The highlights this week: History appears to be repeating itself in Madagascar , a fuel blockade leads to chaos in Mali , and poverty rises in Nigeria even as GDP grows.

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Africa Brief.

The highlights this week: History appears to be repeating itself in Madagascar, a fuel blockade leads to chaos in Mali, and poverty rises in Nigeria even as GDP grows.

Sign up to receive Africa Brief in your inbox every Wednesday.

Military Takes Power in Madagascar

A powerful military unit has seized power in Madagascar a day after President Andry Rajoelina fled the country amid weeks of Gen Z-led protests.

Col. Michael Randrianirina said on Tuesday that the army’s Capsat unit, which he leads, had dissolved high-level government institutions except the lower house of Parliament. He added that a military council made up of officers, gendarmerie, and police would run the country alongside a transitional government and hold elections within two years.

History appears to be repeating itself. The country experienced coups in 1972 and 1975, as well as an uprising in 1991. Rajoelina, the former mayor of Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, took power in a 2009 coup with the help of Capsat after weeks of anti-government protests that he encouraged. He was banned from running in the 2013 election but returned to power after winning the vote in 2018 and in a disputed election in 2023, which opposition partie