Tag: AES
Russia Opens New Mali Supply Route
The reported journey of the sanctioned Russian cargo ship Mikhail Britnev from Arkhangelsk via Baltiysk to Lomé, followed by an overland military-equipment convoy through Togo and Burkina Faso to Bamako in July 2026. The previous Conakry–Bamako corridor is shown for comparison; routes are schematic where exact tracking was unavailable. Illustration:…
The Sahel in Mid-2026: One Conflict Across Many Fronts
The Sahel's security crisis is no longer defined by separate insurgencies in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Militant groups now operate across a single interconnected theater, exploiting weak state control, a fractured regional bloc and a Russian security partnership too limited to fill the vacuum left by departing international forces.…
Lavrov’s Africa Tour Signals Trouble for Moscow’s Sahel Allies
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Niger this week promising deeper military cooperation with Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the three military governments that make up the Alliance of Sahel States, or AES. The timing tells its own story. Moscow’s closest partners in the region are under pressure, and…

