Africa
Unrest in the Congo: Political turmoil rocks Kinshasa
By Eddie Haywood, 24 September 2016
Washington’s concern is for the vast mineral wealth of the Congo, and for the existence of a reliable and pliant regime in Kinshasa to facilitate its exploitation.
Ethiopian government kills 100 civilians as protests sweep country
By Joe Williams, 26 August 2016
A protest at the Olympics by marathon runner Feyisa Lilesa drew attention to the ongoing government repression in Ethiopia.
South Sudan government approves 4,000-strong UN force
By Thomas Gaist, 16 August 2016
The military operation is empowered to conduct offensive operations against units loyal to both the government and the opposition.
Canada’s defence minister tours Africa to lay groundwork for military intervention
By Roger Jordan, 16 August 2016
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has confirmed that Canada will soon announce a major military intervention of “long-duration” in one or more African countries.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
12 August 2016
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India and US deepen strategic collaboration in Africa
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 6 August 2016
The Indian and US militaries are partnering in the training of African officers to lead and train troops deployed on UN “peacekeeping” missions.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
5 August 2016
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More airstrikes in new US war in Libya
By Peter Symonds, 3 August 2016
While nominally directed against ISIS, the fresh eruption of American militarism is more broadly aimed at stamping US dominance throughout the region.
Japan exploits violence in South Sudan to dispatch military
By Ben McGrath, 16 July 2016
While portrayed as a rescue mission, the deployment of additional Japanese troops to Africa marks an expansion of Japan’s role on the continent.
European Union working with African despots to deter refugees
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 11 July 2016
At their latest meeting in the Slovakian capital Bratislava, EU interior ministers agreed on speedier deportation of refugees and closer cooperation with African dictatorships.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
24 June 2016
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
17 June 2016
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European Union seeks agreements with African dictators to deter refugees
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 16 June 2016
In exchange for financial assistance, despotic regimes in Africa are to seal off escape routes and detain and deport refugees.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
10 June 2016
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
27 May 2016
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US forces in combat in Somalia as AFRICOM plans for war across continent
By Thomas Gaist, 18 May 2016
Washington is preparing interventions throughout sub-Saharan Africa, where the US military’s Africa Command is currently examining a dozen locations for new bases.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
13 May 2016
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US, NATO preparing new air and ground attacks against Libya
By Thomas Gaist, 5 April 2016
Barely five years after destroying Libya as a functioning society, the imperialist powers are preparing a new bombing campaign and ground invasion.
US airstrike massacres 150 at al-Shabaab training camp in Somalia
By Joseph Kishore, 8 March 2016
The attack north of the Somali capital of Mogadishu marks a significant escalation of US operations in the Horn of Africa, which lies next to critical oil routes leading into the Indian Ocean.
South Africa: Police open fire on Modimolle water protests
By G.T. Maqhubela, 23 February 2016
Police opened fire last week with rubber bullets on residents who had gathered to protest against water shortages amid the worst drought in recent memory.
Western powers move closer to new military intervention in Libya
By Marianne Arens, 19 February 2016
The main task of the national unity government in Libya will be to give the green light to a new military intervention in the oil rich North African country.
ANC in crisis as President Zuma struggles to reassure big capital
By G.T. Maqhubela, 16 February 2016
The Economic Freedom Fighters, led by Julius Malema, are making political capital from the crisis confronting the ANC by posturing as a “left” anti-corruption alternative.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
12 February 2016
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France gives €1 billion aid to Tunisia in bid to halt mass protests over jobs
By Kumaran Ira, 26 January 2016
Amid growing social unrest, Washington and Paris are boosting military aid to Tunisia to prepare to suppress social opposition in the working class.
Chinese president seeks to shore up relations with Africa
By Peter Symonds, 7 December 2015
Like every part of the globe, Africa has been transformed into an arena for geo-political rivalry.
After Paris attacks, Spain offers to reinforce French troops in Africa
By James Lerner and Alejandro López, 24 November 2015
Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy has offered to replace French troops deployed in missions in Africa so Paris can free up more forces for the fight against Islamic State (IS), both in France itself and in Syria and Iraq.
US Special Forces deploy to Mali in wake of Bamako hotel attack
By Thomas Gaist, 21 November 2015
There are already signs that the United States and France are seizing on the attack to intensify their military operations on the continent.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
23 October 2015
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Obama deploys hundreds of US troops to Cameroon
By Thomas Gaist, 17 October 2015
The drive for enhanced US military-political control over Africa is aimed at countering Chinese economic influence and gaining leverage over Washington’s European “partners.”
South Africa: Unite Against Corruption marches seek to exploit working-class anger at ANC
By G.T. Maqhubela, 12 October 2015
The intention of the UAC and other formations like it is to oppose a socialist alternative to ANC rule.
France, US back purge of leaders of failed Burkina Faso coup
By Stéphane Hugues, 8 October 2015
US officials who view Burkina Faso as strategically central to their military operations in Africa demand that the country be “calm.”
Bodies of at least 95 refugees found on Libyan shores
By Oscar Grenfell, 5 October 2015
The latest tragedy marks a continuation of the humanitarian crisis caused by imperialist wars in North Africa and the Middle-East, and the repression of asylum-seekers.
UK to send troops to Somalia and South Sudan
By Jean Shaoul, 3 October 2015
The US and its European allies are engaged in a ferocious struggle with China for control of the oil resources in the Horn of Africa region.
German politicians and the media push for new wars in Africa
By Christoph Dreier, 27 August 2015
Various media outlets have spoken out in recent days for military interventions in Africa to enforce German economic interests.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
7 August 2015
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US preparing new drone deployments to North Africa
By Thomas Gaist, 14 July 2015
The US military’s Africa Command is preparing to develop at least one new US drone and Special Forces base in North Africa.
Eritrea faces societal collapse
By Jean Shaoul, 22 June 2015
Eritreans are the victims of brutal wars stoked by US imperialism and its European allies to control the region’s energy resources.
European Union squabbles over refugee quotas
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 30 May 2015
While military intervention on the coast of Libya to destroy refugee boats is welcomed by all member states, the question of accepting refugees has unleashed a fierce dispute.
US preparing direct military intervention in Nigeria
By Thomas Gaist, 30 May 2015
The US Defense Department may soon deploy military teams, including advisers and intelligence and logistics personnel, to Africa’s leading economy and largest oil producer.
ANC whips up racism amid xenophobic attacks in South Africa
Part 1
By G. T. Maqhubela, 28 May 2015
The anti-immigrant agitation is aimed at diverting attention from the disastrous impact of the pro-capitalist policies pursued by the ANC and its partners since coming to power in 1994.
Call for new international economic order at Asia-Africa summit
By Nick Beams, 23 April 2015
Japanese Prime Minister Abe did not include a significant phrase offered in previous apologies for Japanese war crimes in his remarks to the Asia-Africa summit meeting.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
17 April 2015
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Tunisian army called out after terror attack kills 23
By Bill Van Auken, 20 March 2015
In the final analysis, the atrocity in Tunis is the result of the catastrophes created by the US wars in Iraq and Libya and the proxy war Washington has waged in Syria.
US-backed Chadian forces invade Nigeria as Pentagon prepares broader war in West Africa
By Thomas Gaist, 11 March 2015
Thousands of Chadian troops, including elite units trained and equipped by the US military, occupied portions of northern Nigeria this week.
Egyptian junta begins executions of Islamists
By Alex Lantier, 9 March 2015
The junta’s aim is to prevent a renewed revolutionary upsurge of the working class by stepping up its police-state terror against all opposition to the military.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
6 March 2015
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US-NATO war games prepare massive military escalation in West Africa
By Thomas Gaist, 17 February 2015
Operation Flintlock 2015, encompassing Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Tunisia, is being used by the US and European powers to escalate their military presence in the oil-rich region.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
13 February 2015
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
6 February 2015
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US AFRICOM commander calls for “huge” military campaign in West Africa
By Thomas Gaist, 2 February 2015
The US to moving to massively expand its military operations in the resource-rich region, as it combats the influence of China and other powers.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
30 January 2015
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South Africa’s politically connected elites profit amid power outages
By Thabo Seseane Jr., 29 January 2015
On Monday, ESKOM, the largest South African power utility, began implementing “managed” blackouts, cutting 2,000 megawatts from its grid.
Boko Haram and the return of German imperialism to Africa
By Johannes Stern, 22 January 2015
Earlier this week, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced German support for the fight against Boko Haram in West and Central Africa.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
16 January 2015
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Boko Haram escalates offensive in Nigeria’s Borno State
By Thomas Gaist, 12 January 2015
Boko Haram now controls 11 local governmental units, including some 20,000 square miles in the northern states of Yobe and Borno.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
9 January 2015
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Ebola epidemic: West African governments prohibit public Christmas celebrations
By Bernd Sackow, 27 December 2014
The measures taken are more akin to those used by a police state to control the population and they symbolise the inadequacy of the medical measures to fight the Ebola epidemic.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
19 December 2014
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
12 December 2014
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
5 December 2014
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Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
21 November 2014
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French-backed army junta sets up figurehead regime in Burkina Faso
By Antoine Lerougetel and Alex Lantier, 20 November 2014
A few days after his nomination by the army, transitional president Michel Kafando named junta leader Colonel Isaac Zida as prime minister yesterday.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
14 November 2014
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Imperialist powers, bourgeois “opposition” reach out to military junta in Burkina Faso
By Antoine Lerougetel, 8 November 2014
France and its allies are pushing to give a civilian façade to the Burkinabé regime after mass protests last week led to a military coup.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
7 November 2014
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South Africans under 60 disqualified from state-funded housing
By Thabo Seseane Jr., 4 November 2014
Having failed over 20 years to reduce the housing backlog, the government is now excluding younger South Africans from state-funded housing.
Military launches coup amid mass protests in Burkina Faso
By Antoine Lerougetel, 3 November 2014
The army took power in Burkina Faso after protests erupted against President Blaise Campaoré’s attempt to modify the constitution so he could again run for the presidency.
Ebola nurse treated “like a criminal” in New Jersey quarantine
By Patrick Martin, 28 October 2014
Kaci Hickox was detained on the orders of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, despite having no symptoms of disease.
Government indifference compounds Ebola disaster
By Kate Randall, 18 October 2014
A UN trust fund for Ebola has only $100,000 on hand, a fraction of the nearly $1 billion the world body says is needed to contain the spread of the deadly virus.
South Africa: ANC and unions exploit popular anger over electronic toll collections
By Thabo Seseane Jr., 14 October 2014
In its efforts to limit its losses in the municipal elections due in 2016, the Gauteng ANC is relying on the services of COSATU.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
10 October 2014
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South Africa’s education department maintains apartheid-era victimisation of blacks
By Thabo Seseane Jr., 7 October 2014
While forming almost 80 percent of overall population at the last census in 2011, blacks made up only 8.3 percent of those with a tertiary qualification.
US exploiting West Africa Ebola outbreak to establish military foothold
By Niles Williamson, 4 October 2014
More than 7,000 have fallen ill and more than 3,300 have died in the current epidemic, the most widespread outbreak since the disease was first identified 28 years ago.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
3 October 2014
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Imperialism and the Ebola catastrophe
By Patrick Martin, 26 September 2014
The epidemic now devastating West Africa is not a natural calamity, but a social one: it is a product of colonialism and imperialist oppression.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
26 September 2014
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New Anti-capitalist Party tries to whitewash France’s scramble for Africa
By Kumaran Ira, 22 September 2014
The NPA cynically claims that, now that the bourgeois “left” Socialist Party rules France, France’s bloody wars in Africa are driven by concern for Africa’s security.
Obama uses Ebola crisis to “surge” 3,000 troops into West Africa
By Bill Van Auken, 17 September 2014
The response to the Ebola epidemic underscores the reliance of US imperialism on its residual military superiority in the second “scramble for Africa”, which pits it against China.
Ebola outbreak grows
By David Brown, 13 September 2014
The ebola outbreak in West Africa continues to overwhelm health care workers.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
12 September 2014
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Cuts to World Health Organization budget intensify Ebola epidemic
By Thomas Gaist, 5 September 2014
Austerity measures imposed after the 2008 crisis have hampered any coordinated international response to the outbreak.
US backs new French offensive in Mali
By Jill Lux, 27 August 2014
After last year’s military campaign in northern Mali, Paris is launching expanded military operations in West Africa.
Clashes in Monrovia, Liberia as West African Ebola epidemic grows
By Niles Williamson, 22 August 2014
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf announced late Tuesday the imposition of a nationwide curfew and quarantines as part of an effort to halt the spread of the Ebola virus.
International emergency declared in Ebola outbreak
By John Rowe, 11 August 2014
The Ebola virus has already claimed the lives of nearly a thousand people in West Africa, amid a breakdown of health care systems in the impoverished region.
Obama hosts Africa summit amid deepening global crises
By Bill Van Auken, 5 August 2014
The summit, convened amid the crises in Gaza, Ukraine and Iraq, is part of a bid to compete with China in the scramble for African markets and resources.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
2 August 2014
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Ebola epidemic highlights poverty in Africa
By David Brown, 1 August 2014
Sierra Leone has mobilized its military and Liberia has closed its schools in response to the uncontained Ebola outbreak.
Ebola outbreak kills hundreds in West Africa
By David Brown, 29 July 2014
Liberia has closed most of its borders in response to an Ebola outbreak that has killed one doctor and infected two others.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
25 July 2014
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Ebola outbreak spreads in West Africa
By John Rowe, 9 July 2014
International agencies say that the deadly Ebola virus is spreading out of control in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
One year since the military coup in Egypt
By Johannes Stern, 5 July 2014
The coup revealed the essential problem of the Egyptian revolution: the chasm between the elemental anger of the Egyptian population and the absence of political leadership.
US troops have secretly been deployed to Somalia since 2007
By Thomas Gaist, 5 July 2014
Officials made clear that the US intends to escalate its military intervention in the strategic Horn of Africa.
More questions than answers after US commandos seize Benghazi attack suspect
By Patrick Martin, 19 June 2014
Ahmed Abu Khattala has been living openly in his home district in Benghazi for the past two years, while denying any role in the attack on the US mission in which four died.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
30 May 2014
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South African miners speak: “We are striking so our children don’t also end up with nothing”
By our reporters, 29 May 2014
The World Socialist Web Site conducted an interview with two South African miners.
Libya plunging towards civil war
By Jean Shaoul, 27 May 2014
The coup bid by retired general Khalifa Hifter’s Libyan National Army killed at least 79 and wounded more than 140 in attacks in the eastern port city of Benghazi and the capital Tripoli.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
23 May 2014
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CIA-linked general launches Libya coup bid
By Bill Van Auken, 20 May 2014
General Khalifa Haftar launched his armed actions as the Pentagon positioned a US Marine task force for a possible intervention.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
16 May 2014
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