Andrew Lebovich
@tweetsintheME
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Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute. Post-doc with @DIISdk. PhD in African History @columbia. Learning and writing about the Sahel, North Africa, and France.
Washington, DC
Joined September 2009
I’ve got a new policy alert out for @clingendael on the “new” and not-so-new geopolitics of the Sahel, sovereignty, and some options for future EU and European engagement in the region:
clingendael.org
The ongoing American military exit from Niger has focused international attention not just on the Sahel, but on the swirling and increasingly complex geopolitics in the region.
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RFI asked me to discuss (en français) the recent developments as the US tries to reset relations with the AES states:
rfi.fr
Une nouvelle stratégie des États-Unis vis-à-vis des pays de l’AES – l’Alliance des États du Sahel ? Nick Checker, haut responsable du bureau des affaires africaines du département d’État américain,...
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What an absolute joke.
WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. may soon remove sanctions from Iranian oil that is stranded on tankers to help lift global supplies and reduce prices, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday.
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Trump cannot fail, he can only be failed, even when you're resigning over a war he personally ordered
"high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign...to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat...This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war "
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You may be inclined to amplify Joe Kent right now because of concerns over the Iran war. Don’t. He’s an extremist with deep ties to Nazi sympathizers and Holocaust deniers who never should have been in this role in the first place (sadly one of many in this administration). 1/
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Almost always happy to have senior officials resigning over a war I disagree with. But the antisemitic stuff in here blaming Israel for the Iraq war and a secret conspiracy of the media and Israelis to deceive Trump into going to war with Iran is ugly stuff that plays on the
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today. I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this
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الخارجية الموريتانية : مزاعم احتجاز عسكريين ماليين في مخيم للاجئين “لا أساس لها من الصحة” وندعو مالي إلى تحري الدقة والاحتكام للقنوات الدبلوماسية https://t.co/31iqd4ZwU5
tanakra.net
تصاعد التوتر الدبلوماسي بين موريتانيا ومالي بعد بيان صادر عن هيئة الأركان العامة للقوات المسلحة المالية ادعى أن
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Delighted to join colleagues at @CarnegieEndow in editing this terrific collection on #Russia's influence in #Africa, featuring leading scholars from across the continent and drawing on workshops in Casablanca and Johannesburg.
carnegieendowment.org
As Moscow looks for opportunities to build inroads on the continent, governments in West and Southern Africa are identifying new ways to promote their goals—and facing new risks.
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Before this crisis, 138 ships passed through the Strait every day. We're going to escort all of them? Really?
NOW - U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent says the Navy, possibly with an international coalition, will escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as militarily possible and that they have been planning for this for months leading up to the Iran war.
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Absolutely wild.
In his remarks, Ambassador Berthe is denying that there are any Russian combat troops operating in Mali--only "trainers" showing FAMa how to operate their Russian-made equipment.
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I'm no military expert, but the idea I've seen put out that we should have "kept Bagram" (whatever that actually means in reality) to help the war in Iran is a brain-breaking level of nonsense.
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#Mali source proche FLA « À Gao 25 drones FPV (18 p) ont épuisé le système d'interception TOR-M2K des russes. 12 ont été tous interceptés. La 2e vague est lancée avec des obus à fragmentation. La station de pilotage TB2 & le hangar Su24 & hélicos ont été endommagés ou détruits »
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Pleased to share my new policy briefing on Senegal's Mali border:
megatrends-afrika.de
In 2025, JNIM's advance into Mali's Kayes region brought extremist violence close to Senegal's eastern border. But while the JNIM threat looms...
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One of the most significant incidents of Africa Corps’ presence in Mali.
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According to a preliminary toll from local reports, IS-Sahel militants disabled/destroyed two drones of the Nigerien Air Force during last night's attack against Tahoua 401 Air Base, and also disabled the Ground Control Station (GCS), which render the two remaining drones
According to Tahoua residents to AFP, the IS-Sahel attackers stormed the airport and city center on motorcycles, and heavy gunfire and explosions were heard from the airport during the attack, additional footage:
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Reuters reporting that the US and Mali are close to a deal on intelligence cooperation, including some possible drone/surveillance overflights:
reuters.com
The U.S. is nearing a deal with Mali that will allow Washington to resume flying aircraft and drones over the West African country's airspace to gather intelligence on jihadist groups linked to al...
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#Benin: Footage circulating showing JNIM militants setting ablaze chalets in the 7 March attack at the Pendjari Lodge, #Atacora
https://t.co/EnLYYxlh50
#Benin🇧🇯- Acc. to a well informed source another large attack targeted the army yesterday evening: Remote Pendjari Lodge (📌11.2975, 1.5741) converted in a military base deep in Pendjari National Park 10km from 🇧🇫 border. The soldiers repelled the attack but suffered high losses.
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Niger 🇳🇪| Le 09/03 vers 03h05, l’aéroport de Tahoua✈️, situé au nord-ouest du Niger, a été attaqué par des terroristes. L’aéroport ainsi que le centre-ville de Tahoua ont été pris d’assaut par des individus armés circulant à moto. Des tirs et des explosions ont été entendus dans
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“Wars over Checkpoints,” our collective stock-taking on the politics of roadblocks in conflict-affected borderlands, is out. We propose 9 theses on how checkpoints shape conflict—from Afghanistan to Yemen—each with theory, evidence, & policy takeaways. https://t.co/QGvv1YiDQI
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I guess our goal is Syria 2.0?
The CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces with the aim of fomenting a popular uprising in Iran, CNN reports. The Trump admin in active discussions with Iranian opposition groups and Kurdish leaders in Iraq about providing them with military support.
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I've seen some funny propaganda in my day, but this might take the cake.
Reports indicate that Iran may be seeking to mobilize Polisario militias based in Algeria to target the Strait of Gibraltar. Such a move would pose a serious threat to one of the world’s most strategic maritime chokepoints and risk major regional escalation.
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