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Puntland Signs New Security Deal With US, Allowing AFRICOM to Expand Bosaso Base

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Puntland and the United States signed a new security cooperation agreement Sunday, August 3, 2026, following a meeting in Bosaso between Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni and a delegation from US Africa Command led by Major General Claude Tudor, allowing Washington to expand its military facility in the port city to support counterterrorism operations and strengthen maritime security across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In my opinion, this is one of the more consequential security agreements to come out of the Horn of Africa in recent years, even if the official statement is deliberately modest about what it actually involves. The U.S Ambassador to Somalia Justin Davis met Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni in Garowe back in may 21, 2026. What the Agreement Covers According to a statement from the Puntland presidency, the agreement expands cooperation between the two sides and formally authorizes the US to enlarge its existing facility in Bosaso. The statement did not specif...
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Five Kenyan Security Officers Killed in Al-Shabaab IED Attack Near Somalia Border

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Five Kenyan security officers, including four members of the elite Special Operations Group, were killed Tuesday, July 28, 2026, after their patrol vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Mandera County, in what officials describe as part of a rapid surge in cross-border attacks along Kenya's northern frontier . Members of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) deployed to the border at undislcosed time. How the Attack Unfolded The explosion struck in the El-Raamo area of Kutulo, along the Alungu Main Supply Route, a road frequently used by security forces near the Kenya-Somalia border. Police said a patrol team from SOG Alungu came into contact with al-Shabaab militants in the general area of Wantey Dam around noon on Tuesday . The blast destroyed the patrol vehicle, killing four Special Operations Group officers and a Kenya Police Reservist. Moments after the explosion, suspected militants opened fire, triggering a gun battle before the attackers escaped toward the border. A R...
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Hundreds Protest in Vogan, Togo, Demanding Return to Previous Constitution

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Hundreds of people gathered Saturday in Vogan, a town roughly 60 kilometers south of Lomé, to protest against Togo's 2024 constitutional reform , which opposition groups and civil society organizations call an illegal power grab by President Faure Gnassingbé. People protest against Togo's longtime leader, Faure Gnassingbe, in Lome, Togo June 26, 2025. What Happened in Vogan The rally, organized by opposition parties and civil society groups including the Cadre national de concertation pour le changement, opened with a traditional libation ceremony before opposition leaders joined supporters in singing Togo's national anthem. The gathering drew participation from prominent figures, among them lawyer Dodji Apévon, activist Eric Dupuy, and professors Aimé Gogué and David Dosseh . David Dosseh, spokesperson for the civil society group Front Citoyen Togo Debout, called the 2024 changes completely illegal, describing them as a constitutional coup that Togolese people will never...
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South Africa's Inflation Hits Two-Year High as Fuel Costs Surge Amid Middle East Tensions

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CAPE TOWN-South Africa's annual consumer inflation accelerated to 5.0% in June 2026, up from 4.5% in May, marking the highest reading since June 2024 . In my opinion, this number is a fairly clean illustration of how little control a country like South Africa actually has over its own cost of living. A woman uses a trolley as she shops at a Pick n Pay store at the Dobson Point Shopping Centre, in Soweto, South Africa, March 19, 2024.  Fuel Is Doing Most of the Damage Statistics South Africa said transport was by far the biggest driver of the increase, with the annual transport inflation rate accelerating to 12.7% in June from 9.4% in May. Fuel prices themselves climbed 34.3% over the past year, driven by a 50.8% jump in diesel prices and a 31.7% rise in petrol prices . From my perspective, that surge into passenger transport inflation, up 8.1% in June alone, is the part of this story that matters most, since minibus taxi fares jumped 11.5% and that's the mode of transport mos...
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International Condemnation Mounts as Port Sudan Authorities Face Scrutiny Over Chemical Weapons

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The international community has intensified its rebuke of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) following firm determinations regarding the deployment of prohibited munitions. Official evaluations conclude that the military leadership under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan utilized chemical weapons in clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention . Despite dismissive responses and rejections from Port Sudan authorities, global oversight bodies and diplomatic offices have stood firm on the necessity of accountability, transparency, and strict adherence to international humanitarian law. Sudanese army soldiers celebrate in Salha, south of Omdurman, two days after the Sudanese army recaptured it from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), on May 22, 2025. Defying International Conventions and Global Norms The core of the current international crisis centers on compliance with foundational treaties designed to protect humanity from the horrific impacts of toxic warfare. The U.S. State Departme...
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West Africa Is Drowning. Scientists Say Climate Change Made It Worse.

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Between June 20 and 22, 2026, more than 140 millimetres of rain fell in parts of Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, and Nigeria within a single 24-hour period overwhelming drainage systems, submerging roads, and triggering flash floods from Lagos to Monrovia. At least 34 people died in Ghana, where June rainfall reached its highest level since 1995, while Côte d'Ivoire recorded 59 deaths since the rainy season began in May . In Accra, emergency teams rescued more than 400 people in a single day as floodwaters entered homes across the capital. Residents walk in a flooded area during rescue operations in Maiduguri, northern Borno state, Nigeria September 12, 2024. What the Science Found A World Weather Attribution study published in July 2026 found that human-induced climate change significantly increased the likelihood and intensity of the extreme rainfall event that triggered the June flooding across the Gulf of Guinea coast . The research, conducted by scientists from Côte d'Ivo...
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Competing Weapons, Collapsing Ceasefires: How Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt Are Writing Sudan's Humanitarian Catastrophe

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There is a number that puts everything else in context: 70 percent. By January 2026, it was estimated that 70 percent of Sudan's population approximately 35 million people urgently needed humanitarian assistance , making Sudan the most catastrophic active humanitarian crisis on earth. That number did not emerge from a natural disaster. It was produced by a civil war whose duration, intensity, and resistance to resolution has been systematically prolonged by four regional powers Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt whose overlapping interventions have made every ceasefire attempt structurally impossible to sustain. A Sudanese girl who fled the conflict in Darfur, where she had lived as a displaced person, moves past makeshift shelters near the border of Sudan and Chad. Turkey: Weapons to Both Sides, Accountability to Neither Turkey's involvement in Sudan has evolved into one of the most legally and strategically significant external interventions in the conflict . Turkish fir...
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