Protesters demand the freedom of the Sahrawi population.
Jesus Merida/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Long considered a frozen conflict, the Western Sahara dispute roared back to life in late 2020, reviving old wounds and inflicting fresh ones.
A view of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a massive hydropower plant built on the River Nile.
Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The dam has helped to shift longstanding power relationships and could pave the way for more cooperation among all the countries that depend on the Nile.
G7 leaders convene at Schloss Elmau, Germany.
EFE-EPA/Thomas Lohnes
The G7 summit offered the most recent insights for Africa into how western nations are considering their stakes in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the impact that could have on developing nations.
Sudanese people march in Khartoum during one of many protests against the 2020 coup. More than 100 have been killed.
EFE-EPAS/Stringer
The AU needs to address two main problems to steer Africa into a prosperous future – the use of unconstitutional means by some leaders to cling to power and disregard for the rule of law.
The opening ceremony of an African Union session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Eduardo Soteras/AFP via Getty Images
The Panel of the Wise shows promise but more needs to be done to turn it into a proactive pillar of Africa’s peace and security system.
US troops in Djibouti in 2003 on a mission to watch terrorist groups in countries that include Somalia.
Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images
The core obstacle to stability in Somalia is the lack of agreement among political, religious, and business elites on how to govern their country.
UN peacekeepers on patrol.
Sia Kambou/AFP via Getty Images
Peacekeeping missions grab the headlines when they’re associated with tragedy and death – but that isn’t their full story.
Police officers under the African Union.
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The African Union’s Continental Early Warning System was created to anticipate and prevent conflicts, but it’s gone.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses an African Union summit in Addis Ababa via video in February 2022.
Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
Despite the benefits that could come from integration, many African countries remain wary of the process.
Muhoozi Kainerugaba, commander of Uganda’s land forces and President Yoweri Museveni’s son.
Peter Busomoke/AFP via Getty Images
The plan to replace Museveni with his son has dramatically shifted from rumour to reality in recent months.
Troops under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan on patrol in Juba.
Albert Gonzalez Farran/AFP via Getty Images
The UN voted to extend its presence in South Sudan for another year. However, its success in the country faces many challenges.
Chadian soldiers benefited from foreign aids and training.
International support for Déby and the dependence on Chad’s peacekeeping troops had a downside: it came at the expense of democracy and respect for human rights.
Getty images
In 2022 the world is in the midst of another inflection point that few predicted. African countries have history they can draw on to respond.
Day one of the lockdown in South Africa on 27 March 2020 found some 100 African refugees living on a sidewalk in Cape Town.
EFE-EPA/Nic Bothma
South Africa does not put refugees in camps. So, the government is responsible for their protection and well-being. Its performance was hit-and-miss.
Somali police officers in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 2018.
Mohamed Abdiwahab/AFP via Getty Images
A transition is underway in Somalia. There are massive risks if it is not handled with great care.
A G5 Sahel meeting on Burkina Faso and Mali.
MINUSMA/Wikimedia Commons
The creation of the G5 Sahel added to the traffic of security groupings in the region
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses a Security Council meeting on Russia’s invasion via a video link.
EPA-EFE/Peter Foley
The unwillingness of African governments to forge a unified position on the Russian invasion has damaged the credibility of their pan-African commitments.
Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria.
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Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of Nigeria, will be remembered for his roles in the rebirth of African Union and peacemaking.
A Nigerian delegation inspects a Russian military helicopter near Moscow in July 2021.
Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images
The sanctions are likely to last beyond the current conflict. This may end up bringing about a solution to Africa’s desire to produce its own military hardware for its own use.
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi waves an official copy of the nation’s Constitution during his swearing in on January 24, 2019.
TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images
The admission of DRC will extend the East African Community bloc’s reach to the Atlantic Ocean.