Africa
South African elections
Ramaphosa elected to full term as president amid record low ANC vote
By Eddie Haywood, 13 May 2019
The election marks the first time in the ANC’s post-apartheid history that its vote has fallen below 60 percent.
Egypt stages referendum to institutionalize General Sisi’s dictatorship
By Bill Van Auken, 19 April 2019
The consolidation of the bloody police-state dictatorship enjoys the support of both Washington and the major European powers.
Pre-emptive military coup ousts Bashir to protect Sudan’s elite
By Jean Shaoul, 12 April 2019
Awad Ibn Auf, the minister of defence and deputy president, declared a three-month state of emergency, putting the country under military rule, and said that the army would oversee a two-year transitional period leading up to elections.
Libya’s descent into civil war: The bitter fruit of the pseudo-left's pro-imperialism
By Bill Van Auken, 10 April 2019
The escalating civil war in Libya has served as one more demonstration of the criminal role played by the pseudo-left proponents of “humanitarian” imperialist intervention.
Libya on the brink of all-out civil war
By Bill Van Auken, 9 April 2019
Eight years after the US and NATO launched a war for regime-change under humanitarian pretenses, conditions for the masses in Libya remain catastrophic.
Algerian army purges intelligence agencies as anti-regime protests grow
By Alex Lantier, 9 April 2019
Amid growing popular distrust of the army, the army is firing top intelligence officials implicated in the regime’s crimes during Algeria’s bloody 1992-2002 civil war.
Mass protests in Algeria follow Bouteflika’s resignation
By Will Morrow, 6 April 2019
As protesters denounced the fraudulent military-backed transition, the army released a statement yesterday threatening any opposition to its interests.
Bouteflika’s resignation as Algerian president to take place by April 28
By Alex Lantier, 2 April 2019
After six weeks of strikes and mass protests, the Algerian presidency set a deadline yesterday for the Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down.
Sixth Friday mass protest in Algeria demands fall of the regime
By Alex Lantier, 30 March 2019
After the army brass tried to defuse the situation by moving to impeach President Bouteflika, protesters called for bringing down the regime and the army.
Protests against Sudan’s al-Bashir regime enter fourth month
By Jean Shaoul, 30 March 2019
The protests take place amid the most sustained challenge to al-Bashir’s rule since he seized power in a 1989 coup.
Ogossagou massacre exposes rising bloodshed in European-occupied Mali
By Stéphane Hugues and Alex Lantier, 30 March 2019
Under occupation by French and German troops, Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, is being torn apart by bloody ethnic violence.
Extreme social crisis ravages Mozambique in wake of Cyclone Idai
By Eddie Haywood, 30 March 2019
The devastation in the storm’s wake has produced a full-blown humanitarian crisis, exposing the impoverished conditions already present before Cyclone Idai hit.
Thousands of young Moroccan teachers assaulted by anti-riot police
By Nancy Hanover, 26 March 2019
Contract teachers have struck the Northern African country of Morocco since March 3 and mass protests have escalated.
Historic humanitarian disaster unfolds in southeast Africa in the wake of Cyclone Idai
By Niles Niemuth, 22 March 2019
The powerful storm has tragically exposed the dire social and economic conditions facing millions in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Madagascar.
Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi face a humanitarian catastrophe in the wake of Cyclone Idai
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 20 March 2019
Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, reported that more than 1,000 people had been killed by high winds and widespread flooding.
Over one million protest extension of Bouteflika’s term in Algeria
By Will Morrow, 16 March 2019
Reports indicate that the demonstrations were even larger than last Friday, when more than one million people protested in Algiers alone.
Socialist Workers Party seeks to derail movement against Algerian regime
By Will Morrow and Alex Lantier, 16 March 2019
Algeria’s Socialist Workers’ Party seeks to tie protests to discredited bourgeois parties and block a revolutionary working class challenge to the regime.
The working class enters into struggle in Algeria
By Alex Lantier, 13 March 2019
The eruption of mass workers protests against the Algerian regime vindicate the ICFI’s struggle against Pabloite tendencies that claimed this regime would build socialism.
Algerian regime pledges fraudulent political “transition” as strikes spread
By Will Morrow, 12 March 2019
While Bouteflika has pledged not to seek a fifth term, this is to be achieved by postponing elections and extending his current term indefinitely.
Algerians in France protest in solidarity with strike wave in Algeria
By V. Gnana and Alex Lantier, 12 March 2019
On Sunday, Algerians organised protests again in Paris and Marseille, a week after a protest of 1,000 Algerians took place in Montreal, Canada.
Boeing jetliner crashes in Ethiopia, killing all 157 passengers and crew
By Eddie Haywood, 12 March 2019
The Ethiopian air disaster comes just five months after an Indonesian Lion Air passenger jet of the same model crashed, killing all 189 on board.
Uganda’s social media tax leads to sharp drop in internet users
By Eddie Haywood, 9 March 2019
The government of President Yoweri Museveni, in power for three decades, regards social media with intense hostility and suspicion.
Algerian workers in France speak out against Bouteflika regime
By V. Gnana and Alex Lantier, 6 March 2019
The anger that is erupting in mass protests against the Bouteflika regime in Algeria has provoked a wave of support in France.
Algerian protests continue after Bouteflika launches presidential bid
By Will Morrow, 5 March 2019
Speaking for the former colonial power, Le Monde published an editorial demanding that Bouteflika step down and warning that the situation risks spinning out of control.
Mass protests erupt in Algeria against Bouteflika’s bid for fifth term
By Alex Lantier, 2 March 2019
Amid a strike wave across North Africa, workers in youth are protesting across Algeria.
Strike wave shakes North Africa
By Kumaran Ira, 2 March 2019
After the “Arab Spring” in 2011, a new wave of strikes and demonstrations is shaking Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
Zimbabwe-South Africa summit: The Butcher of Marikana meets the Crocodile
By Stephan McCoy, 28 February 2019
Presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Cyril Ramaphosa will meet in the Zimbabwean capital next month against a backdrop of deepening economic crisis and rising social discontent in both countries.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
South African gold miners’ strike at Sibanye in third month, Kenyan striking nurses defy back to work order
22 February 2019
As the strike by workers at Sibanye gold mine continues, the company announced the closure of two mines costing 7,000 jobs. Meanwhile Kenyan nurses are defying a back to work order by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Thousands of teachers attacked by riot police in Morocco
By a reporter, 21 February 2019
The confrontation came in the midst of a general strike of Moroccan workers on the eighth anniversary of a revolt that was part of the 2011 “Arab Spring.”
Flooding of mines in Zimbabwe leaves 24 dead, dozens more missing
By Eddie Haywood, 21 February 2019
The mining tragedy comes amid an immense social and economic crisis wracking Zimbabwe, with skyrocketing inflation and mass unemployment.
Nigeria election commission abruptly postpones presidential poll
By Eddie Haywood, 18 February 2019
The contest between incumbent Muhammadu Buhari and chief rival Atiku Abubakar is in a virtual dead heat, with each candidate expected to take an even number of votes.
Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa government clamps down on popular opposition
By Stephan McCoy, 18 February 2019
The ZANU-PF regime has responded to rising social discontent by unleashing the military.
Union federation stages national strike in South Africa
By Eddie Haywood, 14 February 2019
Tens of thousands of workers participated in the walkout, bringing economic activity to a near standstill across the country.
Five killed, 22 feared trapped in South African mine explosion
By Samuel Davidson, 13 February 2019
The explosion was at a mine owned by the Gupta brothers, who have close ties to former ANC leader and South African President Zuma.
Sudan’s anti-government protests enter sixth week
By Jean Shaoul, 31 January 2019
President Omar al-Bashir can count on the support of the region’s dictators, all of whom hate each other but fear their own working class more.
French President Macron visits the hangman of Cairo
By Will Morrow and Alex Lantier, 30 January 2019
Macron’s visit to Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is a warning that his government intends to drastically step up repression of the “yellow vests” and broader popular opposition.
Zimbabwe’s government cracks down on protest over fuel price increase
By Stephan McCoy, 18 January 2019
President Emmerson Mnangagwa finds himself at the head of a government that is increasingly viewed with hostility by the Zimbabwean population.
Analysis of Congo election data points to “huge fraud” in vote tally
By Eddie Haywood, 17 January 2019
An extensive set of data leaked to the Financial Times has revealed a clear case of massive electoral fraud.
Felix Tshisekedi declared victor in disputed presidential election in Congo
By Eddie Haywood, 14 January 2019
Heavily-armed riot police were deployed outside the electoral commission’s headquarters in Kinshasa ahead of the announcement.
After attempted coup in Gabon, government imposes internet and media broadcast blackout
By Eddie Haywood, 11 January 2019
The imposition of a complete blackout of internet and broadcast services has long been utilized as a tool of repression by the Bongo government.
Insurgent Gabon soldiers shot dead in foiled coup attempt
By Eddie Haywood, 9 January 2019
The coup attempt occurred days after the US deployed 80 troops to Gabon to protect “US assets in the event of violent demonstrations” in nearby Congo.
German AfD parliamentarian joins weapons drill of far-right group in South Africa
By Johannes Stern, 31 December 2018
Petr Bystron, an AfD member of the Bundestag, took part in shooting exercises of the far-right paramilitary “Suidlanders” during an official parliamentary trip to South Africa.
Dozens killed in protests against austerity and repression in Sudan
By Jean Shaoul, 29 December 2018
That Sudan’s ruling elite has responded with such ferocity to these demonstrations testifies to the depth of the economic and political crisis.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
Fight by rail guards at UK rail franchises continues
28 December 2018
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South Africa Sibanye miners’ strike made illegal
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
21 December 2018
Some 15,000 workers at three mines operated by Sibanye’s three gold mines are continuing a strike that has now been declared illegal based on allegations of violence on the part of workers.
China’s $60 billion in aid and loans to Africa in context
By Gabriel Black, 18 September 2018
While China’s role in Africa has grown significantly in the past two decades, the United States and its allies remain the principal issuers of debt.
Civil war clashes erupt in Libya
By Marianne Arens, 10 September 2018
A fragile truce prevails in the Libyan capital of Tripoli following fierce fighting last week. The city’s Mitiga airport remains closed and fighting is continuing in the south of the city.
May stakes out Britain’s imperialist ambitions in Africa
By Jean Shaoul, 7 September 2018
While aid has always been about Britain’s geo-strategic interests, in future it will be used not to alleviate poverty, but to boost Britain’s business interests.
Canadian troops deploy to Mali to prop up pro-Western puppet government
By Felix Gauthier, 30 August 2018
Presented as an act of humanitarian charity, Canada’s intervention in Mali is aimed at laying claim to huge swathes of Africa’s mineral riches.
Two migrants die as Morocco unleashes crackdown on behalf of Spain and the European Union
By Alejandro López, 24 August 2018
The catastrophe unfolding in Morocco is a direct result of the EU’s “Fortress Europe” policy and shutdown of other entry routes into Europe.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
Railworkers strike in UK while Iranian rail strike continues
10 August 2018
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Zimbabwe: Violence follows disputed re-election of President Mnangagwa
By Chris Marsden, 6 August 2018
Mnangagwa, who came to power in a coup against President Robert Mugabe last November, advances himself as the strongman required to restore the order necessary for resumed investment by the major corporations.
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
4 August 2018
Some 10,000 footwear workers in south Africa are in the third week of a bitter strike over wage demands.
Strike by South African footwear workers as South African and Nigerian telecom workers walkout
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
21 July 2018
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Air pollution leading cause of death among children in sub-Saharan Africa
By Eddie Haywood, 2 July 2018
Recent reports have confirmed the deadly effects of pervasive air pollution, which is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of children across Africa every year.
Egyptian dictator el-Sisi intensifies state repression
By Jean Shaoul, 25 June 2018
President el-Sisi has unleashed an extensive crackdown on all forms of dissent and political expression that far exceeds the worst excesses of Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown by the mass uprising in February 2011.
As French airport workers and Iranian lorry drivers strike, class struggle spreads in Africa
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
1 June 2018
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Washington seeks permanent deployment of special forces brigade to Africa
By Eddie Haywood, 16 April 2018
Highlighting the predatory aim of AFRICOM’s presence in the region is the Niger defense minister’s admission that the US forces “wage war when necessary.”
Protests erupt in Ghana over US military agreement
By Eddie Haywood, 31 March 2018
Thousands turned out in the capital Accra to oppose a deal that would allow for a significant expansion of the US military’s presence in the West African nation.
US carries out first drone strike in southern Libya
By Eddie Haywood, 28 March 2018
AFRICOM has been preparing for a massive escalation of armed drone flights conducted across the African continent from its recently constructed base in neighboring Niger.
Canada deploys “peacekeepers” to wage war in Mali
By Roger Jordan, 21 March 2018
Canadian mining companies have more than $1 billion invested in Mali and according to a 2014 estimate, more than $30 billion invested across Africa.
Pentagon concealed role of US special forces in deadly Niger offensive
By Eddie Haywood, 17 March 2018
On December 6 last year, Green Berets coordinating a military operation with Nigerien forces, killed 11 militants near the town of Diffa, close to the Nigerian border.
Argentine teachers, public workers unions call another limited strike
Workers Struggles: The Americas
13 March 2018
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Kenyan universities petition court to declare lecturers strike illegal
By Eddie Haywood, 12 March 2018
At the heart of the walkout are lecturers’ low salaries and overall deteriorating conditions of the Kenyan public university system.
After Burkina Faso bombing, France pledges to step up war in Sahel
By Francis Dubois, 8 March 2018
The capital of Ouagadougou was shaken on March 2 by an attack by two commando squads on the French embassy and Burkinabe army headquarters.
The inauguration of Ramaphosa and the degeneration of the ANC
By Chris Marsden, 17 February 2018
Two things recommend Ramaphosa to the world’s bourgeoisie—his fabulous wealth and the fact that he earned it through a readiness to deal ruthlessly with the working class.
Ramaphosa installed as South African president
By Nick Beams, 16 February 2018
The Johannesburg stock market welcomed the new regime with a surge of more than 3 percent, as the rand hit a three-year high against the US dollar.
South Africa’s ANC votes to remove President Jacob Zuma
By Eddie Haywood, 14 February 2018
The Zuma government has been characterized by corruption and nepotism while presiding over a deteriorating economy, conditions which have made foreign investors nervous.
Surging violence and political crisis in Congo
By Thomas Gaist and Eddie Haywood, 6 February 2018
The year-old civil war in central Congo’s Kasai provinces is now producing more refugees than the wars in Iraq and Syria.
Cape Town, South Africa to become first city in the developed world to run out of water
By Genevieve Leigh, 29 January 2018
Local government in Cape Town, South Africa continues to implement drastic water saving measures in a last-ditch attempt to stave off a complete water shutoff.
US AFRICOM blacklists reporter Nick Turse as “not a legitimate journalist”
By Eddie Haywood, 15 January 2018
The move is of a piece with the global effort to censor oppositional and alternative viewpoints on the Internet.
Zimbabwe graphite miners strike at former German-owned mine
By Dietmar Henning, 8 January 2018
More than 200 miners in northern Zimbabwe have been on strike since the end of December protesting the fact they have not received their wages for more than a year.
Regional transport workers strike in Netherlands
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
5 January 2018
A 24-hour strike involving some 12,000 workers hit bus and train service on Thursday in the Netherlands to demand better pay and working conditions.
Protests erupt in Morocco after two die working in abandoned mine
By Alex Lantier, 30 December 2017
Poverty and mass unemployment force thousands in eastern Morocco to risk their lives in abandoned coal mines, which Jerada residents call the “mines of death.”
Israeli workers protest job cuts
Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East & Africa
29 December 2017
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
South Africa’s ANC taps multi-millionaire ex-union chief Cyril Ramaphosa as leader
By Eddie Haywood, 21 December 2017
Since coming to power in 1994, the ANC has represented a corrupt layer of the black elite, ruling at the expense of the masses of workers.
AFRICOM envisions two years of open-ended warfare in Somalia
By Eddie Haywood, 16 December 2017
The announcement marks a further escalation of Washington’s military offensive in Somalia which has been ramped up over the last year, including the deployment of 500 special forces personnel.
Amnesty International report exposes EU role in mass torture of refugees in Libya
By Alex Lantier, 13 December 2017
The EU is helping build and equip a vast network of prison camps in which refugees are arbitrarily detained, beaten, tortured, sold into slavery and murdered.
At Abidjan summit, EU and France intensify neo-colonial scramble for Africa
By Francis Dubois, 2 December 2017
Faced with the disastrous results of the imperialist wars in Libya and the Sahel, the European Union is proposing to intensify its neo-colonialist and military interventions.
IMF lays down the law for Zimbabwe post-Mugabe
By Chris Marsden, 27 November 2017
The International Monetary Fund is demanding that Zimbabwe curb “excessive government spending” and impose massive austerity cuts to “restore fiscal and debt sustainability.”
Terror attack on Egyptian mosque kills at least 235 worshippers
By Niles Niemuth, 25 November 2017
The Egyptian government has declared that the attack in the northern Sinai is the deadliest in the country’s modern history.
The way forward in Zimbabwe after Mugabe
By Chris Marsden, 24 November 2017
The goal of the new Zimbabwean president, Mnangagwa, is to impose an adrenalized version of the capitalist policies that have already created so much suffering.
US expands military offensive in Somalia
By Eddie Haywood, 24 November 2017
The official US military deployment in Somalia has increased to more than 500, the largest contingent of soldiers in the country since 1993.
Zimbabwe: Defying calls to step down, Mugabe faces impeachment
By Eddie Haywood, 21 November 2017
The Zimbabwean military appears anxious to avoid its intervention provoking any popular movement among the masses.
Campaign to force out Mugabe escalates in Zimbabwe
By Chris Marsden, 18 November 2017
It is China's support for the coup, rather than a supposed desire for a "democratic transformation," that accounts for the cautious reaction in the United States, Britain and other Western powers.
France intensifies intervention in West Africa with launch of Sahel G5 force
By Kumaran Ira, 18 November 2017
The spreading war in the Sahel, which flows from the 2011 NATO war in Libya, threatens to plunge the entire region into a broader war and humanitarian crisis.
Bubonic plague ravages Madagascar
By Eddie Haywood, 17 November 2017
Poverty and the lack of access to health care plays the largest role in the severity of the current epidemic.
“They are waging war when necessary”
Niger defense minister exposes US military role in West Africa
By Eddie Haywood, 2 November 2017
Washington has claimed that the 800 US special forces personnel stationed in Niger are restricted to providing training and surveillance assistance.
General lets slip US escalation in Syria
By Bill Van Auken, 2 November 2017
The general’s “slip of the tongue” served only to further expose the military escalation being carried out behind the backs of the American people.
Kenyan president declared winner in election re-run amid low turnout
By Eddie Haywood, 31 October 2017
The poll took place within an atmosphere of police violence and acts of intimidation, which almost certainly originated with forces loyal to incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta.
UN Ambassador Haley visits Africa amid US military escalation, social catastrophe
By Eddie Haywood, 28 October 2017
The tour happened against the backdrop of the Trump administration’s expansion of US military operations on the continent.
Washington exploiting Green Beret deaths to escalate Africa intervention
By Bill Van Auken, 27 October 2017
American imperialism is preparing to inflict upon the African continent the levels of carnage that it has already wrought upon the Middle East, where entire societies have been shattered.
Trump, Pentagon shaken by mounting crisis over Niger deaths
By Patrick Martin, 24 October 2017
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, held an hour-long press briefing Monday in an effort at damage control.
US and European military operations in West Africa set the stage for broader war
By Eddie Haywood, 20 October 2017
Underpinning the operations of American, French and German forces in West Africa is the desire to control the region's deposits of uranium, minerals and oil.
Bombings kill hundreds in Somali capital
By Eddie Haywood and Thomas Gaist, 17 October 2017
Twin bombings in central areas of Somalia’s capital of MogadishuSaturday killed at least 302 people and injured 300 others, with thedeath toll expected to climb.
Why is the US at war in West Africa?
By Eddie Haywood, 14 October 2017
The October 4 killings of four US Green Berets in Niger has provided a rare glimpse into far-reaching American military operations which have been conducted almost entirely in secret.
Killings of four elite soldiers in Niger highlight vast scale of American military operations in Africa
By Eddie Haywood, 7 October 2017
The deployment of troops to Niger is an element of the “scramble for Africa,” which was commenced by Obama and is being continued under Trump.
Trump adds Chad to renewed travel ban
By Eddie Haywood, 30 September 2017
The inclusion of Chad represents an escalation of Washington’s imperialist offensive in the Sahel region and across the African continent.
Trump outlines Washington’s “scramble for Africa” during UN luncheon with African heads of state
By Eddie Haywood, 22 September 2017
Trump addressed the assembled African leaders on behalf of the American financial oligarchy to which he belongs.
Kenyan Supreme Court voids presidential election, ordering new poll
By Eddie Haywood, 4 September 2017
The unprecedented ruling marked the first time a high court anywhere in Africa has overturned a presidential election result.
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