Benin: Rebuilding Democratic Norms Has Far Reaching Regional Implications
The 2026 presidential election in this coastal West African country of 14.5 million people holds significance not only for its democratic trajectory but also for its governance and security implications for all of West Africa. President Patrice Talon is stepping down following the completion of his second, and constitutionally limited, term. This is significant given the growing propensity for African incumbents to extend their tenures in office. … Nonetheless, the election will be a further test of Benin’s democratic resiliency. During his tenure, Benin’s most wealthy man turned politician has systematically restricted political participation in this country that had championed West Africa’s shift toward democracy in the early 1990s. … The Constitutional Court has approved only two candidates to contest the April presidential election. Romuald Wadagni will be representing the ruling coalition of the Bloc républicain (BR) and the Union progressiste le renouveau (UPR). The 49-year-old former Minister of Economy and Finance has been a leading actor in the Talon administration. … Paul Hounkpè, who leads the Forces cauris pour un Bénin émergent (FCBE) party, is slated to be the sole opposition candidate. Hounkpè was the Minister of Culture under former President Boni Yayi. … The stakes of Benin’s 2026 election were soberly punctuated by an attempted coup by a group of mid-level military officers led by Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri on December 7, 2025. … Another threat emanating from Benin’s Sahelian neighbors is the spillover of militant Islamist groups into northern Benin in recent years. There have been an estimated 375 fatalities linked to these groups in northern Benin over the past year. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Jihadists Kill Nigerian Troops Including Senior Brigadier General
Jihadists in northeast Nigeria killed several troops including a brigadier general in an assault on a military base, local government and intelligence sources told AFP on Thursday, the second killing of a high-ranking officer in five months. Violence is surging across the country’s mostly Muslim north, with at least 90 people killed by gunmen in several remote villages since Sunday night, according to an AFP tally of tolls given by local, humanitarian and church sources. Africa’s most populous country has been fighting a jihadist insurgency for 17 years, since Boko Haram’s 2009 uprising, which has seen the emergence of powerful splinter groups including Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). … Unidentified jihadists overran the military base, killed 18 soldiers and torched vehicles in Benisheikh, about 75 kilometres (47 miles) from Borno state capital Maiduguri, an intelligence source told AFP. “Unfortunately, the brigade commander, Brigadier General O.O. Braimah, lost his life,” Kaga local government chairman, Zannah Lawan Ajimi told AFP on the phone. Two intelligence sources confirmed Braimah’s death to AFP. AFP
Sudan Refugees Pushed to Breaking Point as Livelihoods Collapse across Region, Report
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) revealed on Thursday that the majority of Sudanese families have been forced to skip meals due to acute food insecurity and a near-total collapse of income sources across Sudan and neighbouring countries. A survey conducted by the NRC in March, covering 472 households in Sudan and over 1,500 refugee households in Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, and Libya, highlights a catastrophic decline in coping mechanisms. The report, titled “Exhausted: Three years of displacement and the collapse of survival systems in Sudan and the region,” indicates that the crisis has moved far beyond immediate conflict zones. According to the findings, more than 90% of households in South Sudan, 80% in Sudan, 75% in Egypt, and 70% in Chad are currently cutting down or skipping meals. This hunger crisis is driven by a massive loss of income, with 74% of surveyed families across Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad reporting no income at all. Sudan Tribune
Sudan: Drone Strike Kills over 40 at Wedding in North Darfur’s Kutum
More than 40 people, including members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), were killed Wednesday evening in a drone strike on a social gathering in Kutum, North Darfur. Kutum has been under RSF control since the early months of the conflict that began in April 2023. The town has faced repeated drone strikes, suspected to be carried out by the Sudanese army, targeting RSF positions, the local rural hospital, and the main market. Local sources told Sudan Tribune that at least 40 people died and over 100 were injured when a drone hit a home during a wedding ceremony in the Al-Salam neighbourhood. The strike reportedly destroyed dozens of houses, leaving many families displaced. … The bombing in Kutum coincided with rising internal tensions within the RSF. Military sources reported that the RSF leadership in North Darfur moved to disarm a prominent local field commander in Kutum over suspicions regarding his loyalty to Mahameed tribal leader Musa Hilal. Sudan Tribune
South Sudan: AU Envoy Kikwete Pushes for AU C5 Resolutions
Former Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete held talks with South Sudanese stakeholders on Wednesday during a three-day visit aimed at advancing implementation of African Union C5 resolutions, participants and officials said. … He was appointed on March 24, 2026, by the African Union chairperson as High Representative for the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, with a special mandate on South Sudan. His visit falls under a mandate from the African Union’s Ad Hoc High Level Committee on South Sudan, known as the C5, which is tasked with supporting implementation of the 2018 peace agreement. On his first day in Juba, Kikwete met cabinet ministers, officials from the ruling SPLM party, civil society representatives, faith based groups and academics. Multiple sources who took part in the meetings said discussions focused on implementing C5 resolutions, including a roadmap for general elections, the release of detainees, particularly suspended First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, inclusive dialogue and a ceasefire. … In addition to meeting SPLM officials, Kikwete held talks with South Sudanese civil society organisations on Wednesday, which submitted a position paper outlining proposals to accelerate implementation of the peace process ahead of planned elections in December 2026. Radio Tamazuj
Somalia: President Seeks to Consolidate Control in Southwest amid Leadership Contest
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has concluded a multi-day mission to Baidoa to consolidate his political allies and oversee a volatile transition following the federal government’s military takeover of the South West State capital. The president’s arrival followed the March 29 resignation of regional leader Abdiasis Laftagareen, who fled to Kenya after heavily armed Somali National Army (SNA) troops and allied clan militias seized control of the city. The intervention has triggered an intense succession race among Mohamud’s inner circle. Contenders for the regional presidency include federal parliamentary speaker Adan Mohamed Nur, Minister of Ports Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, and Minister of Livestock Hassan Elay. Analysts say the outcome will likely hinge on the president’s personal endorsement as he seeks to tighten federal control over the semi-autonomous region. To formalize the transition, the National Electoral Commission has scheduled parliamentary and district council elections for April 28. Garowe Online
Somalia’s First Offshore Drilling Project Underway
Somalia prepared its first offshore drilling operation, which it hopes will unlock a major new income stream and make Somalia a regional energy player. A Turkish drilling ship is in the Arabian sea as part of an energy cooperation deal signed by Ankara and Mogadishu in 2024. Somalia joins other African nations seeking to increase oil exports — Nigeria’s Dangote refinery boosted its output this week, and other countries are stepping up refinement — which should reduce risks of future regional energy crunches. Semafor
Chakwera Finally Begins Tanzania Post-election Scrutiny
Former Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera arrived in Tanzania on Wednesday evening to assess the country’s political landscape for the Commonwealth, following a violent general election in October 2025. His visit comes nearly five months after his appointment as Special Envoy by Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, tasked with mediating the crisis triggered by the disputed vote. An unspecified number of civilians were killed by state security forces during the election, which was also marked by a prolonged nationwide internet shutdown. Chakwera had been scheduled to visit from November 18 to 21, shortly after the October 29 election, but the trip was postponed indefinitely for unspecified reasons. As of Thursday, no official itinerary had been released, and the duration of his stay remained unclear. … After initially resisting Commonwealth mediation, the Samia administration last month authorised Chakwera’s visit and agreed to grant him access to key stakeholders, including ruling party officials, opposition groups and civil society. The East African
Kenya Approves Defence Pact with France, as Paris Shifts Focus from West Africa
Kenya’s National Assembly has ratified a bilateral defence agreement with France, underlining Paris’s strategic shift away from its traditional West African sphere of influence towards anglophone Africa. Signed in October 2025, the accord establishes a five-year framework – renewable once automatically. The agreement will “enhance Kenya’s defence capacity through access to French training, technology, and expertise” in areas including maritime security, intelligence sharing, peacekeeping and disaster relief, according to a memorandum presented to the country’s National Assembly on Thursday. … On 15 March, around 800 French soldiers arrived in the port of Mombasa for joint training and security cooperation exercises under the agreement. For France, the deal represents part of a broader diplomatic shift towards anglophone Africa – driven in part by the country’s diminishing influence across its traditional sphere of interest in West Africa. Kenya is regarded as a strategically significant partner, sitting at the gateway to the Horn of Africa and bordered by the Indian Ocean. RFI
Ghana Hands Major Gold Mine to Local Operator
Ghana handed control of a gold mine to Engineers & Planners, the company owned by the brother of President John Dramani Mahama, placing a major industrial asset in domestic hands for the first time in the country’s modern mining industry. The handover marks the end of Gold Fields’ long tenure at Damang, a mine the South African company had operated since the 1990s, and adds Damang to Ibrahim Mahama’s growing portfolio across mining and construction. The decision came after Ghana refused Gold Fields’ lease-renewal bid, breaking with the tradition of automatic renewals. The decision tests Ghana’s broader strategy to capture more value from its natural resources. Officials have been explicit that the tender was restricted to wholly Ghanaian-owned firms. The role of Mahama’s brother in mining deals has been controversial, and the president has repeatedly denied accusations of cronyism. Semafor
Pope’s Africa Trip Takes Him to a Source of Growth for the Church, and Critical Challenges
Pope Leo’s two-day stay kicks off an ambitious odyssey across four African countries — Algeria, Angola, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. … The 70-year-old Leo will cover more than 17,700 kilometers on 18 flights over 11 days starting Monday and will deliver speeches and homilies in French, Spanish, Portuguese and English. He’s prioritizing a part of the world that is crucial for the continued growth of the Catholic Church, but poses unique challenges as well. With such a variety of cultures and histories, the themes he’ll raise run the gamut, including migration and the exploitation of natural and human resources in a region that produces much of the world’s oil, but where significant proportions of the population live in poverty. The Vatican says Leo will also speak about corruption in oftentimes authoritarian regimes and the role of political leaders in countries where two of the presidents have been in power for decades. … Some of the countries Leo will visit, all former European colonies, are among the world’s biggest producers of oil and minerals, including gold, diamonds and iron, the extraction of which has transformed their economies in recent years. But Leo is expected to highlight negative effects of exploitation of Africa’s natural and human resources that have benefitted only a few while harming the environment. AP
Mali Backs Morocco’s Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara, Mali Foreign Minister Says
Mali supports Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara, Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said on Friday, becoming the latest African country to endorse Rabat’s plan to end the 50-year conflict with the Algeria-backed Polisario Front. Morocco’s autonomy proposal would establish a local legislative, executive and judicial authority for Western Sahara elected by its residents, while Rabat would retain jurisdiction over defence, foreign affairs and religious matters. The Polisario instead wants to hold a referendum with independence as an option. Reuters