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

Smuggling devours Ivoirian cashew revenue

ABIDJAN, 13 June 2013 (IRIN) - About a third of Côte d’Ivoire’s cashew nuts are smuggled abroad every year, robbing the country of a valuable income stream. full report

Sierra Leone braces for cholera season

FREETOWN, 12 June 2013 (IRIN) - As the fleeting storms of May give way to the persistent downpours of June, the National Cholera Taskforce in Freetown, Sierra Leone, is working to prevent a repeat of last year’s cholera outbreak. full report

Military’s shutdown of NE Nigeria telecoms disrupts trade

KANO, 11 June 2013 (IRIN) - With mobile phone signals shut down since 15 May in large parts of three northeastern states following a military offensive against Boko Haram (BH) Islamists, anxious residents say the sick are cut off from medical help, commercial supplies are dwindling and food prices rising. full report

Cocaine-related graft erodes Guinea-Bissau governance

BISSAU, 10 June 2013 (IRIN) - Drug-trafficking in Guinea-Bissau is undermining the country’s stability, distorting its economy and intensifying the competition for power among political and military leaders, say analysts and observers. full report

Senegalese gear up for likely flooding

DAKAR/PIKINE, 7 June 2013 (IRIN) - Senegalese authorities and aid organizations say they have begun preparing for what will likely be another round of heavy flooding during this year's upcoming rainy season, but observers and local residents say not enough has been done to reduce the risk of annual floods ruining their homes. full report

Guineans flee Conakry unrest, ethnic tension

DAKAR, 7 June 2013 (IRIN) - Guinea’s political violence is hitting residents of the capital Conakry increasingly hard, with some families forced to flee their homes and others relocating for fear of ethnically based attacks. 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