South Sudan

Ethiopia

Sudan

Military & Security

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, and Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North, or SPLM-N, launched an attack on the localities of Al-Sillik and Milkan in the southeastern state of Blue Nile from South Sudanese territory, Sudan Tribune reported on Jan. 25.

Sudan: RSF and Allies Launch Offensive Into Blue Nile State From South Sudan

Somalia

United States

Egypt

Israel

Saudi Arabia

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Economics

Politics

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi met with U.S. President Donald Trump's son, Eric Trump, in the presence of Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Reuters reported on Jan. 23.

Somaliland: Abdullahi Meets With Eric Trump, Israel's Herzog at Davos Summit

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilem said Ethiopia should pay Egypt compensation due to its management of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, claiming that the dam had reduced Egypt's use of Nile waters from its allocated 55 billion cubic meters to 38 billion cubic meters, Addis Standard reported on Jan. 20. 

Egypt, Ethiopia: Cairo Demands Compensation Over GERD Following Trump Mediation Proposal

Eritrea

In the northern town of Weldiya, Ethiopia's federal police seized a freight truck with 57,000 rounds of ammunition, which authorities claimed were destined for Fano insurgents in the country's Amhara region, Reuters reported on Jan. 15. 

Ethiopia: Police Seize Ammunition Convoys Allegedly Destined for Fano, Blames Eritrea, TPLF

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki accused Ethiopia of declaring war on Eritrea in an interview aired on Eritrean state television, Addis Standard reported on Jan. 13. 

Eritrea: President Isaias Accuses Ethiopia of Declaring War on Eritrea

Lesotho

Tanzania

China

Chinese Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi began his annual start-of-the-year tour of Africa, during which he will visit Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Lesotho, Reuters reported on Jan. 7.

China, Africa: Wang Yi Kicks Off Annual Africa Tour With Focus on East Africa

Ethiopia's Ministry of Finance announced that it had reached a preliminary debt restructuring agreement with an investor committee holding more than 45% of a $1 billion eurobond, Reuters reported on Jan. 3.

Ethiopia: Government Reaches Preliminary Restructuring Deal With Eurobond Creditors

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, and allied groups seized the strategic Al-Taqatu' junction and neighboring localities between the towns of Kadugli and Dilling in the central South Kordofan state from the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, the Sudan Tribune reported on Dec. 30.

Sudan: RSF Makes Further Gains in Kordofan as SAF Reinforces Positions in Blue Nile State

Assessments

Syria

Yemen

Residents wave Somali flags as they attend a rally denouncing Israel's recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland at Mogadishu Stadium in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Dec. 30, 2025. 

Two regional alignments are coalescing along the Red Sea and in the Horn of Africa, risking the escalation of proxy conflicts and longstanding rivalries.

The Unfolding Regional Realignments Along the Red Sea and Their Implications

Snapshots

Residents wave Somaliland flags as they gather to celebrate Israel's announcement recognizing Somaliland's statehood in downtown Hargeisa, on Dec. 26, 2025. 

Israel establishing military facilities in Somaliland would invite Houthi attacks against the territory and raise the likelihood of renewed disruptions to Red Sea shipping.


Israel's Recognition of Somaliland Raises the Stakes Along the Red Sea Corridor 

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (center), flanked by his wife (left) and Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh (right), attends the official inauguration ceremony of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, on Sept. 9, 2025.

Worsening tensions over sea access and Eritrea's ties to groups opposed to the Ethiopian government raise the risk of intensifying proxy clashes that could quickly escalate into a larger military confrontation.

Assessing the Risk of an Ethiopia-Eritrea War in 2026

Burundi

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kenya

Malawi

Mozambique

Rwanda

Uganda

Zambia

Japan

Europe

The Geopolitics of Trade

Global Trade

Over the next decade, Kenya and Tanzania will compete for the title of East Africa's leading trade gateway, particularly as global demand for Central Africa's critical minerals grows. 

The Geopolitics of Trade: The Race to Unlock East Africa, Part 1 

Brazil

France

United Kingdom

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou leaves after the weekly cabinet meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on Aug. 27, 2025.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

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

The Weekly Rundown: France's Bayrou Faces a Confidence Vote, Ethiopia Inaugurates Its Mega-Dam

Columns

On Geopolitics

Chad

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

A Tigrayan flag waves at the entrance of a hospital in Tigray's regional capital, Mekele, on Oct. 10, 2024. 

The ruling TPLF's apparent rapprochement with Eritrea and the rise of anti-TPLF groups are raising the risk of an Ethiopian-Eritrean proxy conflict in Tigray that could eventually spur a larger military escalation.

Ethiopia's Tigray Region Faces a Brewing Storm Amid Shifting Alliances

Germany

Ukraine

Russia

Reichstag in Berlin with flags.

The Weekly Rundown: U.S.-Russia Contacts on a Ukraine Ceasefire, a Vote on Reforming Germany’s Debt Brake

Lebanon

Palestinian Territories

Sri Lanka

Damage on Feb. 13 in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Social Issues

The Weekly Rundown: Mideast Ceasefires and Arab Gaza Proposals, the AU Summit

Sub-Saharan Africa

Americas

Colombia

Cuba

Haiti

Nicaragua

Venezuela

Iraq

Jordan

Cambodia

Indonesia

North Macedonia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Serbia

Albania

Kosovo

South Asia

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

India

The lobby of the headquarters for the U.S. Agency for International Development is seen on Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

Cuts to U.S.-funded humanitarian and development programs could worsen global health outcomes, destabilize security environments, accelerate democratic backsliding, and create opportunities for rival powers to expand their influence.

The Global Implications of Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts

The Geopolitics of Water

In the coming decade, water scarcity will likely contribute to the erosion of Egypt's economic and political independence, including its ability to act unilaterally against other countries vying for water along the Nile basin.

The Geopolitics of Water: The Threat to Egypt's Independence

An illustration of the Ethiopian and Somali flags.

The countries’ commitment to negotiate maritime access reduces immediate conflict risks and could enable Ethiopia to secure leasing rights at Somali ports, but tensions will likely resurge if the two sides fail to finalize a deal.

Ethiopia and Somalia Crack Open the Door To Compromise on Maritime Access

Ethiopia is an ancient African country bordered by Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. Ethiopia's relatively large population of 100 million people has helped the country establish itself as a regional heavyweight in East Africa. Its extensive mountain system, which surrounds the fertile lowland core of the country, is key to understanding Ethiopia's diverse ethnic composition and how it relates to its neighbors. Invasion is not a major concern for Ethiopia, as the northern Ethiopian Plateau and the Ahmar Mountains almost completely surround the lowlands. In the northeast, the Awash River Basin opens to the coastline, but even this area gains a certain measure of protection from its extreme desert conditions. The country's capital, Addis Ababa, sits at an elevated position overseeing the lowlands, where the majority Oromo and Amharic peoples merge with several less populous mountain cultures. Ethiopia's greatest challenge is uniting these disparate groups. Financially, Ethiopia's export and import costs are high because neighbors Djibouti and Eritrea block its sea access. North of the lowland core, the Ethiopian Plateau serves as the country's breadbasket, growing wheat, barley, corn and the staple crop teff. These highlands form an extensive drainage system that creates the most fertile land in the region. Within this region lies Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile River, which is the largest tributary of the greater Nile River. Much of Ethiopia's coffee is grown at the fertile apex of the Ahmar Mountains, which are south of the lowlands. Those mountains descend into the arid Ogaden desert, which was acquired in the 19th century and remains disconnected from the core. While it provides Ethiopia with strategic depth to protect it from the issues of its unstable neighbor Somalia, the desert is also home to separatist and Somali militants, which pose a threat to the Ethiopian state.

SITUATION REPORTS

Sudan: RSF and Allies Launch Offensive Into Blue Nile State From South Sudan

Somaliland: Abdullahi Meets With Eric Trump, Israel's Herzog at Davos Summit

Egypt, Ethiopia: Cairo Demands Compensation Over GERD Following Trump Mediation Proposal

Ethiopia: Police Seize Ammunition Convoys Allegedly Destined for Fano, Blames Eritrea, TPLF

Eritrea: President Isaias Accuses Ethiopia of Declaring War on Eritrea

China, Africa: Wang Yi Kicks Off Annual Africa Tour With Focus on East Africa

Ethiopia: Government Reaches Preliminary Restructuring Deal With Eurobond Creditors

Sudan: RSF Makes Further Gains in Kordofan as SAF Reinforces Positions in Blue Nile State

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