NIGERIA WORKS TO MEND FENCES WITH WASHINGTON
Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu has hired a U.S. lobbying firm to nurture ties with the U.S. government amid President Trump's accusations of a "Christian genocide" taking place in the African nation. The claims, which the Nigerian government denies, stem from what the U.S. has said are blatant attacks on Nigeria's Christian population by Islamist militants. Following U.S. airstrikes in Nigeria's northwestern Sokoto state on Christmas Day 2025, President Trump ordered 200 American troops to the country to carry out counterterrorism training with the Kenyan military. According to Reuters, America's military presence in Nigeria comes after months of surveillance on the country from bases in nearby Ghana. The Trump administration's accusations of genocide and its ramped-up military footprint in Nigeria, meanwhile, raise wider concerns about the future of U.S. alliances in West Africa. (Reuters, February 10, 2026; Semafor, February 11, 2026)
ATTACK ON NIGER AIRPORT HIGHLIGHTS GROWING EXTREMIST THREATS IN SAHEL
In late January, gunmen attacked Niger's main international airport and a nearby air base hosting most of the country's military drones and aircraft. The Islamic State's regional franchise, Islamic State Sahel Province (IS-Sahel), subsequently claimed responsibility for the assault. The response by Nigerien troops and Russian mercenaries left twenty assailants dead and at least 11 others taken prisoner, according to the country's military-led government. The attack marks the first major assault in Niamey since Islamist extremists began targeting government troops in the early 2010s.
The attack also highlights a worrying trend of growing urban violence in West Africa. Although militants from the Sahel have previously made incursions into cities (such as the 2015 assault on the Radisson Blu Hotel in Bamako, Mali), they have mainly carried out attacks in rural areas and remote border zones. In recent months, however, these groups have increasingly turned their focus to urban zones, imposing a fuel blockade on Mali's capital of Bamako, sabotaging economic infrastructure and ambushing supply convoys on trade routes. (International Crisis Group, February 3, 2026)
KENYA'S GOVERNMENT ACCUSES RUSSIA OF ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT
Kenya's Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, has accused Russia of illegally recruiting Kenyan nationals to fight in its invasion of Ukraine. Over 200 Kenyan nationals were recruited by what Mudavadi has labelled "illegal recruiters" from Russia, who deceived Kenyans into fighting overseas by promising them higher-paying jobs in sectors such as engineering. One recent example of this deception was 31-year-old Charles Wathaika, who was killed while fighting alongside Russian troops after being tricked into flying to Russia for a job opportunity. (BBC, February 10, 2026; Africa News, February 10, 2026)
DRC TO EXPAND CRITICAL MINERAL SUPPLIES TO U.S. AND UAE
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has signed extensive economic agreements with both the United States and the United Arab Emirates to expand their access to its rare minerals, including cobalt and diamonds. DRC President Félix Tshisekedi expanded U.S. companies' access via a Strategic Partnership Agreement signed on December 21, 2025 — a move that was opposed by many Congolese citizens. Tshisekedi's logic, however, was compelling; he is seeking to broaden American access to the DRC's mostly untapped critical minerals as a way of garnering Washington's support for his efforts to counter the paramilitary group M23 along his country's eastern border. With the UAE, meanwhile, a new agreement signed on February 2nd aims to expand the Gulf states investments in the DRC by $10 billion by 2030.
The DRC's expansion of its critical minerals sector comes at a time when the government is facing criticism for its inability to prevent M23 from carrying out forced displacements, extrajudicial killings, and sexual violence against Congolese citizens in the North Kivu province. The DRC, moreover, is hoping to build back its economy following conflict in and around Goma, resulting in the killings of thousands of Congolese and the internal displacement of millions. (Diplomatic Watch, February 3, 2026; Associated Press, February 10, 2026)
SUDANESE PARAMILITARY TRAINING CAMP IDENTIFIED IN ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia has been revealed to be hosting a secret camp to train thousands of fighters for Sudan's Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. The camp, located in the remote western region of Benishangul-Gumuz near the Sudanese border, illustrates how the conflict is drawing in regional powers from Africa and the Middle East. Satellite images of the camp show approximately 4,300 RSF fighters undergoing military training at the site, with logistical and military supplies provided by the UAE, Reuters reports. The new evidence comes after the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report detailing atrocities committed during the first three days of the RSF offensive in El-Fashar in October 2025, including the killing of more than 6,000 sexual assaults and mass executions. Sudan's civil war erupted in 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, with both sides drawing support from outside parties, fueling the conflict and causing mass displacement and refugee flows throughout the region. (Reuters, February 10, 2026; UN News, February 13, 2026)