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)

HRW called on the Malian government to “seek assistance from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights” for the effort to “protect civilians and hold those responsible for abuses to account.”

Witnesses to the attack on the road to the the city of Kayes said assailants opened fire on the front of the 40-truck convoy, followed by a shift towards the middle and back. A military escort accompanied the convoy, and soldiers advised drivers not to panic or stop. Some drivers abandoned their trucks and fled; however, attackers captured many fleeing drivers, later executing 10 and releasing others. Attackers burned multiple trucks, creating large clouds of smoke.

Bodies were abandoned by the side of the road and found on Feb. 11 “with their hands tied behind their backs and their throats slit.” One surviving truck driver said, “No one dared recovering them out of fear of another attack.”

Mali’s truck driver union staged a nationwide strike in response to the attack, demanding recovery of victims’ bodies to ensure their families can have proper funerals.

The group believed responsible for the attack was Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin(JNIM), which has described itself as the official branch of al-Qaeda in Mali. The group has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks against Malian security forces, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission for the country (MINUSMA), and others.

The trucks had been transporting fuel to a region that hosts several military bases. Whether attackers knew the fuel was slated for military use would partially determine whether the attack on the trucks constituted oppositional military action under the laws of war. HRW explained, however, that the treatment of the drivers was criminal in any case, stating:

The legality of the attack on the fuel convoy would depend on whether the attackers took all feasible steps to verify that the fuel was intended for armed forces use. Whether the attack on the trucks was lawful or not, the cruel treatment and execution of the truck drivers was clearly unlawful.

HRW stated that the acts violated customary laws of war and Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions. Under the former, attacking forces are required to distinguish between civilians and combatants, and any intentional attack on civilians is strictly prohibited. The latter states that this principle applies to “conflicts not of an international character,” such as that in Mali.

From JURIST, March 10. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Map: PCL

Instead of banning political parties and jailing people for expressing their opinions, the authorities in Burkina Faso need to open up space for civil society, including humanitarian actors, respect the exercise of freedom of association and expression, and lift bans on the activities of political parties, in accordance with their international obligations and commitments.

The rights chief further urged the government to repeal its restrictive laws, allow unimpeded humanitarian assistance to those in need, and unconditionally release those arbitrarily detained. Türk’s office stated that the authorities’ actions have “sharply constricted civil society’s activity in the country, inconsistent with international human rights law.”

Burkina Faso’s military-led government dissolved all political parties on Jan. 29 and repealed the laws governing their operation. This followed a government review finding that “the proliferation of political parties has led to abuses, fueled divisions among citizens and weakened the social fabric.”

In September 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traoré took control of the country after staging a successful coup. While Traoré immediately suspended all independent political activities, and cancelled promised elections in September 2023, the new government decree goes further by dismantling the legal framework supporting multiparty democracy altogether.

Human Rights Watch stated Feb. 4 that in multiple West African countries, including Burkina Faso, military juntas have consolidated power by postponing democratic transitions, banning political opposition, and expelling international bodies. The rights group urged these countries to comply with their obligations and protect human rights.

From JURIST, Feb. 6. Used with permission.

Map: Perry-Castañeda Library

The afternoon strike in Kokoloko village in the Tillabéri region is believed to have killed three Islamic State fighters but also devastated the market where hundreds of people had gathered, HRW reported. The organization said the attack violated laws-of-war prohibitions against indiscriminate attacks and may amount to a war crime.

Witnesses told Human Rights Watch they saw a drone flying over the village twice before it dropped a munition on the market. “The market was hit, and it was full of women and children, women who sell cooked rice, meat soup, and other food; their kids were around, as well as many traders,” a 36-year-old trader said.

The Tillaberi region of Niger borders Burkina Faso and Mali, and has been a haven for militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Since 2015, Islamist armed groups have carried out attacks against the military and civilians. Some are from the Nigeria-based groups Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). Starting in 2019, Islamic State-affiliated groups began escalating their attacks against soldiers, army bases, and civilians.

On July 26, 2023, Nigerien army officers of the self-proclaimed National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland overthrew the Nigerien government. The military junta has since cracked down on political opposition and attempted to consolidate power by postponing any democratic transition and expelling international bodies. The junta has engaged in large-scale counterinsurgency operations, employing air-strikes in conflict-affected regions.

According to the principle of distinction under international humanitarian law, parties to an armed conflict must distinguish between civilians and combatants. Civilians and civilian objects may not be targeted unless they take a direct part in hostilities. Article 51 of Additional Protocol I prohibits indiscriminate attacks, and incidents amounting to intentionally directed attacks against civilians may constitute war crimes.

In 2025, the Tillaberi region recorded 1,200 fatalities and became the deadliest front in central Sahel. Tillaberi also recorded the highest number of fatalities from attacks on civilians, with the violence primarily driven by the Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), followed by operations by the Nigerien military.

From JURIST, Feb. 9. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Map: PCL

This new breakaway bloc has deepening ties to Russia, which maintains paramilitary forces in the AES countries under the rubric of the Wagner Group or Africa Corps. These forces are increasingly accused of atrocities, with Malian refugees in Mauritania reporting rapes, beheadings and mutilation of civilians at the hands of Russian mercenaries. The Africa Report online publication recently said it had “infiltrated” the Wagner-linked Telegram channel, finding 322 videos and 647 photographs of atrocities, including severed heads and gouged-out eyes, and posts “laced with racism.” (AfricaNews, BBC News, LAT, The Telegraph)

Alarmingly, these atrocity reports come just as the AES has collectively withdrawn from the International Criminal Court.

Photo: Présidence de la République du Mali

Touray emphasized that the declaration is not symbolic, but a call for collective action to restore confidence in governance and protect citizens from deepening insecurity. ECOWAS leaders stressed the urgent need to safeguard democracy and the rule of law, warning that unchecked coups could unravel decades of regional integration efforts. The bloc reaffirmed its “zero tolerance” policy for unconstitutional changes of government, pledging stronger sanctions and coordinated security measures.

Since 2020, several military coups d’etat have taken place in West Africa, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. A coup attempt was launched Dec. 6 in Benin, but was thwarted by Nigerian military intervention. A regional crisis is driven by armed insurgencies, economic hardship, and weak institutions, creating viable ground for military rule. Analysts warn that the erosion of constitutional governance undermines the credibility of democratic institutions and threatens long-term stability.

The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, to which each ECOWAS member state is a party, contains multiple articles addressing rights violations which may arise from a coup d’etat. Article 1 obliges governments to recognize and uphold the rights and freedoms contained in the charter. Article 13 guarantees a citizens’ right to “participate freely in the government of his country, either directly or through freely chosen representatives.”

From JURIST, Dec. 11. Used with permission.

See our last report on the coups d’etat in West Africa.

Map: World Sites Atlas

The clashes, concentrated in southern Chad, are said to be driven by climate change, population growth, and an influx of weapons and support from armed groups in the neighboring Central African Republic. Researchers stated that higher temperatures, desertification, and shrinking pasturelands in the center of the country have led herders to travel longer distances and settle in southern provinces where conditions are more conducive to livestock grazing.

At the same time, Amnesty found that farmers, who face declining soil fertility and seek to expand cultivated areas, often encroach on herders’ corridors and limit access to pastures and water. Many clashes, like one in Sandana in February 2022, began with the intrusion of herders’ cattle onto an agricultural plot, leading to fighting between the groups.

The report additionally stated that conflicts are fueled by the emergence of “neo-herders”—military leaders and entrepreneurs who buy large herds. In this néo-élevage (neo-pastoralism), the herds have absentee owners, who hire workers to drive the livestock rather than sharing in the semi-nomadic way of life.

Amnesty called on Chadian authorities to take preventive and protective measures to guarantee respect for the right to life in accordance with obligations under Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights and Article 4 of the African Charter on Human & Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).

Although recently implemented consultation and negotiation mechanisms have been effective to an extent, Amnesty argued several structural limitations impede potential resolutions. The group urged officials to develop a coherent legal framework accounting for climatic and demographic realities, revive joint committees composed of both herders and farmers, and prioritize climate change adaptation plans.

As a landlocked country, Chad’s economic activity is largely centered on agricultural commodities like cotton and cattle, in addition to oil. As of 2022, agriculture supported around 88% of households nationwide. Extreme heat and flooding brought on by climate change have affected the country substantially in recent years.

From JURIST, Nov. 20. Used with permission.

Note: There is an ethnic cast to this conflict, as many of the herders and “neo-herders” are Fulani or Arab, and the southern farmers are largely of the Kodo people. The government has refered to some of the farmers involved in these clashes as “Kodo rebels” being armed through the Central African Republic. (North Africa Journal)

Herder-farmer violence has been increasingly linked to climate change across the Sahel, from Nigeria to the Horn of Africa.

See our podcast “West Africa’s forgotten wars”

Photo: European Commission/DG Echo via NASA Earth Observatory

The president’s hold on power was solidified with the finalization of the constitutional reform in early October. His ruling party, the Patriotic Salvation Movement (Mouvement Patriotique du Salut, or MPS), dominates a large bloc in the National Assembly, allowing the approval of the proposed amendments with only minimal legislative scrutiny. The reform’s subsequent enactment grants the executive branch expanded, largely undefined powers, and it has been widely seen as a move to legitimize and entrench Déby’s authority.

The minimal number of opposition lawmakers present boycotted the vote, describing it as in contravention of fundamental constitutional principles. Proponents argue that the extension of a prime minister’s post from five to seven years, renewable without limit, and the creation of a vice-prime minister post will serve to strengthen institutional stability. In Chad, however, where Déby inherited his late father President Idriss Déby Itno’s position after his 30-year rule marked by corruption and violence, tensions are high amid concerns about the emergence of a political dynasty.

This is not the first time Chad has abolished term limits. The late Déby Itno had scrapped term limits in 2005. In 2018, a two-term limit was reinstated but with an increase of each term from five to six years. The late president was allowed to run for those two additional terms until his death while fighting insurgents in 2021. His son’s move to remove limits a second time, only seven years after they were reinstated, has raised fears that constitutional manipulation is again becoming a tool for perpetuating a hold on power.

The elder Déby’s presidency was marred by numerous controversies. He was accused of failing to effectively implement programs to eradicate poverty, wasting billions of dollars’ worth of oil reserves in a country that relies heavily on its oil exports, and of failing to adequately fund Chad’s education system, leaving millions illiterate. The younger Déby promised to rectify the mistakes of his father’s rule, yet immediately after his death staged a coup, dissolved the government, and declared himself president for the next 18 months, a position that he holds to this day. Critics say that his initial promises of better governance have proved hollow, and his rule has instead been marked by cases of torture, arbitrary arrests of political opponents, serious restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, and weaponized sexual violence. These distressing precedents have raised alarm over the future of Chad in light of his term extension.

Chad is a state party to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections & Governance, which states that “any amendment or revision of the constitution…which is an infringement on the principles of democratic change of government” constitutes an “illegal means of…maintaining power.” Rights proponents warn that the current developments in Chad run astray of these obligations.

From JURIST, Oct. 18. Used with permission.

Photo: VOA via Wikimedia Commons

Under Article 127 of the Rome Statute, a state party may withdraw by submitting written notification to the UN Secretary-General. Withdrawal becomes effective one year after receipt of the notification, and until then the withdrawing state remains bound by the statute. The announcement did not specify when the formal notice would be delivered.

The ICC, based in the Hague, was established in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. African governments have frequently criticized the court, noting that its investigations have disproportionately focused on African leaders and conflicts. Multiple African governments in 2017 announced a “strategy of collective withdrawal” from the ICC, with South Africa, Gambia and Burundi leading the way. However, the prior two later reversed course, with only Burundi following through on withdrawal.

The withdrawal marks another step in the three Sahel nations’ broader realignment. In recent months they have suspended cooperation with regional bodies, and expelled French troops while deepening ties with Russia.

The decision by the three nations comes amid an ongoing security crisis in the Sahel region, where armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are waging brutal insurgencies, carrying out attacks against civilians as well as security forces. Human rights groups have accused state security forces of committing extrajudicial killings and other serious abuses in counter-terrorism operations.

From JURIST, Sept. 23. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Image: Wikipedia

HRW documented five armed attacks by the group in Tillabéri region during that time frame. The group killed 70 worshipers at a mosque in a mass execution on June 21. HRW reported that a woman who lost three sons in the massacre said there were “bodies everywhere, one on top of the other.”

On May 13, IS Sahel attacked villages and burned “at least a dozen homes,” the report found. A herder is said to have found two children dead from gunshot. Despite no group claiming responsibility for these attacks, eyewitnesses insisted that IS Sahel was the perpetrator. HRW stated that these attacks constituted war crimes.

IS Sahel and Niger’s military junta have both faced mounting criticism from international monitors. Ilaria Allegrozzi, a senior researcher at HRW, urged, “Nigerian authorities need to do more to protect people living in the Tillabéri region.”

The military junta has been in power since staging a coup against then-president Mohamed Bezoum on July 26, 2023. Since the junta took power, approximately 1,600 civilian deaths have been recorded. Pressure is increasing on the junta to mitigate further attacks, with Niger turning to countries such as Turkey and Russia for aid against IS Sahel and other insurgent groups.

The UN has condemned the insurgent violence, describing the actions of IS Sahel and related groups as violations of international humanitarian law. The Security Council in August released a comprehensive forecast of the Sahel region aimed at organizing an international response. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described IS Sahel’s attacks as “in stark violation of international human rights law and humanitarian law,” particularly citing Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.

From JURIST, Sept. 11. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Aharan Kotogo via Wikimedia Commons