feel like they ought to protect their communities themselves and hold on to their weapons.

In an article on elkhabar.com blog, Moroccan scholar Mohamed Drif (specialized in Islamic movement), predicts that the region will be controlled by three groups that sprung from the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya [fr]:

The first group will be composed of the Gaddafi's loyalists, the tribes that fought by his side and that went home in the North of Niger. The group is experienced with combat and that owns weaponry that allows to pursue the fight against the new regime in Libya and will target western interests in the region.

The second group will be composed of the many Africans that were linked to the Gaddafi regime. This group will start to destabilize the region not because they want to avenge Gaddafi but because they want to regain the financial loss they incurred when the support from Gaddafi ran dry. Guerilla warfare from this group is likely in order to claim some quick financial spoils.

The third group will be composed of Gaddafi partisans in Libya or in neighboring nations who are striving to destabilize the region for tribal reasons.

Cafe Aboki blog posts an AFP report, which claims that the National Transitional Council of Libya has found yet another stockpile of weaponry [fr], this time, of the chemical type. Chemical weapons are very mobile [fr] and have a great capacity to kill and destroy the surrounding environment.

A study by Olivier Lepick for Recherche Stratégique indicates the multiple angers that chemical weapons [fr] can present:

Some characteristics of chemical weapons are tailor made for terrorist activities, most notably the fact that there are no reliable detectors of chemical and biological weapons, they are not easily traceable and the relative ease with which one can procure such substances. Evidently and unfortunately, these weapons also have a tremendous capability to spread fear and panic among the civilian population.

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Revolution 2011.

Mali: Senegal and Mali Final Expected in Afrobasket Women 2011

Claire Ulrich — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:08:00 +0000

Starafrica comments [fr] on the Afrobasket Women Championship 2011 currently being hosted in Bamako, Mali: ” Mali, the host country and vice-champion, and Senegal, winner of the last Championship, are very convincing during this 22nd edition […]. The two national teams remain invincible. Coming up on the horizon is a final between Mali and Senegal on October 2, as in the previous Afrobasket Women Championship.”

Mali : ATT Tending to his Legacy

Lova Rakotomalala — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 09:40:10 +0000

Diawara at Sur les traces de l'empire du Mali [fr] describes the upcoming tight schedule of Malian president Ahmadou Toumani Touré (aka A.T.T) : “A.T.T is seemingly keen on leaving a good lasting impression as he prepares to depart his (presidential) office. Indeed, his upcoming agenda is heavy on inauguration ceremonies of newly built infrastructures.”

Africa : Delicious Peanut

Thalia Rahme — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 21:29:08 +0000

Nadia Khouri-Dagher writes a post on afrik.com [fr] where she praises the peanut, a condiment that has been integrated in most African cuisines: “Senegalese Chicken Mafé, Malian Peanuts Tiguadegue sauce, Ghanean Inkatse-abè sauce, Togolese Azindéssi sauce, Beninese Aziin nusunnu sauce, Congolese moambe chicken, Peanut rougail from Reunion Islands,… : The peanut or goober composes a wide array of dishes and popular and delicious in the majority of Sub-Saharan African countries !”