Africa’s Unprecedented Urbanization is Shifting the Security Landscape
Africa is the world’s fastest urbanizing region, with cities growing at an average rate of 3.5 percent per year. By 2050, the continent is expected to add nearly 1 billion people, rising from 1.5 to 2.5 billion residents. Eighty percent of this population growth will occur in cities. Nearly half of Africans—over 700 million people—already live in urban areas, a number projected to double to 1.4 billion by 2050. This pace of urban expansion is unprecedented in human history—and portends fundamental shifts in approaches to security…Africa’s fastest urbanization rates are clustered in two geographic corridors: the western Sahel (plus Ghana) and an East African belt stretching from Ethiopia to Mozambique. These zones illustrate the complex combination of forces driving urban population growth on the continent…Africa’s growing urbanization coupled with its persisting, unresolved conflicts suggest that Africa’s wars will take on an increasingly urban quality with profound implications for casualties, security policies, and force structures…The rapid urbanization of many African countries will require a reassessment of strategies to provide citizen security. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Attacks on Sudan’s Port Sudan Threaten Red Sea Safety, Ministry Says, Blaming UAE
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that recent drone attacks on the eastern city of Port Sudan threaten Red Sea navigation safety and accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) allegedly behind them. Port Sudan has faced drone attacks over several days targeting its seaport, airport, fuel depots, a power station, a hotel housing diplomats and military bases, the ministry said…The ministry accused the sponsor, implicitly the UAE, of providing the RSF with strategic drones and weapons used in the Port Sudan attacks and of bringing in mercenaries to operate the drones and fight. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on Friday receiving notifications from ships near Port Sudan of GPS interference affecting navigation systems. Sudan Tribune
More than 100 Killed in Jihadi Attack in Northern Burkina Faso
An attack by a jihadi group in northern Burkina Faso killed more than 100 people, mostly soldiers, an aid worker and local residents said Monday. The attack on several locations, including a military base and the long besieged strategic town of Djibo, occurred early Sunday, said an aid worker actively involved in dialogues in Burkina Faso’s hard-hit communities. A student from the area said her father was among those killed. Both individuals spoke to The Associated Press on Monday on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals. A jihadi group known as Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, which is active in the Sahel region, claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack. Run by a military junta, the landlocked nation of 23 million has been among the worst hit by the security crisis in Africa’s Sahel region, known as the global hot spot for violent extremism…Government security forces have also been accused of extrajudicial killings. AP
Armed Group Mounts Double Attack on Artisanal Mining Site in Mali, Leaving 3 Dead and Abducting 2
An armed group attacked an artisanal gold mining site in southern Mali on Monday morning, a local elected official announced, the first such attack since a military government seized power in 2020. “Early on Monday morning, terrorists carried out two attacks in the Narena commune. First, they attacked a shop belonging to Chinese nationals. They kidnapped two Chinese nationals and burned their heavy machinery used in gold mining,” Mamadou Kanté, deputy mayor of Narena, told The Associated Press. He said the fighters then attacked an artisanal gold-panning site nearby. Three people died: one Malian and two others from Ghana. The attack has not been claimed, but it bears the hallmark of the JNIM group…Mali is one of Africa’s largest gold producers. In recent years, there have been concerns that profits from unregulated mining could benefit extremists active in the country. AP
Seven Dead, Gun Trucks Stolen in Attack on Nigerian Military Base
At least seven soldiers have been killed in an attack by suspected members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) on a military base in the Marte Local Government Area of Borno State. Although the authorities have yet to confirm the attack, sources, including a local media outfit, YERWA EXPRESS NEWS, said it occurred on Monday afternoon, citing Civilian Joint Task Force members as their sources. The terrorists stormed the base and overpowered the soldiers. During the attack, the terrorists seized three gun trucks and 70 motorcycles intended for counter-terrorism operations and set the military base ablaze…ISWAP, a splinter group of Boko Haram, has increased attacks on military and civilian targets in recent months. Local authorities fear the looted motorbikes and trucks could aid ISWAP’s mobility. Premium Times
5,000 Nigerians Forced to Flee by Criminal Gang Leader
More than 5,000 residents from more than a dozen rural communities in Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto state have fled their homes after a criminal kingpin ordered they leave, a lawmaker and residents told AFP Monday. Northwest and central Nigeria have been plagued by gangs of heavily armed criminals, known as bandits, who stage deadly raids on villages and kidnap residents for ransom. The increasing cooperation between criminal gangs motivated by financial gain and Islamist insurgents waging a 16-year-long armed insurrection for a caliphate in Nigeria’s northeast has compounded the situation. The bandits killed at least 12 people to force residents to leave, Habibu Halilu Modachi, a local lawmaker, told AFP, warning the death toll and number of displaced could increase as reports were still coming in…The evacuation is aimed at clearing the area of its population, who the bandits accuse of providing information to the military about their locations…The kingpin had made several peace agreements with Zamfara state authorities, only for him to renege and resume attacks on communities. AFP
South Sudan: Over 17,000 IDPs Affected by Flooding in Tambura County
Severe flooding has displaced over 17,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Tambura County, Western Equatoria State, following torrential rains that destroyed shelters and heightened the risk of disease outbreaks. Tambura County Commissioner Mathew Mabenge confirmed to Radio Tamazuj Monday that the flooding, triggered by heavy rains on Sunday night, devastated temporary IDP shelters across the county. “All the small huts made from local materials have collapsed, and people are sleeping in the open,” he said. “The situation is dire, especially for young children, pregnant women, and the elderly.” …In the Barracks Camp, one of the hardest-hit areas, residents described the flooding as the worst they have experienced since fleeing their homes due to conflict…Health concerns are escalating as medical facilities struggle to respond to the growing number of cases linked to the flooding. Radio Tamazuj
South Sudan: Two SPLA-IO Groups Join SSPDF in Malakal
Two groups of the opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) have defected to the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), military officials said Monday. The defectors, from the Khor Fulus area in Jonglei State and the Alel military training camp in Upper Nile State, abandoned the SPLA-IO, which is led by detained First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar…“I decided to defect because some people are taking us back to war, while I am interested in peace and unity,” [Maj. Gen. James Koang Wieu], said. “Elections are the only way forward for power transfer.”…The SPLA-IO, a key signatory to a 2018 peace agreement that formed a unity government in 2020, has yet to fully integrate its forces into a unified national army as stipulated in the deal. Analysts warn that defections could further destabilize the country amid rising tensions. Radio Tamazuj
Mercury Fuels Gold Mining in Senegal. And It’s Poisoning the People Who Use It
Across West Africa, mercury — a potent neurotoxin — remains the dominant method for extracting gold from ore in the region’s booming informal mining sector, much of it illegal and unregulated…Mercury exposure can cause irreversible brain damage, developmental delays, tremors and loss of vision, hearing and coordination. Once released, it spreads easily through air, water and soil. Particularly after heavy rains, it contaminates rivers, poisons fish and accumulates up the food chain. A 2018 Duke University-led study found mercury levels in soils, sediments and water near artisanal gold mining villages in southeastern Senegal that exceeded safety thresholds set by the World Health Organization and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by 10 to 100 times. In artisanal mining, mercury is prized for its ability to bind quickly and easily to gold. Miners mix the liquid metal into crushed ore, and the mixture is then heated — often over open flames — to evaporate the mercury and leave behind a lump of gold. The process is cheap, effective and dangerous…Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is the largest global source of mercury emissions, even more than the burning of coal, according to the UN Environment Programme. In Senegal alone, artisanal mines are estimated to release between 12 and 16 metric tons of mercury each year…Senegal ratified the Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2016, pledging to reduce mercury use and pollution. But the substance remains widely accessible. AP
Journalists in Central African Republic Blast Arrest of Colleague
Journalists in the Central African Republic on Monday voiced concern after a senior newspaper executive was arrested, reportedly for publishing news about the country’s ousted former president. Freedom of expression has been an issue in the country since the mostly Muslim rebel alliance, the Seleka, overthrew president Francois Bozize in 2013, forcing him into exile after a decade in power. He is currently the target of an international arrest warrant issued by a UN-sponsored tribunal in the CAR for possible crimes against humanity. Martial Pabandji, an adviser and representative on CAR’s media regulator, said the director of publications at Le Quotidien du Bangui, Landry Ulrich Ngema Ngokepele, had been detained. “Landry is being prosecuted for announcing Bozize’s presence in Bangui… and causing public disorder,” he told reporters in a WhatsApp chat. Other media organisations called Ngokpele’s detention “arbitrary” while the deputy head of the country’s journalists’ union called it “effectively kidnapping”. AFP
Somalia Reopens Doolow Airport in Jubbaland after 4-month Ban
Somalia’s federal government has lifted a months-long flight ban to the Doolow airport in Gedo region amid longstanding political tensions with Jubbaland. The Interior Ministry said Sunday that domestic flights could resume to Doolow, nearly five months after Mogadishu grounded traffic to the southwestern town of Jubbaland State. The airport was shut down on December 23, 2024, following an incident in which a Halla Airlines flight on the Mogadishu–Kismayo route was allegedly diverted and forced to land in Doolow without clearance. Federal officials called the landing a breach of Somali airspace laws. Interior Minister Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail Fartaag said the reopening decision followed a federal security review and fresh guarantees from local Doolow authorities…But the row over the airport has exposed deeper rifts between the central government and the Jubbaland regional administration, which had accused Mogadishu of using the ban to punish communities seen as politically aligned with President Ahmed Madobe — whose controversial re-election in 2019 is still not recognised by the federal government. Residents in Gedo had decried the airport closure for cutting off critical medical and trade routes. The EastAfrican
Kenya Seeks Dominican Help With Haiti Anti-gang Mission
Kenya asked the Dominican Republic Monday for more support for a security mission in neighboring Haiti, where the African nation leads an under-resourced international force battling violent criminal gangs. With backing notably from France, Canada and the United States, the UN-approved Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) is meant to help Haiti’s overwhelmed and outgunned police tackle gangs that control swaths of the poorest nation in the Americas. Deployed in June last year, the force has about 1,000 police and soldiers from six countries — well short of the 2,500 originally envisaged…The comparatively wealthy and stable Dominican Republic shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti, which is riddled with poverty and gang violence. More than a million Haitians have been displaced by gang violence, says the UN…As for the security force, the Dominican Republic has been supporting Kenya with intelligence and medical assistance to soldiers wounded in Haiti. AFP