Mali: Timbuktu falls to the Azawadis

And a ceasefire is declared on the grounds that Tuareg-led rebels have captured enough land to create a state.

Niger: After Gaddafi, where now?

Democratising Libya to the north, rapid development south in Nigeria, and political uncertainty west in Mali, what course for poor, landlocked Niger?

Mali: Could the Azawad secede?

With oil found, and now unity between the Azawadi Haratines, Arabs and Tuaregs, could Mali split? Can the Azawad dream become reality?

Ivory Coast: Can Koulibaly's party win in 2011?

President Ouattara has promised parliamentary elections in Côte d'Ivoire before the end of the year. Who will champion the south?

Nigeria: terrorists on the warpath

Does Boko Haram's bombing of the UN in Abuja herald a need to break-up Africa's most populous country?