Building Trust to Buttress Senegal Against the Growing Threat of Violent Extremism
The deterioration of security in western Mali has prompted Dakar to elevate eastern Senegal to a top security priority. In response, the Senegalese government has expanded its military footprint in the region, including establishing one of the country’s largest military bases in Goudiry. … The growing security pressures are compounded by the displacement of an estimated 20,000 people from the Sahel into eastern Senegal, placing additional strain on already vulnerable border communities. Eastern Senegal is also shaped by longstanding cross-border organized criminal activity. … The challenge Senegal now faces is how to prevent these overlapping pressures—militant proximity, criminal networks, and social strain—from hardening into an entrenched security threat. … Senegal’s experience in Casamance offers instructive lessons for how trust-based engagement between communities and security forces can help contain emerging risks. … The experience of defense and security forces in the Casamance underscores that preventive security depends as much on relationships with communities as on force deployments. … As violent extremist groups and criminal networks exert increasing pressure on border communities in eastern Senegal, security actors will need to adapt by strengthening preventive mechanisms and building sustained ties with vulnerable populations in these borderlands. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
UAE-Backed Colombian Mercenaries Provided Support to Sudan Paramilitary, Report Says
A network of Colombian mercenaries backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) provided critical support to Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) enabling it to capture the western city of el-Fasher last year, a new report says. The investigation, by security analysis organisation the Conflict Insights Group (CIG), used data obtained from tracking the mobile phones of the Colombian fighters. … The report “shows mercenaries involved with drones travelling from a UAE base to Sudan before the RSF takeover of el-Fasher”, he says. … The CIG says it used commercially available technology designed to make advertising more personal to track more than 50 mobile phones in Sudan between April 2025 and January this year whose operators were Colombian mercenaries, including at RSF-held areas from which drones were fired. It also used flight-tracking data, satellite imagery, social media videos, news and academic articles to support its analysis. The report says its data details a pipeline that showed the mercenaries present at various regional staging grounds, most significantly a UAE military training facility in Ghayathi in Abu Dhabi. BBC
Pakistan Delivers Weapons to Libya’s Haftar as Part of Saudi-Financed Deal, Sources Say
Pakistan has delivered some weapons to Libya’s eastern government led by military ruler Khalifa Haftar, as part of a deal financed by Saudi Arabia, western and Arab officials familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye. … Reuters first reported that Haftar’s eastern-based government had sealed a $4bn arms deal with Pakistan – the country’s largest – following a trip in December to Benghazi by Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir. The delivery of Pakistani arms to Libya has not been previously reported, but comes against the backdrop of rising skepticism about the fate of other Pakistani arms deals in Africa. Reuters reported on Monday that a Pakistani arms deal with Sudan’s government collapsed after Saudi Arabia pulled its pledge to finance the purchase. The Arab and western sources who spoke with MEE said that Saudi Arabia facilitated the March shipments of arms from Pakistan on behalf of Haftar’s military. Middle East Eye
US Military in Libya: Pursuing Unity and Pressuring Russia
[Last] week, Flintlock 2026, a US-led special operations exercise with 30 nations participating, kicked off in Sirte. The Flintlock event has been held around the continent since 2005, with European and African countries participating. But this year, for the very first time, Libyan forces from both sides of the country are taking part in the exercises and Libya is hosting parts of the exercise. … Having soldiers from the two sides train together, wearing the same uniform during Flintlock 2026, is considered a major achievement. … Western intelligence agencies are highly concerned about activities by terrorist groups in the region. They seem to be expanding quickly in Africa, especially in the Sahel, kidnapping civilians and conducting major attacks against militaries and civilians alike. From the US perspective, stabilizing Libya is also about preventing [terrorist] threats from potentially going global, one official explains. However this exercise is also about economic opportunities. The goal is to factor in “where the security and economic interests of the US overlap,” according to a US defense official DW spoke with. DW
Somalia: Intelligence Raid Hits Al-Shabaab Gathering, 33 Killed
Somalia’s national intelligence agency said Wednesday that a string of coordinated operations supported by international partners killed at least 33 Al-Shabaab fighters in the country’s central Middle Shabelle region. The National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said the “planned operations” targeted the village of Guulane, where militants had reportedly gathered to coordinate a fresh wave of attacks. … Intelligence officials claimed they had received credible information that nearly 90 fighters had assembled in Guulane before the intervention. The Somali government, which has been engaged in a “total war” against the Islamist group since 2022, frequently conducts such operations alongside foreign allies—typically involving US drone strikes or Turkish air support—to blunt Al-Shabaab’s ability to strike the capital, Mogadishu. NISA accompanied its report with a fresh appeal to the public, urging citizens to use designated hotlines to report movements of both Al-Shabaab and the smaller Islamic State (ISIS) presence in the country. Garowe Online
Nigeria Charges 6 With Treason Over Alleged Coup Plot
Nigerian authorities have charged six people, including a retired major general and a serving police inspector, with terrorism and treason, over an alleged plot to overthrow President Bola Tinubu, according to a charge sheet seen by The Associated Press on Tuesday. The six were all in custody. A seventh suspect, former Bayelsa state Gov. Timpre Sylva, is accused of helping to conceal the plot and is still at large. In the 13-count charge sheet, authorities said suspects “conspired with one another to levy war against the state to overawe the president of the Federal Republic.” … The alleged coup plot comes on the heels of a surge in coups and attempted coups in West and Central Africa, the latest in Benin and Guinea-Bissau late last year. The military takeovers, experts say, follow a pattern of disputed elections, constitutional upheaval, security crises and youth discontent. AP
Nigerian Air Force Deepens Combat Medical Response Through U.S.-Based Aeromedical Training
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has commenced specialised aeromedical evacuation training for its Nursing Officers at the United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine in Dayton, Ohio, in a strategic move aimed at strengthening medical response capacity in counter-terrorism operations. The training, facilitated through the Office of Security Cooperation at the United States Embassy in Abuja, is designed to improve rapid casualty evacuation and in-flight medical care, both of which are critical to sustaining operational effectiveness in active theatres. According to the NAF, the programme provides mission-focused competencies in modern aeromedical evacuation operations. … So far, two officers have completed the programme and returned to Nigeria, while additional personnel are scheduled to undergo training later in the year. Upon completion, they are expected to be deployed to operational units where their expertise will directly enhance aeromedical evacuation missions and improve force health protection in combat environments. PR Nigeria
Activist Kemi Seba Faces Extradition Battle After Arrest in South Africa
Kemi Seba, a controversial figure known for his anti-Western stance, has been arrested in South Africa, and authorities in Benin are now preparing an extradition request. Prosecutors accuse him of inciting rebellion after he publicly supported a failed coup attempt in December. Seba appeared briefly in a Pretoria court, where he will remain in custody until a bail hearing scheduled for 29 April. Officials say investigations are ongoing into his travel documents, residency status, and alleged financial activities. The case has taken several twists. While an initial claim suggested Seba had applied for political asylum, his adviser later denied that any such request had been filed. Authorities allege Seba was planning to leave South Africa with his son, with assistance from a local contact, when he was arrested in a police operation. A vocal critic of France’s influence in Africa, Seba has built a large following online, while also drawing accusations of promoting foreign agendas. Africanews
Tigrayans Face “Dehumanizing Restrictions” in Western Tigray as Abuses Persist, Return Remains Unsafe Despite Truce: HRW
Authorities and security forces in Ethiopia’s Western Tigray zone, currently under the control, are arbitrarily detaining Tigrayans and imposing a discriminatory system restricting movement, employment, and access to services nearly four years after the end of the two-year brutal war, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a new report. The rights group said the abuses have forced additional displacement and continue to undermine prospects for safe return of hundreds of thousands of people expelled during the 2020–2022 conflict in northern Ethiopia. Western Tigray, currently under the control of federal and Amhara region-affiliated forces, was designated in a 2023 report by the United States Department of State as the site of ethnic cleansing, including crimes against humanity involving deportation and forcible transfer, carried out against Tigrayans. Addis Standard
Taiwan President Postpones Eswatini Visit and Says China Pressured African Countries
Taiwan’s president postponed a visit to Africa this week when three countries withdrew permission for him to fly over their territories after pressure from China, his office said Tuesday. President Lai Ching-te was set to visit Eswatini, Taiwan’s sole remaining diplomatic ally in Africa, from April 22-26. But flight permits were canceled in island nations along the route, Secretary-General to the president, Pan Meng-an, told journalists in Taipei. “The cancellation of flight permits by Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar without prior warning was actually due to strong pressure from the Chinese authorities, including economic coercion,” Pan said. … China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Wednesday that it wanted to express its “high appreciation” for the actions, saying the “relevant countries’ adherence to the one-China principle is in full compliance with international law,” in reference to Beijing’s claims over Taiwan. AP
Mozambique: Regional Drug Routes Shift as Domestic Impact Grows, Authorities Say
Mozambique is being pulled deeper into evolving regional drug trafficking routes, as new data reveals that the country is no longer just a transit corridor but an increasingly affected domestic market, with rising consumption and organized networks placing mounting pressure on public health, security and social stability. The latest government report, presented to the media on Wednesday in Maputo, shows a sharp escalation in both trafficking activity and its internal consequences, underscoring a dangerous shift in the country’s role within global drug flows. Long considered a transit point for narcotics moving between continents, Mozambique is now absorbing part of that flow, with visible and growing impact across communities. According to the report, the Mozambican authorities seized more than 4.4 tonnes of illicit drugs in 2025 alone, including significant volumes of cocaine and cannabis, in operations that also led to the detention of over 600 individuals and the opening of hundreds of criminal cases. Mozambique Times
Mauritania Lawmakers Are Charged with Insulting President Over Racial Bias Claims
Two female opposition lawmakers in Mauritania have been charged with insulting the president after accusing him of adopting a discriminatory attitude towards Black people and descendants of slaves in the West African nation. The lawmakers also were charged Monday with inciting violence, attacking the symbols of the state and calling for gatherings with a view to undermining public security via social networks, according to the prosecutor. Slavery remains a sensitive topic in Mauritania years after it was formally abolished. Marieme Cheikh Dieng and Ghamou Achour had posted messages on social media critical of President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani. They were detained over 10 days ago. Biram Dah Abeid, leader of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement coalition group, accused the government of a witch hunt against elected officials who descended from former slaves. … The prosecutor has asserted that the two lawmakers have forfeited their parliamentary immunity because the charges are so serious. The lawmakers’ lawyers reject the argument, calling it a means to settle scores. AP