Africa

From Red Sea security to BRICS solidarity, a wider Middle East war would stress-test the continent’s fragile supply chains and geopolitical alliances, and put South Africa’s Iran links under a microscope. Here are five risks to watch. As US warships mass off the Iranian coast and Western allies scramble to …

What began as a quiet divergence between Saudi Arabia and the UAE now risks escalating into an overt struggle for dominance across the Horn of Africa The rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has erupted beyond subtle divergences into a more overt and consequential rivalry. While …

The rift between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has erupted beyond subtle divergences into a more overt and consequential rivalry. While it started with an emerging proxy war over southern Yemen, it has now shifted to the Horn of Africa. But while efforts to smooth their differences …

La Corne de l’Afrique s’impose comme l’un des nouveaux “terrain d’affrontement” de la compétition stratégique entre Émirats arabes unis, Arabie saoudite, Israël et puissances régionales. Une lutte d’influence qui fragilise des États déjà instables et fait planer le risque d’un conflit élargi en mer Rouge. Composée de l’Éthiopie, de la …

The death of the ICC-wanted heir removes a major obstacle to the country’s stalled elections, even as his supporters decry a ‘treacherous’ end for the man who once promised reform – and later, ‘rivers of blood’. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s late longtime ruler, Muammar Gaddafi, was killed …

Israel’s agreement with Somaliland will boost its security in the Red Sea Basin and may encourage the United States and other countries to follow suit, though political obstacles and complications abound. The surprise announcement on December 26 that Israel will be the first country to grant Somaliland full recognition has …

The Somali Defense Minister’s request for Saudi Arabia to replicate its South Yemeni campaign in Somaliland coupled with reports about those two’s and Egypt’s impending alliance that would thus de facto include their Eritrean ally strongly suggest that something big might soon be afoot. Reports have recently circulated about three …

Pakistan is functioning as the force multiplier in the Saudi-Turkish-Egyptian proxy campaign against the UAE in Africa that it’s finally participating in after sitting on the sidelines for so long. Reuters recently reported that “Pakistan nears $1.5 billion deal to supply weapons, jets to Sudan”, which follows last month’s report …

Israel’s approval of the delayed export agreement is a welcome development, but U.S. officials should view it as the start, not the end, of efforts to ease tensions between two key peace partners. On December 17, Israel announced the largest natural gas deal in its history—a $35 billion agreement to …

Ibrahim Kalin says intelligence diplomacy delivering results from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa as Ankara deepens its trade and military ties with the continent Turkey is prioritising Africa, where strategic competition is accelerating, the director of its National Intelligence Organisation Ibrahim Kalin declared on Tuesday, saying that Ankara …