Central African Republic

Chad

Ethiopia

Sudan

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Military & Security

The United Arab Emirates is growing its smuggling network to Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, through Ethiopia and the Central African Republic, Le Monde reported on March 22.

Sudan: UAE Developing New Weapons Smuggling Routes to RSF Despite Iran War

Haiti

Economics

Politics

Chad plans to deploy 800 police officers and gendarmes to Haiti by June as part of a U.N.-backed international Gang Suppression Force aimed at supporting Haitian authorities against powerful armed gangs, Reuters reported on March 20.

Chad: 800 Troops To Be Deployed to Haiti

Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby ordered the military to retaliate against any Sudanese armed groups after a drone strike killed at least 16 civilians near the Sudan-Chad frontier, Sudan Tribune reported on March 18.

Chad: President Authorizes Military Response to Sudanese Cross-Border Strikes

Uganda

Chad closed its eastern border with Sudan amid severe clashes between forces loyal to the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, in the locality of Tina in Sudan's North Darfur state, with RSF forces allegedly clashing with Chadian security forces near the locality, Reuters reported on Feb. 23.

Sudan: Chad Closes Border Amid Severe Clashes, SAF Lambasts Museveni's Meeting With RSF's Hemedti

Burundi

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Republic of the Congo

Sierra Leone

Somalia

Togo

Cuba

United States

Venezuela

Iran

Libya

Yemen

Laos

Myanmar

Turkmenistan

Afghanistan

U.S. President Donald Trump signed a ban barring citizens from 12 countries from traveling to the United States, with the order set to take effect on June 9, The New York Times reported on June 4.

U.S.: Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, announced that the army had retaken the entirety of Khartoum state from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, Sudan Tribune reported on March 26.

Sudan: Sudanese Army Retakes Khartoum as the RSF Retreats West 

South Sudan

Yasir al-Atta, the deputy commander in chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, said Chad’s N’Djamena and Amdjarass airports were "legitimate military targets" and vowed to retaliate against the “corrupt centres of influence” in South Sudan, Reuters reported on March 24.

Sudan: SAF General Threatens Retaliatory Action Against Chad, South Sudan 

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Rwanda

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo requested military support from Chad in its fight against the Alliance for the Congo River, or AFC, a politico-military alliance led by the Rwandan-backed M23, Radio France Internationale reported on Feb. 19. 

Congo: Kinshasa Requests Military Support From Chad as AFC/M23 Sustains Gains in South Kivu

Assessments

Burkina Faso

Mali

Niger

Nigeria

Nigerian soldiers from the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) drive in pick-ups during training at the Sector 3 MNJTF military base headquarters in Monguno, Borno state, Nigeria, on July 5, 2025. 

War, Insurgency & Terrorism

Armed groups will continue to expand across Nigeria as the government struggles with domestic constraints and limits on regional security cooperation.

In Nigeria, Security Forces Struggle To Address Growing Militancy

Columns

On Geopolitics

Shipping containers are offloaded from a vessel at Berbera Port in Somaliland on Aug. 31, 2021.   (ED RAM/AFP via Getty Images)

The UAE is expanding its influence across East Africa through large-scale investments and security partnerships, aiming to consolidate its status as a global trade hub and counter regional competitors, at the risk of entangling regional states in broader geopolitical contests.

The UAE's Long Game in East Africa

Benin

Cameroon

Comoros

Cote d'Ivoire

Djibouti

Gabon

Guinea

Madagascar

Mauritania

Senegal

Algeria

Morocco

France

A Gabonese brigade participates in a training exercise as part of a military program linked to the Franco-Gabonese partnership at the French military base Camp de Gaulle in Libreville on March 19, 2025. 

France's reduced influence in Africa will create space for local and foreign actors to take on greater leadership roles, but their inability to fill the security vacuum left by France's withdrawal would threaten to destabilize the region.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 2: The Age of Multi-Alignment 

A picture released on July 12, 1963, of then-French President Gen. Charles de Gaulle (2L) and Jacques Foccart (L) greeting African, Malagasy and French overseas territories veterans arriving in Paris for French Bastille Day celebrations.

After decades of cultivating tight-knit relationships with francophone African countries, France has effectively ended its forward military presence in West and Central Africa amid shifting political dynamics in both regions, which will weaken its influence on the continent but enable Paris to reallocate resources towards Europe's security.

France, Africa and the Future, Part 1: A New Balance of Power 

Snapshots

A photo of Khartoum, Sudan, with columns of smoke rising in the background.

The SAF's military victory in Khartoum marks a turning point in the country's civil war, but a firm resolution remains out of reach as the RSF fights to consolidate control in the west.

What Next for Sudan After the Army Retakes Khartoum?

Members of the M23 rebel group are seen in Bukavu, eastern Congo, after the takeover of the city on Feb. 20, 2025.

Burundi's reported troop withdrawal and Uganda's apparent unwillingness to intervene against the AFC/M23 rebel group will limit the immediate risk of an escalating interstate conflict, but this could change if the rebels start advancing toward central Congo.

Assessing the Risk of an Expanded Conflict in Congo

Sudanese army soldiers patrol an area in Khartoum on Nov. 3, 2024.

The warring sides' deep distrust and their external backers' competing interests portend a protracted conflict that may expand into South Sudan and Chad, and heighten jihadist activity.

The Security Implications of Sudan's Ongoing Civil War

Sub-Saharan Africa

Kenya

Middle East and North Africa

Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Burkina Faso's junta leader Capt. Ibrahim Traore during a welcoming ceremony at the second Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on July 27, 2023.

Competition against the West will fuel Russia's outreach to Africa, but jihadist expansion in the Sahel will eventually force Moscow into tough policy decisions.

What the Future Holds for Russia in Africa

The Geopolitics of Water

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Environmental conditions in the Sahel are likely to worsen due to desertification, rapid population growth and political instability. 

The Geopolitics of Water: The Role of Desertification in Conflict in the Sahel

Panama

China

Serbia

Hungary

Panamanian presidential candidate Jose Raul Mulino on May 1, 2024, in Panama City. Panamanians will vote May 5 to select their next president and all 71 members of the National Assembly.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Panama Holds General Elections, Xi Visits Europe

A picture taken through a car window shows Chadian soldiers barring the entrance to the road leading to the headquarters of the opposition Socialist Party Without Borders (PSF) in N'Djamena, Chad, on Feb. 29, 2024. 

Chad's junta leader is likely taking advantage of an armed rebellion to assert his power ahead of upcoming elections, but his government's violent crackdown on a leading opposition party risks further destabilizing the country.

What's Next for Chad Following Armed Clashes in the Capital? 

Ghana

South Africa

Supporters of former South African President Jacob Zuma sing and chant in Tembisa, South Africa, during a recruitment drive for Zuma's newly launched uMkhonto we Sizwe party on Jan. 21, 2024.

Of the 13 countries holding elections this year, Senegal, South Africa, Chad, Ghana and South Sudan's ballots will likely be the most politically and economically impactful.

Previewing Sub-Saharan Africa's 2024 Elections

Chad is a landlocked country in Central Africa which is considered one of the cradles of humanity. In its early history, its position straddling the transition between the Sahara and the Sahel placed it in a prime position for trans-Saharan trade, and its territory has comprised several African empires over the centuries. However, French imperial conquests in the 19th and early 20th centuries fastened Chad into the space it inhabits today.     While its political power is centered around the capital, N'Djamena, Chad has struggled to deal with its ethnic and regional divides since independence. Sedentary, often Christian populations in the south have historically clashed with nomadic, often Muslim groups in the north for political supremacy. The imposition of colonial borders in Chad's east separated ethnic and tribal groups in Sudan and Chad, driving political instability as the two countries have sought to control the space and its population.     Chad's position at a crossroads in Central Africa has often driven its involvement in regional security issues over the years. Chad is a significant contributor to combatting terrorism in the region, closely aligning itself with powers from the West such as France and the United States. These relationships are key for Chadian leaders seeking to augment weak internal resources and the country's landlocked status. However, Chad has emerged as a Central African oil producer in the past two decades, which has helped attract the interest of foreign investors. 

SITUATION REPORTS

Sudan: UAE Developing New Weapons Smuggling Routes to RSF Despite Iran War

Chad: 800 Troops To Be Deployed to Haiti

Chad: President Authorizes Military Response to Sudanese Cross-Border Strikes

Sudan: Chad Closes Border Amid Severe Clashes, SAF Lambasts Museveni's Meeting With RSF's Hemedti

U.S.: Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban

Sudan: Sudanese Army Retakes Khartoum as the RSF Retreats West

Sudan: SAF General Threatens Retaliatory Action Against Chad, South Sudan

Congo: Kinshasa Requests Military Support From Chad as AFC/M23 Sustains Gains in South Kivu

Forecasts

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