Chad Launches Security Operation on Sudan Border after Drone Strike
Chadian security forces launched a major operation on Thursday to seize weapons and military vehicles in the Tine border region following a deadly drone strike. The crackdown comes after an attack on Wednesday in the Chadian town of Mabrouka that killed 16 people and wounded dozens. The strike is suspected to have been carried out by a drone from Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Local sources told Sudan Tribune that the Chadian army conducted house-to-house searches for weapons in the Tine area. Authorities also detained several Sudanese refugees on suspicion of involvement in security disturbances. About 200 military vehicles were deployed along the border. Witnesses said some Chadian units entered Sudanese territory to confiscate military equipment during the operation. Chadian authorities have tightened border controls for refugees. While people can still enter on foot, the movement of civilian vehicles has been banned. … Security officials believe Chadian civilians have been crossing into Sudan to help repel RSF attacks in the region. This movement is linked to the Zaghawa ethnic group, which spans the border and holds strategic influence in the area. Sudan Tribune
Nigeria: CDS, Army Chief Visit Borno, Order Intensified Offensive after Recent Attacks
Nigeria’s top military leaders have ordered an intensified offensive against terrorist groups in the North-east following recent suicide bomb incidents in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State. The Chief of Defence Staff, Olufemi Oluyede, and the Chief of Army Staff, Waidi Shaibu, arrived in the city on Wednesday for an operational assessment visit to the headquarters of the theatre command of Operation Hadin Kai, a joint task force in the North-east. Their visit came less than 24 hours after President Bola Tinubu ordered the relocation of military chiefs to the state following multiple suicide bombings and attacks on military formations in Borno including the capital city. … Addressing troops at the Maimalari Cantonment, the defence chief commended soldiers for their resilience and sustained pressure on terrorist elements, urging them to remain committed to their mission. He directed commanders to step up offensive operations, strengthen intelligence gathering, and adopt proactive strategies to dominate the battlespace, assuring personnel of continued support from Defence Headquarters. Premium Times
Somalia: Opposition Backs Southwest State Amid Growing Rift with Federal Government
A coalition of Somali regional states and political leaders has thrown its weight behind Southwest State President Abdiaziz Laftagareen, further isolating the federal government in a deepening constitutional crisis. The Somali Future Council, an alliance including the regional governments of Jubbaland and Puntland alongside the Salvation Forum, issued a formal statement welcoming Laftagareen’s recent decision to challenge the central government’s authority. The council declared its full support for Southwest State’s move to hold independent, “free and fair” regional elections, signaling a unified front against Mogadishu’s proposed electoral roadmap. The endorsement follows a dramatic escalation in tensions between President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s federal administration and the Southwest State. The rift centers on contentious issues, including federal constitutional amendments passed without regional consensus and a push by the central government for a “one-person, one-vote” system that regional states argue is currently unfeasible and a tool for power consolidation. Garowe Online
AI ‘Expert’ Exposed: Fake Kremlin-linked Analyst Planted Stories in African Media
Russian propagandists have been caught using OpenAI’s ChatGPT and fake media personalities to covertly inject manipulated content into major high-circulation mainstream media across Africa and the world. The campaign, first uncovered by OpenAI and verified by Code for Africa’s (CfA) forensic analysts this week, copies similar “information laundering” and “paid punditry” techniques pioneered by Chinese state agencies in the early 2020s. The Russian campaign used AI tools to create output for a fake geopolitical academic and commentator, “Dr Manuel Godsin”, who published a string of polemics praising Russia, and criticising Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom, while also commenting on local political issues in South Africa and Kenya. The content was amplified by a network of faux news pages posing as local, grassroots news sources on Facebook, described by Meta as “a network originating in Russia that targeted audiences in Sub-Saharan Africa”. … Besides media identified as pro-Russian, … Godsin-bylined propaganda was also laundered into news organisations that audiences would view as politically neutral. … The Godsin case illustrates how, when basic safeguards are absent or ignored, African news organisations can act as vectors for foreign information manipulation and influence (FIMI). News24
How a Disinformation Network Is Destabilising the Sahel
Several social media accounts – with names such as Scoop Africa, La Dépêche africaine and La Voix du Faso – have been impersonating media outlets in order to discredit the governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. … An analysis of the subscribers and the shares and likes of posts by Scoop Africa and La Dépêche africaine reveal a network of around 10 similar accounts active on X, Facebook and TikTok. … Since the end of October last year, the list of anti-AES disinformation operations on social media platforms has been growing. … According to information provided by Facebook, most of the pages flagged by the RFI/France 24 investigation are located in Côte d’Ivoire. … Philip Brant, a researcher specialising in jihadism in West Africa, says this spread of disinformation complicates the monitoring and documentation work of experts in the region. “All this content discredits information published by journalists that might be critical of the juntas,” he told RFI. “For example, if these accounts constantly spread false information about massacres of civilians, when such massacres actually occur this information loses all credibility.” [Harouna Drabo, a journalist specialising in information influence strategies in Francophone Africa] echoed this, saying: “The risk is ending up in total informational chaos, where the population will no longer understand what is true or false.” RFI
Digital Gangs Unleash Terror on Zimbabwe’s Private Press
Zimbabwe’s ruling party came under renewed scrutiny this week, following an explosive report by media watchdog INTELWATCH, which accuses it of orchestrating a sustained campaign of intimidation against journalists and critics. At the centre of the findings is what INTELWATCH says is the emergence of organised digital groups aligned with Zanu PF tasked with defending the party and silencing dissent in increasingly aggressive ways. “One such storm trooper group is known as Varakashi,” INTELWATCH said. Varakashi is a Shona word meaning destroyers. “This group has become a serious threat to journalists and it also patrols cyberspace, specifically tasked with defending the ruling party and its leadership.” The Johannesburg based watchdog said the group emerged following calls by Zanu PF rallying party youths to “thrash the opposition on social media” ahead of the 2018 elections, which turned bloody after protesters were shot in post – election violence. INTELWATCH argues that what followed was a rapid expansion of coordinated online campaigns that have reshaped Zimbabwe’s media landscape, with relentless attacks mostly on journalists working in the privately controlled media. The Independent
Zimbabwe Opposition Groups Fight against Proposed Constitutional Change
Despite enduring beatings and intimidation, a coalition of opposition groups in Zimbabwe continues to fight against a proposed constitutional amendment that will see President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term extended. Law professor, Lovemore Madhuku, was assaulted in early March in an attack he blames on police-backed security agents who he says stormed a meeting of his opposition party. It is one of many incidents reported by groups mobilising against the proposed constitutional amendment passed by cabinet last month. But Madhuku, who is leader of the National Constitutional Assembly, said it has not weakened his resolve to fight the changes. … Police deny involvement in the incident, but this assault and others echo previous crackdowns against Zimbabwe’s opposition blamed on state forces. Human Rights Watch warned last week that authorities are using violence and intimidation against opponents of the proposed change. … The proposed amendments raising the most alarm would extend the presidential term from five to seven years and replace direct presidential elections with a vote by lawmakers. They would keep 83-year-old Mnangagwa in office after his constitutionally limited two terms end in 2028. Critics say they would also entrench the grip on power of the ruling Zanu-PF party. Africanews with AFP
Berlin Process: Libya Holds Consultations on Political Roadmap
The head of Libya’s Presidential Council, Mohammed Menfi, convened representatives of the Berlin Process Group in Tripoli to review prospects for relaunching the political process and stabilizing the country. Presidential Council Chairman Mohammed Menfi met Monday in Tripoli with representatives of the Berlin Process Group on Libya, as well as with several international partners, to discuss ways of reviving the political process and consolidating the country’s stability, according to the presidential press office. The meeting was held as part of an expanded political session bringing together Libyan officials and foreign diplomatic representatives. The gathering was attended by, among others, the Deputy Defense Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdul Salam Zoubi, and the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Libya, Hanna Tetteh. Several ambassadors accredited to Libya also took part in the discussions, representing Algeria, Egypt, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, China and Tunisia. APA
South Sudan: Kiir Meets Ramaphosa at Official Residence in Pretoria
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Thursday met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the official residence in Pretoria, five days after arriving in South Africa. In a statement issued by Kiir’s office, discussions between the two leaders focused on South Sudan’s planned 2026 elections, electoral support and ways to strengthen economic cooperation between Juba and Pretoria. … The meeting followed recent engagements between the two leaders on the sidelines of the African Union summit held in Addis Ababa in February 2026, where Ramaphosa also chaired the Ad Hoc High-Level Committee on South Sudan (C5) Plus. South Africa currently chairs the C5, a guarantor of South Sudan’s 2018 peace agreement, and maintains close diplomatic relations with Juba. Radio Tamazuj
Middle East War Boosts Traffic through Kenyan Port of Lamu
Thousands of high-end cars being shipped from Japan and destined for Dubai have been dropped off on the Kenyan island of Lamu, port authorities said, as the Mideast war provides a boost to African shipping hubs. Kenyan media showed dozens of gleaming Porsches parked in a warehouse on Lamu, an island paradise and UNESCO World Heritage Site that the government is developing into another major transport hub. … Lamu is expecting another container ship with 5,000 vehicles next week, according to local port officials. … The cars will remain at the port until the situation stabilises, [Abdulaziz Mzee, manager of the Port of Lamu] said. Kenya Ports Authority said on X that Lamu was “geared up for a spike” in traffic due to the war. Lamu’s port was first announced in 2012 as part of a $23-billion regional transport corridor linking South Sudan and Ethiopia to the Kenyan coast and began operation around 2021. Kenya port authorities say it is set to become Africa’s leading deep-water transshipment hub. Africanews with AFP
Ghana Approves Lithium Project That Will Ship Mineral to US
Atlantic Lithium Ltd. has secured approval to develop Ghana’s first lithium mine on terms more favorable than those sought under a previous government. The Australian miner’s local unit will pay royalties on a scale linked to the spot prices of the lithium-bearing mineral, known as spodumene. It will range from 5% when the price for concentrate is below $1,500 a ton to 12% if it exceeds $3,200 — under a lease ratified by parliament, the company said Friday. The structure replaces a flat 10% rate Ghana had sought when Atlantic Lithium first applied for a permit more than two years ago. The 15-year lease stalled as lithium prices retreated from late-2022 highs, pushing the company to seek lower rates. A new royalty framework for lithium and gold, adopted this month, paved the way for the deal. The Ewoyaa mine will be Africa’s only US-bound lithium project, with all others backed by Chinese funding. It’s expected to produce 3.6 million tons of spodumene concentrate over 12 years, ranking it as the continent’s third-largest lithium project under development, according to the company. Bloomberg
At Least 18 African Migrants Drown off Coast of Comoros
At least 18 African migrants who were trying to reach the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte have drowned off the Comoros, officials and rescuers said Thursday. They were part of a group of about 50 people dropped off by smugglers in the sea some distance from shore as they tried to reach the neighbouring island. While some 30 survived, many of them could not swim. … Survivors said they were from the Democratic Republic of Congo and had been headed to Mayotte, an attractive destination for migrants because of its relatively French infrastructure and welfare. … A 25-year-old survivor said he had come from North Kivu in the war-torn eastern DRC and boarded a boat in the Tanzanian economic capital, Dar es Salaam. Africanews with AFP