Menas Associates Blog
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A political dimension to Nigeria’s ethnic clashes?
Over the weekend of 13-14 February the country’s escalating ethnic tensions boiled over in the Oyo State capital of Ibadan where Yoruba and Fulani youths clashed in local markets. Perhaps as many as 20 people were killed and several thousand Hausa residents were...
Libya’s new leaders
The UN-backed Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LDPF) scored a major breakthrough in Geneva in early February when it elected the heads of the country’s new transitional executive authorities. Contrary to expectations, the final list delivered a surprise result,...
President Tebboune’s excessive medical bill
Today, as we go to press — after spending another month in Germany, following his two months hospitalisation there between late October and late December — there is the first news of President Abdelmajid Tebboune’s health. According to sources close to the Presidency...
A politicised military and a major security shuffle
For a brief moment when he announced the replacement of all four service chiefs on 26 January, it seemed that President Muhammadu Buhari was at last holding his military high command accountable for the disastrous unravelling of national security over the last five...
PJD split over support for Morocco’s deal with Israel
The leadership of Morocco’s ruling Parti Justice et Développement (PJD) party is desperately trying to contain a backlash among its rank-and-file which has been prompted by Morocco’s recent normalisation of diplomatic relations with Israel. In December 2020, a...
Sonatrach corruption allegations continue to increase
Over the past two to three months, state-owned Sonatrach has been hit by one corruption allegation after another. The fire at the El Merk oil field in October raised questions about nepotism in regard to the appointment of Yamina Hakkar, wife of Sonatrach CEO Toufik...
US-Iran relations – what will happen in the coming months
Domestic Iranian politics will be driven by two parallel agendas. Moderates will push for a speedy return to a compliance-for compliance arrangement within the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), while hardliners will attempt to disrupt the process, hoping to...
Russian and Turkish forces dig-in despite their supposed departure
In addition to the progress made by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF), the co-chairs of the International Follow-Up Committee for Libya Security Working Group (SWG) — comprising the African Union, France, Italy, Turkey, the UK and the UNSMIL — met the 5+5...
Trial of Mauritania’s former president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
The judicial investigation into the ill-gotten gains and related financial crimes of former President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and his family has stuttered to a halt. It has been impeded by his lack of cooperation and a trial now seems inevitable. The problem,...
Anger escalates in Libya’s ‘White Cyrenaica’ region
Anger has been escalating in the region — centred around the Sirte Basin and including towns such as Sirte, Ajdabiya, and Kufra — which was once known as Barqa al-beida (White Cyrenaica). This refers to the Accord of al-Rajma of October 1920 when Italy agreed to give...