Somali soldiers at the scene of a suicide car bomb attack, which al-Shabab quickly claimed responsibility for, Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan, 2, 2017 (AP photo by Farah Abdi Warsameh).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.One of Donald Trump’s first policy moves related to Africa was his decision last March to expand the Pentagon’s authority to carry out airstrikes in Somalia, home of the al-Qaida-linked Islamist extremist group al-Shabab, as well as a growing presence of fighters affiliated with the self-proclaimed Islamic State. The decision heralded an increasingly aggressive role for the U.S. military in Somalia, the extent of which is starting to come into focus. Beginning Nov. 9, the U.S. carried out airstrikes for […]

Nikki Haley, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, meets with Corneille Nangaa, president of Congo’s election commission, Kinshasa, Congo, Oct. 27, 2017 (AP photo by John Bompengo)

During her visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo last month, Nikki Haley, the U.S ambassador to the United Nations, appeared to have a singular goal in mind: getting a firm commitment on a new deadline for the country’s long-delayed elections. “The president must say that we’re going to have elections in 2018,” she said before her meeting with President Joseph Kabila. “We will not support with funding, resources, anything, if the calendar does not specifically specify no later than 2018 for these elections to happen.” Nine days later, Congo’s election commission announced a new timeline that seemed to align […]

U.N. forces from Rwanda patrol the streets of Bangui, Central African Republic, Feb. 12, 2016 (AP photo by Jerome Delay).

On Nov. 15, the United Nations Security Council will meet to decide on the fate of the U.N. mission in Central African Republic, known by its acronym MINUSCA. In stark contrast to the debate over the U.N. mission in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, which the U.S. pushed to reduce last April after citing its ineffectiveness and cost, few in New York expect cuts to the Central African Republic (CAR) mission. To the contrary, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited CAR at the end of October and called for increasing the mission’s authorized troop ceiling, currently just over 12,000, by […]

Emmerson Mnangagwa, left, chats with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe after a ceremony during which Mnangagwa was sworn in as vice president, Harare, Zimbabwe, Dec. 12, 2014 (AP photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. Speculation about the end of Robert Mugabe’s reign as president of Zimbabwe typically centers on the 93-year-old’s health. This week, however, the conversation turned to a different kind of threat, as Mugabe encountered what The Guardian described as “his biggest political challenge in almost two decades.” On Monday, Mugabe fired Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had formerly been seen as a potential successor. In announcing the move, Khaya Moyo, the information minister, said Mnangagwa had “consistently and persistently exhibited […]

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf waves following a meeting with ECOWAS delegates, Banjul, Gambia, Dec. 13, 2016 (AP photo by Sylvain Cherkaoui).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent. An election that was meant to showcase the strength of Liberia’s postwar democratic transition has instead been mired in uncertainty, with fraud allegations exposing deep rifts among the country’s political class. George Weah, a former soccer star who came close to winning the presidency in 2005, led the first round of voting held Oct. 10 with 38 percent of the total. He was scheduled to compete in a runoff next Tuesday against Vice President Joseph Boakai, who received 28 […]