Africa’s Unresolved Conflicts Drive Acute Food Insecurity
The persistence of Africa’s conflicts has directly contributed to a record 167 million Africans facing acute food insecurity with an estimated 700,000 threatened by famine. An estimated 167 million Africans faced acute food insecurity in 2025—a record high. This represents the sixth consecutive annual increase in the number of Africans experiencing acute food crises. Conflict continues to be the primary driver of food insecurity in Africa. 130 million (roughly 78 percent) of those facing acute food insecurity are in countries experiencing conflict. After reemerging last year, famine widened its grip on the continent, affecting over 700,000 people—all of whom are in conflict zones. … The five countries with the largest number of people experiencing acute food security—Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Sudan—are all in conflict. … Famine has been expanding in three countries since its reemergence in 2024—Sudan, South Sudan, and Mali. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Nigeria Names Former Top General Christopher Musa as Defence Minister
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday nominated former top military commander General Christopher Musa as new minister of defence as the country grapples with a wave of mass kidnappings. … Musa had been serving as chief of defence staff until October, when Tinubu sacked a slew of the country’s top military brass following media reports of a coup attempt. … On Monday, defence minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar resigned, citing health reasons. Musa will need to be confirmed by the Senate to take up his new post. In a letter to the Senate, Tinubu “expressed confidence in General Musa’s ability to lead the Ministry of Defence and further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture,” according to a statement from the presidency. AFP
Nigeria Insecurity: Northern Governors Demand State Police as Experts Warn of ‘Rivers Trap’
The Council Chamber of the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House was unusually tense on Monday. Gathered around its long mahogany table were the 19 Northern state governors, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, and the nation’s top security chiefs—an assembly that has seen its share of crises, but rarely one that felt this existential. The communiqué they issued at the end of their two-day summit was blunt: the North is facing a security collapse that could “undermine the very existence” of the region. Their twin demands—immediate establishment of State Police and a six-month ban on mining—struck headlines nationwide. But beneath the formal language lies a deeper ideological struggle. The North is now trapped between two fundamentally different security philosophies: the “Rivers Trap”, a push for federal military control that could sideline elected governors, and the “Katsina Doctrine”, which insists that the solution is not militarisation from Abuja but domestication—transferring real security powers to the states. As President Bola Tinubu weighs his response to this powerful political bloc, the future of Northern Nigeria hangs in the balance between these competing visions. Premium Times
Electoral Commission in Coup-struck Guinea-Bissau Says Vote Tally Destroyed
Guinea-Bissau’s electoral commission said Tuesday that armed men had destroyed most of the vote count from the country’s election, and it would be unable to publish results. The military took control of the Portuguese-speaking nation last Wednesday — a day before the provisional results of national elections were due to be announced. “Today, we are unable to conclude the electoral process,” the deputy executive secretary of the country’s National Electoral Commission (CNE), Idrissa Djalo, told journalists. Reading a statement to reporters, Djalo said all of the tally sheets were destroyed except for those from Bissau. On Monday, members of the CNE met with representatives from the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, who asked whether the body could release the results. “We answered them no,” Djalo told reporters, describing how in the morning before the coup, “armed men wearing balaclavas burst into the tabulation room”. According to Djalo, the men arrested the CNE president and five Supreme Court judges who were present, and additionally threatened 45 agents. AFP
Mozambique: ‘Civilians Were Killed, Some Were even Beheaded’
[The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) reports that close to 100,000 people in Mozambique have been newly displaced in the past two weeks alone, following intensified attacks on villages and a rapid spillover of violence into previously safe districts. Speaking from conflict-ridden Erati in northern Mozambique, Xavier Creach expressed concern over the attacks and inability to sufficiently respond. … The violence, which began in 2017 in the country’s northernmost province, Cabo Delgado, has already displaced over 1.3 million people. It spread this year beyond the province and into Nampula, threatening communities that had previously hosted displaced families, according to the UN refugee agency. People reaching safety say they escaped in fear as armed groups stormed their villages – often at night – burning homes, attacking civilians, and forcing families to flee without their belongings or documents. “Civilians were killed, some were even beheaded,” said Mr. Creach. … It’s the fourth massive influx that Northern Mozambique has faced in recent months, Mr. Creach stressed. UN Info
Somalia: US Military Committed to the Elimination of ISIS and Al-Shabaab – AFRICOM
The US Africa Command has reinforced its commitment towards the elimination of both the Al-Shabaab and ISIS militants from the Horn of Africa. This move informed Gen. Dagvin Anderson’s trip to the region, including the recent visit to Ethiopia, Puntland, and Somaliland. … At Addis Ababa, Anderson met Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Chief of Defense, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula Gelelcha, to discuss the growing threat posed by ISIS and al-Shabaab. Ethiopia is a major security stakeholder in Somalia. In Hargeisa, the regional administrative capital of Somaliland, Anderson met with President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, Brig. Gen. Niman Yusuf Osman, chief of general staff of the Somaliland Armed Forces, and Adm. Ahmed Hurre Hariye, commander of the Somaliland Coast Guard. … In Puntland, Anderson’s final stop, he … praised Puntland’s ongoing maximum-pressure campaign against ISIS in the Golis Mountains, commending progress but stressing the need to intensify operations. … Anderson reiterated that countering extremist groups is a shared responsibility and that no single nation can confront these threats alone. Garowe Online
As Conflict Grips Sahel, Herders Are Pivoting to an Unusual City Life
The sprawling conflict in the Sahel, a vast semi-arid stretch south of the Sahara desert, has sent thousands of herders to safer areas on the fringes of Abidjan, where they struggle to adapt to city life with rising costs and soaring unemployment. … Experts say armed groups target herders and seize livestock for various reasons, including to finance their operations and exert control over communities. Herding is a major occupation in the Sahel, where the changing climate also creates tensions with struggling farmers — another driver of migration. Ivory Coast, with its status as a regional hub and steady economic growth, has long been a destination for migrants, according to analysts. But that migration has jumped in recent years after military juntas took power in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger and took up the fight against armed groups. … [Amadou Sonde, secretary general of the Federation of Burkinabè Fulani Associations in Ivory Coast,] said he has been receiving thousands of people from Burkina Faso and Mali and helping them find jobs, a responsibility that has grown dramatically in recent years. The jobs include drivers, shop assistants and factory workers, often a world away from the pastoral life. AP
Thousands Flee Mali as JNIM Blockade Triggers New Wave of Displacement
[VIDEO] Over the past two weeks, thousands of Malians have escaped westward toward the Mauritanian border as a JNIM blockade continues to cut off entire communities. Most who managed to reach Mauritania say they have no intention of returning, citing the relentless violence that has plagued the region since 2012. France24
Sudanese Children Abducted for Recruitment by RSF and Allies in South Kordofan Raid
Sudanese paramilitaries and rebels abducted 21 children in South Kordofan state last week with the intention of recruiting them as fighters, two witnesses and a medical network told Middle East Eye. The boys, all aged 14 or 15, were among 150 men and youths seized by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Abdelaziz al-Hilu’s faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) when they overran al-Zallataya gold mine and the surrounding area on 24 November. … Scores of young men were working in the gold mine when they were detained. The fighters also went from house to house rounding up others. … In recent days, fighting has escalated in South Kordofan, a strategically important state centred on the Nuba Mountains in southern Sudan. … In October 2023, the UN reported that the RSF was recruiting vulnerable children, particularly those who are poor or unaccompanied. Middle East Eye
An Archaeologist Is Racing to Preserve Sudan’s Heritage as War Threatens to Erase Its Cultural Past
As the war between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) rages on, [Sudanese archaeologist Shadia Abdrabo], the curator from Sudan’s National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM), is on a yearlong research grant in France with one mission: to build an online database of the African nation’s archaeological sites, museum collections and historical archives. Soon after the war in Sudan started, in April 2023, museums were looted and destroyed. It’s unclear what exactly went missing, but Abdrabo says her task is to find out — and time is of the essence. … She says two regional museums in El Geneina and Nyala were almost completely destroyed, while in Khartoum, the National Museum — which held an estimated 100,000 objects before the war — was ransacked by militias who posted videos online of their fighters inside the storeroom. The National Museum had pieces dating back to prehistoric times, including from the Kerma Kingdom and the Napatan era when Kushite kings ruled the region as well as from the Meroitic civilization that built Sudan’s pyramids. … It’s not just the war itself, but the consequences of it that could affect the country’s heritage: “militias, people displaced… it’s not safe for the art to be in unsecure locations,” she added. AP
Abyei: UN Appoints Nepal General as UNISFA Force Commander
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Nepal’s Lieutenant General Ganesh Kumar Shrestha as force commander of the U.N. Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA), the world body said on Monday. Shrestha succeeds Major General Robert Yaw Affram of Ghana, whom Guterres thanked for his leadership during the interim period, the United Nations said in a statement. Shrestha brings 36 years of military experience, including roles as division commander of Nepal’s Far Western Division and sector commander for the U.N. mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). His most recent post was master general of ordnance at Nepal army headquarters. Sudan Tribune
Uganda: 2026 Elections: Bobi Wine Likens His Campaign Trail to War
Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known as Bobi Wine, told supporters in Luweero District on Tuesday that his campaign faces conditions resembling a war, citing alleged government interference and intimidation. Addressing three rallies in Kalule, Zirobwe, and Kyegombwa, Bobi Wine said the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), led by President Museveni, spends billions of shillings on soldiers, police, vehicles, and other logistics aimed at disrupting his campaign. Campaign-linked injuries and fatalities have been reported at multiple Bobi Wine rallies, amid clashes involving armed forces firing live rounds. … Throughout his campaign activities on Tuesday, Bobi Wine appeared to put on a bulletproof vest, similar to the protective gear worn by journalists in conflict zones. … Bobi Wine added that roadblocks, arbitrary arrests, police interference, and tear-gassing of supporters have marked his campaign, especially in the Buganda region, an opposition stronghold. Monitor
Kenya: Youth Leaders Launch Political Movement to Seek Inclusion in National Affairs
Youth leaders drawn from Mt Kenya and across the country announced the creation of a new youth-driven political movement, as they declared that a new chapter of coalitions is in the offing. The group, led by Joseph Nduki has decried long-standing frustrations owing to unemployment, limited participation in national decision-making, and persistent inequality in accessing opportunities. The team said the decision to launch the movement was motivated by a growing sense that young people have been “overlooked and underestimated” despite repeated promises of inclusion. … The founders of the movement said that they will provide a platform for young Kenyans to influence policy and take on leadership roles in addition to championing integrity, economic empowerment, digital innovation, and equality, while advocating against corruption and divisive politics. The Standard
Tunisia Arrests Prominent Lawyer and Activist
A prominent Tunisian lawyer was arrested Tuesday, colleagues said, after he was sentenced to five years for plotting against the state in a trial denounced by activists as politically motivated. Ayachi Hammami, a rights activist and staunch critic of President Kais Saied, was among some 40 Tunisian opposition figures sentenced last week up to 45 years for “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group”, according to court documents viewed by AFP. “They didn’t give him enough time to overturn the appeal,” his lawyer, Amine Bouker, told AFP, arguing that Hammami should have had 10 days to overturn his conviction. In a video posted after his arrest on his Facebook account, Hammami said: “If you’re watching this I’ve been arrested”. … “This is his answer to fixing our problems in education, transportation, healthcare, and other sectors,” Hammami said. … Dozens of Saied’s critics have been prosecuted or jailed, including on terrorism-related charges and under a law the president enacted in 2022 to prohibit “spreading false news”. AFP
Pope Plans Trip to Africa, Starting with Algeria
Wrapping up his first international trip as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday he would like to visit Algeria in 2026 as part of a voyage to Africa, which could be his next overseas destination. “I hope to make a trip to Africa, which could be my next trip,” the US pope said during a press conference aboard the papal plane during his return from a six-day visit to Turkey and Lebanon. “Personally, I hope to go to Algeria to visit the places from the life of Saint Augustine,” he said, in reference to the fifth-century saint from the North African country. Leo, who was elected in May, belongs to the Augustinian order, which was founded in the 13th century and has nearly 3,000 members in around 50 countries. … A trip to Africa could also include visits to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, a Vatican source told AFP. AFP