Author: Abdihakim Kalale

As traditional powers like France and the United States lose influence across the continent, African nations are increasingly embracing Türkiye’s rising role as a strategic partner — one that promises mutual benefit rather than dominance. At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum held from April 11–13, Türkiye showcased its deepening ties with Africa through diplomacy, military cooperation, and economic engagement. Leaders such as Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud joined Turkish officials in a display of growing South–South solidarity. For many African nations, Türkiye’s “win-win” approach — rooted in respect, reciprocity, and shared development — is emerging as a credible “third way” amid…

Djibouti’s Council of Ministers has approved a new defense cooperation treaty with France, renewing and expanding military ties between the two countries for the next two decades. The agreement, which is set to be submitted to Djibouti’s Parliament for ratification, will be in force from 2025 to 2045. It marks a notable moment in France’s shifting Africa policy, as the country redirects its strategic focus from West to East Africa following major setbacks in the Sahel region. The treaty, signed in Paris on July 24, 2024, by President Emmanuel Macron and Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh, replaces a previous agreement…

A deepening dispute over land ownership between a British-owned tea company and a local community in Kenya’s Rift Valley is drawing attention to long-standing grievances over colonial-era land seizures and sparking broader concerns for the future of the country’s tea sector. Residents of the Kimasas community have occupied over 350 acres of tea-rich land on the Sitoi estate, claiming ancestral ties and citing a 1986 land donation from Eastern Produce Kenya (EPK). EPK, a subsidiary of UK-based Camellia Plc, disputes the size of the land transfer, maintaining that only 202 acres were legally gifted. Daniel Biwott, chairman of the Kimasas…

A forthcoming United Nations report has mapped complex logistical supply lines that continue to fuel the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, including routes extending through Chad, Libya, and potentially by air into Darfur, according to reviewed documents and diplomatic sources. The detailed findings, compiled by the UN Panel of Experts on Sudan and shared with Sudan Tribune, focus on the RSF’s evolving military logistics between May and October 2024. Investigators tracked activity at Am Djarass airport in eastern Chad—located close to Sudan’s border—but noted that while road corridors from the airport into Darfur had been identified, there was no…

Sudan’s de facto leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has received a formal invitation to visit Egypt from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, as regional dynamics around the Sudan conflict continue to shift. The message was delivered in writing by the Egyptian ambassador to Sudan, Hani Salah, during a meeting held in Port Sudan on Wednesday. The session was also attended by Sudan’s acting Foreign Minister Ali Youssif. The invitation follows growing public divisions between Egypt and Saudi Arabia on one hand, and the United Arab Emirates on the other, over approaches to Sudan’s protracted war. The tension surfaced during an international…

Somaliland has formally suspended all peace negotiations with the Federal Government of Somalia, citing a “blatant violation of its sovereignty” following Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre’s unannounced visit to Las Anod on April 12. The decision, announced after an emergency cabinet meeting chaired by President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdilahi “Irro,” marks a dramatic collapse of a decade-long dialogue process between the two sides. The Somaliland government denounced Barre’s visit to the contested Sool region as “a deliberate provocation and a breach of international norms and Somaliland’s territorial integrity.” “This act by the Prime Minister of Somalia undermines all efforts towards…

Militant group Al-Shabaab launched a coordinated attack on Adan Yabaal in central Somalia early Wednesday, targeting a town long used by government forces as a strategic base in their anti-insurgency campaign. The assault comes amid growing concern over the group’s territorial gains in recent weeks. Residents reported hearing explosions and heavy gunfire at dawn, with militants attacking from multiple directions. “After early morning prayers, we heard a deafening explosion, then gunfire,” said Fatuma Nur, a local resident sheltering indoors as fighting raged. Conflicting reports emerged on the outcome. A Somali army officer said government troops had repelled the attackers, while…

An international conference convened in London to address the escalating crisis in Sudan concluded on Tuesday without a unified statement, as divisions among key Arab states derailed efforts to present a coordinated global response. Led by the United Kingdom, the gathering aimed to establish a contact group under the African Union’s leadership and strengthen diplomatic alignment among nations with stakes in Sudan’s future. However, diplomatic sources confirmed that disagreements over language in the final communiqué—particularly between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—led to a breakdown in consensus. Egypt and Saudi Arabia reportedly objected to phrasing perceived as indirectly…

The Sudanese Armed Forces announced a fresh military gain on Tuesday, claiming the recapture of multiple strategic locations in western Omdurman from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as clashes between the rival factions intensify. According to a military statement, troops successfully took back control of Al-Safwa, Al-Hilla Al-Jadida, Al-Safirah village, and the Konan camp. The army also stated that mopping-up operations were ongoing to eliminate remaining RSF presence in the area. The military said it had neutralized dozens of RSF fighters, destroyed several armed vehicles, and was pursuing those who fled the battlefield. It described the latest operation as part…

Four men, including two Belgian nationals, a Vietnamese citizen, and a Kenyan accomplice, have pleaded guilty to wildlife trafficking charges after being caught attempting to smuggle thousands of live queen ants out of Kenya. The case, currently before the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Court, is being hailed as a landmark victory against biopiracy by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). Authorities intercepted over 5,000 queen ants—primarily from the prized Messor Cephalotes species, commonly known as the Giant African Harvester Ant—hidden inside specially modified test tubes and syringes filled with cotton wool. These makeshift containers were designed to keep the ants alive…

Over 270 African migrants, including a significant number of Ethiopians, attempted to escape from a detention facility in southeastern Myanmar on Sunday, voicing fears that they could be sent back to exploitative scam operations where they were previously subjected to forced labor and abuse. The group, rescued in a joint cross-border operation in February involving Myanmar, Thailand, and China, remains under the custody of the Democratic Kayin Buddhist Army (DKBA), an ethnic armed group in Myanmar’s Kayin State. Witnesses said tensions escalated after individuals believed to be connected to the scam compounds visited the site. Following the visit, detainees reported…

In a visit that drew national attention, Somali Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre led a high-level federal delegation to Laascaanood, the administrative capital of SSC-Khatumo, from April 12 to 15, 2025. The trip marked a historic moment in Somalia’s political landscape, as the federal government officially recognized SSC-Khatumo as a member of the Somali federal system. The Prime Minister’s visit was welcomed with optimism by the local population and the SSC-Khatumo administration, who expressed full support for the government’s agenda, including the ongoing fight against Al-Shabaab and ISIS, as well as national peacebuilding, democratization, and state development. During the visit,…

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has voiced strong concerns over what it describes as “repeated violations” of the Pretoria Peace Agreement by Ethiopia’s federal government, warning that unilateral decisions are threatening to derail the fragile peace process in the war-torn region. In a statement issued following a five-day Central Committee meeting that concluded on April 12, 2025, the TPLF accused the federal government of bypassing agreed mechanisms by imposing new proclamations, regulations, and directives on the Tigrayan people without consultation. The party warned that such actions signal a breakdown in trust and threaten the only formal link between the…

South Sudan’s main opposition party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In-Opposition (SPLM-IO), has called for an international investigation into alleged war crimes committed by government forces during recent clashes in northern regions of the country. The SPLM-IO, led by Vice President Riek Machar, accused government troops of targeting areas under its influence, including the town of Nasir, where heavy fighting erupted last month. The conflict, which involved fierce clashes with the White Army militia—believed to be aligned with Machar—has intensified fears of renewed civil war in the fragile nation. Pal Mai Deng, a spokesperson for the SPLM-IO, alleged that the government…

As Sudan’s brutal civil war enters its third year, international aid organizations and the United Nations are warning that the country is now experiencing the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis. With more than half of the population—nearly 25 million people—in need of urgent assistance, Sudan is facing catastrophic levels of hunger, mass displacement, and unchecked violence, particularly in the Darfur region. Aid agencies report the conflict has surpassed all previous crises in terms of scale and devastation. The conflict, which began in April 2023, pits the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Recent attacks by…