#sahel

#sahel

Two coups and one foiled coup within eight weeks constitute a new dimension even for Africa's recent history. In October, the military in Madagascar deposed the president after weeks of protests. Then in November, soldiers in Guinea-Bissau deposed the head of state shortly after what they considered to be a rigged election. In early December, a group of soldiers calling themselves the "Military Committee for Renewal" announced a takeover in Benin.

Antoine Glaser noted that French companies operating in the Sahel received 'preferential treatment,' a remnant of the Francafrique policy that ignored evolving realities.

"They're creating a proto-state that stretches like a belt from western Mali all the way to the borderlands of Benin. ... It is a substantial - even exponential - expansion," said Héni Nsaibia, West Africa senior analyst for the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.