Sahel récap’ from 5 to 9 january 2026
- Arrested in July 2025 in Côte d’Ivoire and prosecuted for «offense against the Ivorian head of state,» Mamadou Hawa Gassama, a member of Mali’s National Transitional Council (the legislative body), appeared on Friday, January 9, 2026, before the correctional chamber of the Abidjan-Plateau Court of First Instance.
At the end of the hearing, the prosecutor requested a five-year prison sentence against him.
The court took the case under deliberation, and the ruling will be delivered on January 30, according to his lawyer.
- In Burkina Faso, authorities said on Wednesday that they had foiled yet another «attempt at destabilization» over the past weekend.
Arrests are underway, and the former transitional president, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, was named as the « mastermind.»
- In Niger, authorities paid final respects on Tuesday to Captain Chaibou Mali, the prefect of Torodi, who was assassinated on the night of January 5 at around 2 a.m.
He was killed at his home along with several members of his family during an attack carried out by armed men.
- The Confederation of Sahel States, which brings together Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, condemned on Thursday, January 8, what it described as «unacceptable interference» and an «act of aggression» by the United States in Venezuela, following what it called the «illegal abduction» of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
