Until June 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin was apparently quite confident in his power and the lack of any true challenge to it. Anti-Putin activists were successfully squeezed out of the country, the most vociferous were imprisoned or killed. The more measured dissatisfied voices largely... MORE

Executive Summary In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), China is determined to continue expanding its footprint primarily using economic and business-related tools. Defense and security cooperation, for now, plays a less important role in Beijing`s actions in the region. The activities of Chinese... MORE

On August 16, one of northwestern Nigeria’s most notorious bandits, Dogo Gide, released a video in which he claimed his fighters were responsible for downing a Nigerian air force helicopter in Shiroro, Kaduna State; this attack killed 20 soldiers and three senior military officers (premiumtimesng.com,... MORE

On July 31, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the notorious Wagner Group that had attempted an unsuccessful mutiny resulting from conflict with the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD), stated, “At the moment, we are not planning to open recruitment centers. To avoid any talks and rumors,... MORE

In 2021, the M23 rebels in the eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) relaunched an insurgency that initially started in 2012, but had been stopped in 2013 after a peace agreement with the DRC was reached (aljazeera.com, December 12, 2013). Although... MORE

When a violent struggle between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Muhammad Hamdan Daglo “Hemeti” and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) led by General Abd al-Fatah al-Burhan broke out in mid-April, Sudan had not yet reconciled with several armed rebel movements at war with... MORE

The low-profile and high-impact meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on August 5 and 6 was never intended to produce a road map for ending the war in Ukraine; neither was it a summit, since the invitations sent to some 40 countries specified the level of... MORE

Concerted diplomatic efforts were invested during preparations for the Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, formally held on July 27 and 28, and President Vladimir Putin was grandstanding, networking and entertaining his guests non-stop from Wednesday afternoon to Saturday evening. His main intention was to demonstrate... MORE

Benin’s location in coastal West Africa and role as an intermediary stop for travelers transiting from Mali into Nigeria make it an important geopolitical bulwark for halting the expansion of terrorist groups between Nigeria and the Sahel. It would appear that Benin is now taking... MORE

Islamic State’s most prominent “province” in Africa is Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), which is based in Nigeria. However, the provinces in Mozambique and the Congo are being revived after more than a year of relative quietude, especially compared to the dearth of... MORE