People carry some of their belongings as they flee clashes between M23 rebels and government forces near Sake on 7 February 2024.
Photo by Aubin Mukoni /AFP via Getty Images
Regional countries are embroiled in a geopolitical struggle over influence and survival.
Local fishermen’s boats moor at Somaliland’s Berbera port.
Mustafa Saeed/AFP via Getty Images
If the international reactions are anything to go by, Ethiopia’s Red Sea port deal is easier said than done.
Leaders of Ecowas at a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria on 10 December 2023.
Nigerian Presidency /Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their intention to leave Ecowas. This may be a pointer to a deeper crisis in the Sahel region.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, presents Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a tree sapling during the G20 summit in New Delhi.
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The G20 has its critics, but an expert on international politics explains why it still performs a useful function – particularly in this period of great geopolitical divisions.
AU chair Azali Assoumani (left) greets India’s prime minister Narendra Modi at the 2023 G20 summit.
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The African Union’s membership in the G20 is an important complement to existing strategic partnerships.
It may be only the Burundian troops that leave Somalia by the end of 2024.
Renovat Ndabashinze/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A rapid exit of AU troops from Somalia could hand a battlefield and propaganda advantage to al-Shabaab.
After winning a third term, Ali Bongo has been ousted as president of Gabon by a military coup.
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Ali Bongo is the latest in a string of leaders to be ousted in military coups since 2020.
Niger’s Gen Abdourahamane Tchiani declares himself head of state on 28 July 2023.
ORTN-Télé Sahel/AFP via Getty Images
Ethnic politics, the presence of foreign troops and the weaknesses of past responses to coups encouraged Niger’s recent military takeover.
Summit held on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, on 25 May 2023.
Amanuel Sileshi/AFP
The emergence of a pan-African voice in the fight against global warming, a global issue, could enable the African Union to regain ground on the international stage.
Credit ratings are important for developing economies in Africa.
Wikimedia Commons
African states say a pan-African rating agency will enable them to access capital and integrate the continent with global financial markets.
Wagner has assisted rebel leader Khalifa Hiftar’s Libyan Arab Armed Forces.
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The African Union (AU) and responsible African governments are likely to grow to resent the Wagner Group’s presence and regret their failure to oppose it.
Fruitless talks: the African delegation failed to reach agreement with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/UPI
Despite a procession of peace plans for Ukraine, irreconcilable divisions remain between Kyiv and Moscow.
People fleeing war-torn Sudan on 13 May 2023.
Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images
A spiralling Sudan will affect peace and security in the Lake Chad Basin region, of which Nigeria is a member.
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Calls to secede have been heard from time to time in Kenya – most often around elections.
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images
An agreement to end conflict is only one small step in an often long process.
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie (C) and Ghana’s founder and first President Kwame Nkrumah (L) during the formation of the Organisation of African Unity.
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The African Union compares well to other continental unions. It accomplishes more than the Commonwealth or the Francophonie.
Sudanese protesters in Khartoum.
Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
An African-led process would take into account complex regional dynamics – which would lead to a better and more stable peace agreement.
Nigerien police processing Emergency Travel Mechanism evacuees in Niamey, Niger in 2019.
Laura Lambert
Plans by European states to outsource their asylum procedures to African states often fail and don’t offer political alternatives to asylum in Europe.
Kagame prefers partnership with successful European football clubs to market Rwanda.
Luke Dray/FIFA via Getty Images
With Africa’s solid support and his pro-west military and policy adventures, Kagame is able to take on critics.
Protesters face off with an anti-riot police officer in Nairobi, Kenya, in March 2023.
Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
Political protests in Kenya have become insular, sectarian, tribal and unashamedly personality driven.