Republic of the Congo Election: Status Quo with High Costs
The 2026 election in the Republic of the Congo is expected to generate a predictable outcome as President Denis Sassou-Nguesso seeks to perpetuate his 41-year hold on power in Africa’s third-largest oil-exporting country. The 82-year-old Sassou-Nguesso is Africa’s third-longest serving leader. Sassou-Nguesso extended his rule in this Central African country of 6 million people by sidestepping age- and term-limit restrictions in 2015, enabling him to contest his fifth consecutive presidential term in 2026. … The 2026 election is on track to replicate previous campaigns, given Sassou-Nguesso’s sway over the key levers of power in the country. Members of Congo’s Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENI) are selected by the National Assembly, giving the ruling party an advantage in shaping elections. … Sassou-Nguesso appoints all national judges in the country, and the courts, in turn, have been supportive of the President’s interests, including upholding the convictions of leading opposition figures such as Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko and André Okombi Salissa, on charges that are widely viewed as politically motivated, further winnowing the competitive playing field. … The stifled political landscape in the Congo has contributed to its economic doldrums, whereby the country is subject to the “paradox of plenty.” Despite generating roughly $2 billion in revenue annually from oil exports, human development remains stunted and lags behind other lower middle-income countries. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Drone Strike Kills UN Aid Worker in the Eastern Congo City of Goma
A series of explosions attributed to drones killed at least one person, a U.N. aid worker, as the attack on Wednesday rocked downtown Goma in eastern Congo, according to the M23 rebel group and local residents. The drone strikes hit Lake Kivu and a private residence located about 50 meters from the home of former Congo President Joseph Kabila Kabange. M23 blamed the government for the attack. The government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The rebel group said that the attack killed three people, but the number couldn’t be immediately confirmed. Residents said they only had seen a single body. Karine Buisset, a French national and a UNICEF employee, was in the residence and killed in the attack, M23 and residents said. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell confirmed Buisset’s death in a post on X. … Since January 2025, conflicts have flared between the Congolese armed forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 after the group swept through the eastern region in lightning attacks and seized key cities. A drone strike in February killed a spokesperson and senior official deeply involved in the operations of the rebel group. AP
Leaders of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia Hold Tripartite Talks on Regional Peace, Security
Ismaïl Omar Guelleh hosted a tripartite meeting with Abiy Ahmed Ali and Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Djibouti on Wednesday, with discussions focusing on peace and security in the Horn of Africa and broader regional cooperation. According to a statement from the Djiboutian presidency, the leaders met at the private residence of President Guelleh in Haramous during an Iftar dinner, where they held consultations aimed at strengthening coordination and collective responses to shared regional challenges. The discussions covered peace and security in the region, the progress of economic integration among countries in the subregion, and issues of common interest affecting the three nations. The leaders also exchanged views on the prevailing political and security situation in the Horn of Africa. The meeting further addressed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and its potential economic repercussions for the region, including possible impacts on trade and stability. … The Djiboutian presidency said the meeting forms part of a series of high-level engagements aimed at defining a new strategic direction and strengthening cooperation among countries of the Horn of Africa in addressing shared political, security, and economic challenges. Addis Standard
Nigeria’s New Corridor Opens Doors for Jihadi Groups
For more than a decade, violent extremism in Nigeria was largely confined to the country’s Northeast where militant Islamist movement Boko Haram and its factions have waged an extended armed rebellion against the state. Over the past few years, however, the borderlands across Nigeria’s North West and North Central regions have become a melting pot for Sahelian and local jihadis. The area, known as the Kebbi-Kainji-Borgu triangle, straddles the Nigerian states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Niger and part of Kwara in central Nigeria. It stretches across the border into Niger’s Dosso region and Benin’s Alibori department. The actors include homegrown jihadi groups such as the Sadiku‑led faction of Boko Haram, as well as Ansaru and the Mahmudawa group whose leaders were arrested last year, alongside criminal gangs known locally as bandits. Together, these groups are believed to number in the hundreds of thousands, raiding villages and killing or displacing communities across the region. In what appears to be a new phase of expansion for Sahelian jihadis into coastal West Africa, groups like Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP) have established their presence in the area. The move follows sustained military pressure amid growing rivalry between the groups in the Liptako-Gourma tri-state area where the borders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger meet. DW
Nigeria: Defence Minister Directs Service Chiefs to Intensify Operations against Militants
Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa, has directed the service chiefs to immediately recalibrate military operations across multiple theatres following a surge in brazen terrorist attacks. Mr Musa disclosed this in a Facebook post on Thursday, after convening an emergency combat audit with the service chiefs the day before at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja. PREMIUM TIMES had reported that Mr Musa, a retired army general and former chief of defence staff, summoned the service chiefs on Wednesday, acknowledging the killings of military operatives, while noting that the casualties were higher on the terrorists’ side. At least three senior military officers have been killed in the last week by militants believed to be members of Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). The insurgents have also attacked more than five military formations in the North-east, inflicting casualties and heavy damage on the military. In a rare operational collaboration, ISWAP and the Boko Haram under the command of Ali Ndulge in Mandara mountain, Gwoza, also invaded Ngoshe, killing many civilians and abducting over 100 women and children. While the abductees remain in captivity, the military reportedly reclaimed the village on Wednesday. Premium Times
Ghana: IGP Sends Elite Team to Gbeniyiri to Quell Brifos-Fulani Reprisal Attacks
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) has ordered the immediate deployment of a high-level special team to Gbeniyiri in the Savannah Region following a series of violent reprisal attacks between members of the Brifos and Fulani communities. The intervention, announced by the Regional Police Headquarters in Damongo on Wednesday, 11th March 2026, is designed to stem the tide of retaliatory violence that has threatened the stability of the town. The special team is comprised of specialised Intelligence Officers and Investigators. Their primary objective is to support the Savannah Regional Command in intensifying local security and increasing the police presence to prevent further clashes, and identifying and apprehending the individuals responsible for the recent unrest. In a statement signed by ASP Richard Osei Yaw, Staff Officer for the Savannah Region, the Command assured the public that “calm has since been restored” to Gbeniyiri. While the immediate violence has been contained, the police remain on high alert. Efforts are currently ongoing to track down and arrest those behind the attacks to ensure they face the full rigours of the law. Joy Online
‘Invasive’ AI-led Mass Surveillance in Africa Violating Freedoms, Warn Experts
The rapid expansion of AI-powered mass-surveillance systems across Africa is violating citizens’ right to privacy and having a chilling effect on society, according to experts on human rights and emerging technologies. At least $2bn has been spent by 11 African governments on Chinese-built surveillance technology that recognises faces and monitors movements, according to a new report by the Institute of Development Studies, which warns that national security is being used to justify implementing these systems with little regulation. Chinese companies often sell the technology in packages that include CCTV systems, facial recognition, biometric data collection and cameras that track vehicle movements and are presented as a tool to help rapidly urbanising countries modernise their cities and reduce crime. But researchers from the African Digital Rights Network, who co-authored the report, said there was no real evidence of these systems reducing crime and warned that they allow governments to monitor human rights activists and political opponents, arrest protesters and lead journalists to self-censor. … The report emphasises that a lack of regulation or legal framework on storing and using the data on individuals is a concern, given the rapid rollout of this technology but Bulelani Jili, an assistant professor at Georgetown University, said even the introduction of laws could be dangerous. Surveillance of online activity has often been used to crack down on dissent and has been legalised through laws that can criminalise ordinary people for their posts online. The Guardian
Cocaine Flowing through West Africa ‘Fuelling Corruption and Crack Use’
An increase in cocaine trafficking through West Africa is fuelling corruption in some countries, reaching the highest levels of government, a report published this week warns. At least 30 percent of cocaine bound for Europe now passes through the region, while growing volumes of the drug are also being consumed locally, including in the form of crack. The analysis comes from a report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GI-TOC), a Geneva-based NGO that studies crime networks. Rising cocaine production in Latin America and growing demand in Europe have pushed more shipments through West Africa in recent years. Seizures have climbed steadily since 2019, reaching around 30 tonnes in 2025, according to data compiled by the organisation. … The cocaine market has become “an attractive source of income for civil servants and political elites” in West Africa the report said, noting that the involvement of some officials in trafficking is increasing. … The intensifying cocaine trade is also driving growing consumption in West Africa, with use increasing in several countries including Senegal and crack cocaine becoming more common. West Africa is also taking on a larger role in the global cocaine trade. The region “no longer serves only as a corridor to Europe. It is increasingly being used as a platform for storage, repackaging and distribution in global cocaine supply chains,” said Mouhamadou Kane, a co-author of the report. RFI
At Least 17 Killed after Drone Strikes School in Sudan
At least 17 people, most of them schoolgirls, were killed on Wednesday when an explosive-laden drone blamed on Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces struck a secondary school and a health care centre. At least 10 people were wounded in the strike in the village of Shukeiri in the White Nile province, according to Dr Musa al-Majeri, director of Douiem hospital, the nearest major medical facility to the village. Al-Majeri said three girls suffered serious injuries; two of them underwent surgeries at the hospital while the third was evacuated to the capital, Khartoum. The war-tracking Sudan Doctors Network reported the strike first, saying those killed included two teachers and a health care worker. The group said there was no military presence in the village. Both the medical group and al-Majeri blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the strike. … “This horrific crime represents a continuation of the violations committed by the RSF in the White Nile,” said Dr Razan Al-Mahdi, a spokesperson for the medical group, adding that the paramilitaries attacked several civilian facilities in the past two days, including a student dormitory and a power station. The strike in Shukeiri was the latest deadly attack in Sudan’s nearly three-year war. The Guardian/AP
South Sudan at Risk of Another Election Delay, Observers Warn
South Sudan risks postponing its planned December 2026 general elections for a fifth time due to a lack of political will and insufficient funding, a domestic observer group said in a report released Wednesday. The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) said in its pre-election assessment that the country’s leaders have repeatedly failed to allocate adequate resources to the electoral process, instead prioritizing spending on military operations. According to the report, the National Elections Commission has received only 4% of its requested budget. Without significant funding by the end of April, the chances of holding elections in December are “slim,” the group said. “The time for preparation of the South Sudan elections scheduled for December 2026 is getting closer without any concrete steps for creating a conducive environment for holding peaceful, credible and fair elections,” the report said. CEPO identified three main factors undermining the electoral process: delays in funding for the elections commission, ongoing military confrontations between government forces and opposition groups, and political maneuvering that has deepened divisions among parties to the 2018 peace agreement. A key deadline of June 22, 2026, for finalizing voter registration lists is approaching quickly, and observers doubt it will be met. The report blamed the Ministry of Finance and what it described as “influential leaders around the president” for any failure to hold elections as scheduled, despite public assurances by President Salva Kiir that the vote will proceed. Radio Tamazuj
Burundi’s Ex-Prime Minister Provisionally Freed on Medical Grounds
Burundi’s former Prime Minister General Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, serving a life sentence for conspiracy against the head of state, was provisionally released Wednesday for medical reasons, judicial sources and relatives confirmed. Bunyoni, hospitalized since October 2025 at Gitega regional hospital, was granted provisional freedom due to his deteriorating health. An ambulance transported him to his Bujumbura home around midday. “His condition is more than worrying,” a relative told AFP. The diabetic general suffered loss of motor skills and speech in prison, where he was long deprived of adequate care, according to prison sources and rights groups. Once considered the regime’s de facto number two and hardliner leader under ex-president Pierre Nkurunziza, Bunyoni was appointed prime minister in June 2020 by President Evariste Ndayishimiye. He was dismissed in September 2022, days after Ndayishimiye denounced an alleged coup plot. In December 2023, he was convicted of attempting to overthrow the government, threatening the president’s life, illegal enrichment, and economic destabilization. He denied all charges. Ruling party generals had demanded his release. Africanews
South Africa Deploys Soldiers to the Streets to Tackle Organized and Violent Crime
Soldiers were deployed to the streets of South Africa’s biggest city Wednesday in an effort to help police fight gang violence and illegal mining. It was the first major deployment since President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his annual speech to the nation last month that he would use the army against organized crime, which he called the greatest threat to democracy and the country’s economic development. … Authorities had previously said the military deployment in different parts of the country would start March 1, but it was delayed while soldiers received training. The army will operate under police command during the deployment. … Ramaphosa said in a notice to the Speaker of Parliament that 550 soldiers would be involved in an initial deployment in the Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, due to last until the end of April. The government plans a wider deployment in five of its nine provinces, according to details submitted by police to Parliament. The deployment will focus on illegal mining in the Gauteng, North West and Free State provinces, and gang violence in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces. … South Africa has high rates of violent crime. Police reported 6,351 homicides from October to December 2025, an average of nearly 70 a day in a country of around 62 million people, while there are also high numbers of attempted murders and violent assaults. AP