Ten African Security Trends from 2025 in Graphics
A look back at 2025 in graphics reveals an African security landscape reshaped by growing external interventions, militaries emboldened to seize and consolidate power, and the proliferation of drones that expands the reach and lethality of armed combatants. The confluence of urbanization, demographic pressures, and the increasing regionalization of conflicts is further straining Africa’s already fragile security environment. Despite these challenges, African countries have made noteworthy progress over the past year in building out their communications, road, rail, and space infrastructure to expand economic productivity and opportunities for the continent’s 1.5 billion, mostly youthful, citizens. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
M23 Says Started Withdrawing Troops from Key DR Congo City
The M23 armed group on Wednesday began withdrawing troops from the city of Uvira in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to group representatives and local sources. After seizing the major cities of Goma and Bukavu earlier this year, the Rwanda-backed militia captured the strategic city near the border with Burundi last Wednesday. … Capturing Uvira — a city of several hundred thousand people — allowed it to control the land border with Burundi and cut the DRC off from military support from its neighbour. … On Tuesday, the M23 said it would “unilaterally” withdraw its forces from the key city at the request of the United States. Local sources and civil society officials told AFP that M23 troops had started pulling out of the city, heading north, in the opposite direction of the offensive launched in early December. … But Kinshasa has dismissed the group’s withdrawal claims as a “distraction”, calling for Rwandan troops to leave Congolese territory. AFP
Guinea Extends Opposition Party Suspension Ahead of Presidential Vote
Guinea has renewed its suspension of one of the country’s main opposition parties less than two weeks before its presidential vote, which junta leader General Mamady Doumbouya is expected to win. Doumbouya has ruled the west African nation with an iron fist since seizing power in 2021 and despite his initial promise to hand leadership back to civilians, he backtracked and is running for office in the December 28 poll. At the end of August, Guinean authorities suspended the opposition Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) and several other parties for 90 days. UFDG’s exiled head, Cellou Dalein Diallo, is additionally disqualified from running in the election under a new constitution adopted in September, which requires presidential candidates to have their primary residence in the country. … The country’s opposition has called for a boycott of the election, in which voters will choose between nine candidates, including Doumbouya, who is running as an independent. … Doumbouya’s military-run government has banned all demonstrations since 2022, and has arrested, prosecuted or pushed into exile several opposition leaders. Meanwhile reports of enforced disappearances and kidnappings have increased in recent years. AFP
Sudan Witnesses Burial of 15,000 Bodies across Khartoum State
Since April 2024, Sudan’s Forensic Medicine Authority has overseen the collection, transportation and burial of 15,000 bodies from neighbourhoods and schools across Khartoum state. Having been swiftly buried by civilians – often under duress – or dumped in mass graves by fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the bodies have now been laid to rest in official cemeteries. [An official source at Khartoum state’s health ministry] said the RSF, which has been at war with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023 and which controlled much of the capital city and its surrounding areas from the beginning of the war until March 2025, had forced civilians to bury their dead in neighbourhoods and schools. Residents of Khartoum and its twin cities, Omdurman and Bahri, have told Middle East Eye that getting safely to cemeteries was impossible while fighting was raging in the capital. The campaign to collect bodies in Khartoum, which has also involved charities including the Red Crescent, began in March 2024. Middle East Eye
Nigeria Insecurity: Governors Vow to Strengthen Inter-agency Coordination during Festive Period
The thirty-six state governors under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) have pledged to strengthen interagency coordination, protect critical infrastructure, and maintain a visible security presence in identified hotspots to ensure a safe, incident-free festive period across the country. Rising from the 8th Meeting in Abuja from Wednesday to early Thursday, the Governors in a Communique signed by Chairman and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and the State Executives disclosed that they received a letter from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) calling for heightened security preparedness across all states during the 2025 festive season due to increased population movements, large public gatherings, and heightened public safety risks. Vanguard
Burkina Faso Releases Nigerian Air Force Crew Detained after Emergency Landing
Burkina Faso on Wednesday released 11 personnel of the Nigerian Air Force who were detained Dec. 8 after their aircraft made an emergency landing, Nigeria’s foreign minister said. “Through sustained dialogue, we also resolved the matter concerning Nigerian Air Force pilots and crew, reaffirming the effectiveness of diplomacy in addressing sensitive issues,” Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar said Thursday in a statement on X. Burkina Faso’s military regime led by Ibrahim Traoré released the personnel after meetings with a Nigerian delegation led by Tuggar, the statement added. … Nigeria and Burkina Faso agreed to hold regular consultations and pursue steps to deepen bilateral cooperation and regional integration, [a spokesperson for Tuggar] said. The Nigerian Air Force said last week that the aircraft was headed to Portugal for scheduled maintenance when it made the emergency landing in western Burkina Faso. … The emergency landing occurred at a time of fractured relations between the Alliance of Sahel States and Nigeria. AP
China Increases Its Interests in Somalia amid Rising Illegal Fishing Concerns
China has been accused of engaging in extensive illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing off the coast of Somalia, exacerbating depletion of key marine resources while Beijing simultaneously expands its commercial, military and geopolitical footprint in the Horn of Africa, analysts and local reports say. Chinese distant‑water fishing fleets, particularly vessels linked to the Liao Dong Yu fleet, have been operating in Somali waters, often beyond legal limits and using destructive fishing practices that put pressure on valuable species such as yellowfin tuna. … Experts warn that without stronger enforcement, stocks could collapse in the coming years. … Beijing’s expanding interests in Somalia go beyond fisheries. China has been deepening trade ties and infrastructure engagement across Africa, and maintains a strategic naval presence in the region, using its base in Djibouti to project influence and counter rivals such as Taiwan. Garowe Online
Opaque Crypto Schemes Endanger Central African Republic State Assets, Report Says
Central African Republic has embraced opaque cryptocurrency schemes that raise the risk of state assets being captured by foreign criminal organizations, according to a report published on Wednesday as the country gears up for an election. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra is seeking a third term in office when the country, which has seen decades of coups, rebellions and unrest, goes to the polls on December 28. He has emerged as a champion of cryptocurrency since taking office in 2016. In 2022, CAR became the first African country and the second nation in the world to adopt bitcoin as an official currency. …[Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC)] said in its report that the opaque nature of the schemes benefited a small circle of insiders and transnational criminal organizations looking for ways to launder money. Reuters
Anger Mounts in Moroccan City of Safi as Deadly Floods Expose Decades of Neglect
Four days after torrential rain struck the Atlantic coastal city on Sunday, shock and mourning have given way to fury. Muddy water continues to resurface in narrow alleyways of the old town, despite repeated efforts to clear it away, reinforcing complaints of long-standing abandonment. … The flood risk is well known in Safi. The city’s history is marked by several deadly floods linked to the Chaâba River, which runs through the old town. Dry for most of the year, it becomes dangerous during heavy rainfall. … Political parties, local organisations and trade unions on Tuesday announced the creation of a “solidarity commission” – which said the tragedy was “the direct result of years of abandonment” and poor management of infrastructure. … The solidarity commission has called for a sit-in on Sunday to “express the collective anger” of residents. RFI
Refugee Firefighters in Mauritania Battle Bushfires to Give Back to the Community that Took Them In
[In the desert where Mauritania and Mali meet], bushfires are deadly. They can break out in the blink of an eye and last for days. The impoverished, vast territory is shared by Mauritanians and more than 250,000 refugees from neighboring Mali, who rely on the scarce vegetation to feed their livestock. … For the refugee firefighters, battling the blazes is a way of giving back to the community that took them in when they fled violence and instability at home in Mali. … Since 2018, the firefighters have been under the patronage of the UNHCR. The European Union finances their training and equipment, as well as the clearing of firebreak strips to stop the fires from spreading. The volunteers today count over 360 refugees who work with the region’s authorities and firefighters. When a bushfire breaks out and the alert comes in, the firefighters jump into their pickup trucks and drive out. Once at the site of a fire, a 20-member team spreads out and starts pounding the ground at the edge of the blaze with acacia branches — a rare tree that has a high resistance to heat. AP
India’s Modi Visits Ethiopia and Calls for Renewed Bilateral Relations
The Indian prime minister called for a strategic relationship with Ethiopia Wednesday during his first visit to the country, one of Africa’s most populous. “The Global South is writing its own destiny, and India and Ethiopia share a vision for it,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi told parliamentarians during a special address. “Our vision is of a world where the Global South rises not against anyone, but for everyone; a world where development is fair, where technology is accessible, and where sovereignty is respected,” he added. The leaders signed a number of memorandums of understanding and promised to cooperate on the training of United Nations peacekeepers, education, and the establishment of a data center at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They also pledged to help Ethiopia navigate its mounting international debt under the G20 Common Framework and to combat terrorism. AP
AFCON Offers Hope after World Cup Heartbreak
For a number of countries that missed out on the 2026 World Cup, the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) which kicks off on December 21 in Morocco, not only offers a swift chance at a measure of redemption but also a chance to start rebuilding and preparing for the global tournament when it next comes around in 2030. Teams such as Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Benin, Sudan and others will stay home next summer, even though Africa saw its allocation at next summer’s World Cup expand to nine automatic places, up from five in 2022. They will, however, all be in Morocco. There are 24 teams competing at AFCON, meaning that competition is fierce. But success in the next few weeks – whether that means lifting the trophy or just getting out of the group stage – will at least put smiles back on the faces of fans. DW