Night of Horror: Rafah Camp Devastated by Israeli Bombing
Flames and screams hit the sky in Rafah May 26-27 as it was attacked throughout the night. A man, dazed, held up the body of a headless kid while others struggled to drag charred bodies from the remains of dissolved tents. These were the terrible scenes at the Barkasat camp, near a United Nations Relief […]
Mauritania and Mali: Navigating Security Challenges and Cross-Border Aggression
Diplomats from Mali and Mauritania have been labouring hard to avert a border situation between the neighbouring West African countries. In April, Mauritania blamed the Malian military (FAMa) and its Russian mercenary associates for chasing armed men across the border into the villages of Madallah and Fassala. “Several of our civilian compatriots were killed by […]
Diplomacy Amid Tensions: Greek PM’s Ankara Visit After Heritage Site Controversy
Earlier this month, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis journeyed to Ankara for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. But the mood leading into the meeting was challenging to gauge, as just days before the two leaders met, Turkey reopened a United Nations World Heritage Site as a mosque —a place that, before was turned […]
Tensions Rise: Egypt Deploys Troops to Gaza Border
Egypt deployed extra armoured personnel carriers and soldiers to its boundary with Gaza in northeastern Sinai this week as an Israeli ground process in neighbouring Rafah appears close. Fifteen armoured personnel conveyances mounted with combat gear were stained by Sinai residents of Sheikh Zuweid travelling toward Egypt’s border with Gaza. Separately, another convoy of armoured […]
President Ebrahim Raisi’s Death and Its Implications for the Region
The premature death of Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19 has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the country’s political fate, especially concerning the sequence of the Supreme Leader. However, Iran’s ingrained balance of power suggests that there will be no direct seismic economic or foreign policy shifts anytime soon. […]
US Urges Taliban to Prevent Terrorist Attacks Originating from Afghan Soil
Supporting Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism, the US State Department demanded the Afghan Taliban ensure that the terrorist episodes were not launched from their soil. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller stated this in reply to a query aiming his words on a recent terrorist attack in which seven people, including two security forces personnel and five […]
U.S. Troop Withdrawal from Niger May Prompt Regional Force Realignment
The United States and Niger are persisting in negotiations for the withdrawal of roughly 1,000 U.S. troops located at two air bases in the Sahelian nation. After announcing at the end of April the intent to withdraw all military personnel, U.S. negotiators persist to work with Niger’s National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland (CNSP) to […]
The Turkish Surge: Impacting Africa’s Geopolitics
Turkey’s increasing presence in Africa is undeniable, and it’s by design. With its sights on expanding influence, Turkey has significantly improved its engagement on the continent in recent years. Turkish trade is roaring, as its exports to Africa have nearly doubled in less than a decade. The number of Turkish embassies on the mainland has […]
Alarming Rise in IS Violence: Over 2,000 Deaths in Africa in 2024
The Islamic State group (IS) argues that it perpetrated 788 attacks globally in the first half of 2024. Of those episodes, 536 were in Africa, where the terror group extinguished 2,142 people. More than half of the continent’s entire deaths from IS violence — 1,115 — were registered in West Africa, where the Islamic State […]
In the Crosshairs: Extremism Threatens the W National Park in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger
The W National Park is an 8,000-square-kilometer nature hold that straddles the borders of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. It is home to plenty of wildlife, including aardvark, baboon, endangered cheetah, African bush elephant, hippopotamus, African leopard, West African lion and warthog. Its most destructive denizens, however, are the violent extremists who have installed bases […]