African Contributions to Global Security
The international security architecture is facing many strains. … Given its strategic location connecting continents and waterways, Africa is at the crossroads of many of these transnational threats. While often a target of these forces of global instability, African actors also play vital roles in strengthening the resiliency of the international security architecture. … African forces have been instrumental in pushing back against attempts by global terrorist networks, such as the Islamic State and al Qaeda, to establish coordination and financing hubs on the continent. … African countries collectively are the largest troop contributors to regional and international peace operations, averaging roughly 70,000 troops annually over the past decade. … Africa anchors global shipping lanes, undersea cables, and chokepoints essential to world commerce and communication. … Often working behind the scenes, African countries and regional bodies have played vital mediating roles in ending conflicts. … African countries are helping strengthen global public health security against future pandemics. … African countries have also played key roles in helping conflict-affected African countries navigate the often complicated and prolonged transition to stability. … Still, more must be done to strengthen African capacity and security partnerships to facilitate the international cooperation needed to combat the increasingly transnational nature of contemporary security threats. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
AU Visit to Sudan Did Not Discuss Lifting Suspension, Sources Say
A visiting African Union delegation did not discuss lifting Sudan’s suspension from the continental bloc during recent closed-door talks with military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, AU sources told Sudan Tribune. On 16 and 17 August, a delegation of the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC), led by Algerian Ambassador Mohamed Khaled, visited the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, where it met with senior Sudanese officials, including Chairman of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Transitional Prime Minister Kamil El-Tayeb Idris. The talks focused instead on implementing resolutions from the latest AU summit amid the war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The AU suspended Sudan in October 2021 after the military seized power and ousted the civilian-led government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok. The suspension was enacted under the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, which requires automatic sanctions and suspension for any member state undergoing a coup or unconstitutional change of government. Sudan Tribune
Sudan’s RSF Shuts Markets and Cuts Internet in West Kordofan City
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ordered the indefinite closure of all public markets and shut down Starlink satellite internet services in the West Kordofan city of Al-Nuhud on Tuesday, a local volunteer group said. The measures coincide with the arrival of RSF military reinforcements from the neighbouring Darfur region as the force prepares to push toward North Kordofan, according to military sources. The Dar Hamar Emergency Room, a local volunteer network providing mutual aid, said the RSF issued an order forcing markets and satellite communications to close from Wednesday until further notice. The shutdown threatens to sever critical lifelines for residents and displaced families who rely on satellite internet for mobile banking, remittances, and communication amid widespread cash shortages and service collapses. Sudan Tribune
Nigeria’s President Orders Manhunt after Kidnappers Upload Victim Video
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has ordered a manhunt for armed kidnappers who launched deadly attacks on four villages in a remote part of Niger state last Friday. Local residents told the BBC several mosques were simultaneously targeted during prayers. A local youth leader says as many as 500 people may have been abducted, though this has not been verified. The president’s orders came after the kidnappers posted a video on social media of what they said were those abducted last week sitting in a forest. The authorities had previously suspected the attackers were bandits – criminal gangs involved in kidnapping and looting for ransom across parts of Nigeria. … The gunmen, reportedly dressed in military-style clothing, attacked the villages of Dekara, Gidan Zana, Sabon Gida and Masaka. Police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun told the BBC that more than 40 people were killed, but the exact number of deaths had not been confirmed. Looking at the footage released on social media, the local youth leader, who asked not to be named, said he recognised several individuals from his community. … The attack is the latest sign of worsening insecurity in the Borgu area, which borders Kebbi and Kwara states as well as neighbouring Benin. Earlier this month, police said 145 people had been rescued after being abducted from four other villages in the area. BBC
Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Uncovers how Terrorist Financiers Use Women’s Bank Accounts, Crowdfunding in Operations
Terrorist financiers are opening bank accounts in women’s names and secretly using them to move illicit funds, according to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). NFIU, in its recently released 2025 Annual Report, stated that the tactic was among the emerging terrorist-financing methods identified in its analysis of financial crime trends for 2025. It said terrorists’ male commanders and logistics managers secretly control accounts opened in the names of wives, sisters and female associates. … “They exploit cultural norms that make women less likely to be suspected by authorities, using wives, sisters, or female associates as fronts to distance illicit funds from the true operatives,” the report stated. … NFIU also said terrorist cells, particularly those linked to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), use detailed transaction narrations as part of their internal financial accounting. It said the groups use precise descriptions for logistics-related payments sent from a single source to multiple recipients. The report said the apparently detailed narrations could create an internal audit trail for the terrorist organisation, even though they appear counterintuitive from a financial-monitoring perspective. Premium Times
Mass Arrests in Global Crackdown on West African Cyber-crime Networks
Fifty-eight people linked to organised West African cyber-crime groups have been arrested in an operation across 22 countries and six continents. Dubbed “Operation Jackal IV”, it was co-ordinated by the global policing agency Interpol, targeting those behind romance and investment scams. It also identified 263 suspects. Interpol said it was a response to the escalating global threat posed by these criminal networks – such as the feared Nigerian Black Axe group – believed to be behind a “significant share” of cyber-enabled financial fraud. The operation also allowed analysis of emerging trends such as how these groups use sextortion to target minors, with victims as young as 14. Operation Jackal IV – which took place between November 2025 and June 2026 – investigated how the groups laundered money and how financial fraud cyber crimes, such as cryptocurrency and email compromise fraud, were conducted. Scams often targeted “retirees in English-speaking countries”, Interpol said. … During the operation, Interpol helped with cross-border co-ordination and intelligence sharing. It also provided support and specialised training for money-laundering investigations with the participating countries. BBC
Somalia’s Supreme Court Annuls Galmudug Election Results
Somalia’s Supreme Court on Monday annulled the results of parliamentary and local council elections in Galmudug and ordered a fresh vote, ruling that serious violations had undermined the legality and integrity of the July 30 polls. Chief Justice Bashe Yusuf Ahmed said the simultaneous elections for the Galmudug House of Representatives and local councils did not comply with Somalia’s constitution and electoral law. … The decision followed complaints from political organisations that contested the July 30 vote, with some alleging irregularities, interference and restrictions on their representatives at polling stations. Election officials had acknowledged problems at some voting centres and investigated reported violations during the counting process. The commission later excluded votes from two polling stations. … President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s Justice and Solidarity Party, or JSP, emerged as the dominant force when the electoral commission announced the results. … The Supreme Court ruling erases those results and requires political organisations that take part in the rerun to return to the electorate. Somalia Today
Son of Uganda’s President Says He Will Stand for Top Job in 2031
Uganda’s military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also the son of the country’s long-ruling President Yoweri Museveni, said he would run for president in 2031. Kainerugaba, 52, has long been touted as a possible successor to his ageing father and is well known for his fiery social media posts including threats to behead the leading opposition leader Bobi Wine. He played a key role in securing his father’s re-election in the last polls in January by ordering a crackdown on opponents and cutting the internet. … Museveni, who heads the ruling National Resistance Movement, has ruled Uganda since 1986 and critics have accused his government of a range of human rights violations including torture, kidnappings and arbitrary detentions. … The country’s main opposition leader, Bobi Wine, fled to the U.S. earlier this year, saying he feared for his life. Another veteran opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, has been in prison since 2024 and is on trial for treason. Reuters
Guinea-Bissau to Vote on New Constitution that Would Expand Presidential Powers
Guinea-Bissau, which is currently led by military officers who staged a coup last year, will hold a constitutional referendum on August 30 that would expand the power of the presidency and reshape rules for elections scheduled for December. Under the current constitution, Guinea-Bissau’s legislature names a prime minister who appoints a cabinet. The new constitution would allow the president to appoint and dismiss the prime minister and cabinet. The president would also be able to create or abolish government ministries, chair the Council of Ministers, dissolve parliament in the event of a grave political crisis and dismiss the government under certain circumstances, according to a copy seen by Reuters. The new constitution would also shrink parliament to 65 seats from 102 and cut the number of electoral constituencies to 12 from 29. The coup last November took place one day before the electoral commission was due to announce the results of a presidential election. The reduction in electoral constituencies could curb the influence of parties with strong local bases said Manuel said Nobre de Barros, a professor at Lusofona University in Guinea Bissau. More broadly, the reforms would alter the balance of power between the president and the legislature, de Barros said. “The changes give the president absolute power under the new constitution, with no political opposition,” he said. Reuters
Liberia’s Ex-vice President Will Await Trial on Drug Trafficking and Other Charges in Prison
Liberia’s former vice president was sent to prison on Tuesday to await trial on drug trafficking and other charges, after a court in the West African country denied her request to be released on humanitarian grounds for medical treatment. Jewel Howard-Taylor’s lawyers asked the court for her to remain at a local hospital in Monrovia to receive treatment for a health emergency. She suffered an asthma attack and her blood pressure was high while in police custody after her arrest, according to local media reports. Alongside three other foreign nationals charged in absentia, the former vice president and wife of former president, Charles Taylor, is facing multiple charges for drug trafficking, money laundering and other offenses as part of an investigation into an alleged transnational narcotics network. Howard-Taylor was vice president from 2018 to 2024. She was arrested on Aug. 19 at Roberts International Airport while she was attempting to leave Liberia. … Last month, Liberian authorities seized and burned around 4.2 metric tons of cocaine with a street value estimated to be about $317 million, also implicating some senior police officials in the trafficking operation, which has been linked to her. AP
Survivors of Guinea’s Deadly Landfill Collapse Say Authorities Ignored Warnings
Two days after a deadly landfill collapse in Guinea, rescuers are using giant excavators to search for victims. Anger is rising among residents, who say they had warned authorities that the rubbish dump was precarious. The landfill collapse occurred in the early hours of Sunday in the Guinean capital Conakry’s Dar es Salam neighbourhood, following heavy rain. At least 31 people were killed, more than 20 injured and several homes were destroyed. … Meanwhile, residents said they had previously tried to alert Guinea’s authorities to the danger. “We young people did everything to prevent this. We organised meetings and invited officials, but they didn’t take the matter seriously”, Abou Hamza, a local resident who serves as a youth community leader, told French news agency AFP at the scene. “The state failed to take steps to close the dump. Yet they had promised us they would a year ago.” … Guinea has been under junta rule following a coup in 2021, led by General Mamadi Doumbouya, who was elected president in December 2025. RFI