Ulf Laessing
@ulflaessing.bsky.social
Head of Sahel Programme at Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation in Bamako; previously 13 years for Reuters in Mideast/Africa; Author of Understanding Libya Since Gaddafi; personal account
Honoured to get quoted by the @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/36fa...
Jihadis encircle Mali’s capital as they close in on power
Al-Qaeda-linked Islamists tighten blockade around Bamako as military regime reels
www.ft.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Honoured to get quoted by the @financialtimes.com www.ft.com/content/36fa...
Reposted by Ulf Laessing
As reported by Levent Kemal, 🇹🇷 Turkey now warns its citizens against all non-essential travel to 🇲🇱 Mali, due to "recent developments" and a worsening of the security situation.
October 24, 2025 at 1:39 PM
As reported by Levent Kemal, 🇹🇷 Turkey now warns its citizens against all non-essential travel to 🇲🇱 Mali, due to "recent developments" and a worsening of the security situation.
Yet another kidnapping of a foreigner in Niger where I was two weeks ago. Kidnappings will force NGOs leading to more poverty and more volunteers to join the fighters, I tell @AP apnews.com/article/nige...
American missionary abducted in Niger as security worsens, sources say
An American missionary has been kidnapped in Niger's capital, Niamey, according to security sources and local media.
apnews.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Yet another kidnapping of a foreigner in Niger where I was two weeks ago. Kidnappings will force NGOs leading to more poverty and more volunteers to join the fighters, I tell @AP apnews.com/article/nige...
Mauritania has done more than other Sahel countries to win over jihadists willing to lay down arms, I tell @guardian www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Sahel-based jihadists are extending their reach. Can a fractured region push back?
Counterinsurgency approaches have splintered in west Africa at the same time as terror threats have shifted southward
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Mauritania has done more than other Sahel countries to win over jihadists willing to lay down arms, I tell @guardian www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
The US has offered Mali to target leaders of jihadists I tell AFP. Some officials seem to believe that Mali’s gold might be interesting to US firms.
lnkd.in/dCdFET3H
lnkd.in/dCdFET3H
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
August 28, 2025 at 11:58 AM
The US has offered Mali to target leaders of jihadists I tell AFP. Some officials seem to believe that Mali’s gold might be interesting to US firms.
lnkd.in/dCdFET3H
lnkd.in/dCdFET3H
I talk to U.S.-based The World radio about why Mali decided to return ancient manuscripts to Timbuktu, a major ancient seat of learning.
lnkd.in/d2FM3Y5B
lnkd.in/d2FM3Y5B
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
August 22, 2025 at 10:14 AM
I talk to U.S.-based The World radio about why Mali decided to return ancient manuscripts to Timbuktu, a major ancient seat of learning.
lnkd.in/d2FM3Y5B
lnkd.in/d2FM3Y5B
Russia’s Africa Corps is focused rather on training not fighting like Wagner which could be a contentious issue as Moscow pressures the Central African Republic to make the switch, I tell AP
apnews.com/article/cent....
apnews.com/article/cent....
Russia asks Central African Republic to replace Wagner with state-run Africa Corps and pay for it
Officials in the Central African Republic have said that Russia has called on the country to replace the private Wagner mercenary group with Moscow’s state-run Africa Corps and requested payment for f...
apnews.com
August 8, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Russia’s Africa Corps is focused rather on training not fighting like Wagner which could be a contentious issue as Moscow pressures the Central African Republic to make the switch, I tell AP
apnews.com/article/cent....
apnews.com/article/cent....
www.dw.com/en/how-the-s... includes quotes from me
How the Sahel became a smuggling hotspot – DW – 07/28/2025
International criminal gangs have exploited instability in Sahel countries to build flourishing drug and human trafficking networks, while Russian promises of bringing order have so far failed.
www.dw.com
July 29, 2025 at 1:11 PM
www.dw.com/en/how-the-s... includes quotes from me
Sharing some observations from my latest trip to Niger, the capital Niamey and the economic center Maradi. Two years ago I was about to open an office there for a huge EU project to train political parties. Well now
July 26, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Sharing some observations from my latest trip to Niger, the capital Niamey and the economic center Maradi. Two years ago I was about to open an office there for a huge EU project to train political parties. Well now
JNIM Is staging attacks in western Mali to force the government elevate forces from the north and center, I tell the @telegraphnews.bsky.social www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
The deadly al-Qaeda affiliate terrorising western Africa
Nearly 1,000 people were killed by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin across Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in May
www.telegraph.co.uk
July 21, 2025 at 8:48 PM
JNIM Is staging attacks in western Mali to force the government elevate forces from the north and center, I tell the @telegraphnews.bsky.social www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Many thanks Tobias
As always, excellent vignettes & analysis from Ulf from places that usually don’t make the news!
Sharing some observations from a recent second trip to Chad. The challenges are multiplying. More Sudanese refugees arrive, the UN will cut funding for them. At Lake Chad you have more sophisticated jihadist attacks
July 12, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Many thanks Tobias
Sharing some observations from a recent second trip to Chad. The challenges are multiplying. More Sudanese refugees arrive, the UN will cut funding for them. At Lake Chad you have more sophisticated jihadist attacks
July 12, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Sharing some observations from a recent second trip to Chad. The challenges are multiplying. More Sudanese refugees arrive, the UN will cut funding for them. At Lake Chad you have more sophisticated jihadist attacks
Niger used to import its food needs via Lome and Cotonou ports. But with the Bénin border closed and the Burkina Faso route dangerous most stuff comes these days from Nigeria - cafes and restaurants in Niamey now serve Lagos-bottled Heineken beer.
July 9, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Niger used to import its food needs via Lome and Cotonou ports. But with the Bénin border closed and the Burkina Faso route dangerous most stuff comes these days from Nigeria - cafes and restaurants in Niamey now serve Lagos-bottled Heineken beer.
Honoured get quoted by @theguardian.com on this excellent takeout on the Sahel jihadist menace www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j... #sahel
Who are JNIM, the jihadist ‘ghost enemy’ gaining momentum in the Sahel?
Islamist extremist group has capitalised on instability to control a swath of the region
www.theguardian.com
June 26, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Honoured get quoted by @theguardian.com on this excellent takeout on the Sahel jihadist menace www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j... #sahel
Includes quote from me www.reuters.com/world/africa...
As gold prices surge, West Africa mine operators launch drones to detect wildcat miners
In Gold Fields' Tarkwa mine in Ghana, a high-tech cat-and-mouse game is playing out with increasing frequency as record gold prices draw more unofficial activity.
www.reuters.com
June 24, 2025 at 4:54 AM
Includes quote from me www.reuters.com/world/africa...
Glad to be back in Tunisia for another Sahel Maghreb dialogue @KAS_africa this time to discuss employment opportunities for the two regions’ young populations
June 16, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Glad to be back in Tunisia for another Sahel Maghreb dialogue @KAS_africa this time to discuss employment opportunities for the two regions’ young populations
Wagner’s exit from Mali signals a lighter Russian military footprint in the Sahel as the Africa Corps takes over, I tell Reuters www.reuters.com/world/africa...
Russia's Wagner mercenary group says it is leaving Mali after 'mission accomplished'
Russia's Wagner mercenary group said on Friday it was leaving Mali after fighting Islamist militants for three-and-a-half years and returning home after its mission in the African country had been successfully completed.
www.reuters.com
June 8, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Wagner’s exit from Mali signals a lighter Russian military footprint in the Sahel as the Africa Corps takes over, I tell Reuters www.reuters.com/world/africa...
Includes quote from me apnews.com/article/mali... Russia's Africa Corps to remain in Mali despite Wagner mercenaries exit | AP News
Wagner Group leaving Mali after heavy losses but Russia's Africa Corps to remain
The Russia-backed Wagner Group says it is leaving Mali after more than three and a half years of fighting Islamic extremists and insurgents in the country.
apnews.com
June 6, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Includes quote from me apnews.com/article/mali... Russia's Africa Corps to remain in Mali despite Wagner mercenaries exit | AP News
I had the pleasure writing for @KASonline @auslandsinfo on jihadists at Lake Chad. I wrote the article around New Year so parts are already outdated given the fluid situation but it still gives - I hope - a good overview. www.kas.de/en/web/ausla... open.spotify.com/episode/01rzL2…
https://open.spotify.com/episode/01rzL2…
June 5, 2025 at 12:51 PM
I had the pleasure writing for @KASonline @auslandsinfo on jihadists at Lake Chad. I wrote the article around New Year so parts are already outdated given the fluid situation but it still gives - I hope - a good overview. www.kas.de/en/web/ausla... open.spotify.com/episode/01rzL2…
Gastbeitrag von mir zum Sudan-Konflikt. Ich war vor zwei Wochen im Osttschad an der Grenze zum Buergerkriegsland und habe mit sudanesischen Fluechtlingen gesprochen www.t-online.de/nachrichten/...
Ausländische Mächte mischen mit: Dieser Krieg kennt keinen Gewinner
Die Flüchtlingszahlen im Sudan steigen dramatisch. Ausländische Mächte mischen im dortigen Bürgerkrieg mit. Der Konflikt droht auch, das Nachbarland Tschad zu destabilisieren.
www.t-online.de
May 25, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Gastbeitrag von mir zum Sudan-Konflikt. Ich war vor zwei Wochen im Osttschad an der Grenze zum Buergerkriegsland und habe mit sudanesischen Fluechtlingen gesprochen www.t-online.de/nachrichten/...
Sharing some observations from my recent Chad trip, my first since the French troop withdrawal late 2024. Obviously the Sudan refugee crisis is pressing (see separate thread) as Chad remains fragile and seeks post-Paris new alliances ….
May 20, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Sharing some observations from my recent Chad trip, my first since the French troop withdrawal late 2024. Obviously the Sudan refugee crisis is pressing (see separate thread) as Chad remains fragile and seeks post-Paris new alliances ….
I spent the last three days in eastern Chad at the Sudan border, my first visit since April 2024 - the humanitarian situation has gone from very bad to much worse with a new spike in refugee arrivals. Thanks much for @helpfromgermany for having me again. A few thoughts: #chad #sahel
May 13, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Just arrived in New York, coming all the way from Chad on an rather empty Egyptair flight. Really excited to discuss all things Sahel first at an event at our UN office and then in DC. Great to be back in the US
May 12, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Just arrived in New York, coming all the way from Chad on an rather empty Egyptair flight. Really excited to discuss all things Sahel first at an event at our UN office and then in DC. Great to be back in the US
Chad Sudan border - the cars and people in the background are on the Sudanese side. Main crossing point for refugees - arrivals picking up since RSF attacks on Zam Zam camp in El Fasher. Also Arabs fleeing Khartoum since the army defeated RSF there
May 8, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Chad Sudan border - the cars and people in the background are on the Sudanese side. Main crossing point for refugees - arrivals picking up since RSF attacks on Zam Zam camp in El Fasher. Also Arabs fleeing Khartoum since the army defeated RSF there