UPSC Prelims 2023 Q98: Chad, Guinea, Mali, Sudan — Explained
In the recent years Chad, Guinea, Mali and Sudan caught the international attention for which one of the following reasons common to all of them?
- Discovery of rich deposits of rare earth elements
- Establishment of Chinese military bases
- Southward expansion of Sahara Desert
- Successful coups
Answer: (d) Successful coups
Statement-wise explanation
- a: incorrect — None of these four countries was in the news for rare earth discoveries. China dominates both rare earth mining and processing. Guinea is known for bauxite and Mali for gold. No rare earth find in Chad, Guinea, Mali and Sudan together made international headlines.
- b: incorrect — China's only overseas military base is in Djibouti, opened in 2017. Chad, Guinea, Mali and Sudan do not host Chinese military bases. In Mali, the junta pushed out French forces and turned to Russia's Wagner Group, not to Chinese troops.
- c: incorrect — Desertification along the Sahara's southern edge, the Sahel, is a real problem for Chad, Mali and Sudan. But Guinea is a humid coastal country on the Atlantic, with high rainfall and the Fouta Djallon highlands. It is not on the Sahara's edge, so this cannot be the reason common to all four.
- d: correct — All four had the military take power between 2020 and 2021. Mali had coups in August 2020 and May 2021. In Chad, a Transitional Military Council under Mahamat Déby took over and suspended the constitution after President Idriss Déby was killed on 20 April 2021. In Guinea, Col. Mamady Doumbouya overthrew President Alpha Condé on 5 September 2021, and in Sudan the army under Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan removed the civilian-led government on 25 October 2021.
How to eliminate
Ask which feature could be true of all four countries. That one test removes the desert option. Chad, Mali and Sudan lie partly in the Sahel, but Guinea is a wet coastal country, so the 'southward expansion of Sahara' cannot be the common thread. Chinese military bases can be dropped from basic knowledge: China's only overseas base is in Djibouti. A rare earth discovery in four countries at the same time would be an unlikely coincidence. Coups, though, came in a well-reported wave across the 'coup belt' from 2020. Two good habits: keep a running list of military takeovers in Africa, and when a question asks for something common to a group, check the odd one out (here, Guinea) against each option.
Know more
Africa's 'coup belt'
From 2020, a run of military takeovers hit a band of countries from the Atlantic coast across the Sahel to the Red Sea. The media call this band the 'coup belt'.
| Country | Date | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Mali | Aug 2020; May 2021 | President Keïta ousted, then the transitional leaders removed; Col. Assimi Goïta took over |
| Chad | Apr 2021 | After Idriss Déby was killed, his son Mahamat Déby led a military council and suspended the constitution |
| Guinea | Sep 2021 | Col. Mamady Doumbouya overthrew Alpha Condé |
| Sudan | Oct 2021 | Gen. al-Burhan dissolved the civilian-military Sovereignty Council and detained PM Hamdok |
| Burkina Faso | Jan and Sep 2022 | Two coups; Capt. Ibrahim Traoré in power |
| Niger | Jul 2023 | President Bazoum removed |
| Gabon | Aug 2023 | Bongo family rule ended |
Common causes: jihadist insurgencies in the Sahel, frustration with governments that seemed unable to stop them, presidents who changed constitutions to stay in power (Condé ran for a third term), and anger at the former colonial power, France.
How the region responded: The African Union's framework on 'unconstitutional changes of government' generally leads to suspension. Mali, Guinea and Sudan were suspended, but Chad was not. ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Niger. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger then formed the Alliance of Sahel States and announced they were leaving ECOWAS.
Link to India: In April 2023, fighting broke out in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. These two forces had carried out the 2021 coup together. India evacuated its citizens under Operation Kaveri (April–May 2023).
In the news
In April 2023, weeks before the exam, Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces, partners in the 2021 coup, went to war, and India launched Operation Kaveri. This came on top of a run of coups from 2020 to 2022 in Mali, Chad, Guinea, Sudan and Burkina Faso.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Sahel: Shows which of the four countries lie in the semi-arid belt along the Sahara's southern edge, and which do not.
- Rare earth elements: Defines the 17 metals that one option refers to.