The alarming reports that Nigeria has established "concentration camps" for the Fulani ethnic minority cast an ironic light on Nigeria's tension with the Sahel states of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso to the north. These three regimes have broken from the Western imperial camp (to embrace the nascent Russian imperial camp)—but are likewise subjecting their Fulani minorities to persecution and massacre. With the recent shock rebel offensive in Mali, the "terrorist" stigma that attaches to the Fulani and Tuareg peoples across the imperial camps makes their position more precarious than ever. Meanwhile, prominent voices on the both the right and the (supposed) "left" are spreading propaganda about the struggle in West Africa that is alarmingly wrong, because it exclusively views the crisis through a campist lens. In Episode 327 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg tries to provide some clarity on these fast-escalating and grossly under-reported conflicts.

UN experts on Jan. 26 cautioned against the escalating use of arrests and criminal proceedings against agricultural trade union activity in France, after authorities detained 52 farmers during peaceful protests in Paris earlier this month.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Oct. 13 called on Italy to revoke its migration cooperation agreement with Libya, saying the arrangement "has proven to be a framework for violence and suffering, and should be revoked, not renewed." The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the countries, first signed in February 2017, was part of Italy's broader strategy to tighten its national borders. Under the agreement, Italy has provided technical, logistical and financial support the Libyan Coast Guard, enabling the force to intercept tens of thousands of people at sea and return them to Libya. However, NGOs have consistently documented how intercepted refugees and asylum seekers are routinely detained in inhumane conditions, where they face torture and other degrading treatment.

Youth-led protests demanding better education and healthcare in Morocco escalated into violent clashes with security forces on Sept. 30, the fourth consecutive day of angry demonstrations across several cities. The protests were organized online by a loose network calling itself "GenZ 212," after Morocco's country code. In the southern cities of Tiznit, Inzegane and Ait Amira, as well as the eastern city of Oujda and Temara near the capital Rabat, hundreds of protesters hurled stones at security forces attempting to disperse the gatherings. On Oct. 2, at least two protesters were killed when police opened fire in Lqliaa, near the coastal city of Agadir. Authorities said the troops fired to prevent protesters from storming a police station. (Reuters, BBC News, NYT, PRI)

Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso announced Sept. 22 that they will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the tribunal of serving "imperial" rather than African interests. The three countries, each governed by military juntas and members of the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES), issued a joint declaration stating that they no longer recognize the ICC as a legitimate forum for justice, charging that it has become an "instrument of neo-colonialist repression."

French President Emmanuel Macron sent a letter to Cameroonian President Paul Biya, dated July 30 but released this week, in which he officially acknowledged his country's use of repressive violence before, during, and after Cameroon's war of independence.

France officially transferred control of its last military installations in Senegal to local authorities in a ceremony on July 17, bringing to an end the permanent deployment of French troops in the country since Senegal gained independence in 1960. The withdrawal of over 350 troops marks the completion of a process initiated in March, when France began handing over multiple military sites. These have included the Rufisque communications station outside the capital Dakar, turned over on July  1.

A court in Algeria has sentenced French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes to seven years in prison on charges of "glorifying terrorism" and "possessing propaganda publications harmful to the national interest," the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on July 1. Gleizes, who has written for French publications So Foot and Society, was arrested on May 28, 2024, in Tizi Ouzou, in Algeria's restive Kabylie region, after interviewing the president of football club JS Kabylie. Authorities alleged the interviewee had ties to the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), which Algeria designated a "terrorist group" in 2021. Gleizes' arrest was not made public until his sentencing on June 29.