Menas Associates Blog
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Lack of militia support forces Bashagha to retreat from Tripoli
Fierce fighting erupted in Tripoli before dawn on 17 May when Fathi Bashagha — unilaterally appointed by the eastern Libya dominated House of Representatives as head of the self-styled Government of National Salvation (GNS) — tried to enter the capital and replace the...
APC screens candidates to separate the wheat from the chaff
Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) closed the sale of its nomination forms on 13 May and is currently screening the 28 presidential candidates who submitted their forms before the deadline. There are likely to be some defections before the APC’s...
Major Algerian cabinet reshuffle is anticipated
Multiple sources are saying that Algeria’s El-Mouradia presidential palace is working on a major cabinet reshuffle, which they say should be carried out in the next week or two. There has, however, been talk of imminent reshuffles since last November without anything...
Russians caught fabricating a ‘French atrocity’ in Mali
The French military has released drone video evidence of Russian mercenaries burying bodies near the Gossi army base in northern Mali — handed over by the French to the Malian army on 19 April — in an attempt to falsely accuse the departing troops of leaving behind...
Algeria is at an important crossroads
The implications for Algeria of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are potentially profound. Washington is pressing the regime to decide between Moscow or the West. If it chooses Moscow, dire political and economic consequences are likely. If it chooses the West it is...
Iran-Saudi talks resume
The Saudi–Iran security dialogue that had been paused over the past seven months resumed in Iraq as of 21 April. This is the fifth round of security talks designed to de-escalate tensions between the two regional powers. In the last meeting, in September 2021,...
Morocco: Major rapprochement with Spain, but escalating economic pain
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez made a landmark two-day visit to Morocco in early April, which drew a line under the year-long stand-off in relations between the two countries that was finally eased last month. This rapprochement came about in March after Madrid...
US vote of confidence in Nigeria’s future
The US has announced it will spend US$537 million to build a new consulate in Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos in what many see Washington’s vote of confidence in the future of Africa’s most populous country despite the growing turmoil. ‘When completed, it will...
Algeria: punishing Spain and rewarding Italy
Algeria is in the midst of complex and potentially risky negotiations and deals over its sale of gas to European countries. Algeria — angered by Spain’s support for Morocco over the disputed Western Sahara (Morocco Focus, March 2022) — is therefore trying to...
Libya’s vote to suspend Russia from UNHCR stands out
Libya joined 92 other countries at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in voting to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) as punishment for its aggression — including actions that have been widely described in the international community as ‘war crimes’ —...