West Africa

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Togo’s ruling party wins a majority in parliament, likely keeping a dynasty in power

LOME, Togo (AP) — Togo’s ruling party has won a majority of seats in the West African nation’s parliament, the election commission said as it announced provisional results of last week’s vote that was rejected by the opposition as part of a move to extend President Faure Gnassingbe’s tenure.

https://apnews.com/article/togo-election-gnassingbe-f173200c482b08ed7faa2995b87ac689?

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Sierra Leone outlaws child marriage, and even witnesses to such weddings will be punished

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — A bill that bans child marriage in Sierra Leone has been signed into law, President Julius Maada Bio said late Tuesday, in an effort to protect girls in the West African nation where about a third are married before adulthood.

https://apnews.com/article/sierra-leone-child-marriage-law-b3db62bac60906790ab94116c2f332ed?

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Panic among spectators at soccer game kills at least 56 in the West African nation of Guinea

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Chaos erupted at a soccer game in Guinea after fans protested a referee’s call and thousands of panicked spectators tried to flee the stadium, leaving at least 56 people dead in the West African nation, officials and witnesses said Monday.

https://apnews.com/article/guinea-soccer-stampede-8663cce728047148546ad4030b1cedf8?

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Come home, Ghana told the African diaspora. Now some Black Americans take its citizenship

Ghana recently granted citizenship to 524 people from the Black diaspora, and most were Black Americans. It was the largest group to be granted citizenship at one time since Ghana launched its “Year of the Return” initiative in 2019. The launch marked 400 years since the first African slaves arrived in Virginia in 1619. Read more.

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3 coup-hit West African nations formally leave ECOWAS regional bloc The junta-led West African nations of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have formally withdrawn from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, the body said Wednesday, the culmination of a yearlong process during which the group tried to avert an unprecedented disintegration. Read more.

Why this matters: Widely seen as West Africa’s top political and regional authority, the 15-nation ECOWAS was formed in 1975 to “promote economic integration” among member states. It has struggled in recent years to reverse rampant coups in the region where citizens have complained of not benefitting from rich natural resources.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ M23 rebels expand their control in east Congo   West Africa's junta-led nations announce deployment of a joint force   They fled from extremists. Now the government in Burkina Faso tries to hide their existence

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Wagner Group leaving Mali after heavy losses but Russia’s Africa Corps to remain

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Russia-backed Wagner Group said Friday it is leaving Mali after more than three and a half years of fighting Islamic extremists and insurgents in the country.

https://apnews.com/article/mali-wagner-russia-withdraws-b29349be737cbc14dfc435b3536711eb?

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Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger call for joint ‘large-scale operations’ against extremists

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The head of an alliance of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger declared Tuesday that the launch of a joint battalion “must be followed by large-scale operations in the coming days” in a region plagued by deadly extremism.

https://apnews.com/article/mali-summit-sahel-security-africa-cacd6f9aa5ea89bc112bcba508e5ef77?