Africa

Since 1991, the United Nations has led a series of fruitless efforts to resolve the standoff over Western Sahara. A swath of desert about the size of the entire United Kingdom, Western Sahara is claimed both by the Polisario Front—a rebel group that the UN recognizes as the legitimate representative of the region’s inhabitants—and by its northern neighbor, Morocco, which wants to cement its de facto control over what it considers its “southern provinces.” By now, the dispute may seem frozen—or worse yet, that might is beating right: over the past five years, Morocco has bypassed the UN and secured extralegal bilateral endorsements of its sovereignty from France, Spain, and, most consequentially, the United States. But recent events in Azerbaijan, Sudan, and Israel show how suddenly so-called frozen conflicts can shift—and the contours of the Western Saharan dispute are poised to shift dangerously. The Polisario Front has started to take on Morocco more aggressively in legal forums, challenging its right to exploit Western Sahara’s resources, and Morocco and its neighbor Algeria—a key backer of the Polisario Front—have begun a dangerous arms race.

Terrorism and other forms of violence have deeply destabilised different regions of Nigeria and the wider sub-Saharan region

On Feb. 12, the world marks the International Day for the Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) as a reminder of the devastating impact of violent extremism. It also speaks to the imperative need for sustained action to curb violence and extremism.

Les morts et les événements violents liés aux groupes islamistes militants en Afrique se sont maintenus à un niveau presque record. 79 % des morts qui leurs sont imputables se sont produites au Sahel et en Somalie.

Since 2023, Islamic State Sahel Province (IS Sahel), a violent extremist organization affiliated to the Islamic State, has shifted from perpetrating high levels of indiscriminate violence against civilians towards building community support in areas where it has consolidated its influence. It has also begun actively reviving local economies (including illicit activities) that had been heavily undermined by its earlier indiscriminate use of violence.

In-depth: A whirlwind of recent army gains has triggered the most dramatic shift in battle lines between the army and RSF since Sudan’s war began.

Sudan has been witnessing lightning-fast developments over the past week which have led to the most dramatic redrawing of battle lines between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since the war erupted in April 2023.

Somalia’s government Saturday sent stern warnings to businesses and individuals that pay extortion money to al-Shabab, saying the full force of the law would be brought against traders and individuals who pay the al-Qaida ally.

Libya’s security authorities recovered at least 28 bodies of migrants from a mass grave in the desert in southeast Libya, the country’s attorney general said on its Facebook page on Sunday.

The bodies were found north of Kufra city, the attorney general said, while 76 migrants were freed “from forced detention.”

The United Nations on Monday accused Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of blocking aid to the war-torn country’s famine-threatened Darfur region.

The RSF, which has been at war with the regular army since April 2023, controls nearly all of Darfur, a western region the size of France.

A coalition of Sudanese political factions, including some members of the “Tagadum” alliance, the “Qimam” alliance, the National Umma Party, and other groups, are finalizing preparations to form a parallel government in opposition to the current government in Port Sudan.