Africa’s 2024 Security Trends in 10 Graphics
Africa’s persisting conflicts are compounding crises of governance on the continent, straining already fragile regions and opening the door to foreign exploitation through proxy forces, resource trafficking, and information manipulation. A graphical snapshot of Africa’s security trends in 2024 illustrates the compounding effects of unresolved conflict, violent extremist insurgencies, external authoritarian actors vying for influence, and natural disasters. Collectively, these trends highlight the escalating strains on the coping capacities of affected countries and regions—and the resulting widening gap between areas of stability and instability. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Sudan Clashes Intensify amid Mounting Civilian Toll
Sudan’s civil war shows no signs of abating, with intense fighting reported across multiple fronts over the past 72 hours. Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) warplanes carried out airstrikes targeting paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) positions in scattered areas, while the RSF launched drone attacks and ground offensives against SAF strongholds…El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, remains a flashpoint. SAF forces reported destroying 13 RSF combat vehicles and killing dozens of fighters during artillery strikes and air raids, on Sunday. An RSF infiltration attempt on the city’s southeastern outskirts was repelled after prolonged skirmishes. Dabanga
Somalia: Pirates Demand $10 Million in Ransom after Hijacking Chinese-owned Fishing Vessel with 18 Captives
The pirates who hijacked a Chinese-owned fishing vessel with 18 crew off the northeastern coast of Somalia last month are demanding $10 million in ransom, according to a Somali official. The hijackers also shared photos on social media of their captives surrounded by armed men on the ship’s deck. The vessel was hijacked in late November and taken to Xaafuun district in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, where it is being held along with the captives. The ship’s security guards later joined forces with the armed men from the coastal region. A Somali government official said the vessel was issued with a fishing license by Puntland in 2020, but the license had expired…The hijacking underscores the persistent challenges of maritime security in Somalia’s waters. AP
Somalia: The City where Shopkeepers Fear Their CCTV Cameras Could Get Them Killed
Shop owners in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, are caught between a rock and a hard place over a government directive that they install CCTV cameras outside their businesses to intensify surveillance of Islamist insurgents who have a strong presence in the city. The businessmen say if they put up the cameras they risk being gunned down by the al-Shabab insurgents, and if they do not, they could be arrested by the police…The government issued a directive last year to shopkeepers to install CCTV cameras – at their own cost – to deter attacks by al-Shabab…The government has now ordered residents to install the cameras outside homes and apartment blocks, raising fears among many people that al-Shabab could bring its war into their homes. Since October, al-Shabab has killed four businessmen in 10 attacks related to the installation of CCTV cameras, according to a leading violence monitoring group, Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (Acled). BBC
Nigeria: Security Operatives behind Attacks against Journalists in 2024
An annual state of media freedom report found that security agencies, including the police, military, and intelligence services, were responsible for the highest number of attacks against journalists in 2024. The 137-page report was released on Tuesday by the Media Right Agenda (MRA), Idowu Adewale, the communication officer, said in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES. MRA is a non-profit organisation based in Lagos, Nigeria, working on freedom of expression, media freedom, information access, media development, and internet freedom and governance. The report titled: “Media Freedom Under Threat: The State of Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety in Nigeria 2024” noted that 45 out of the total number of 69 attacks against journalists were carried out by law enforcement and security agencies between 1 January and 31 October. This represents approximately 65 per cent…In addition to law enforcement and security forces, the report also identified other groups responsible for attacks on journalists. These include government officials (four attacks), the court system (two rights violations), thugs or criminals (seven attacks), four unidentified armed individuals, and six other unidentified individuals. Premium Times
Ghana President-elect Mahama Names Anti-corruption Team
Ghana’s President-elect John Dramani Mahama has named an anti-corruption team to gather information on suspected graft, his transition team said in a statement on Wednesday…An anti-graft team has been set up in preparation. Its chair, MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah, is the chairman of the parliament’s Committee on Assurances who has previously flagged suspected state corruption. The other three members include a former auditor-general, a private legal practitioner, an investigative journalist and an ex-police officer known for handling high-profile robbery cases. The former auditor-general, Daniel Dumelovo, was removed from his role after investigating suspected financial infractions that occurred under the outgoing government. Opposing corruption and recovering lost assets were among Mahama’s key campaign promises. Reuters
Detained French-Algerian Writer Boualem Sansal Hospitalized Again
French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal, imprisoned by Algerian authorities on national security charges, was again hospitalized on Monday, December 16, according to his French editor, raising fears about the 75-year-old’s health in detention. Sansal, a major figure in modern francophone literature, was arrested on November 16 at the Algiers airport at a time of growing tensions between France and its former colony…A relative latecomer to writing, Sansal turned to novels in 1999 and has tackled subjects including the horrific 1990s civil war in Algeria between authorities and Islamists. His books are not banned in Algeria but he is a controversial figure, particularly since making a visit to Israel in 2014. Sansal’s criticism of Islamism has not been confined to Algeria – he has also warned of a creeping Islamisation in France, a stance that has made him a favored author of prominent figures on the right and far right. Le Monde with AFP
Iran’s President to Make Rare Visit to Egypt for D-8 Summit
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will take part in a summit of big Muslim countries in Egypt on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, the first visit by an Iranian president to Egypt in more than a decade. Egypt is hosting the summit of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, which also includes Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. Relations between Egypt and Iran have generally been fraught in recent decades but the two countries have stepped up high-level diplomatic contacts since the eruption of the Gaza crisis last year as Egypt tried to play a mediating role. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi travelled to Egypt in October to discuss regional issues with Egyptian officials, while his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty travelled to Tehran earlier in July to attend Pezeshkian’s inauguration…The D-8 was established in 1997 to improve cooperation between countries stretching from Southeast Asia to Africa. Reuters
Starmer Deal over Chagos Islands in Turmoil after Mauritius Reopens Talks
Britain had sought to secure an important US military base on the atoll of Diego Garcia by giving up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in the draft deal…Now Mauritius’s new premier Navin Ramgoolam has said the proposed agreement, which has not been ratified by treaty, “would not produce the benefits that the nation could expect” and that negotiations had restarted…Ramgoolam did not specify what Mauritius wants to renegotiate. People familiar with the government’s thinking told the Financial Times last month that there were concerns about the 99-year length of a lease the UK would acquire over the Diego Garcia base after the handover to Mauritius. Ramgoolam’s push to renegotiate the Chagos deal is part of his sweeping rejection of the hallmark policies of Jugnauth, a longtime personal rival, since the November election. The two men represent political dynasties that have feuded ever since Mauritian independence in 1968. Financial Times
Congo’s Health Ministry Says Unknown Disease Is Severe Malaria
Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry said on Tuesday that a previously unidentified disease circulating in the country’s Panzi health zone is a severe form of malaria. Earlier this month, local authorities said the disease had killed 143 people in the southwestern Kwango province in November. “The mystery has finally been solved. It’s a case of severe malaria in the form of a respiratory illness… and weakened by malnutrition,” the health ministry said in a statement. It also said that 592 cases had been reported since October with a fatality rate of 6.2%. Reuters
Tiny Coffins: Measles Is Killing Thousands of Children in Congo
Measles is sweeping through the children of Bikoro [in the northwest Democratic Republic of Congo], as it does every couple of years, creeping, then flaring, across this vast country…There were more than 311,000 reported cases of measles in Congo last year. Some 6,000 of them ended…with a child buried in a small coffin days after first running a fever and breaking out in a red rash. This year, cases have been fewer — about 97,000 — but the virus has become more lethal, killing more than 2,100. It’s not clear why…Stopping the disease requires vaccination coverage above 95 percent, far higher than Congo has achieved…UNICEF and the W.H.O. estimate Congo’s measles vaccine coverage rate at 52 percent. The New York Times
Kenya: Ruto Asks Central Government to Transfer Functions to Counties
During a meeting with Kenyan governors, President William Ruto ordered the transfer of all pending budgets and functions that are still being held by the national government to counties…Under the 2010 Constitution, Kenya has two levels of governments; the national government led by the President from the capital Nairobi and County governments led by the Governors. Kenya has 47 county governments, each with its own parliament comprising members of county assemblies (MCAs) who legislate and debate regional laws as well as ministers appointed by governors…Both county assemblies and county executives/ministers enjoy autonomous powers from the national government to decide the development projects in the regions of their jurisdiction. The central and county governments are required by law to cordially cooperate for the purpose of exchanging information and consulting on policies and administrative matters. The Africa Report
Parliament Approves Banking Proclamation, Allowing Foreign Banks to Enter Ethiopia’s Financial Sector
After years of anticipation, lawmakers have approved the long-awaited banking business proclamation, paving the way for foreign banks to enter Ethiopia’s financial sector. The proclamation allows foreign banks to enter the Ethiopian market by establishing subsidiaries, opening branches or representative offices, or acquiring shares in existing local banks. However, it sets a limit on foreign strategic investors, capping their ownership at 40% in any local bank, while allowing an additional 7% to 10% stake for non-strategic foreign national investors…In June 2023, the government announced its intention to issue up to five banking licenses to foreign investors over a five-year period as part of a strategy to open the financial services sector to foreign competition. Addis Standard