Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Africa Brief.
The highlights this week: Benin’s failed coup highlights a network of pro-Russian actors across the continent, the dispute over Zambia’s fraught election continues, and the Tanzanian government suspends an independent newspaper.
Africa Brief will take a break for the next two weeks. Our regular programming will return on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
A coup thwarted in Benin last year has highlighted a network of pro-Russian actors in Africa, according to new details that have emerged from an ongoing extradition trial in South Africa.
The December mutiny, which was led by Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri and included the temporary seizure of the national broadcaster, collapsed within hours following military intervention from neighboring Nigeria. However, subsequent legal proceedings have shed light on how local pro-Russian influencers and movements work to achieve shared aims across African borders.
