Eritrea

Ethiopia

Military & Security

Politics

Tigray's parties of Arena Tigray, Semeret and National Congress of Great Tigray -- known as Baytona -- confirmed comments by Lt. Gen. Tsadkan Gebretensae, the former vice president of Tigray's interim regional administration, that they had formed an alliance aimed at advancing political change in the region, Addis Standard reported on Aug. 7.

Ethiopia: Tigrayan Parties Form Anti-TPLF Coalition

Somalia

Somalia's Gedo Regional Governor Abdirashid Janan, who is aligned with Somalia's federal government, claimed that Ethiopian troops deployed in Gedo Region have issued a three-day ultimatum to Somali federal forces to vacate the town of Beled Hawo, located near the border with Kenya and Ethiopia, Garowe Online reported Aug. 6.

Somalia: Ethiopian Troops Allegedly Issue Ultimatum For Federal Forces to Leave Border Town 

Clashes between forces loyal to Jubaland state and those linked to the federal government erupted in Somalia's town of Dollow on July 27 and 28, Garowe Online reported on July 28. 

Somalia: Fresh Clashes Erupt Between Federal Government and Jubaland Forces

Ethiopian authorities said they arrested 82 individuals suspected of links to the Islamic State Somalia Province, which operates in neighboring Somalia's Puntland region, Addis Standard reported on July 16. 

Ethiopia: Security Forces Reportedly Arrest 82 Suspected Islamic State Operatives

Eritrea's Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO) held its general conference in the Ethiopian town of Semera-Logia, in which it called for the toppling of Eritrea's ruling People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) and the self-determination of Eritrea's Afar people through a ''political and military struggle,'' Addis Standard reported July 15.

Eritrea: Secessionist Group Holds General Conference in Ethiopia 

Egypt

Turkey

Turkey-mediated technical talks between Ethiopia and Somalia over Ethiopia potentially securing maritime access to Somali ports have been suspended indefinitely, Africa Intelligence reported on July 9.

Ethiopia, Somalia: Turkey-Led Mediation Over Maritime Access Indefinitely Suspended

Nigeria

South Africa

Uganda

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United States

Iran

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China

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Economics

BRICS+ leaders gathered in Brazil for the bloc's 17th summit and issued a joint statement defending multilateralism, calling for U.N. reform and supporting Russia's and Iran's positions in ongoing conflicts, g1 reported on July 6.

BRICS+: Bloc Increasingly Leans Away From West, but Avoids Picking Fights With U.S.

South Sudan

Angola

Benin

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Cameroon

Cabo Verde

Cote d'Ivoire

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

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Gambia

Ghana

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Senegal

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Antigua and Barbuda

Dominican Republic

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Syria

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Tonga

Tuvalu

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Bhutan

The U.S. State Department issued a memo giving 36 countries 60 days to meet new department requirements or be added to a travel ban implemented on June 9, The Washington Post reported on June 14.

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

Columns

On Geopolitics

Chad

Sudan

Shipping containers are offloaded from a vessel at Berbera Port in Somaliland on Aug. 31, 2021.   (ED RAM/AFP via Getty Images)

The UAE is expanding its influence across East Africa through large-scale investments and security partnerships, aiming to consolidate its status as a global trade hub and counter regional competitors, at the risk of entangling regional states in broader geopolitical contests.

The UAE's Long Game in East Africa

Assessments

A Tigrayan flag waves at the entrance of a hospital in Tigray's regional capital, Mekele, on Oct. 10, 2024. 

The ruling TPLF's apparent rapprochement with Eritrea and the rise of anti-TPLF groups are raising the risk of an Ethiopian-Eritrean proxy conflict in Tigray that could eventually spur a larger military escalation.

Ethiopia's Tigray Region Faces a Brewing Storm Amid Shifting Alliances

Europe

Germany

Ukraine

Reichstag in Berlin with flags.

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: U.S.-Russia Contacts on a Ukraine Ceasefire, a Vote on Reforming Germany’s Debt Brake

Kenya

Rwanda

Israel

Lebanon

Palestinian Territories

Sri Lanka

Damage on Feb. 13 in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Social Issues

The Weekly Rundown: Mideast Ceasefires and Arab Gaza Proposals, the AU Summit

Sub-Saharan Africa

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Serbia

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South Asia

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

The lobby of the headquarters for the U.S. Agency for International Development is seen on Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

Cuts to U.S.-funded humanitarian and development programs could worsen global health outcomes, destabilize security environments, accelerate democratic backsliding, and create opportunities for rival powers to expand their influence.

The Global Implications of Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts

The Geopolitics of Water

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

In the coming decade, water scarcity will likely contribute to the erosion of Egypt's economic and political independence, including its ability to act unilaterally against other countries vying for water along the Nile basin.

The Geopolitics of Water: The Threat to Egypt's Independence

An illustration of the Ethiopian and Somali flags.

The countries’ commitment to negotiate maritime access reduces immediate conflict risks and could enable Ethiopia to secure leasing rights at Somali ports, but tensions will likely resurge if the two sides fail to finalize a deal.

Ethiopia and Somalia Crack Open the Door To Compromise on Maritime Access

Moldova

Vehicles pass by a banner thanking outgoing Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and congratulating President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka ahead of their Oct. 20 inauguration in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 17, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: An Impeachment Case in Kenya, an Inauguration in Indonesia

A Somali National Army soldier participates in a military drill in Mogadishu on March 19, 2024.

Egypt and Somalia's deepening security coordination risks triggering armed clashes with Ethiopia that could undermine regional counterterrorism efforts and inflame ethnic tensions.

The Horn of Africa Braces for Conflict as an Anti-Ethiopia Alliance Takes Shape

Middle East and North Africa

Algeria

Bahrain

Kuwait

Oman

Qatar

Population growth, security vacuums, bad governance and climate change will increasingly strain the desert region's already scarce water supplies, raising the risk of social unrest, interstate conflict and violence from non-state actors.

The Geopolitics of Water: In the Middle East, Water Will Increasingly Become a Weapon and Driver of Conflict

Internally displaced people walk past the Tigrayan flag at the Tsehaye camp in Ethiopia's Shire, Tigray region, on July 16, 2024. 

Factionalism within the Tigray region's ruling party raises the prospect of resurging clashes in the region, threatening to undermine Ethiopia's recent peace and economic gains.

Tigray's Leadership Tussle Bodes Ill for Ethiopia

The skyline of the western section of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is seen on Dec. 28, 2020. 

Multilateral support will facilitate the country's debt restructuring, but the enactment of painful economic and monetary reforms could see more Ethiopians join ethnic militias in the short-to-medium term.

Ethiopia's IMF Deal Presages Long-Term Gains but Risks Fueling Security Challenges

Ethiopia is an ancient African country bordered by Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. Ethiopia's relatively large population of 100 million people has helped the country establish itself as a regional heavyweight in East Africa. Its extensive mountain system, which surrounds the fertile lowland core of the country, is key to understanding Ethiopia's diverse ethnic composition and how it relates to its neighbors. Invasion is not a major concern for Ethiopia, as the northern Ethiopian Plateau and the Ahmar Mountains almost completely surround the lowlands. In the northeast, the Awash River Basin opens to the coastline, but even this area gains a certain measure of protection from its extreme desert conditions. The country's capital, Addis Ababa, sits at an elevated position overseeing the lowlands, where the majority Oromo and Amharic peoples merge with several less populous mountain cultures. Ethiopia's greatest challenge is uniting these disparate groups. Financially, Ethiopia's export and import costs are high because neighbors Djibouti and Eritrea block its sea access. North of the lowland core, the Ethiopian Plateau serves as the country's breadbasket, growing wheat, barley, corn and the staple crop teff. These highlands form an extensive drainage system that creates the most fertile land in the region. Within this region lies Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile River, which is the largest tributary of the greater Nile River. Much of Ethiopia's coffee is grown at the fertile apex of the Ahmar Mountains, which are south of the lowlands. Those mountains descend into the arid Ogaden desert, which was acquired in the 19th century and remains disconnected from the core. While it provides Ethiopia with strategic depth to protect it from the issues of its unstable neighbor Somalia, the desert is also home to separatist and Somali militants, which pose a threat to the Ethiopian state.

SITUATION REPORTS

Ethiopia: Tigrayan Parties Form Anti-TPLF Coalition

Somalia: Ethiopian Troops Allegedly Issue Ultimatum For Federal Forces to Leave Border Town

Somalia: Fresh Clashes Erupt Between Federal Government and Jubaland Forces

Ethiopia: Security Forces Reportedly Arrest 82 Suspected Islamic State Operatives

Eritrea: Secessionist Group Holds General Conference in Ethiopia

Ethiopia, Somalia: Turkey-Led Mediation Over Maritime Access Indefinitely Suspended

BRICS+: Bloc Increasingly Leans Away From West, but Avoids Picking Fights With U.S.

U.S.: Trump Administration Considers Adding 36 More Countries to Travel Ban

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