The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Dec. 9 announced a regional state of emergency following a wave of coups and attempted coups that have destabilized several member states of the regional bloc. The declaration was made during the 55th session of the ECOWAS Mediation & Security Council in Abuja, Nigeria, by the president of the bloc, Gambian diplomat Omar Touray.

Eleven individuals deported from the US to Ghana last month filed a lawsuit against the Ghana government, charging that they were illegally held in a military detention camp. The legal action reflects the chaotic fallout following the deportations, which have resulted in deportees being scattered and "dumped" into neighboring African countries. The deportees are of multiple West African nationalities, none of which is Ghanaian.

At least seven have been killed and many more injured in anti-government protests that broke out June 26 in Togo's capital, Lomé. The demonstrations were called over recent constitutional reforms that could cement President Faure Gnassingbé's long hold on power. Gnassingbé, who has ruled since his father's death in 2005, was sworn in last month as president of the Council of Ministers, a powerful new post without term limits, allowing him to be re-elected by Parliament indefinitely. Gnassingbé's family has ruled Togo since 1967, and the new "Hands Off My Constitution" movement denounces the government reform as a "constitutional coup." (AfricaNews, EastleighVoice)

President Donald Trump issued a proclamation June 4 implementing a nearly full travel ban on nationals from a dozen countries, severely restricting potential entry into the United States. The proclamation is based on an executive order issued on Trump's first day in office that laid the foundation for the administration to enact extensive immigration controls. Trump claimed the action serves national security interests:

The Court of Justice of the West African regional bloc ECOWAS on May 16 ordered the government of Ghana to pay a collective $75,000 in damages to 30 members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) over their prolonged and unlawful detention. The court, based in Lagos, Nigeria, found that Ghanaian authorities violated the applicants' human rights by detaining them for extended periods—some for over a year—without trial or due process. The judges noted that both Ghana's constitution and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human & Peoples' Rights require detainees to be presented in court within 48 hours. The 30 HSGF members were arrested on May 8, 2019, under Ghana's 1976 Prohibited Organizations Decree, which outlaws groups deemed a threat to national security. (Punch)

Togo's National Assembly voted April 6 to extend a "state of security emergency" in the northern Savanes region of the country for another year. The measure follows a recent increase in incursions by militant groups along Togo's northern border. The measure is a further extension of President Faure Gnassingbé's initial state of emergency decreed in June 2022. The state of emergency was lengthened by six months in September 2022 but expired on March 12. The unanimous National Assembly vote authorizes the Togolese government to retroactively increase the measure for a further 12 months starting from March 13.

In Episode 161 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg provides an overview of the under-reported conflicts in West Africa, where government forces and allied paramilitary groups battle multiple jihadist insurgencies affiliated either with ISIS or al-Qaeda on a franchise model. Horrific massacres have been committed by both sides, but the Western media have only recently started to take note because of the geopolitical angle that has emerged: both Mali and Burkina Faso have cut long-standing security ties with France, the former colonial power, and brought in mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group. In both countries, the pastoralist Fulani people have been stigmatized as "terrorists" and targeted for extra-judicial execution and even massacre—a potentially pre-genocidal situation. But government air-strikes on Fulani communities in Nigeria have received no coverage in the Western media, because of the lack of any geopolitical rivalry there; Nigeria remains firmly in the Anglo-American camp. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.

The Group for Support of Islam & Muslims (GSIM, or JNIM by its Arabic rendering), al-Qaeda's West African franchise, has claimed credit for an assault on Togolese forces that left at least 17 soldiers dead outside Tiwoli, a village close to the borders with Burkina Faso and Benin. In a brief online communique, JNIM said its "mujahedeen killed 16 tyrants, burned two cars, and captured 16 Kalashnikovs, 24 rifle magazines, and five motorcycles." Togolese media reported that fighters in large columns of vehicles mounted with heavy machine-guns raided the military outpost at Tiwoli on Nov. 24.