Scaling What Works: Community-Level Mediation Strategies to Support Peace and Security in Africa
A range of complex drivers —social, political, economic, ecological—fuel conflict and violence, with many linked directly to how societies are governed locally and nationally. While conflict and violence can have national or international drivers, evidence points to the fact that violence is highly localized, with the majority of conflict events occurring at the community level. … While security operations may suppress symptoms, they frequently do not change the conditions that reproduce violence, as recurring violence is closely tied to several governance-linked root causes. … Inconsistent due process in the security and justice sectors, as well as corrupt service delivery, are often linked to legitimacy deficits that elevate conflict risk. Yet many formal national-level peace processes fail to address governance, justice, or livelihood issues, thus leaving the political or social contexts that drive conflict unchanged. These patterns underscore the importance of pursuing local venues for peacebuilding as part of comprehensive peace processes. It means paying attention to marginalized actors who articulate alternative visions of peace, and to the ways they confront barriers, respond to violence, and navigate entrenched systems that perpetuate conflict. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Deposed And Detained: Niger President’s Fate Unclear Nearly Three Years On
The presidential term of Niger’s overthrown leader Mohamed Bazoum officially ends Thursday, but he faces little prospect of freedom from detention or even a trial, making what comes next uncertain. Bazoum, 66, was sworn in as president on April 2, 2021 after democratic elections in which he won 55 percent of the vote. He has been held in a wing of the presidential palace in Niamey with his wife since the junta led by general Abdourahamane Tiani seized power in the west African country on July 26, 2023. Since being toppled he has refused to step down. His lawyers argue that April 2 should no longer mark the formal end of his term in office, given he has not been allowed to carry out the role for nearly three years. … Bazoum’s presidential immunity was lifted in 2024 but his lawyers believe it unlikely that the official end of his term in office will accelerate him being put on trial. “For the junta, it’s less a question of law than security: what matters to them is that president Bazoum serves as a human shield” in the event of a possible armed intervention, as was once weighed by west African countries, another of his lawyers Mohamed Seydou Diagne said. AFP
Central African Republic’s President Sworn in for a Third Term after Disputed Election
The president of the Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, was sworn in for a third term on Monday three months after a disputed general election. Touadéra will be serving a new seven-year term. He was declared the winner of the vote in December, which was boycotted by the coalition opposition party following a 2023 constitutional referendum that removed term limits and increased the presidential term from five to seven years. … Opposition parties and civil society rejected the results of the election, which the Constitutional Council said that Touadéra won with 77.9% of the vote. Conflict has broken out in the country since 2013 after mostly Muslim rebels seized power and forced then President François Bozizé to quit. The conflict was de-escalated by a 2019 peace deal between the government and 14 armed groups. Six of the 14 groups later withdrew from the agreement. The Central African Republic is one of the countries where Wagner, a Russian mercenary group, was first active in Africa. AP
Drone Warfare Intensifies in Sudan’s Kordofan
Three years into Sudan’s war, Kordofan has become the most intense battleground between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with civilians increasingly caught in a deadly drone war. … The United Nations says more than 500 civilians were killed by drone strikes between January and mid-March alone, highlighting the growing use of advanced yet relatively cheap weapons in populated areas. Residents in El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, say they can now distinguish between drone types. Smaller “suicide drones” explode on impact, while larger “strategic drones” can travel long distances, carry heavier payloads and return to base. Both sides are believed to be using foreign-supplied technology. According to Amnesty International, the RSF has access to Chinese-made drones, while the Sudanese army deploys Turkish and Iranian models. The impact on daily life has been devastating. Aid groups say strikes disrupt food supplies, drive traders away and push prices higher in areas already facing famine risks. As fighting drags on without a decisive outcome, drone attacks have spread to previously safer areas. In many towns, civilians have adapted to survival routines, fleeing at the first sign of drones overhead, as fear becomes a constant part of life. Africanews and AP
Gunmen Kill at Least 20 in Nighttime Attack in Nigeria
A night attack on a community in Nigeria’s north-central region left at least 20 people dead, residents and authorities said. The attack occurred on Sunday night in Gari Ya Waye community in the Jos North area of Plateau state, Joyce Lohya Ramnap, the state commissioner for information, said in a statement. She did not give the number of casualties, but said there was “loss of lives” and injured. The state government imposed a 48-hour curfew to prevent further attacks, Ramnap said. No group has claimed responsibility but residents told The Associated Press that many gunmen on bikes shot sporadically into the community. Ibukun Falodun, a resident, said that 20 people were confirmed dead. Attacks in Plateau State are part of a long-running cycle of violence in north-central Nigeria, where disputes over land and grazing between mostly Muslim Fulani herders and largely Christian farming communities frequently escalate into deadly clashes. Criminal gangs are also active. AP
South Sudan: Over 70 Killed in Attack on Gold Mine near Juba
More than 74 civilians were killed in an attack by gunmen at a gold mining site in Jebel Iraq, Central Equatoria State, police said Monday, with several others still missing in nearby forests. Jebel Iraq lies several kilometres west of Juba, within the Wonduruba area. Brigadier Kwacijwok Dominic Amondoc, official spokesperson for the South Sudan Police Service, told Radio Tamazuj that the deadly attack occurred on Saturday evening, March 28, in Khor Kaltan, a remote area where local residents mine gold. … No armed group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which has drawn widespread condemnation for targeting innocent civilians engaged in artisanal mining to survive amid harsh economic conditions. … This is not the first time people have been killed in the Jebel Iraq area. The area has witnessed multiple attacks in recent months, often linked to disputes over access to gold deposits. Radio Tamazuj
Somali Army Takes Control of Strategic City, Regional Leader Resigns
Somalia’s national army took control of the biggest city in South West state on Monday, prompting the regional leader to resign two weeks after his administration said it was severing ties with the federal government. The strategic city of Baidoa, the administrative capital of South West state, is home to international peacekeepers and humanitarian agencies in an area affected by drought, conflict and displacement. … South West state president Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen wrote in a statement on Facebook that he had resigned, days after being re-elected for another five-year term. Many residents have fled Baidoa over the past week and some aid agencies suspended activities, fearing clashes could erupt between the army and regional forces. The dispute between South West state is the latest sign of strain in the Horn of Africa country’s fragile federal system, where disputes over elections and the balance of power between Mogadishu and regional administrations repeatedly open up political fault lines. Laftagareen’s administration opposed constitutional amendments backed by the federal government. Reuters
Rival Presidential Candidates on Campaign Trail in Benin
Incumbent finance Minister Romuald Wadagni is a strong favourite to win against opposition candidate and seasoned politician, Paul Hounkpé. … The April poll will mark the fifth democratic change of leadership in Benin since the 1990 start of multi-party democracy. The other big opposition party, the Democrats, was sidelined from the polls after failing to gather enough signatures. While it initially said it would not support either of the candidates, several of its senior figures have since thrown their support behind Wadagni. Patrice Talon, who has served two five-year terms as president, is barred under the constitution from standing again. Wadagni, his hand-picked successor, rallied thousands of supporters at a stadium in the town of Kandi on Friday, raising issues of regional development and security. … The presidential polls take place on 12 April. Africanews
Ghana’s Ex-president Akufo-Addo to Lead ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Benin
Ghana’s former president Nana Akufo-Addo will head the ECOWAS mission to oversee Benin’s presidential election, the Economic Community of West African States has confirmed. The April 12 vote will choose the successor to incumbent Patrice Talon. He’s constitutionally barred from running after serving two terms in office. His decision not to challenge the law has been hailed as a sign of democratic stability in a region recently rocked by military coups and constitutional amendments to maintain power. ECOWAS says its Electoral Observation Mission will be a “catalyst for promoting democracy, good governance, and regional stability.” Observers are charged with monitoring the technical running of the polls, the neutrality of state institutions, and the election’s overall environment to ensure it meets international standards. Talon’s handpicked successor Romuald Wadagni is a strong favorite to win after the country’s main opposition candidate was barred from running. Africanews
A Boat Packed with Migrants that Capsized off Djibouti Left at Least 9 Dead and 45 Missing
A boat packed with migrants capsized off the coast of Djibouti on the way to Yemen this week, the U.N. migration agency said Friday. At least nine people died and another 45 are missing after the shipwreck. The tragedy was the latest in a series of shipwrecks between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that have over the past few years killed several thousand African migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in hopes of reaching wealthy Gulf Arab countries. The boat had left from the Djibouti port town of Obock with more than 300 people were on board and was trying to cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait when it went down on Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration said. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Strait of Hormuz — Tehran’s chokehold in the ongoing Iran war — are on opposite sides of the Arabian Peninsula. A search continues for possible survivors, said Tanja Pacifico, IOM’s chief of mission in Djibouti. … Last year, more than 900 migrants died or went missing on the route, the highest toll on record on the strait, the IOM said. The passage typically lures tens of thousands of migrants from Africa “in search of safety and economic opportunities,” the agency said. AP
Egypt and Cyprus Sign Framework Agreement for Cooperation on Gas
Egypt and Cyprus signed a framework agreement for cooperation on gas at the Egypt 2026 Energy Show on Monday. A spokesperson for the Cypriot presidency said that the non-binding agreement will be a base upon which the two countries can negotiate more agreements for the exploitation of Cyprus’ reserves. Another Cypriot government official added that the agreement will allow the two countries to negotiate the sale of natural gas to Egypt or Egypt’s state-owned companies from Cyprus’s Kronos and Aphrodite offshore fields. Cypriot officials say they could be in a position to start extracting gas from Kronos in 2027 or 2028. Last year, Egypt and Cyprus signed agreements enabling the export of gas from Cyprus’s offshore fields to Egypt for liquefaction and re-export to Europe, as both countries seek to bolster the Eastern Mediterranean’s role as an energy hub. Egypt is suffering the spillover from the Iran war, particularly in the energy sector, as it depends on imported fuel. Reuters
Morocco’s Tanger Med Port Prepares for Increased Traffic amid Gulf War
Morocco’s Tanger Med, Africa’s largest container port, is planning for increased calls by ships as escalating tensions in the Middle East force shipping lines to reroute services around Africa, the port authority’s managing director said on Monday. Major container carriers including Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM said this month they are rerouting vessels around the Cape of Good Hope. Rerouting would add an additional 10 to 14 days of transit time for vessels diverted via the Cape of Good Hope to reach Tanger Med, Idriss Aarabi, managing director of Tanger Med, told Reuters by email. The port of Tanger Med, which is in northern Morocco on the Strait of Gibraltar, is focusing on “capacity management and the prevention of congestion,” Aarabi said. … Ships have been avoiding the Suez Canal and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait since late 2023, when Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping began. U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz have reinforced the shift, prompting expectations that Africa’s bunkering sector will benefit from prolonged instability. Reuters