Topic: Economic Community of West African States
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Photos of the Day: Photos of the Day 01/05
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Terrorism & Security
US embassy evacuated as rebels surge in Central African RepublicThe turmoil in the landlocked African nation has prompted calls for France to intervene militarily in its former colony. 'Those days are gone,' said French President François Hollande.
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Focus
Will Mali be Africa's Afghanistan?Mali was hit by two successive shocks to its system this year – with the north seized by rebels and a coup in the capital – leaving its government fragile and the international community mulling intervention.
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Opinion: Mali security nightmare: Why foreign intervention alone won't stop the chaos
A divided Mali could become a haven for armed groups and a security nightmare for the whole of West Africa and far beyond. But foreign military intervention alone will be insufficient to address the turmoil. External troops will need the help of local and regional civil society organizations.
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Africa Monitor
Arms, drugs, and human trafficking: What does the future hold for northern Mali?A new unity government was formed in Mali this week, though it remains unclear whether it will be successful in restoring constitutional rule in the Tuareg-held north.
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African Union gets a South African leader, lending the group heft
Observers hope that the long-deadlocked African Union will wield more influence with the economic and political power of South Africa behind it.
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Once a stopover, Mali town becomes frontline destination for displaced people
The town of Sévaré sits along Mali's de facto border with a region now controlled by Tuareg separatists. At a camp there, displaced people speak cautiously about why they fled.
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Rebel alliances strengthen in Mali's north, rattling neighboring countries
The northern two-thirds of Mali is now under control of Tuareg and Islamist rebels who want to redraw national boundaries and export revolution. Displaced minorities tell of brutality.
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Mob assaults Mali's president, calling peace deal into question
Mali's interim president, Dioncounda Traore, has been taken to the hospital, unconscious, after pro-military junta protesters broke into the presidential palace. Will a ECOWAS peace deal hold?
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Keep Calm
West African group mulls intervention in MaliECOWAS, a West African regional group, reimposes sanctions and considers military intervention after Mali's coup leaders renege on promise to cede power to civilian rulers.
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Keep Calm
West African bloc prepares to send troops into Mali and Guinea-BissauTwo separate military coups in Mali and Guinea-Bissau threaten the stability of the region. But will an intervention by ECOWAS actually resolve these conflicts or just complicate them?
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Separate bomb blasts rock Nigeria's newspapers, at least six killed
While no one has taken credit for the twin blasts, the methods used in the attacks on the newspaper offices appear similar to those used by the Islamist fundamentalist group, Boko Haram.
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Keep Calm
Charles Taylor, former Liberian president, found guilty of war crimes (+video)Charles Taylor: A guilty verdict against the former Liberian president – including charges of murder, rape, use of child soldiers – sets precedent for holding sitting heads of state to account.
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In Monrovia, Charles Taylor's wife awaits his verdict
Charles Taylor, the former Liberian leader accused of 11 counts of war crimes, will learn his fate tomorrow in what is seen as a milestone moment for international justice.
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Africa Monitor
Cote d'Ivoire's commitment to democratic principles questionedResidents of areas hit hardest by the 2010 post-election violence are demanding redress and accountability. President Ouattara must commit to justice and reconciliation, writes a guest blogger.
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Africa Monitor
Mali gets interim president. What's on his agenda?Mr. Traore takes the reins of a challenging Mali, facing post-coup reorganization, a separatist war in the north, and humanitarian issues like refugees and food insecurity, writes a guest blogger.
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Mali's Tuareg rebels claim independence in north
Separatist Tuareg rebels have captured large areas of mail's vast Saraha region and declared the independent state of Azawad.
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Keep Calm
Mali coup leaders pledge to hand over power as Tuareg rebels take TimbuktuDisarray following a March 21 coup has allowed Tuareg rebels to take over much of Mali's north. West African neighbors worry about spillover.
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African presidents forced to turn back from occupied Mali runway
The presidents of Ivory Coast, Benin, Liberia, Niger and Burkina Faso were due to arrive in Mali on Thursday to press for the departure of the junior officers that grabbed power in a coup last week.
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West African states put peacekeepers on standby over Mali
Last week, Mali's democratically elected government was overthrown in a military coup, triggering cuts in aid and rising tension.
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Rowdy soldiers loot Mali presidential palace after ousting leader
The whereabouts of the country's 63-year-old president Amadou Toumani Toure, who was just one month away from stepping down after a decade in office, could not be confirmed.
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Africa Monitor
The UN standard to prevent genocide, 10 years laterTen years after the UN created the 'Responsibility to Protect,' standard still stymied by politics and competing interests.
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Africa Monitor
Africa's single currency, the CFA Franc, in a Post-euro FutureThe single-currency zone, stretching from Senegal to the Central African Republic, links eight countries and 123 million people. Will it survive if the Euro crashes?
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Liberia election: Voting went smoothly, but how about the results?
Foreign observer missions are praising Liberia's first domestically organized national elections since the end of civil war in 2003, but experts warn that a likely runoff election could still trigger violence.
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Liberian women pray as the nation heads to the polls
Buffeted by years of civil war, Liberian women – led by newly named Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee – are praying for a peaceful and successful Oct. 11 election, and hoping that fire-mouthed politicians don't drag their country back to war.
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Africa Monitor
Is Ivory Coast really a great model for international intervention?Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara spoke about his country's violent electoral stalemate Tuesday at a meeting at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
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