National Security

SA’s safety and security machinery will be restored – Security Cluster

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Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise along with Police Minister Bheki Cele said at the weekend Cabinet’s security cluster was “committed to restoring...

President tending to tension in security cluster

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President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is seized with acting on the visibly clear tensions between Police Minister Bheki Cele and Police Commissioner, General Kehla...

Police minister adamant no security threat in SA

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Police Minister Bheki Cele, who’s SA Police Service (SAPS) was severely criticised for lack of action during the July unrest, maintains there is no...

Ramaphosa acknowledges July unrest intelligence failure

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President Cyril Ramaphosa used his sixth State of the Nation Address (SONA) from the Cape Town City Hall yesterday (10 February) to respond to...

National key points one of many problem areas in July unrest report

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The expert panel appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to report on last year’s widespread civil unrest is scathing of a number of Cabinet Ministers...

It may only be a matter of time before there is more July 2021-style...

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The official report into the civil unrest of July 2021 has warned that it may only be a matter of time until more unrest...

Surge in militant Islamist violence in the Sahel dominates Africa’s fight against extremists

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A 70-percent annual increase in violent events linked to militant Islamist groups in the Sahel propelled a new record of extremist violence in Africa...

ISS: No easy answers to Lake Chad Basin’s security dilemmas

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It has been two decades since Mohammed Yusuf founded the group that became known as Boko Haram, and over a decade since its violent...

Elections, water, cyber shutdowns, peacekeeping pose risks in 2022

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As the new year arrives, security experts are closely watching certain conflict hot spots and tracking long-term trends that threaten to boil over. Recurring...

Twenty charged with plotting to kill Madagascar president as trial begins

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Twenty people, including two French nationals, were charged on Monday with plotting to kill Madagascar's president and other offences as their trial began in...

Four West African states mount operation against Islamist insurgents

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Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo have carried out a joint military operation to counter increased attacks by Islamist insurgent groups in parts...

Ethiopia’s army captures northern Afar town of Chifra – state media

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Ethiopia’s army has retaken the town of Chifra in Afar region, the state-run broadcaster said on Sunday, its first major seizure from rebellious Tigrayan...

Ethiopia restricts information sharing about war

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Ethiopia has announced new restrictions on the sharing of information about the war in the north of the country which stipulate that battlefront updates...

Work underway to verify status of hostage drama suspects

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Defence and Military Veterans Deputy Minister Thabang Makwetla says the department has undertaken measures to verify the status of 57 individuals who were involved...

Ethiopian leader heads to war’s front lines as Olympians join the military

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Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has gone to direct the war from the front lines, state-affiliated media reported on Wednesday, as two Olympian athletes...

Burkina Faso says it cut internet under national defence provision

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Burkina Faso's government said on Monday it had cut mobile internet access in the country under a legal provision related to national defence and...

Uganda says seven suspects killed during probe of last week’s Kampala blasts

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Uganda said on Monday that seven suspects had been killed and 106 people detained during operations by the security services linked to three suicide...

Paris investigates leak purporting to show Egypt misused French intelligence

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France's armed forces minister called for an investigation on Monday after a report that secret French intelligence intended to track jihadist militants had been...

National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole speaks out on July unrest

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National Police Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, says police could have done better to respond to and mitigate the damage done by the July unrest. He...

Concern about Ethiopian detention under state of emergency

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Ethiopia's state-appointed rights commission said some human rights were not being upheld during the current national state of emergency and expressed concern about conditions...

Kenyan police say three ‘dangerous’ inmates flee maximum security prison

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A Kenyan serving a 41-year sentence for involvement in one of the country's worst militant attacks escaped from a maximum security prison on Monday,...

Triple suicide bombing kills three, wounds dozens in Ugandan capital

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A triple suicide bombing killed at least three people in the heart of Uganda's capital on Tuesday, sending members of parliament and others rushing...

Twin blasts in Uganda capital kill two, injure dozens

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Two explosions in the heart of Kampala killed two people and sent parliamentarians rushing for cover as cars burst into flames, witnesses and media...

Feature: Unravelling the origins of Mozambique’s insurgency

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Political and economic exclusion, poverty and radicalisation came together to create the insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, and although military intervention has driven...

Nigerian separatist leader’s trial adjourned after lawyer walks out

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A Nigerian judge on Wednesday adjourned the trial of separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu until January after his lead lawyer walked out in protest because...

State Security focused on ‘executing its lawful mandate’

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The State Security Agency (SSA) has dismissed claims that it has roped in retired members to assist in foreign operations. This after media reports said...

Could Ethiopia’s capital fall to Tigrayan and allied forces?

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Rebellious forces from Ethiopia's Tigray region have pushed to within a day's drive of the capital Addis Ababa and are threatening to march on...

ISS: Uganda terror attacks point to deeper Jihadi coordination

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Some analysts and officials believe the Islamic State-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces and al-Shabaab are collaborating. Terrorist attacks are intensifying in Uganda. An explosion in a...

Calls for ceasefire in Ethiopia grow amid deepening conflict

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Calls from African and Western nations for an immediate ceasefire in Ethiopia intensified on Thursday after Tigrayan forces from the country's north made advances...

Tunisia finds tunnel near French envoy’s residence; anti-terrorism forces investigating

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Tunisia has discovered a tunnel near the French ambassador’s residence from a house frequented by a known extremist, and anti-terrorism forces are investigating, the...

Ethiopia declares state of emergency as Tigrayan forces gain ground

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Ethiopia declared a six-month state of emergency on Tuesday after forces from the northern region of Tigray said they were gaining territory and considering...

Addis Ababa government tells residents to prepare to defend neighbourhoods

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Authorities in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday urged residents to prepare to defend their neighbourhoods after forces from Tigray region, who have...

Uganda’s police detain 48 suspects linked to last month’s bombings

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Uganda's police have arrested 48 suspects in connection with last month's deadly bombings blamed on an Islamist group linked to Islamic State, police said...

Nigerian army says Islamic State West Africa’s new leader killed in military operation

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Nigeria's army said on Thursday it had killed the new leader of insurgent group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in a military operation...

Islamic State sinks roots across Africa

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The Islamic State group, which once held about a third of Syrian territory and even more ground in Iraq, now oversees a network of...

As pressure increases, Cabo Delgado militants scatter into East Africa

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Shaky cellphone videos captured the scene of a lone terrorist engaged in a shootout with police on the streets of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania,...

‘An epidemic’ of coups, UN chief laments, urging Security Council to act

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UN chief Antonio Guterres assailed what he called "an epidemic of coup d'états" on Tuesday and urged the Security Council to act to effectively...

Uganda investigating Islamist link to bombing after IS responsibility claim

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Uganda said on Monday it was investigating whether fighters allied with the militant group Islamic State (IS) had carried out a bombing in Kampala...

Islamic State claims responsibility for bomb attack in Uganda

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Islamic State claimed responsibility for a bomb attack that killed at least one person in Uganda's capital Kampala on Saturday night, the militant group...

Nigerian gunmen attack jail, 575 detainees missing

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Gunmen attacked a jail in Nigeria's Oyo State late on Friday and freed over 800 inmates by force, the third such major attack this...

Islamic State claims responsibility for attack in Congo

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Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on a village this week in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a statement published on...

Africa urged to wake up to growing state surveillance threat

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African governments are using new technology and laws to increase surveillance of opposition figures, researchers warned on Thursday, calling for restrictions on the sale...

French army: leading member of African-based Al Quaeda affiliate killed

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Nasser Al Tergui, a leading member of the African-based Al Quaeda affiliate Katiba Serma, was killed last week in Mali after an air strike...

Nigerian army says 24 Islamist insurgents killed

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Nigerian troops killed 24 suspected Islamist insurgents in two attacks in the northeast and recovered some weapons, the army said on Tuesday. Boko Haram and...

Sudan protest calls for military coup as political crisis deepens

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Thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the presidential palace in Khartoum on Saturday calling for the military to seize power as Sudan grapples...

ISS: African coups are making a comeback

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The AU should do more to pre-empt coups by sanctioning bad governance and attempts by presidents to extend their terms. Coups used to be the...

Nigerian general says leader of Islamic State West Africa is dead

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Nigeria's top general said on Thursday that Abu Musab al-Barnawi, leader of the insurgent group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), was dead. ISWAP is...

Six people arrested in Rwanda, accused of spreading rumours

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Rwandan authorities have arrested six people including a journalist and members of an opposition party accused of publishing rumours allegedly intended to spark an...

Algerian security forces foil planned armed attack by separatists – TV

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Algerian security forces foiled a plot to carry out an armed attack by separatists aided by "the Zionist entity" (Israel) and a North African...

Congo journalist granted provisional release after terrorism probe dropped

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A journalist arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo last month for possessing a video showing the assassination of two UN sanctions monitors in...