Twin Jihadist-claimed Attacks Kill More than 30 in Mali
Two attacks in central Mali claimed by jihadists have killed more than 30 people, local, security and administrative sources told AFP on Thursday. The two strikes came less than a fortnight after a large-scale, coordinated offensive by jihadists and separatists on junta positions, which plunged the west African country into a fresh security crisis. “At least 35 people were killed on Wednesday in near simultaneous attacks” on the villages of Korikori and Gomossogou, a youth official said. A security and an administrative source both reported more than 30 dead in the assaults, claimed by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM). WAMAPS, a group of west African journalists specialising in Sahel security, said the provisional toll was more than 50 villagers killed and several still missing. … The security source said Thursday’s assaults were in retaliation for acts committed by the Dan Nan Ambassagou militia, the best-known of the self-defence groups set up by local communities in response to the assaults plaguing central Mali. “The victims are mostly militiamen. But there are also teenagers and children,” the source told AFP. AFP
Wave of Arrests, Abductions after Attacks on Mali Junta
Malian opposition figures and military personnel have been detained or abducted following large-scale attacks by jihadists and separatists on junta positions, security, legal and family sources told AFP on Wednesday. The coordinated assaults last month by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) and the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), an ethnic Tuareg separatist movement, plunged the west African nation into a fresh security crisis. … Opposition figures Mountaga Tall, Youssouf Daba Diawara and Moussa Djire are among those “abducted”, security sources and their allies told AFP. … “Everything suggests that these events are being used as an opportunity to carry out a purge within the political opposition and the army,” a political official told AFP, requesting anonymity for security reasons. AFP
What is the Alliance of Democrats for the Sahel?
[VIDEO] As military juntas consolidate power in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, a new civilian initiative — the Alliance of Democrats of the Sahel — has launched from exile to unite pro-democracy voices and mount peaceful resistance. DW
Arms Deliveries and Africa Corps Training: How Russia Is Bolstering Its Presence in Madagascar
Two tracked BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles and various pieces of protective gear were among the items showcased during a “Russian military-technical aid handover” ceremony held at the Ivato military camp in Madagascar on April 1. … The delivery was attended by the transitional president, Colonel Michaël Randrianirina, who seized power in October 2025 following weeks of youth-led Gen Z protests and a military takeover that ousted the former president. The move is one of the latest signs of deepening ties between Russia and the African island nation. … The rapprochement between the two countries materialised in December 2025 with the arrival of Russian personnel and equipment. … The news caused a significant stir, particularly as the Russian delegation was reportedly led by Andrei Averyanov. Averyanov serves as the deputy head of Russian military intelligence and is the alleged commander of Africa Corps, the paramilitary group that succeeded the Wagner organisation. … While the government openly communicates regarding the provision of Russian training and equipment, it remains more discreet about the role Russian personnel may play in protecting officials. According to French daily Le Monde, “mercenaries” from Africa Corps are providing “close protection” for the transitional president. … Russia’s interest in the island is not entirely unprecedented; in 2018, Moscow attempted to influence the outcome of the presidential elections. However, the current expansion of its influence is unfolding with remarkable speed, extending beyond the military sector into the cultural and economic spheres. France 24
Nigeria: Army Prioritising Technology, Advanced Training for Modern Warfare — COAS
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Waidi Shaibu, has stressed that advanced training and technology-driven operations remain critical to the success of the Nigerian Army in confronting evolving security threats across the country. Speaking on Thursday at the closing ceremony of the Combat Arms Training (CAT) Week 2026 at Jaji Military Cantonment, the COAS said modern warfare increasingly requires highly trained, disciplined and adaptable personnel capable of operating effectively in complex combat environments. … Lt.-Gen. Shaibu charged personnel of the Nigerian Army to remain resilient, cohesive and combat-ready in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities, noting that operational success in today’s battlespace depends not only on modern equipment but also on continuous professional development and innovation. He identified drone warfare, combat aviation and advanced training methodologies as critical force multipliers for future military operations, adding that the Nigerian Army would continue to leverage technology to improve operational effectiveness nationwide. PR Nigeria
Sudan: UN Delivers Darfur Aid as Drone Activity Hampers Northern Access
The United Nations said on Thursday it has delivered critical aid to thousands in Darfur despite escalating insecurity and drone activity that continue to hamper humanitarian corridors in the region. UNICEF delivered health, nutrition, and sanitation supplies to Um Baru in North Darfur on Tuesday, a shipment expected to benefit more than 15,000 people. Recent assessments in the locality indicate malnutrition rates have surpassed emergency thresholds. “Access along the northern corridor of the state remains constrained by insecurity and continued drone activity, limiting the ability to reach people in urgent need,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters. In West Darfur, the UN and its partners provided food assistance to approximately 15,000 families in the Kulbus locality over the past few weeks. Dujarric noted that ongoing intercommunal clashes and violence across Darfur continue to displace civilians and disrupt essential services. Sudan Tribune
U.N. Warns Abyei Violence Rising amid Stalled Talks
United Nations officials warned the Security Council on Thursday that the war in Sudan and instability in South Sudan were worsening security conditions in the disputed Abyei region and delaying progress toward resolving its final status. … [Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations] said security conditions in Abyei had deteriorated over the past six months due to criminal activity, the spread of weapons and the presence of unauthorized armed groups. … She said South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and police continued to maintain unauthorized checkpoints and occupy civilian infrastructure in southern Abyei, while the presence of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces around Goli and Diffra in northern Abyei remained a major concern. Pobee also described drone attacks on the UNISFA logistics base in Kadugli, Sudan, in December 2025 as “a major operational setback” for the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism. … The attacks forced UNISFA to relocate and shut all team sites in the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone, suspending its physical presence there for the first time since the mechanism was established, she said. Radio Tamazuj
At Least 40 Killed in Militant Group Attack on Congo Villages, Local Group Says
[A militant group] attacked villages in Congo near the border with Uganda, killing at least 40 people and burning and looting homes, a local civil society group said on Friday. The attacks were carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces overnight from Wednesday through Thursday afternoon, according to Charité Banza, the leader of the Ituri civil society group and Kinos Katua, a member of the group who lives in the area. The Allied Democratic Forces, which has roots in Uganda and which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2019, has long operated in the border region. In a recent report this week, Amnesty International accused the Allied Democratic Forces of “war crimes and crimes against humanity.” The ADF is one of the numerous groups operating in Congo and it routinely attacks civilians. In July 2025, the group killed 66 people in eastern Congo in what the United Nations called a “bloodbath.” The country also faces attacks from roughly 100 other rebel groups, most prominently the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, which has seized key cities in the eastern region. AP
Congo President Raises Prospect of Third Term and Vote Delay, Angering Opposition
Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi said he was open to standing for a third term, angering opposition politicians who accused him of planning to break through mandate limits in the constitution and cling to power. … Congo’s constitution currently limits presidents to two terms. Tshisekedi said any change would require a constitutional revision approved by referendum. Opposition figures criticised Tshisekedi’s remarks, saying they could plunge the country into renewed political turmoil. “The DRC cannot enter a new cycle of institutional tensions and the personalization of power. All democrats must stand against this slide,” former presidential candidate Delly Sesanga wrote on X after the press conference. Reuters
UN Rights Chief Says Tunisia Must End Repression of Civil Society, Media
The United Nations rights chief demanded Thursday that Tunisia end widening repression targeting civil society organizations, journalists, rights defenders and opposition figures. “The continued repression and restrictions on civic space by the Tunisian authorities undermine the rights of people protected under the country’s constitution and its international human rights obligations,” UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk said in a statement. His comment came after Tunisian authorities this week temporarily banned the local branch of international NGO Avocats Sans Frontières, days after another leading group, the Tunisian League for Human Rights, was targeted by a similar measure. … He also highlighted that the Tunisian government in parallel was imposing intensifying restrictions on the media. … Twenty-eight other journalists were arrested last year and had been sentenced to various prison terms for conduct linked to their professional activities, the UN rights office said. Africanews with AFP
Italy and Libya Discuss Strengthening Energy Ties
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Libyan counterpart Abdulhamid Dbeibah discussed on Thursday strengthening energy cooperation at a time when Italy is looking to diversify energy supplies due to the turmoil in the Gulf. … Libya is Rome’s biggest supplier of crude oil, accounting for nearly a fifth of Rome’s total crude oil imports. However, Libya’s gas exports to Italy dropped to around 1 billion cubic metres in 2025, from 1.4 bcm in 2024. The drop was largely the result of supply-side constraints in Libya – including rising domestic demand, repeated disruptions to infrastructure and political instability – which kept the Greenstream pipeline to Italy running well below capacity. Members of Italy’s influential parliamentary security committee visited Libya in late April, and discussed with Dbeibah the importance of “increased investment to allow a significant rise in Libyan gas production and, consequently, exports to Italy”, according to a statement. Italian state-controlled Eni has been present in Libya since 1959 and is the country’s leading international operator, with an equity production of approximately 162,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025 and three development projects currently in execution, two of which will start up in 2026. Reuters
France to Send Its Ambassador Back to Algeria to Ease Relations
Paris will return its ambassador to Algeria and send a senior envoy to ceremonies marking a colonial-era massacre in its former colony to improve frayed relations, the French presidency said on Friday, May 8. Ties between France and Algeria have been fraught since 2024, when Paris officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front. On Friday, French Deputy Armed Forces Minister Alice Rufo will attend ceremonies in Sétif, Algeria, to mark the 1945 violent put-down of pro-democracy protesters by French troops, the Elysée said in a statement. She will be accompanied by Ambassador Stéphane Romatet, who will resume his duties, more than a year after having been recalled from his post, it said. Le Monde with AFP
France Passes Law Easing Process of Returning Looted Art
For decades, [historic pieces of African art] held in French museums were removed only when a French president presented them as diplomatic gifts, a practice that was not always legal but was rarely challenged. When leaders of other countries demanded restitution, they were rebuffed by a French law that deems everything in the public collection “inalienable,” meaning that it cannot leave. The new law, passed unanimously by both houses of Parliament this week and expected to be formally enacted this month, creates an exception to that rule for cultural property unlawfully appropriated by “theft, pillage or gift obtained by coercion or violence” between 1815 and 1972. … [T]he new law offers a streamlined procedure with clear rules underpinned by scientific rigor. Only a government can make an official request for cultural objects that it can prove were taken from its territory illicitly. The objects cannot already be subject to an international agreement, nor can they be warfare objects seized during war by armed forces. Requests will first be examined by a freshly formed scientific committee of experts from both France and the requesting country. Then they will go before a permanent national commission made up of politicians, state officials and experts. France’s highest administrative court will make the final decision. The New York Times