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.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) on April 28 delivered an order on reparations for the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz in Timbuktu between April 2, 2012, and Jan. 29, 2013, when the Malian city was occupied by jihadist forces.

Russia's Africa Corps launched air-strikes and helicopter assaults to drive back a dramatic rebel advance on Mali's capital Bamako April 25. Former rival insurgent groups, the jihadist Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Tuareg separatist Front de Libération de l'Azawad (FLA), came together for the joint offensive against the ruling military government, with simultaneous attacks on Mopti, Gao and Kidal as well as the capital. Mali's defense minister, Lt. Gen. Sadio Camara, the key liaison between the army and Russian mercenary forces, was killed in an apparent suicide truck bombing on his residence outside Bamako. (BBC News, BBC News, NYT, RFI, War on the Rocks)

The exterminationist rhetoric that has accompanied Trump's massive bombardment of civilian infrastructure in Iran has been condemned by Amnesty International as possible incitement to genocide—a crime under international law. Can Trump join Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin as the next world leader to face charges before the International Criminal Court? Yes, if Iran follows Palestine and Ukraine in granting jurisdiction to the ICC for crimes committed on its territory. This is legally valid, despite intransigence from the United States, Israel and Russia alike. The next three convictions by the ICC could be the first of figures from outside the African continent—undermining accusations of a double standard that have hindered the Court's effectiveness. In Episode 322 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg makes the case—politically and practically—for sending Trump to a prison cell at The Hague.

Sudan's paramilitary-turned-rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have repeatedly attacked the Darfur border town of Tina, with more than 123 injured people arriving at a hospital supported by Médecins Sans Frontières near the Chad frontier last week. A drone strike—with responsibility still unclear—also killed 17 people on the Chadian side of the border. Tina has been hosting large numbers of displaced Darfuris fleeing RSF attacks elsewhere. (TNH)

Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirmed March 10 that an al-Qaeda-linked armed group summarily executed 10 long-haul truck drivers and two teenage apprentices in late January in southwestern Mali as part of the group's attack on a fuel convoy and deemed the acts "apparent war crimes."

The UN's top human rights official on Feb. 5 demanded that Burkina Faso end its clampdown on civic freedoms, including an announced ban on political parties. In his comments, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk emphasized that the government's decision to prohibit political parties marks a serious setback for the freedoms of expression, association and political participation in Burkina Faso. He stated:

A military drone strike in western Niger killed at least 17 civilians, including four children, and injured at least 13 others when it hit a crowded market on Jan. 6, according to an investigation by Human Rights Watch (HRW) released Feb. 9.