Mali, Iraq, Somalia

Today's three stories you should know

Mali

Russia has said it wants to see peace and stability in Mali after its forces suffered casualties while battling alongside the government as a rebel group launched attacks across the country over the weekend. Moscow’s Africa Corps, a paramilitary force that grew out ⁠the former Wagner mercenary group, is stationed in Mali to support the military-led government in its war against al-Qaeda- and ISIS-affiliated groups, most notably the powerful Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), largely responsible for the attacks in which Mali’s defense minister was among those killed. The Africa Corps was forced to withdraw from the northern town of Kidal after fierce fighting with JNIM.

More from Arab News here.

NB: Proximities has published a deep dive on the conflict in Mali and the Sahel. You can read it here. There is also a deep dive on the wave of coups in West Africa here.

Iraq

Political newcomer Ali al-Zaidi has been nominated by the Iraqi parliament’s dominant bloc after weeks of wrangling during which other candidates were fiercely opposed by the U.S., with President Donald Trump threatening to stop all support for Baghdad if former two-time Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was chosen. The U.S. administration saw al-Maliki as too close to Iran and, though he remained defiant, the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Shia parties allied with Tehran, went with businessman al-Zaidi as a compromise. He has not previously held political office and, if approved by parliament, will face the challenge of dealing with political and economic fallout from the war on Iran.

More from AP here.

Somalia

A lot has been written about how the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is causing prices at the petrol pump to rise but, as Reuters reports today, it’s causing people in Somalia to go hungry. Famine is looming, according to the government and the U.N., and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is making things worse, especially after assistance was already hit hard by U.S. President Donald Trump’s drastic cuts to Washington’s aid program. More than a third of those facing acute malnutrition are children. "Since the needs are large and we don't have a lot of supplies, we have had to keep reducing the amount ​we give children," nurse Hassan Yahye Kheyre said. "If treatment is on-and-off, the children will become very weak, physically and mentally. And it may not be ⁠possible to reverse it."

More from Reuters here.

NB: Proximities has published a guest post from Somali analyst Abdi Guled on Somalia’s efforts to stop the breakaway region of Somaliland from gaining international recognition as an independent state. You can read it here.