Surging Jihadist Violence in Sahel Fuels Fears Unrest May Spread
Jihadists have intensified their offensives in the Sahel region in recent weeks, carrying out bloody raids in Mali, incursions into major cities in Burkina Faso and inflicting heavy army losses in Niger. The three Sahel states’ military juntas, who had pledged during the coups that brought them to power to make security a priority, are struggling to contain the advance of jihadists, who are threatening more than ever neighbouring countries on the west African coast…Several hundred soldiers have been killed in various attacks claimed by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) in Mali and Burkina Faso, and the Islamic State in the Sahel (EIS) group in Niger…Military violence targeting civilians — particularly the Fulani, often singled out in the Sahel region and accused of feeding the jihadists’ ranks — “has exacerbated grievances and played into jihadist narratives, driving JNIM’s expansion”, said the Soufan Center think tank in a brief. It also highlighted “a broader strategy to degrade public confidence in state forces, boost recruitment”… [The juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger] rarely communicate about jihadist attacks, insisting they are reclaiming large portions of territory…”These governments live in isolation and also face financial issues, such as paying soldiers. There is reason to question their capacity to resist in the long run,” [Lassina Diarra of the International Counter-Terrorism Academy in Jacqueville, Ivory Coast] said. AFP
New Attack on Mali Army Post Kills Five
An attack on an army post in southeastern Mali Thursday killed five people and wounded multiple others, defence and other sources told AFP, days after jihadist assaults against military installations elsewhere in the country. The latest attack, on a military post in the village of Mahou in the Sikasso region, began in the morning, a local elected official and witness told AFP, before being brought under control. Mali’s armed forces reported that ground and air reinforcements were called in and the Sikasso security source and others said the attack was brought to a halt…The violence comes days after an attack on an army base and airport in the ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali’s north in which more than a dozen assailants were “neutralised”, according to the army’s general staff. One day prior, at least 30 soldiers were killed when the Boulkessi army base in central Mali, near the border with Burkina Faso, came under assault in an attack blamed on jihadists. Since 2012 Mali has faced attacks from [militant Islamist groups] as well as separatist movements and criminal gangs. AFP
Uganda Takes Control Of 2 DRC Towns: Army Spokesman
The Ugandan army said Thursday it had taken control of the Democratic Republic of Congo towns of Kasenyi and Tchomia to “prevent inter-ethnic fighting”. While Rwanda backs the M23 armed group that has taken huge swathes of the mineral-rich eastern DRC in recent months, neighbouring Uganda has played a more complex role. Uganda has worked alongside the DRC government to fight Islamist insurgents in the region. But analysts say it is also keen to secure economic advantages, including control of Congolese gold mines and wider trade…[Kasenyi and Tchomia] are towns in DRC’s Ituri province, on the vast Lake Albert that separates Uganda and DRC and is the site of a massive oil exploration project being constructed by Uganda with French firm TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation. AFP
Suspected Jihadist Attack in Benin Kills Soldiers, Police
Three soldiers and two police officers were killed in a suspected jihadist attack in northwestern Benin, locals and military sources told AFP on Thursday. The attack on a police station in Tanougou on Wednesday night follows a wave of Islamist violence in Benin, its northern neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso and Mali further west…North Benin, which borders both Niger and Burkina Faso, has seen a recent rise in attacks on army positions. In mid-April, 54 soldiers were killed in the Benin section of W National Park, which straddles the porous border with Niger and Burkina Faso, in an attack on two military posts. And in January, 28 Beninese troops were killed in the same area. Both attacks were claimed by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM or JNIM in Arabic) …Benin’s President Patrice Talon in March complained of “deteriorated” relations with Niger and Burkina Faso, saying the lack of security cooperation was making it hard to fight jihadists. AFP
Nigeria: Militants’ Twin Attacks Hit Borno
Nigerian soldiers have repelled two [militant] attacks in the Buratai area of Biu Local Government Area and Mallam Fatori in Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State. The two attacks happened on Thursday morning…In Mallam Fatori, Boko Haram [militants] attempted to attack a troops’ location from multiple fronts. However, the alert troops foiled the attack, forcing the insurgents to flee. With support from the Air Component’s air platforms, the troops pursued the fleeing retreating terrorists for hours… [Reuben Kovangiya, an army captain and spokesperson of Operation Hadin Kai, a military counter-insurgency operation in the North-east] said troops recovered an undisclosed number of AK-47 Rifles, General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), Rocket Propelled Guns (RPG), and other equipment. Mr Kovangiya said operations continued in the area, with air support from the Air Component and the Nigerian Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Command. Premium Times
Nigeria: Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime, Economic Sabotage; Orders Deportation
The Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted and sentenced nine Chinese nationals, including two women, to one year imprisonment each for economic sabotage and financial terrorism. The trial judge, Daniel Osiagor, handed down the sentences after the convicts entered into a plea bargain agreement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)…Their conviction follows the 10 December 2024 raid by EFCC operatives on the sixth floor of a building on Oyin Jolayemi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. The operation, described by the agency as its largest single-day cybercrime crackdown, resulted in the arrest of over 700 individuals, including 158 foreign nationals, for alleged involvement in cyber terrorism and economic sabotage…According to the EFCC, the convicts were part of a cybercrime syndicate that accessed computer systems to destabilise Nigeria’s economic and social structures. They were accused of recruiting Nigerian youths to commit identity theft and pose as foreign nationals for financial fraud. The sentencing of the Chinese nationals follows a string of convictions stemming from the December 2024 cybercrime raid. PREMIUM TIMES reported that another Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, convicted eight Filipino nationals of similar offences. Premium Times
Sudan: RSF Shelling Kills at Least 20 at Displacement Camp in Sudan’s Darfur
At least 20 people have been killed and 17 others wounded over the past two days by artillery shelling from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Abu Shouk camp for displaced persons in North Darfur state, an emergency group and a camp official said. The camp, located north of El Fasher city, has faced daily indiscriminate shelling and drone attacks from the RSF, causing numerous civilian casualties, according to local reports. Fourteen people died on Wednesday from artillery shells fired by the RSF towards the Nivasha area within Abu Shouk camp, according to a statement from the Abu Shouk Emergency Room, received by Sudan Tribune. On Thursday, six more people were killed and 17 injured as the RSF continued targeting areas heavily populated by civilians, a media official at the Abu Shouk camp said. Many residents of Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher city have dug underground shelters for protection from artillery and drone attacks. However, a significant number of civilians continue to die daily due to the indiscriminate shelling. Sudan Tribune
Sudan’s ‘Hemedti’ Rules Out Further Jeddah Talks, Vows Escalation
Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has announced his “categorical refusal” to participate in any new round of negotiations in the Saudi coastal city Jeddah, vowing to intensify fighting. The Jeddah Platform — initiated on May 6, 2023, less than a month after fighting erupted in mid-April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF — was coordinated by Saudi Arabia and the United States. The forum has held three rounds of talks, the last concluding in December 2023. The SAF has consistently rejected negotiations with the RSF until it implements measures which include the withdrawal of RSF forces from all areas and their consolidation in designated zones…The announcement comes as military operations escalate in West Kordofan, where the RSF recently seized control of El Khawi, El Dabibat, El Hamadi, and other areas. Hemedti threatened to attack El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, and Sudan’s Northern State, urging civilians to “remain indoors and secure their property”. Dabanga
South Sudan: Kiir Reconstitutes Committee on Peace Implementation
In a twist of events, President Salva Kiir reconstituted the High-Level Ad Hoc Committee on the Implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS) on Wednesday night…Senior Presidential Advisor Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk of the SPLM is the chairperson of the new body and will be deputized by Lasuba Ludoru Wongo of the SPLM-IO. At the same time, Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro of the National Agenda was named Secretary General…It was not explicitly stated in the order if the new committee assumes the role of the National Transitional Committee (NTC), which is mandated to superintend the implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement. The NTC was reconstituted in January and has eleven members, chaired by Senior Presidential Advisor Gen. Kuol Manyang.It is important to note that in President Kiir’s latest move, he excluded SPLM/A-IO members who are loyal to First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, who is under house arrest. Radio Tamazuj
South Sudan Imposes Emergency as Herder Clashes Kill Hundreds
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir on Thursday declared a state of emergency in areas hit by deadly inter-communal clashes over cattle raids that have killed hundreds of people in recent months, state TV said. Cattle raids and clashes over scarce water and grazing land are common in the impoverished east African nation, often exacerbated by extreme weather such as droughts and floods…The UN said on Tuesday that violence between herders in Tonj County, Warrap State, has become frequent, with cattle raids and revenge attacks killing hundreds since December — including over 200 in March and about 80 in recent days…The clashes come on top of politically and ethnically driven violence that continues to destabilise the world’s youngest nation, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011. Several embassies in early May warned of a deterioration in South Sudan’s security following months of fighting between forces loyal to President Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar. AFP
Bodies Of 14 African Migrants Discovered in Venezuela
Authorities in northeastern Venezuela have discovered the bodies of 14 African migrants on a river that connects to the Atlantic Ocean, Interior and Justice Minister Diosdado Cabello said. The decomposing bodies were found on a boat in the northeastern state of Delta Amacuro, according to media reports. “There were 14 human bodies, all from Africa,” Cabello said late Wednesday, adding that some were from Mali and that the victims died of dehydration and hunger…In late May, authorities in the Caribbean island country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines found 11 bodies on a boat. The victims had Malian passports. AFP
Chinese Pullback Reshapes African Energy Investment Landscape
A steep decline in Chinese development finance is reshaping how energy projects are funded across Africa, accelerating a shift toward private capital and clean energy solutions, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. Chinese development finance institutions (DFIs) — once pivotal players in African infrastructure — have slashed their energy investments on the continent by more than 85% since 2015. Their retreat contributed to an overall one-third drop in public and DFI funding for African energy, falling to just $20 billion in 2024 from $28 billion in 2015, said the IEA in its World Energy Investment 2025 report. Private investors are stepping up — though selectively. Total private investment in clean energy has more than doubled, to nearly $40 billion in 2024 from $17 billion in 2019…As Chinese development finance scales back, Africa’s clean energy future increasingly hinges on the appetite of private capital to fund innovation and scale — especially in the harder-to-reach markets that need it most…But the gap left by public and concessional funding is proving difficult to fill. Semafor
Former Zambian President Lungu Dies Aged 68
Zambia’s former President Edgar Lungu has died at the age of 68, his party has said in a statement. He had “been receiving specialized treatment in South Africa” for an undisclosed illness, the Patriotic Front (PF) added. Lungu led Zambia for six years from 2015, losing the 2021 election to the current President Hakainde Hichilema by a large margin. After that defeat he stepped back from politics but later returned to the fray. He had ambitions to vie for the presidency again but at the end of last year the Constitutional Court barred him from running, ruling that he had already served the maximum two terms allowed by law. Even after being disqualified from running once more for the presidency, he remained hugely influential in Zambian politics and did not hold back in his criticism of his successor…Lungu first became president in January 2015 after winning a special presidential election triggered by the death in office of Michael Sata. After completing Sata’s term, he won a further five years in power in 2016 taking just over 50% of the vote…Lungu lost in 2021 by close to a million votes with Hichilema, seen as more pro-Western, tapping into widespread dissatisfaction among the electorate…Lungu was a lawyer by training but enjoyed a meteoric rise in politics after winning a seat in parliament as a PF MP in 2011. He entered government as deputy minister in the vice-president’s office in that year and rose to become minister of home affairs in just over 12 months. BBC