#eastern-africa-conflict

#eastern-africa-conflict

In late 2025, the United States shocked the world by suspending global health aid, leading experts to predict 700,000 additional deaths annually, primarily among children. This prompted the US to propose unusual bilateral health agreements with developing countries, which have drawn criticism for being exploitative.

At least 43 compatriots were killed and 44 houses torched during the previous day's attack in Bafwakoa, located in Mambasa territory, in the province of Ituri.

Moses Chrispus Okello, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, states that there is a high risk of escalation in Somaliland, where Israel and the UAE have interests. He emphasizes that tensions could also rise in neighboring Djibouti, where the US and other powers are active.

Nigeria recorded the largest increase in terrorism deaths globally in 2025, with fatalities rising by 46% from 513 in 2024 to 750, placing it fourth in the Global Terrorism Index, behind Pakistan, Burkina Faso and Niger. Africa's most populous nation is grappling with a multifaceted security crisis as extremist groups such as Boko Haram and its offshoots attempt to carve out control of swathes of territory.

When I heard that fighting was approaching Uvira, we decided it would be best to leave for our own safety. It was to spare his family from the shadow of death following the violence and killings that had already taken place in Luvungi, Luberizi, Kamanyola and Sange—surrounding areas where M23 and the army were squaring off.

Bilateral ties between Egypt and Somalia continue to deepen. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi assured his Somali counterpart, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Sunday in Cairothat Egypt stands firmly behind "Somalia's unity and territorial integrity." On Wednesday, Cairo then followed up on an agreement from January 2025 and deployed 1,091 troops to Somalia's capital Mogadishu. The deployment of Egyptian forces to Somalia the first such deployment in their decades-old bilateral history marks a significant shift.

These decisions and moves by the UK, say analysts, raise doubts about whether its words are in keeping with its actions in the Horn of Africa. Amgad Fareid Eltayeb, a Sudanese policy analyst, said the UK's credibility is increasingly judged by the risks it is willing, or unwilling, to take. When people believe your words and your actions diverge, they stop treating you as a broker and start treating you as an interest manager, he told Al Jazeera.

The extermination of the Palestinian people must end, the chairman of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has said, as dozens of heads of state gather for the regional body's 39th summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. In the Middle East, Palestine and the suffering of its people also challenge our consciences. The extermination of this people must stop, said Youssouf, who was elected to head the institution a year ago, declared on Saturday.

The 39th African Union (AU) summit is set to be dominated by pressing security concerns across Africa, as the continent continues to face escalating conflicts. However, there are mounting questions on whether the pan-African body can actually deliver on peace and security strategies: A study conducted by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in 2023 revealed that a staggering 90% of the decisions made by the AU's Peace and Security Council (PSC) have not been implemented since the inception of the PSC in 2004.

"The Trump Administration has a zero-tolerance policy for waste, theft, and diversion of life-saving assistance," the department said.