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Henry Wilkins

Produced by Henry Wilkins

November 28, 2024
Morocco pushes to bring Central Sahel ‘out of isolation’

In a November interview, Morocco's foreign minister said his country plans to bring Central Sahel countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali "out of isolation" with a joint development and port access package known as The Atlantic Initiative. As they battle militants linked to terror groups, Central Sahel countries have turned away from regional and international partners, so what can their neighbors do to reach out to them? Henry Wilkins reports.
November 12, 2024
Somaliland set to hold elections, pushes for international recognition

Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland is set to hold general elections on Wednesday and presidential candidates, including the incumbent President Muse Bihi Abdi who is seeking re-election, say the self-declared republic wants recognition from the international community. VOA’s Henry Wilkins has more.
November 11, 2024
UN expresses concern for Sudan heritage sites looted amid civil war

UNESCO - the U.N. agency for the protection of cultural heritage - says it is concerned that museums in Sudan are being looted during the ongoing civil war. VOA gained access to one damaged and apparently ransacked museum. VOA’s Henry Wilkins has more from The House of the Khalifa in the city of Omdurman.
November 02, 2024
Sexual violence and forced marriage spike in Sudan war

Rights groups are sounding the alarm about a spike in sexual violence and forced marriage in Sudan's civil war. In this report from Port Sudan, Henry Wilkins meets a woman who escaped the country's war-torn capital, Khartoum, after a paramilitary commander tried to force her into marriage.
October 14, 2024
Hospital in Sudan’s Omdurman still in operation, but scarred by war’s destruction

Most hospitals in the Khartoum area of Sudan have been destroyed or evacuated as fighting in the capital continues. The Voice of America gained rare access to a hospital still operating in the area and to one gutted by the fighting, as rights groups say those responsible for the devastation should be held accountable for war crimes. Henry Wilkins reports.
October 11, 2024
UAE supplying weapons amid Sudan conflict, according to VOA report

Voice of America reporters say they the Sudanese armed forces have shown them alleged evidence that the United Arab Emirates is supplying weapons to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan's war. UAE denies the allegations. VOA’s Henry Wilkins has more.
October 01, 2024
Port Sudan religious leader helps displaced Sudanese persons

In Port Sudan, one of the cities spared by the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF, A religious leader is helping internally displaced persons due to the conflict. VOA’s Henry Wilkins visited a church which has been turned into a makeshift shelter and filed this report.
September 26, 2024
VOA gains rare access to war-damaged Sudanese city of Omdurman

In Omdurman, Sudan's second most populous city, the once-thriving market has been all but destroyed by almost a year and a half of war. VOA gained rare access to the city and met residents who recalled its former glory as fighting raged in the capital, Khartoum, on the opposite bank of the Nile. Henry Wilkins reports.
September 19, 2024
Sudanese migrants determined to move to UK despite government blocking attempts

Some Sudanese migrants who are currently based at a makeshift camp outside the French port of Calais, say they are determined to reach the United Kingdom’s shores despite government interventions against ongoing illegal migration, especially from people who are entering the nation through the English Channel on small boats. VOA’s Henry Wilkins has more.
September 10, 2024
Russia mercenaries contracted for Burkina Faso security leave for Ukraine war

Russian mercenaries who were hired to provide security in Burkina Faso, a nation fighting jihadist insecurity, began leaving the West African nation in August to defend the Kremlin amid an ongoing military operation in Ukraine. VOA’s Henry Wilkins has more.
September 07, 2024
Violence in Central Sahel has not improved, experts say, as some Russian mercenaries depart

Russian mercenaries hired to provide security in Burkina Faso began leaving the country in late August — they say to resist Ukraine's recent incursion into Russia. Data show the mercenaries have had little impact in the Sahel's war against Islamic terrorist groups. As Henry Wilkins reports, Burkina Faso saw one of the deadliest militant attacks in recent years the same week the Russians left.
September 06, 2024
Russia weaponized migration to help bolster populists say Latvian experts

European Union governments have accused Russia of "weaponizing" migration by helping illegal migrants cross into the EU, stoking political tensions in countries like Finland, Poland and Latvia. Latvian political observers say this tactic, in part, led to the gains of far-right parties in European elections this year. Henry Wilkins reports from Riga, Latvia.
August 29, 2024
Terror groups in Africa turn to drones to carry out operations, UN experts say

United Nations experts say the work of African nations who are fighting insurgencies is becoming harder as terror groups are increasingly using drones to carry out operations. For VOA, reporter Henry Wilkins has more.
July 09, 2024
Italians embrace government efforts to curb illegal migration

Italians based in the island of Lampedusa have welcomed government-led attempts to prevent increasing illegal migration by people crossing the Mediterranean from Africa — a plan which analysts say if executed well could serve as a model for all European nations. VOA’s Henry Wilkins has more.
July 03, 2024
Alliance sets sights on minerals needed for global shift to green energy

The U.S. government's representative to the Minerals Security Partnership, an alliance of mostly Western countries that aims to speed the development of energy mineral supply chains, said last month that a Chinese company was using "predatory" tactics to hold down the price of cobalt mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Henry Wilkins looks at what this means for Africa.
June 20, 2024
International aid groups call for more Africa funding for refugees

The Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC and other international aid groups say crises in Sudan, Somalia, the Sahel region and other parts of Africa are receiving less funding than needed to handle the challenges they face. VOA’s Henry Wilkins has more.
June 10, 2024
Nonprofits call for more international attention to Sudan’s crisis

Displaced residents of Sudan’s El Fasher say the Rapid Support Forces, RSF, continues attacking hospitals and camps, while nonprofits call on the international community to pay more attention to the northeast African nation amid ongoing fighting between the army and the paramilitary group. VOA’s Henry Wilkins has more.
May 14, 2024
Western nations evaluate Chad relations after elections, Déby victory

Western nations are reportedly watching political developments in Chad, where former military ruler and interim president Mahamat Déby won the nation’s recently held elections, thereby completing a three-year transition to civilian rule after a 2021 military coup. VOA’s Henry Wilkins has more in this report.
May 04, 2024
Deby victory looks certain in Chad election

Chad’s election on May 6 is almost certain to result in victory for transitional president and military leader Mahamat Idriss Déby, according to analysts. In the run-up to the vote, authorities have cracked down on the media and opposition leaders have been kept off the ballot. Despite that, experts say Chad will remain an important ally for Western security efforts in the Sahel region. Henry Wilkins reports.
May 01, 2024
US negotiates exit of troops from Niger following military junta orders

Niger is the latest Sahel country to eject Western forces and replace them with Russian troops. Analysts say similar moves have not improved military security for Niger's neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso. Henry Wilkins reports.

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