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Articles on Central Africa

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A Nigerien official explains to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken the jihadist crisis facing Niger and the surrounding region in March 2023. Boureima Hama/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The US is losing access to its bases in Niger − here’s why that’s a big deal

The disintegration of the United States’ relationship with Niger following its military coup in 2023 is giving way to stronger ties between the African country and Russia and China.
Hausa is the most widely known Chadic language, spoken by some 80 million people or more. It’s harder to grasp the history of other, unwritten Chadic languages. Irene Becker/Contributor/Getty Images

How I reconstructed an unwritten ancient African language

Reconstructed vocabulary sheds light on cultural items and people’s habitats, including the spread of ideas and the importance of certain concepts.
Campaign ads for Ali Bongo in his successful 2009 bid to succeed his father as president of Gabon. The Bongo family has lead Gabon uninterrupted for over 50 years. Reuters/Daniel Magnowski

As its ruling dynasty withers, Gabon – a US ally and guardian of French influence in Africa – ponders its future

Gabon’s strongman president, Ali Bongo, is barely clinging to power after contested elections, a stroke and a coup attempt. The Bongo family has run this stable central African nation for 52 years.
Presidents Issoufou, Yayi, Deby and Buhari at a meeting of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, the body in charge of the lake replenishment project REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

The attempt to replenish Lake Chad’s water may fail again. Here’s why

The transnational project conceived 30 years ago to replenish the drying waters of Lake Chad finally seems poised to take off. But first, internal politics within member states must be overcome.

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