Houthi Leverage over the Red Sea Escalates Threats for Africa
Renewed missile attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militants on maritime vessels in the Red Sea have roiled international shipping and altered the security landscape for this vital waterway connecting Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. … While African countries are not a party to either the Yemen or Iran conflicts, the continent’s strategic location bordering three of the world’s seven major maritime chokeholds—the Bab al Mandeb Strait, the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Gibraltar—has direct security and economic implications for Africa. … The resumption of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea has been accompanied by a spike in piracy events in the Gulf of Aden. … There have been growing ties between the Houthis and al Shabaab since early 2025. This has largely involved significant arms shipments and training by Houthi operatives of al Shabaab fighters, which has contributed to the growing sophistication of al Shabaab’s capabilities in recent years. … Africa is also bearing the indirect economic costs of restricted Red Sea access. … While viewed as a maritime security issue, this threat is an outcome of the prolonged instability of fragile states bordering valuable strategic territory. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Tigrayan Leaders Say New War with Ethiopian Government Has Begun, as Fighting Erupts
The leaders of the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray said on Wednesday that they had entered a new war with the federal government as fighting broke out in Tigray and two neighbouring regions, shattering a four-year-old peace deal. …The outbreak of new fighting follows months of growing animosity between the two sides, capped by Sunday’s announcement that the TPLF had formed an alliance with six other armed groups from across Ethiopia aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government. … Getachew Reda, an adviser to Abiy and a former TPLF official, wrote on X that the TPLF had seized control of federally controlled airports in Tigray and launched an “all out offensive” against government positions in the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara. Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to the region. Four sources, including a senior Ethiopian government official, a diplomatic source, a humanitarian source and another source with links to the TPLF and an allied militia, confirmed the developments in Tigray, Afar and Amhara. Reuters
Exiled Guinean Opposition Leader Says His Passport Has Been Revoked
A leading Guinean opposition figure said on Tuesday that his passport has been revoked, preventing him from attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Cellou Dalein Diallo, who has lived in exile since 2022, said he had been due to participate in meetings on the sidelines of the gathering. His party, the Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) was dissolved in March by President Mamady Doumbouya along with several other main opposition parties. The UFDG says Diallo had already obtained his boarding pass to fly from Abidjan to New York when Ethiopian airlines informed him that his passport had been cancelled by the “issuing authorities.” Consequently, the party said the airline told him it was not authorised to allow him to board the flight. … Under Doumbouya’s rule, demonstrations have been banned and many dissenting voices has been arrested, convicted, forced into exile, or have disappeared. Africanews with AFP
UNGA: Nigerian State Governors Seek Funding for Security, Development Plans
Governors of Nigeria’s North-west states are seeking international financing and private investment to implement a regional plan aimed at tackling insecurity, creating jobs and improving social services. This was disclosed by the Katsina State Government in a statement on Tuesday. It said the North-west Peace, Security and Development Framework 2026–2030 was presented to development institutions and investors in New York at an event on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly. The seven states — Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara — adopted the framework in March 2026. The New York meeting sought partnerships and financing for its implementation, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). … The agency said the aim was to prepare projects that could attract public funding, development assistance and private investment. … “Security must be accompanied by opportunity. Stabilisation must be accompanied by development. And public investment must create space for responsible private capital,” [Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, who chairs the North-west Governors’ Forum] said. Premium Times
Nigeria: Opening Battlefield to Media Broke Boko Haram’s Propaganda Grip – Buratai
Former Chief of Army Staff, retired Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, says opening the battlefield to journalists helped the Nigerian Army break Boko Haram’s grip on information and counter terrorist propaganda. Buratai, also a former Nigerian Ambassador to Benin Republic. … He said his administration deliberately transformed Army-media relations by taking defence correspondents to operational theatres to witness and report military activities firsthand. He explained that terrorists had exploited the media to propagate their ideology, spread misinformation and demoralise both citizens and troops. … “The best way to counter the propaganda was to ensure that journalists had direct access to the battlefield and could report events as they unfolded,” he said. … He stressed that timely and credible information remained critical to modern military strategy, adding that failure to effectively communicate military activities could undermine operational objectives. News Agency of Nigeria
South Sudan President Dissolves Transitional Government Ahead of Long-delayed Elections
South Sudan President Salva Kiir dissolved his country’s transitional government, removing his deputies and introducing a caretaker administration ahead of elections on Dec 22. The changes outlined in an executive decree were announced on state television Tuesday night. The order also dissolved the national legislature, the country’s 10 state governments and their assemblies, as well as authorities in three administrative areas. Kiir, who will remain president throughout the electoral period until a new president is sworn in, appointed caretaker ministers to oversee key ministries including foreign affairs, defense, cabinet affairs, interior, justice, national security, finance, petroleum, information and peace building. The transitional period and implementation of a 2018 peace agreement, which ended a deadly civil war, has been extended several times. The transitional government’s dissolution was envisaged as part of the road map to elections. In previous orders, Kiir has alarmed observers by dismissing important officials. He fired the National Elections Commission chairperson on Sept. 15 without publicly giving a reason. AP
Morocco Goes to Polls with Youth Unemployment Topping Voter Concerns
Nearly 15.8 million people are registered to elect the 395 members of the House of Representatives, Morocco’s lower house of parliament. But the most striking figure is the one concerning those not taking part: Moroccans aged 18 to 24 make up 12 percent of the population, but account for just 4 percent of registered voters. Wednesday’s election is the first since the Gen Z-led protest movement brought young people on to the streets last year, demanding employment opportunities and better access to healthcare and education and expressing their frustration over the cost of living. Those frustrations were back in the spotlight in July, when large numbers of young Moroccans attempted to cross the border into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in search of opportunities in Europe. For political parties, reconnecting with this generation has become one of the central challenges of the election campaign. RFI
ICC Convicts Former Central African Republic Militia Commander of Torture
Judges at the International Criminal Court on Wednesday convicted rebel commander Mahamat Said Abdel Kani of persecution and torture as crimes against humanity committed while he ran a prison in the Central African Republic. Said, 56, wore jeans and a blue sweater and remained expressionless for most of the hourlong hearing as presiding Judge Miatta Maria Samba described the conditions prisoners endured at the facility in the capital, Bangui. During the trial, witnesses described cramped cells with walls marked by “bullet holes and blood” and said they were whipped “until they soiled themselves,” Samba said. Other victims testified that they were confined in a windowless room under the floorboards of Said’s office. The charges stemmed from fighting more than a decade ago between the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels, who had seized power from then-President Francois Bozize, and a mainly Christian militia called the anti-Balaka. AP
Hundreds Flee Homes in Far North Cameroon after Armed Group Raid Kills 15
Hundreds of people have fled their homes after an armed group killed 15 people in the village of Madegoua near the town of Makary in the Far North region of Cameroon. The attack [last] Wednesday triggered a wave of displacement from 10 nearby villages. Several hundred people fled towards Kousseri and others went farther afield towards the towns of Mora and Waza close to the border with Nigeria, the RFI news outlet reported. … The surge of people arriving in border towns near Nigeria has put pressure on local health services, sparking fears of a humanitarian crisis. … No group has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack, but a security analyst told the Reuters news agency it was likely carried out by the ISIL (ISIS) affiliate in West Africa Province, which operates in the area. Al Jazeera and agencies
Belgium, Rwanda Resume Diplomatic Relations after DRC Conflict Dispute
Belgium and Rwanda have resumed diplomatic relations 18 months after breaking ties due to a dispute over the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot and Rwanda’s foreign ministry both posted the news on X alongside photos of Prevot and his Rwandan counterpart Olivier Nduhungirehe in New York, where the United Nations General Assembly is taking place. The two countries expelled each other’s diplomats in March 2025 as relations deteriorated over the conflict in Rwanda’s neighbour. The AFC/M23 rebels control large parts of North and South Kivu provinces following their early 2025 advance, during which they captured Goma and Bukavu, eastern Congo’s two largest cities. The UN and Western governments say the group is backed by Rwanda, which Kigali denies. Reuters
Powerful El Nino Could Cause More than 450,000 Deaths, Scientists Say
More than 450,000 people are projected to die from additional heat due to the unusually strong El Nino event over the next six months, according to a research report. The projection, published on Wednesday by the University of Chicago’s Climate Impact Lab, runs to February 2027 and compares estimates of heat-related deaths that could be attributed to El Nino with the level expected in a typical year. Researchers estimate that global land temperatures could climb by about 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.1 degrees Fahrenheit), with extremely hot days 44 percent more frequent than in an average year. Developing nations and Africa’s Sahel region are expected to be hit disproportionately hard. The report projected about 66,800 additional deaths across the Sahel, with Nigeria having the highest projected toll of any single country at 31,400, ahead of Indonesia at 19,300 and Sudan at 17,600. Al Jazeera and AP