An attack in eastern DR Congo has killed some 20 people, local sources said, blaming militants affiliated with the Islamic State group. The post Attack in Eastern DR Congo Kills 20 appeared first on The Defense Post ..read more

Mali troops and their Russian allies battled separatist rebels near the border with Algeria, a spokesman for the rebels and a witness said. The post Mali Army Fights Separatists on Algeria Border: Spokesman appeared first on The Defense Post ..read more

The United States announced Tuesday that it had invited Sudan’s warring sides to hold ceasefire talks in Switzerland next month. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington had invited Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to start US-mediated negotiations beginning on August 14. “The United States remains committed to working with partners to end this devastating war,” Blinken said in a statement. The commander of the RSF, at war with the army for over a year, said he “welcomed” Blinken’s invitation and that his side would join the negotiations. “I declare our par ..read more

The Niger defense ministry said on Tuesday that at least 15 soldiers had been killed during combat near the border with Burkina Faso. “On Monday July 22, a unit of the defense and security forces exchanged fire with armed terrorist groups along the Bankilare-Tera route near the village of Foneko,” it said in a communique read on state television, announcing a “preliminary toll” of 15 dead. The ministry also said three soldiers were missing, with 16 injured and hospitalized, adding that 21 “terrorists” had been killed in the clashes in the western region of Tillaberi. The ministry went on to sa ..read more

Somali government officials and Al-Shabaab militants each claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on the other following raids by the Islamist group on military bases in the south of the country. The early morning raids occurred near the villages of Buulo Xaaji and Harboole, some 90 kilometers (55 miles) outside the port town of Kismayo, and targeted three army bases where members of the Somali National Army and the Jubaland state paramilitary were stationed. State president Ahmed Mohamed Islaam said the assaults had been repulsed by government forces. “As confirmed by the commanders of the sec ..read more

Fighting between warring parties in the volatile east of DR Congo appeared to have calmed Thursday, local sources told AFP. They were speaking a day after the United States announced a 15-day extension of a humanitarian truce between the M23 rebels and government forces. “A precarious calm is being observed,” army spokesperson Lieutenant Mbuyi Reagan told AFP. Residents in the province told AFP that there had been some shooting near the southern front of the conflict but no fighting between the M23 and Congolese army. The M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, launched an offensive in the North Kivu pr ..read more

Germany can no longer cooperate militarily with Niger because of a lack of “trust” in relations with the West African country’s military regime, German Foreign Affairs Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday. Germany already announced on July 6 that it will end operations at its airbase in Niger and pull out its remaining three-dozen troops by August 31. “It was not possible to continue because the trust that existed before was no longer there,” Baerbock said during a visit to nearby Ivory Coast. “At the same time, we have not stopped humanitarian aid because the people of Niger are not res ..read more

Kenya has taken delivery of the first batch of military helicopters promised by the US during the recent state visit of Kenyan President William Ruto. Two UH-1 Huey military choppers arrived in the African nation earlier this month and are now being assembled by a specialized team of US Air Force technicians in the Embakasi Garrison hangar in Nairobi. The helicopters will undergo extensive testing before official deployment with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). Six more promised Hueys are reportedly set to arrive in the country next month. Once deployed, the choppers are expected to improve Ken ..read more

The death toll from a blast at a cafe in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu has climbed to nine, security sources told AFP Monday, after a car bomb struck the venue packed with football fans watching the Euro 2024 final. “Nine civilians were killed and 20 others wounded in the explosion,” Mohamed Yusuf, an official from the national security agency said, raising the official toll of five given by the authorities late Sunday. “There were many people inside the restaurant, most of them youth who were watching the football match… but thanks to God, most of them made their way out safely after using ladd ..read more

Morocco has ordered an undisclosed number of long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the US to bolster its air defense capabilities. The African country was among the five nations covered by a new $227-million contract for the supply of the Lockheed Martin-manufactured weapons. Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were included in the order. According to the US Department of Defense, Rabat and the four other countries will also receive launch systems as part of the agreement. Work for the contract is expected to be complete by late-2028. In 2023, Washington said ..read more