Monthly Press Review February 2024

March 8th, 2024

OUT NOW: Our Monthly Press Review February 2024 covers topics such as Eurafrican migration control, migration, and displacement in African countries, and news on the European border regime. In the HoA Section, there is information on the Ethipoia war, background and update. Please also find our update on the Gaza war.

In case there is a news item, report, or campaign you would like to flag in next month’s review please write us via contact@migration-control.info or on Twitter @MigControl.

HoA Media Office

In this section we publish relevant articles, and links, and also make

available translations to Arabic in the form of PDFs. The media office cooperates with Arkamani for the Sudan anthropological and archaeological translation series.

في هذا القسم سنقوم في المستقبل بنشر مقاالت وروابط

صلة بالقرن األفريقي كما ستكون بعض الترجمات ذات

.PDFs على صيغة إلى العربية متاحة

أيضا يسر القسم أن يعلن عن تعاونه مع دراسات أركماني

االنثربولوجيا واالركيولوجيا السودانية

Ethiopia war: background and update.

After the Tigray peace agreement (Pertoria Agreement) signed in 2 November 2022 which was hoped to put an end to the Tigray War and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe, but unfortunately this hope being scattered with the new evil conflicts in two major Ethiopian regions, Amhara and Oromia.

In this monthly review under the HoA we would like to bring to the attention of the world the deliberately ignored war of Ethiopia and the war crimes committed within the ongoing fighting in Ethiopia.

In the aftermath of the war between the Ethiopian central government and the northernmost region of Tigray, Ethiopia is once again engaged in violent internal conflict, this time involving militia groups from the regions of Amhara and Oromia. Conflict began to emerge in the two regions in the spring of 2021, coinciding with the escalation of the Tigray War. During the Tigray War, Amhara groups largely allied with the central government and the Oromo sided with the Tigrayans. In the aftermath of the war, the central government announced a crackdown on the operations of regional security forces. In an effort to consolidate central military control and respond to ethnic violence in the two regions, the Ethiopian government is fighting former allies and enemies alike, including the Amhara regional forces and non-state militias from Amhara and Oromia. In late 2023, the central government escalated its military operations in Amhara, while its peace talks with the largest Oromo militia collapsed for the third time.

See: Global Conflict Tracker.

https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/conflict-ethiopia

Ethiopia’s federal government is battling yet another revolt. This time, militants are engaged in hostilities with federal forces in Amhara, the country’s second-most populous region. After tensions escalated all year, insurgents briefly seized control of major towns in August. They remain active in much of the countryside.

See: crisis group 16/11/2023

https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/ethiopia/b194-ethiopias-ominous-new-war-amhara

Ethiopia’s federal security forces killed at least 45 civilians in a massacre in Amhara state in late January, the independent state-affiliated Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said on Tuesday.

See: aljazeera: 2024/2/1.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/13/ethiopian-forces-killed-at-least-45-citizens-in-amhara-rights-body-says

Ethiopian government troops went door-to-door killing dozens of civilians last month in a town in the country’s Amhara region, according to residents, who said the bloodshed took place after clashes with local militia.

Follow Up: Gaza

29.02.24 SZ: Viele Tote bei Ansturm auf Hilfsgüter in Gaza (Many dead in rush for aid supplies in Gaza): According to media reports, more than 100 people were killed and over 750 injured there on Thursday morning during the distribution of aid supplies. The Palestinian health authority, which is controlled by Hamas, accused the Israeli army of attacking and shooting at a crowd of people waiting for aid deliveries in Gaza City. In the meantime, the far-right Minister of National Security and radical settlers, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has announced that he intends to stop the delivery of aid in response to the incidents in Gaza.
In order to help the people in the Gaza Strip, aid planes have taken off from Jordan in recent days, dropping food parcels over the Gaza Strip. Some of these have landed in the sea not far from the coast. Pictures and videos show people desperately jumping into the water to pull rations ashore.

Also see NYT 29.02.24: As Hungry Gazans Crowd an Aid Convoy, a Crush of Bodies, Israeli Gunshots and a Deadly Toll

27.02.24 FP: Biden Predicts Israel-Hamas Truce as Early as Next Week: The six-week cease-fire would occur over Ramadan and include the release of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

Also see NYT 24.02.24: Biden Caught in a Political Bind Over Israel Policy;

27.02.24 AJE: Hostilities mount on Lebanon border as Hezbollah and Israel swap strikes: The series of attacks revives fears that the war in Gaza could escalate across the region.

26.02.24 AJE: Settler violence: Israel’s ethnic cleansing plan for the West Bank: There were 561 incidents of Israeli settler attacks against the Palestinians, which the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has recorded between October 7 and February 20. As of January 17, settlers have killed at least eight Palestinians and injured 111, per OCHA’s database. Repeated waves of violence by settlers, often backed by the army, have led to the displacement of 1,208 Palestinians, including 586 children, across 198 households.

24.02.24 Telepolis: Netanjahu will die Hamas vernichten – und was will die Hamas? (Netanyahu wants to destroy Hamas - and what does Hamas want?): Even if the Netanyahu government succeeds in expelling Hamas and disbanding the organisation (which is rather unlikely), something else, probably more radical, will take its place - in view of the disaster, the destruction and Israel's now even more stringent occupation policy against the Palestinians. In this context, reference is made to statements by Hamas that it does not recognise the right of the state of Israel to claim large parts of Palestine for itself. What is omitted, however, is that the Hamas leadership has taken a pragmatic stance since its foundation - apart from the more internal rhetoric. The organisation has repeatedly made it clear that it accepts the internationally agreed two-state solution. Shortly after its election in the Gaza Strip in 2006, Hamas declared that it was prepared to do so.

DW 22.02.24: Wie Israel die Zukunft von Gaza plant (How Israel is planning the future of Gaza): According to media reports in the Times of Israel and Hareetz newspapers, the Israeli military is to take over "full security control" of the entire coastal strip in future. All Hamas military structures will therefore be dismantled. According to the plan, the Israeli military will be able to operate in the Gaza Strip at any time and have "unlimited freedom" for operations. According to media reports, Israel also hopes that a new road dividing the Gaza Strip into north and south will improve security control. However, observers fear that Israel could also use this road to prevent Palestinian refugees who fled to the south at the start of the war from returning to the north.

Also see NYT 23.02.24: Netanyahu Issues First Plan for Postwar Gaza; 25.02.24 NYT: Israeli Forces Will Move Into Rafah, Cease-Fire Deal or Not, Netanyahu Says: “It has to be done,” the Israeli prime minister said. “Because total victory is our goal, and total victory is within reach.”

21.02.24 AJE: WFP halts food deliveries to north Gaza amid ‘complete chaos, violence’: The United Nations food agency has paused delivering aid to northern Gaza, citing Israeli gunfire as well as “complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order” in the area. The agency said it had first suspended deliveries to the north three weeks ago after a strike hit an aid truck. It tried resuming deliveries this week but said convoys on Sunday and Monday faced gunfire and crowds of hungry people stripping goods and beating a driver. Footage from the scene of the operations, verified by Al Jazeera, shows Palestinians fleeing to take cover amid the sound of gun shots and clouds of fumes from smoke bombs.

Also see Taz 21.02.24: Erst der Hunger, dann die Infekte (First the hunger, then the infections)

20.02.24 NYT: U.S. Vetoes Security Council Cease-Fire Resolution: The United States said the resolution could have disrupted its negotiations to free hostages and secure a temporary cease-fire, but its vote drew outcry from many diplomats and aid workers.

20.02.24 Foreign Affairs: The Two-State Mirage. How to Break the Cycle of Violence in a One-State Reality: The idea of a Palestinian state emerging from the rubble of Gaza has no basis in reality. Long before October 7, it was clear that the basic elements needed for a two-state solution no longer existed. Israel had elected a right-wing government that included officials who were openly opposed to two states. The Palestinian leadership recognized by the West—the Palestinian Authority (PA)—had become deeply unpopular among Palestinians. And Israeli settlements had grown to the extent that creating a viable, contiguous Palestinian state had become almost impossible.

18.02.24: AJE: Israel’s Netanyahu dismisses calls for early election as thousands protest: Antigovernment protests that shook Israel for much of 2023 had largely subsided during the war. Still, demonstrators again took to the streets on Saturday night, calling for new polls, which are not scheduled until 2026.

13.02.24 Taz: Die Grenze bei Rafah: Ausbau der Festung Ägypten (The Border at Rafah): With the threat of an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, the politically highly sensitive border between Gaza and Egypt is coming into focus. Well over a million people have been rounded up on the Palestinian side in and around the small town of Rafah. Meanwhile, Egypt is continuing to extend the border fences and walls on the other side.

Also see AJE 17.02.24: Satellite photos show Egypt building Gaza wall as Israel’s Rafah push looms: The new compound is part of contingency plans if large numbers of Palestinians manage to cross into Egypt and could accommodate more than 100,000 people, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing Egyptian officials; Sinai for Human Rights 14.02.24: Sinai for Human Rights on Twitter

17.02.24: NYT: Israelis, Newly Vulnerable, Remain Traumatized and Mistrustful: Israelis point to polls that show enormous support for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza. But the polls are telling on both sides. The latest Peace Index survey from Tel Aviv University shows, 94 percent of Israeli Jews and 82 percent of the total population think the Israeli military has used “adequate or too little force” in Gaza. Some 88 percent of all Jewish Israelis think the number of Palestinians killed or wounded in Gaza is justified by the war.

17.02.24 AJE: US to send weapons to Israel amid invasion threat in Gaza’s Rafah: Report: The proposed arms delivery includes about a thousand each of MK-82 500-pound (227kg) bombs and KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) that turn unguided munitions into precision-guided bombs, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed US officials.

Also see AJE 15.02.24: Which countries have stopped supplying arms to Israel?; AJE 12.02.24: EU’s Borrell suggests US stop arming Israel amid fears over Rafah assault

08.02.24 Taz: Hilfswerk-Sprecherin zu Vorwürfen: „UNRWA trägt zur Stabilität bei“ (Relief organisation spokeswoman on accusations: "UNRWA contributes to stability"): Germany, the USA and several other UNRWA donor countries have stopped their funding for the time being. What impact will this have?

Also see AJE 17.02.24: Which countries are still funding UNRWA amid Israel’s war on Gaza?: Ireland is the latest to pledge funds for the stricken UN agency, the main source of humanitarian aid to Palestine; NYT 23.02.24: Head of Palestinian Aid Agency Warns It Is at ‘Breaking Point’

17.02.24 AJE: Thousands take part in pro-Palestine protests across the world: Protests took place in major world cities, including London, Madrid and Istanbul.

16.02.24 Taz: IGH prüft Israels Besatzungspolitik (ICJ examines Israel's occupation policy): Anlass der Verhandlung ist ein Gutachtenauftrag, den die UN-Generalversammlung im Dezember 2022 auf Initiative der palästinensischen Autonomiebehörde beschloss.

Also see NYT 21.02.24: U.S. Defends Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank at Top U.N. Court; TNH 26.02.24: Gaza genocide case: Has Israel complied with ICJ orders?

15.02.24 Foreign Affairs: Agnés Callamard: Gaza and the End of the Rules-Based Order: The United States and many Western countries have supported Israel, providing military assistance, opposing calls for a cease-fire at the United Nations, stopping funding of the UN Relief and Works Agency serving Palestinian refugees, and rejecting South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), even as the carnage continued to unfold. Today’s diplomatic complicity in the catastrophic human rights and humanitarian crisis in Gaza is the culmination of years of erosion of the international rule of law and global human rights system. Such disintegration began in earnest after 9/11, when the United States embarked on its “war on terror,” a campaign that normalized the idea that everything is permissible in the pursuit of “terrorists.” To prosecute its war in Gaza, Israel borrows ethos, strategy, and tactics from that framework, doing so with the support of the United States.

13.02.24 Roape: Learning nothing from history: Germany, genocide, and colonialism in the time of Gaza: Heike Becker writes about what has been going on in Germany since 7 October last year. She contextualises the German government’s unconditional support of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and astonishing efforts by government and civil society associations to silence critics of Israel’s actions.

Also see AJE 27.02.24: German guiltwashing in times of genocide

12.02.24: Taz: Leben am Limit (Life at the Margins): The southern border town of Rafah is considered one of the last possible places of refuge for people in the Gaza Strip. Around 1.3 million people are crammed into makeshift tent cities there. Four refugees talk about their lives there.

Also see Taz 12.02.24: Commentary by Ariane Lemme on Egypt’s Responsibility

10.02.24 Guardian: Dozens killed in Rafah airstrikes as full-scale Israeli ground offensive looms: Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Friday that he had instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and defence ministry to draw up plans for troops to enter Rafah and evacuate civilians, leading to widespread panic in the overcrowded makeshift tent camps that now cover the area. With two-thirds of Gaza already under evacuation orders, widespread destruction throughout the coastal strip and continuing fighting, it is unclear to where such a large number of people could safely be moved.

09.02.24 LMD: Die USA als Kriegspartei (USas a War Party): The air and ground offensive by the Israeli armed forces against the Gaza Strip following the attack by Hamas on 7 October is the first Israeli war in which Washington has been directly involved. The USA openly supports the aim of the war - the destruction of Hamas - and is blocking calls for a ceasefire at the United Nations. At the same time, it supplies Israel with weapons and ammunition and prevents other regional players from intervening in the conflict.

09.02.24 Foreign Affairs: Israel’s Self-Destruction: October 7 was the worst calamity in Israel’s history. It is a national and personal turning point for anyone living in the country or associated with it. Having failed to stop the Hamas attack, the IDF has responded with overwhelming force, killing thousands of Palestinians and razing entire Gazan neighborhoods. But even as pilots drop bombs and commandos flush out Hamas’s tunnels, the Israeli government has not reckoned with the enmity that produced the attack—or what policies might prevent another.

07.02.24 Guardian: Why is there still no Gaza ceasefire? Because self-interested world leaders are obstructing it: Netanyahu knows he’s barely clinging to power, Biden is playing a bigger game, and Hamas’s leadership cares little for the vast suffering since 7 October

05.02.24 Guardian: In Gaza, there’s a war on women. Will the west really ignore it because they’re ‘not like us’?: There are about 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza and 40% of those pregnancies have been classed as high risk; 180 give birth daily. The healthcare infrastructure has been all but obliterated.

04.02.24 AJE: We, Jewish students, must not be silent on the genocide in Gaza: The suppression of pro-Palestinian voices is not fighting anti-Semitism because there is nothing anti-Semitic about opposing genocide.

02.02.24 AJE: Israel plans ground attack on Rafah, ‘last refuge’ for Gaza’s displaced: Israel’s defence minister says army will next target Rafah, the southern area it designated as a ‘safe zone’ for Palestinian civilians.

01.02.24 NYT: Israel’s Controlled Demolitions Are Razing Neighborhoods in Gaza: The damage caused by Israel’s aerial offensive in Gaza has been well documented. But Israeli ground forces have also carried out a wave of controlled explosions that has drastically changed the landscape in recent months. At least 33 controlled demolitions have destroyed hundreds of buildings — including mosques, schools and entire sections of residential neighborhoods — since November, a New York Times analysis of Israeli military footage, social media videos and satellite imagery shows.

Also see AJE 25.02.24: With all eyes on Gaza, Israel steps up demolitions of Palestinian homes

All Africa

23.02.24 NYT: Africa’s Donkeys Are Coveted by China. Can the Continent Protect Them?: Governments are seeking to curb donkey skin exports to China, where demand for traditional medicine and other products is threatening animals that rural households need.

North Africa

Algeria

Guardian 26.02.24: Africa’s largest mosque inaugurated in Algeria after years of delays: Algeria has inaugurated a gigantic mosque on its Mediterranean coastline after years of political upheaval transformed the project from a symbol of state-sponsored strength and religiosity to one of delays and cost overruns.

Egypt

16.02.24: Guardian: Egypt’s economic woes lure digital nomads – but cast others out to sea: While the Red Sea resort of Dahab draws those who earn dollars and can work anywhere, a third of Egyptians live in poverty and see a perilous voyage to Europe as their only hope. Nearly a third of Egypt’s population fell below the national poverty line in 2019, most of whom live along the overcrowded, impoverished Nile delta. “The youth here see young people who migrated illegally, living well, dressed nicely, and integrated into Italian society, and they think they could do it as well”.

Egypt

03.02.24 MEE: Egypt pound devaluation 'just a band-aid' as inflation spiral looms: Cash-strapped Egyptians describe 'humiliation' of economic crisis, while analysts say action on currency could compound soaring prices

Also see AJE 24.02.24: How Israel’s war on Gaza is bleeding Egypt’s economy

Egypt

01.02.24 Mediendienst: EU-Egypt-Deal: "These agreements push people onto more dangerous routes": The Egyptian government has recently signed a migration-control deal with the European Union. The Cairo-based researcher Parastou Hassouri explains in an interview why Egypt is becoming a key-partner for the EU – and how this will affect the lives of refugees and migrants in the region.

Libya

25.02.24 AJE: Under new general, Russia’s Wagner makes deeper inroads into Libya: Command of Wagner’s overseas presence has been assigned to Russia’s military intelligence (GRU), specifically General Andrei Averyanov. Through a series of intermediate PMCs like Convoy, established in Russian-occupied Crimea in 2022, and Redut, active in Ukraine, but established in 2008 to protect Russian commercial interests, maintaining legal deniability, Wagner’s Ukrainian operation is being retitled the Volunteer Corps, with other operations becoming the Expeditionary Corps.

That its ambition remained undimmed was evidenced by its initial instruction to build a fighting force across Africa of some 40,000 contractors – since reduced to 20,000

Central and Sub Saharan Africa

DR Congo

29.02.24 The East African: Monusco withdrawal from DRC begins, transfers Kamanyola base: The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as Monusco, initiated its withdrawal from the country after 25 years by transferring the base of Kamanyola in the country's far east to Congolese authorities

DR Congo

17.02.24 AJE: DR Congo accuses Rwanda of airport ‘drone attack’ in restive east: Fighting has flared in recent days around the town of Sake, 20km (12 miles) from Goma, between M23 rebels – which Kinshasa says are backed by Kigali – and Congolese government forces. The latest fighting has pushed tens of thousands of civilians to flee neighbouring towns towards Goma, which stands between Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border and is practically cut off from the country’s interior.

Also see DW 15.02.24: Tausende Frauen demonstrieren gegen Krieg im Ostkongo (Thousands of women demonstrate against war in eastern Congo); Taz 13.02.24: Burundi wird zum Kollateralschaden des Kongo-Krieges (Burundi to be Collateral Damage of Congo War); AJE 07.02.24: Thousands flee in eastern DR Congo as M23 rebels advance near Goma

Ghana

28.02.24 NYT: Ghana’s Parliament Passes Anti-Gay Bill With Jail Terms: The bill is the latest in a wave of anti-gay legislation passed in Africa: Tanzania, Niger and Namibia have tightened such laws in recent years, while Uganda has adopted an anti-gay law that includes the death penalty.

Tanzania

26.02.24 Taz: Vertreibung von Maasai in Tansania (Expulsion of Maasai in Tanzania): Tanzania wants to place half of its land under nature conservation and is cooperating with investors who offer big game hunting and luxury holidays in the savannahs. The Maasai living there are being brutally displaced

East Africa

Somalia

22.02.24 The East African: Somalia signs defence, economic cooperation deal with Turkey: Under the agreement, Turkey will build, train and equip the Somali navy.

Also see The East African 29.02.24: Red Sea politics: Why Turkey is helping Somalia defend its waters

Sudan

26.02.24 Sudan War Monitor: Al-Burhan seeks Libyan help in Sudan war: The eastern administration headed by General Khalifa Haftar shares a border with the RSF, and some Libyan National Army (LNA) commanders have close ties with the RSF and other Darfur armed groups. UN researchers, in a recently leaked report, identified Libya as a source of weapons for the RSF, as well as fuel and Land Cruisers.

Sudan

24.02.24 NYT: Atrocities Mount in Sudan as War Spirals, U.N. Says: Rape, killing, torture: A stark report offers new evidence of horrific abuses carried out by Sudan’s military and its enemy, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Sudan

22.02.24 Guardian: The Guardian view on the gathering disaster in Sudan: a war that the world is ignoring: Millions are displaced and starving as two generals fight for power and other countries pursue their own interests

Also see Guardian 1.02.24: Inside the Darfur camp where a child dies every two hours: Malnutrition and disease are rife at the ‘overwhelmed’ Zamzam camp – one of hundreds in Sudan, where war has displaced nearly 8 million people; Sudan Tribune 19.02.24 : Over 610,000 people crossed to Chad from Sudan: MSF: Many of them are settling in Daguessa and Goz-Aschiye in the Sila region since the start of the conflict, MSF said. These areas already faced chronic food insecurity and the influx has significantly exacerbated the situation; TNH 26.02.24: Reporter’s diary: Inside Darfur’s neglected refugee crisis; Guardian 29.02.24: Sudan’s war leaves deep scars in Geneina, a city of two massacres: People in West Darfur’s capital still step over residue from the bodies of some of the 10,000 dead, and thousands have fled

Sudan

17.02.24: Guardian: Sudan armed forces advance in Omdurman for first time since start of war: t is reported that the SAF in the Karari military area, north of Omdurman, have joined their peers in the engineering corps in the south of the city, where they have been besieged by the RSF since April. Last week, the SAF announced they had entered the Souq Omdurman – one of the country’s oldest markets – in Omdurman. The SAF allegedly arrested about 100 men, who were said to have been stripped, blindfolded and lashed before being released. Most of the those arrested belong to the minority Gouran ethnic group in Sudan and worked in the markets selling and buying clothes.

Also see Sudan War Monitor 19.02.24: Map: Sudan army breaks Omdurman siege; Sudan War Monitor 21.02.24: Long-range bombings; Kadugli reinforced: The Sudanese Air Force has resumed long-range bombing raids into Darfur and Kordofan, hitting areas deemed to be “social incubators” of the Rapid Support Forces. Sudan War Monitor 01.02.24: Map of the Areas of Control in Sudan: Zones of military control as of February 1, 2024

Sudan

14.02.24 Berliner Zeitung: Stellvertreterkrieg im Sudan (Proxy War in Sudan): The meeting in mid-September between President President Volodymyr Zelensky and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Shannon, Ireland, demonstrates Ukraine's closeness with the Sudanese de facto ruler. After their meeting, both actors announced that they wanted to fight "Russian aggression". behind the scenes,Kiev is determined to stop the export of Sudanese gold.

Sudan

07.02.24: Guardian: UN warns of ‘epic suffering’ in Sudan and appeals for $4bn in aid: Half of the 50 million population needs food assistance and nearly 11 million people have been uprooted from their homes, including 1.7 million who have fled into the neighbouring countries of Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Most of these countries are already dealing with their own internal crises.

Also see: TNH 19.02.24: Sudan’s collapse is a test for the international community. We are failing it.; Guardian 16.02.24: Houthi attacks in Red Sea having a ‘catastrophic’ effect on aid to Sudan; Sudan War Monitor 12.02.24: Sudan's descent into famine; AJE 12.02.24: Famine looms in Sudan; AJE 05.02.24: A child dies every two hours in Sudan camp for displaced people: MSF

Sudan

07.02.24 TNH: Digital money apps become a lifeline for war-affected Sudanese: Financial technology (fintech) allows people with a mobile phone and internet connection to more safely buy basic groceries, settle bills, and receive money from abroad – easing some of the hardships. These apps have been available for over a decade in Sudan, with nearly all public sector workers paid digitally.

Also see AJE 07.02.: Network blackout cuts communications for millions in war-torn Sudan

West Africa

Burkina Faso / Mali / Niger

08.02.24 Reuters: West Africa bloc urges Burkina, Niger and Mali not to withdraw: The three countries' self-appointed military leaders jointly announced on Jan. 28 they were abandoning the bloc after it pressured them to restore constitutional order following a string of coups. Their departure threatens to further weaken ECOWAS, which has struggled to curtail a retreat of democracy in West Africa that started with a military takeover in Mali in 2020.

Also see Reuters 01.02.24: Burkina may quit West African currency union, but not Mali; AJE 02.02.24: Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso announce withdrawal from ECOWAS; AP 24.02.24: West Africa bloc lifts coup sanctions on Niger in a new push for dialogue to resolve tensions; France 24 27.02.24: West African bloc ECOWAS lifts sanctions against Guinea, Mali

Burkina Faso

27.02.24 Taz: Serie von Terrorangriffen erschüttert Burkina Faso (Series of terrorist attacks shakes Burkina Faso): Over the past few days, Burkina Faso has apparently experienced one of the worst waves of attacks since the beginning of the war by Islamist rebel groups over eight years ago.

Chad

29.02.24 AJE: Chadian opposition leader dies in gun exchange, state prosecutor says: Chadian opposition politician Yaya Dillo has been killed during an exchange of fire with security forces, state prosecutor Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye says at a news conference.Dillo was among several people killed when he led an attack on the National State Security Agency (ANSE) in the capital, N’Djamena, the prosecutor said on Thursday.

Also see AJE 29.02.24: Why is Chad boiling over ahead of long-awaited elections — and what’s next?

Guinea

20.02.24 AJE: Military leaders dissolve government in Guinea: The military in Guinea, which seized power more than two years ago, has dissolved the interim government in the West African nation and said it will appoint a new administration.

Military leaders released a video statement late on Monday to say that directors of cabinet, secretary generals and their deputies would be in charge until a new government was formed. The government has been in office since July 2022.

Mali

13.02.24: Mali : Crise énergétique et spectre de la révolution (Mali: Energy crisis and the spectre of revolution): The energy situation in Mali continues to deteriorate, fuelling social discontent and the risk of a popular explosion. The symbolic month of March, marked by high demand for electricity, is shaping up to be a real test for the transitional government.

Mali

10.02.24 VoA: Tuareg Separatists Lift Road Blockades in Northern Mali: "All blockades on the routes from the Algerian border to the towns of Timbuktu and Gao have been lifted," the Permanent Strategic Framework, an alliance of rebel forces, told Agence France-Presse, without giving more details.

The Taureg-dominated rebel groups lost control of several localities in the north of the country after an army offensive in late 2023 that culminated with the taking of Kidal, a bastion of the separatist movement.

Mali

12.02.24 rfi: Mali: l'armée et le groupe Wagner investissent la mine d'or artisanale d'Intahaka (Mali: the army and the Wagner group invest in the Intahaka artisanal gold mine): They arrived by helicopter on Friday 9 February. The sources contacted by RFI all confirmed the landing of numerous mercenaries from the Wagner group, who were accompanied by Malian soldiers. Intahaka is the largest artisanal gold mine in northern Mali. Thousands of gold panners from all over the country, but also from Sudan, Chad and Niger, have been working here for around six years. With pickaxes and under particularly harsh conditions, they dig in the earth for a few grams of gold and a better life.

Mauritania

21.02.24 Middle East Monitor: Mauritania denies plans to settle irregular migrants: Mauritania yesterday denied reports it planned to settle irregular migrants in the country amid talks of a deal with the European Union (EU), Anadolu reported.

“Mauritania will not be an alternative homeland for immigrants,” the Mauritanian Interior Ministry said in a statement, describing reports of plans to make Mauritania “an alternative homeland for settling, receiving or sheltering foreign migrants” as “completely baseless rumours”.

The ministry explained that migration talks with the EU aim to “bridge views” for a “balanced and fair agreement that guarantees respect for the sovereignty and common interests of both parties”, consistent with the charters, systems and laws in force within the framework of international migration treaties and agreements.

On Monday, negotiations began in Nouakchott between Mauritanian and EU officials aimed at confronting irregular migration through the country to Europe.

Mauritania

22.02.24 Rweuters: Algeria and Mauritania open border gate to boost trade: - The presidents of Algeria and Mauritania opened on Thursday a gate at the border of the two north African countries to strengthen bilateral ties and boost trade.

The leaders have also agreed to set up a free trade zone and build a 847 kilometre (526 mile) road that will link the Algerian town of Tindouf to Mauritania's Ezouirat.

"Hotels, restaurants, taxi drivers and workers in the public sector and housing sectors are happy," Dida Abdewahab, a Tindouf resident, told Reuters.
The agreement comes a few days after OPEC member Algeria announced it would invest $442 million in energy projects in Mali, Niger and Libya. Algeria has also announced it will open four other free trade zones in 2024 with Mali, Niger, Tunisia and Libya.

Mauritania

13.02.24 Sahara Media: Conférence mauritano-américaine à Nouakchott autour de la migration clandestine (Mauritanian-American conference in Nouakchott on illegal migration): At the end of December, the US embassy in Nouakchott announced that Washington was "concerned about the significant increase in the number of young Mauritanians immigrating to the United States illegally".

Also see US Embassy in Mauretania 31.01.24: Repatriation of Mauritanian Nationals from the U.S.: There was a third flight in response to a surge of Mauritanians irregularly crossing the U.S. border.

Mauritania / EU

08.02.24 Guardian: EU leaders unveil €210m Mauritania deal in bid to curb people-smuggling: The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, have unveiled plans for a €210m partnership with Mauritania in an attempt to curb people-smuggling to the Canary islands and launch new energy and infrastructure projects benefiting both sides.

Von der Leyen commended Ghazouani for the support his country was giving to 150,000 refugees, and pledged humanitarian aid as part of the package which they hoped to sign-off in the spring. She also announced investment support for a new high-voltage power line between the capital and the south-east of the country and improved roads to the north, where Mauritania hopes to develop wind, solar and hydrogen energy supplies in conjunction with the EU.

Niger

15.02.24 rfi: L'alliance Atlantique en marche: le Premier ministre du Niger reçu à Rabat par Aziz Akhannouch (The Atlantic alliance on the move: Aziz Akhannouch receives the Prime Minister of Niger in Rabat): Since the change of regime, Niger has been seeking to renew its strategic partnerships, and Morocco is seeking to position itself as a credible ally for Niamey. This is a new stage in the "Atlantic alliance" initiated last December in Marrakech between Morocco and several Sahelian countries.

Niger

19.02.24 AJE: Niger defaults on debt payments again as post-coup woes pile: The West African monetary union debt management agency UMOA-Titres said in a statement that Niger had failed to make a repayment of principal which was due on February 16. It previously missed payments in August, November, January and February.

Also see VoA 12.02.24: Niger, Burkina, Mali: une possible monnaie commune pour sortir de la "colonisation", dit Tiani (Niger, Burkina, Mali: une possible monnaie commune pour sortir de la "colonisation", dit Tiani); Reuter 09.02.24: Moody's pushes Niger's rating deeper into junk

Senegal

16.02.24: AJE: Senegal president Sall to implement court order reversing election delay: “The President of the Republic intends to fully implement the decision of the Constitutional Council,” the presidency said in a statement. “To this end, the Head of State will without delay carry out the consultations necessary to organise the presidential election as soon as possible”.

Also see Guardian 25.02.24: Is democracy dying in Africa? Senegal’s slide into chaos bodes ill in a year of key elections: the continent’s future is in the hands of a younger generation disillusioned by the apparent failure of their elected leaders and stagnant economies;Taz 15.02.24: Proteste in Senegal (Protests in Segegal); AJE 08.02.24: Senegal elections: Why has President Macky Sall postponed voting?; AJE 04.02.24: Police and protesters clash after Senegal election postponed

West Asia

Lebanon

29.01.24 ACHR: What happens after the deportation of refugees from Lebanon? Exposing the forced deportations of Syrian refugees and their handover to Syrian authorities?: ACHR has documented 1,080 cases of arbitrary arrest, and 763 cases of forced deportation to Syria since the beginning of 2023 until December 30.

The report focused on monitoring the arbitrary security campaign launched by the Lebanese army last April on a large scale, which targeted the homes and camps of Syrian refugees in several Lebanese regions.

Syria

27.02.24 AJE: The Syrian regime is stepping up its use of suicide drones: The Syrian government calls upon high-precision, low-cost drones to target rebel and civilian personnel and infrastructure in Idlib

Syria

22.02.24 DW: Immer weniger Hilfen für Menschen in Syrien (Less and less aid for people in Syria): More and more aid programmes for north-west Syria are being reduced or even discontinued. This affects areas that are not under the control of the regime. This has serious consequences for the refugee camps there.

Syria

28.02.24 AJE: One person killed at anti-government protest in Syria’s Sweida province: A local media source and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) confirmed the fatality. SOHR said dozens of people were chanting anti-government slogans in front of a recently reopened state office building that deals with citizen affairs, such as outstanding military service.

Turkey

11.02.24 AJE: Turkey’s ‘Roma’ groups have felt the earthquake’s impact more than others: Although not recognised as minorities in Turkey, these groups, which migrated from northern India over the last millennium, are estimated to number up to five million people who live in poverty, social exclusion and discrimination.

Also see Taz 06.02.: Erdbeben in der Türkei und Syrien:Als wäre es gestern gewesen (Earthquake in Turkey and Syria:As if it were yesterday)

Yemen

23.02.24 AJE: Houthis are recruiting record fighters. How will this affect Yemen?: The Houthis have recruited and trained more than 200,000 new fighters since the group began its actions in the Red Sea in support of Palestine, a Houthi spokesperson says. Popular support (in context of Gaza War) gave the Houthis enormous political capital in Yemen and led to the recruitment of “tens of thousands” of new fighters, according to analysts and statements by the group.

Europe

Poland/Belarus

08.02.24: InfoMigrants: Poland-Belarus border: 6,000 pushbacks in 6 months: “Poland facilitated some 6,000 pushbacks in the 6 months between July 2023 and January 2024, according to government data published this week. [...] Pushbacks were made legal in Poland by the country’s previous government, the Law and Justice (PiS) party, in August 2021.”

Serbia/North Macedonia

22.02.24: Guardian: Videos show migrants stripped of clothing in freezing temperatures at Serbian border: “Two videos shown to the Guardian by Legis, a North Macedonian NGO, show a line of semi-naked men on a stretch of road near the Serbian-North Macedonian border. [...] Although there have been reports of migrants being stripped of their clothing at other European borders, Redjepi says that this is the first time this has been reported on the border between Serbia and North Macedonia.”

Spain

07.02.24 Taz: Geflüchtete in Spanien: Zwischenlandung ins Chaos (Refugees in Spain: Stopover into chaos): Spain will introduce a so-called transit visa for people travelling from Senegal by the middle of the month. The same measure has already been in place for travellers from Kenya since 20 January: The Minister of the Interior of the left-wing coalition, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, wants to "end the fraudulent use" of stopovers with these steps. The waiting rooms for refugees have been overcrowded for several weeks. At times, up to 400 people have been living in just over 1,500 square metres. One of the four halls was hastily set up in January.

Spain

01.02.24: Guardian: Number of people arriving by boat in Canaries from west Africa jumps 1,000%: A total of 7,270 people reached the archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean between 1 January and 31 January. According to an annual report by the rights group Walking Borders, the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands is the deadliest migration route to Spain, with 6,007 people dying during the risky sea voyage last year.

12.02.25 AJE: UK’s Rwanda plan ‘fundamentally incompatible’ with rights obligations: Lawmakers from parliament’s cross-party Joint Committee on Human Rights said in a damning 52-page report released on Monday that the government’s legislation to revive its deportation plan is “not compatible with the UK’s international obligations”.

European Union

EUAA

28.02.24: EU received over 1.1 million asylum applications in 2023: Extensive statistics on Asylum Applications. Syrians continued to lodge the most applications, with Afghans remaining the second largest applicant group, albeit with significantly fewer applications than the previous year. An increase in Palestinian applications was also noted towards the end of the year.

22.02.24 Guardian: People helping asylum seekers in Europe face rising violence, report warns: People and groups who assist asylum seekers are reporting a disturbing trend of escalating intimidation, with aid workers facing direct threats including being held at gunpoint and having their phone communications monitored by government authorities, according to a report from the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights.

Eunavfor Aspides

20.02.24 Taz: Grünes Licht im Roten Meer für EU-Einsatz (EU Marine in the Red Sea): Naval operation "Eunavfor Aspides" is to fend off attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The operational area extends as far as Iran, and Germany intends to deploy up to 700 soldiers

Also see EU Council 19.02.24: Security and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea: Council launches EUNAVFOR ASPIDES

EU/Mauritania

08.02.24: InfoMigrants: EU pledges €210 million in funding for Mauritania as part of migration strategy: “EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen and Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez were in Mauritania on Thursday [08.02.24], to sign a series of EU migration deals. Mauritania is increasingly becoming a key transit land for migration to Europe. The European delegation pledged €210 million euros in funding. [...] In addition to the EU-wide deals, Spain and Mauritania also signed a series of biltateral agreements to strengthen cooperation and build resources in the green hydrogen sector, reported dpa.”

Frontex/Libya

10.02.24: Spiegel: Wie Frontex Migranten in die Arme der libyschen Küstenwache treibt (How Frontex drives migrants into the arms of the Libyan coastguard): According to internal documents obtained by Der Spiegel, Frontex has sent around 2200 emails with coordinates of refugee boats to the Libyan Coast Guard since 01/21 – while watching from the air how they hit, kick, shoot at migrants and drag them back to Libya.

GEAS

The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs has adopted the reform package, which is intended to reorganise the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). The controversial reforms include admissibility and accelerated asylum procedures at the borders. Find an overview on CEAS here.

Also see ECRE 16.02.24: Editorial: All Pact-ed up and ready to go: EU asylum law reforms; EU Council 08.02.24: Asylum and migration reform: EU member states’ representatives green light deal with European Parliament (with links to text of the laws)

Reports and Long Reads

Statewatch 28.02.24: The case of Civipol: commodified mobility policing in West Africa and its colonial continuities: This article looks at the place of public-private relations in French colonialism in order to historically situate the activities of Civipol, a French public-private actor owned both by the French state and major security companies, that has specialized in building African states’ internal security capacity.

Statewatch 27.02.24: Border security with drones and databases: The EU’s borders are increasingly militarised, with hundreds of millions of euros paid to state agencies and military, security and IT companies for surveillance, patrols and apprehension and detention. This process has massive human cost, and politicians are planning to intensify it.

18.02.24 Alarmphone: 2023: A long Summer of Migration in the Central Mediterranean Sea. Central Mediterranean Analysis, 1 July to 31 December 2023: In this analysis, we focus on the central Mediterranean route via Tunisia, which has seen a sharp increase in migratory dynamics in 2023. Especially from Sfax, hundreds of boats left and reached Lampedusa. In reaction to the many crossings, border violence along the Tunisian route increased as well. We also provide a comprehensive chronology of the last six months of 2023, offering in great detail an account of developments as they unfolded.

15.02.24 ECRE: Revision of the long-term EU budget: What implications for migration and asylum policy 2024-2027?: Compared with the European Commission’s (EC) original proposal, the revised MFF is significantly lighter in terms of the additional funding that EU member states (MS) will be required to provide (€ 21 billion (bn) down from € 65.8 bn) and includes a combination of financial cuts and reallocation of resources, mainly at the expense of development and cohesion funding. In this way, EU leaders managed to reduce the impact of the revision on their own countries’ contributions while further strengthening the focus on migration control and border management.

13.02.24 Migreurop: Italy/Albania memorandum of understanding on migration: cross-border cooperation that contravenes international law: On 24 and 29 January 2024 respectively, the Italian Chamber of Deputies and the Albanian Constitutional Court approved the memorandum of understanding on migration concluded in November 2023. The Migreurop network condemns these manoeuvres, which are in line with the policies of the European Union (EU) and its Member States to externalise the processing of applications for international protection.

12.02.24 Mediendienst Integration: "Die Maßnahmen gegen Schleuser sind krachend gescheitert" ("The measures against people smugglers have been a resounding failure"): Governments across Europe are tightening measures against people smugglers. What do these measures achieve? Who are "the smugglers" anyway, and how does the smuggling of refugees and migrants work? David Suber has been researching this topic for years, including on the Balkan route, in Serbia and in Turkey. In an interview with Mediendienst, he explains why the current anti-smuggling measures not only fail to achieve their goals, but actually have the opposite effect.

11.02.24 FluchtforschungsBlog: Jordanien: Das Elend der Geflüchteten in einem deutschen Partnerland und der Schleier des Nicht-Wissens (ordania: The plight of refugees in a German partner country and the veil of ignorance): By presenting Jordan as a supposedly "safe haven for millions of refugees from the region", a policy is legitimised that, since the EU-Jordan Compact of 2016, has made considerable efforts to support the Jordanian government in caring for Syrian refugees. This is intended to politically stabilise Jordan and at the same time prevent the onward migration of refugees to Europe. However, the misery that nevertheless characterises the situation of refugees in Jordan - as my current research on the ground shows - is ignored in political and media discourse.

06.02.24: MadaMasr and OmniaTV: Pylos scapegoats: The nine shipwreck survivors facing criminal charges in Greece: Long-read about the nine survivors of the Pylos shipwreck from June 2023 who are accused of smuggling.

05.02.24 Amnesty International: Primer: Defending the rights of refugees and migrants in the digital age: This is an introduction to the pervasive and rapid deployment of digital technologies in asylum and migration management systems across the globe including the United States, United Kingdom and the European Union. It highlights some of the key digital technology developments in asylum and migration management systems, in particular systems that process large quantities of data, and the human rights issues arising from their use.

February 2024 MMC: City of welcome and transit: Migrants’ and refugees’ livelihoods and migration projects in Sousse, Tunisia: Our new research report seeks to fill a research gap on the experience of migrants and refugees in Sousse and provide an evidence base to better support these populations. It is based on surveys involving 200 Sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees, along with qualitative interviews and focus group discussions.

01/24 PRAB: Pushbacks at Europe’s Borders: 8,403 instances of pushbacks at European borders were documented by the PRAB initiative and/or via Governments’ procedures between 1 September and 31 December 2023.4 The total number of pushbacks documented in 2023 amounts to 28,609 while, since the start of the PRAB initiative in January 2021, 46,275 pushbacks have been documented.

01/24 (Republished) Transit Migration: MigMap – Governing Migration. A Virtual Cartography of European Migration Policies: MigMap conveys a picture of how and where the production of knowledge is currently taking place in the area of migration – and of who is participating in and has access to it. MigMap investigates precisely how the new forms of supranational governance that can be observed in the European migration regime function. The four maps “Key Players”, “Discourses”, “Europeanisation” and “Places + Practices” provide access to a broad range of information on players, debates, processes and events that together comprise Europe’s present day migration policies.

02/24: Rosa Luxemburg Foundation North Africa: Climate and environmental issues, evolving migration intentions and plans. Case study of coastal and artisanal fishing in the regions of Zarzis and Boughrara: “The research hypotheses are linked to the central problem, and the cultural, societal, and economic specificity of the study population. It suggests that climate change and the environmental crisis on the beaches of Zarzis and Boughrara have been the key factors in the formation and development of individual and family migratory intentions. This is due to the sea becoming a hotbed for indiscriminate fishing and piracy, and in a political environment where the state has been unable to address the problems related to the coastal and artisanal fishing sector.”

MMC February 2024: City of welcome and transit. Migrants’ and refugees’ livelihoods and migration projects in Sousse, Tunisia: Tunisia’s third-biggest city and home to around 240,000 people, stands out as a centre for foreign students and, more recently, a sanctuary for migrants who have encountered violence and discrimination elsewhere in Tunisia. It is also notable for its municipality’s progressive approach to migration management.

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