Preparing for floods in West Africa

DAKAR/NIAMEY, 14 June 2013 (IRIN) - West African and Sahel countries are setting up measures to minimize flood damage as the annual rainy season approaches. The African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) in a seasonal weather outlook says near-average or above-average rainfall is likely over the western Sahel, which stretches across Mauritania, Senegal and western and central Niger. full report

Analysis: The dangers of rushing Mali elections

DAKAR/BAMAKO, 6 June 2013 (IRIN) - As international donors, notably France and the USA, as well as the Economic Community of West African States, push for July presidential elections in Mali, critics say doing so could foment factionalization in the north thus further destabilizing it, threaten ongoing negotiations over Kidal town, and hamper reconciliation and dialogue. IRIN spoke to analysts, citizen activists and would-be voters to glean their views. full report

Displaced Malians turn to survival sex

SÉVARÉ/BAMAKO, 5 June 2013 (IRIN) - More displaced women and girls - some as young as 13 - are turning to sex work to get by in Mali where 14 months of occupation and conflict have forced 475,000 people from their homes in the north, according to NGOs. full report

Senegal looking more vulnerable to extremism, instability

DAKAR, 30 May 2013 (IRIN) - As violence rages in northern Nigeria, and international peacekeepers gear up to keep the peace in northern Mali, fears abound that Islamist movements will spread across borders, stoking instability elsewhere in the region, including Senegal which is not immune to the spread of extremist rhetoric, argues a just-published report by the Institute of Security Studies (ISS). full report

Digital jobs offer skills, promise to Africa's unemployed youth

JOHANNESBURG/NAIROBI, 28 May 2013 (IRIN) - Although Africa’s economy has expanded rapidly in recent years, it has not kept pace with the growth of its youth population or their need for jobs. full report

Understanding the causes of violent extremism in West Africa

DAKAR, 10 May 2013 (IRIN) - Academics and government, military and civil society representatives gathered for a conference in the Senegalese capital this week to assess the interplay between development and violent extremism in West Africa, with some participants suggesting that underdevelopment, marginalization and weak governance create a breeding ground for militancy. full report

Little support, no justice for Mali rape survivors

GAO/BAMAKO, 6 May 2013 (IRIN) - During the rebel takeover of northern Mali in April 2012, many women said they were subjected to rape or sexual assault. Since then, little or no support has come through for these women, say aid workers. full report

Plea for return of officials to northern Mali

BAMAKO/GAO, 22 April 2013 (IRIN) - Residents in the northern Mali towns of Gao and Timbuktu are calling for the rapid return of officials to re-start basic services and help run their towns, which they say are in a state of “complete chaos”. full report

Briefing: Negotiating aid delivery in Mali’s conflict zones

BAMAKO/MOPTI/DAKAR, 18 April 2013 (IRIN) - Aid agencies managed to work in northern Mali throughout its occupation by Islamist militants in 2012 and the new complications triggered by the French-led military campaign earlier this year. No single template guided their engagement. full report