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Kountché, Seyni

(Encyclopedia)Kountché, Seyni sānēˈ ko͞onchāˈ [key], 1931–87, president of Niger (1974–87). He was army chief of staff when he ousted Hamani Diori, Niger's first president, in a military coup. He suspend...

Ibn Batuta

(Encyclopedia)Ibn Batuta ĭˈbən bäto͞oˈtä [key], 1304?–1378?, Muslim traveler, b. Tangier. No other medieval traveler is known to have journeyed so extensively. In 30 years (from c.1325) he made a series of...

Gaborone

(Encyclopedia)Gaborone gäbərōˈnē [key], city (1992 est. pop. 140,000), capital of Botswana. It is located on the country's major railroad line and has a small international airport. The city is the country's a...

Boko Haram

(Encyclopedia)Boko Haram [Western education is sinful], Nigerian Islamic fundamentalist militia, officially Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati Wal-Jihad [people committed to the propagation of the Prophet's teaching...

Burkina Faso

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Burkina Faso burkēˈnə fäˈsō [key], republic (2020 est. pop. 20,900,000), 105,869 sq mi (274,200 sq ...

Mali

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Mali mäˈlē [key], officially Republic of Mali, independent republic (2015 est. pop. 17,468,000), 478,764 sq mi (1,240,000 sq km), the largest country in W Africa. Mali is bordered on the nor...

Nigeria

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Nigeria nījĭrˈēə [key], officially Federal Republic of Nigeria, republic (2015 est. pop. 181,182,000), 356,667 sq mi (923,768 sq km), W Africa. It borders on the Gulf of Guinea (an arm of ...

Maradi

(Encyclopedia)Maradi märädēˈ [key], town (1988 pop. 112,965), S Niger, near the border with Nigeria. It is the administrative and commercial center for an agricultural region that specializes in peanut growing ...

Du Chaillu, Paul Belloni

(Encyclopedia)Du Chaillu, Paul Belloni pōl bĕlōnēˈ dü shāyüˈ [key], c.1831–1903, French-American explorer in Africa. Born probably in Paris, he spent his youth on the west coast of Africa, where his fath...

Mauritania

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Mauritania môrĭtāˈnēə [key], officially Islamic Republic of Mauritania, republic (2015 est. pop. 4,182,000), 397,953 sq mi (1,030,700 sq km), NW Africa. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean i...