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Africa’s oceans are being protected to serve the interests of big...

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Africa’s valuable ocean resources have drawn the interest of foreign nations, particularly those in the West and Asia. How they exploit these resources can be...

Terror groups prey on vulnerable, cost continent billions

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Moustapha was running out of hope. The Nigerien man had a family to feed but little means to do so. Like scores of people around...

Terrorism in Africa a concern for UN boss

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No region in the world is immune to terrorism according to United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who told the UN Security Council (SC)...

Report: Russia’s Ukraine invasion aids terrorist recruitment

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Besides clogging supply chains and sending prices for food and other goods skyrocketing, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may also be a boon for terrorists...

Air chiefs meet in Senegal to confront common challenges

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Whether in the deserts of Somalia, across the porous borders of Niger or along the Gulf of Guinea coast, many African nations are facing...

Stopping the spread of terrorism a focus of Flintlock ’23

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The spread of extremist violence in West Africa gave this year’s Exercise Flintlock an air of urgency, as counterterrorism training took center stage. Ghana Armed...

Fatalities from militant Islamist violence in Africa soar by 50 per...

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Over the last year, violence linked to Islamist groups in Africa increased by a quarter while deaths grew by almost 50% to over 19...

US has an enduring commitment to Africa – Africom chief

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United States Marine Corps General Michael Langley, head of the US military’s Africa Command, has affirmed the United States’ enduring commitment to Africa and...

ISS: New targets needed to manage West Africa’s military transitions

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Since August 2020, five coups have occurred in three West African countries – Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea. The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau have weathered...

Malian military junta scuttles security partnerships while militant violence surges

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The military junta in Mali has alienated regional and international security partners amid escalating violence by militant Islamist groups, leading to a spike in...

Is Wagner Africa’s newest coloniser?

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In methods strongly reminiscent of the West’s first colonial era of the 17th and 18th centuries - inescapably linked to the era of genocidal...

ISS: Africa shouldn’t ignore Russia’s destabilising influence

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As the world marks the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, it has been suggested that Africa needs a common...

Africa is less safe and secure than ten years ago

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Almost 70% of Africa’s population lives in a country where the security and rule of law environment is worse in 2021 than in 2012,...

ShieldAfrica 2023 cancelled

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The seventh edition of the ShieldAfrica defence and security exhibition has been cancelled, with no new date in sight. The expo was due to be...

In Africa, the US is “Recalibrating” to counter drivers of instability

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"The US has recalibrated its approach. We will not only seek to empower the African continent in the field of security, development, and governance,...

Illegal wildlife trade continues to threaten African elephants

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Illegal killing for ivory continues to threaten African elephants. To help guide responses to the ongoing poaching, a study by the University of Cape...

2022 marked by conflict, coups

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As 2022 ended, the story of African security was marked by continuing conflicts, coups and the unrest caused by them. Civil war continued to...

West Africa has experienced a wave of coups – superficial democracy...

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West Africa has seen coups and military takeovers in three countries in 2022. Like those of the past, they came with promises of a...

Four African countries make UN 2022 peace and security overview

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United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in Africa found themselves in harm’s way is how the world body politely describes the often harrowing task faced by...

Jihadism and military takeovers in West Africa: Burkina Faso coup highlights...

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The West African sub-region at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert has recently attracted significant attention. The main reasons have been an increase...

Armed conflict and climate change: how these two threats play out...

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The world is falling miserably short of reducing carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, a 2015 treaty to keep global warming well...

Conflict remains the dominant driver of Africa’s spiralling food crisis

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More than 80 percent of the record 137 million Africans facing acute food insecurity are in conflict-affected countries, underscoring that conflict continues to be...

Is Africa becoming the world’s terror hot spot?

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Africa has eclipsed the Middle East as the main focus of worldwide terror groups who are determined to expand their reach. That’s the conclusion of...

ISS: Weaponised drones – the latest tech threat to reach Africa

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Drones have for some time been used by regular armed forces on Africa’s battlefields, such as in Ethiopia and Mali. But now they’re increasingly...

How coastal West Africa can stem the jihadist wave

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Jihadist conflicts are now a part of West Africa’s political makeup, as militant Islamist groups resist numerous campaigns to counter them. In 2021, three of...

ISS: Wagner is being used in Africa as a proxy to...

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The governments of the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali are using Wagner, the shadowy Russian private military company believed to be close to...

Amnesty month is small step toward ‘silencing the guns’

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Authorities in Liberia, Tanzania and Togo will work with United Nations officials throughout September to get illicit small arms and light weapons out of...

ISS: Terrorists’ use of tech in West Africa must be contained

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When al-Shabaab attacked the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013, the group live-blogged the terrifying event on Twitter, taunting the authorities who...

Feature: Sahel security forces look for answers after decade of violence

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Mass atrocities, forced displacement, public executions: terror. It has been a fact of life in parts of Africa’s Sahel region since extremists gained a...

Rise in park ranger deaths shows high stakes of wildlife protection

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The slaying of South African park ranger Anton Mzimba, who was gunned down while working on his car outside his home on July 26,...

Illegal logging in Africa and its security implications

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Illegal logging is a growing feature of transnational organized crime in Africa, often facilitated by the collusion of senior officials, with far-reaching security and...

African nations developing air transport sharing mechanism

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African nations are looking at developing an Air Transport Sharing Mechanism to improve the African Union’s airlift capability, and a conference to this effect...

The crisis is multidimensional, and the solution must be global

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Mohamed Znagui Sid’Ahmed Ely knows the security challenges of the Sahel well. A former brigadier general in the Mauritanian Army, he has spent time...

Sahel and Somalia drive rise in Africa’s militant Islamist group violence

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Militant Islamist violence in Africa has risen continuously over the past decade, doubling in just the past 3 years. A review of violence involving African...

ISS: The world’s divided future

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The world has entered uncharted waters as changes forecast over the next decade could have more impact than the collapse of the Berlin Wall...

Naval infantry feels the ‘momentum’

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The word “momentum” was repeated often during the first in-person Naval Infantry Leaders Symposium-Africa (NILS-A) recently held in Dakar, Senegal. For security leaders attending...

External and internal factors hamper peace processes in Africa

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A senior United Nations (UN) Africa specialist told the Security Council efforts to address and prevent violence on the continent are hampered by external...

Chinese private security firms are growing their presence in Africa: why...

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Chinese private security companies have found a profitable niche market in Africa: guarding Chinese executives and construction sites. They’re also securing Chinese vessels at...

Africom Commander on Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Wagner Group, and security in Africa

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On 26 July, the outgoing Commander of the United States military’s Africa Command, General Stephen Townsend, expressed his stance on US troop deployment in...

African country orders Turkish landing ships

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An undisclosed African country has ordered two landing ships from Turkey’s Anadolu Shipyard. Announcing the order on 19 July, Anadolu Shipyard said the vessels will...

BIRD Aerosystems installs another AMPS solution on UN helicopters operating in...

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Israel’s Bird Aerosystems has completed another installation of its AMPS-MV Airborne Missile Protection System on Mi-17 helicopters operating on behalf of the United Nations...

Looking for solutions to the cattle rustling crisis

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Some call cattle rustling one of the oldest crimes in human history. In Africa, cattle rustling dates back centuries and once was considered a...

ISS: Africa’s security depends on action – not just commitment

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The African Union’s (AU) 16th extraordinary summit on 28 May sought solutions to the threats of terrorism and unconstitutional changes of government (UCGs) in...

Illegal fishing thrives due to lack of knowledge, patrol capacity

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Coastal African states are sounding the alarm that a lack of resources to patrol waters, combined with limited surveillance of vessel activity, are enabling...

ISS: Can Africa stay on target to silence the guns by...

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The African Union (AU) seems to be in the habit of assigning deadlines for overly ambitious goals and then struggling to meet them. This...

After losing ground in Middle East, Islamic State expands operations in...

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The Islamic State terrorist organization has been decimated in Iraq and Syria in recent years and is now seeking to expand operations in Africa,...

ISS: Can the African Standby Force match up to current security...

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In April, seven East African Community countries agreed to establish a regional military force to restore stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of the...

UN peacekeeping in Africa is working better than you might think

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Media headlines often make it seem as if peacekeeping is not going well; they tend to highlight violence, displacement and abuse. The quantitative data,...

ISS: US debates bill to counter ‘malign’ Russian activities in Africa

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A United States (US) bill that would oblige Washington to punish African governments that abet Russian ‘malign’ activities on the continent is sailing through...

Indian Ocean Commission helps Africa’s island states fight sea crime

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The Baba Ali, a Seychellois fishing vessel, was passing through the Seychelles exclusive economic zone (EEZ) when authorities intercepted it in May 2021. Through an...