In-depth daily coverage of armed conflicts, insurgencies, terrorism, and security developments across Sub-Saharan Africa including the Sahel, East Africa, and the Great Lakes region.
February 22 saw at least five active combat engagements and multiple security incidents across Sub-Saharan Africa. The RSF launched a large-scale assault on the Sudan-Chad border town of El Tina, one of the last SAF footholds in Darfur, with fighting spilling across the Chadian frontier. Sudan's government condemned Uganda for hosting RSF commander Hemedti days after the UN declared RSF atrocities in El Fasher bore the hallmarks of genocide. In the DRC, the Angola-proposed ceasefire collapsed entirely as M23 and Wazalendo fighters clashed in South Kivu's highlands. JNIM struck a military post in Mali's Djenne district, killed 10 Burkinabe soldiers across two posts, and militants attacked a construction site in Niger. Nigerian troops foiled a Lakurawa market raid in Kebbi State while bandits killed seven in Plateau State. The Ethiopia-Eritrea standoff intensified with major international reporting from Tigray on troop buildups. Somalia's government announced al-Shabaab was experiencing its worst financial strain in seven years. South Sudan's civil conflict in Jonglei continued with over 280,000 displaced and humanitarian access under active restriction.
The RSF launched a large-scale assault on El Tina, a border town in North Darfur on the Sudan-Chad frontier, beginning Saturday evening and continuing through Sunday. RSF forces attacked from the southwest with drone support, initially seizing government buildings and posting footage of fighters beneath a banner reading "District of Al-Tina." The SAF and allied Joint Forces, comprising Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement fighters, launched a counter-offensive and claimed to have repelled the assault, destroying and capturing several RSF combat vehicles. Both sides posted competing videos claiming control of the town.
El Tina is one of the last three SAF/Joint Force strongholds in all of Darfur, alongside Karnoi and Amro. Since the RSF captured El Fasher in October 2025, the paramilitaries have pushed to eliminate remaining pockets of resistance near the Chadian border. Control of these crossings would give the RSF leverage over cross-border trade and humanitarian corridors. The fighting carried an immediate regional spillover dimension: RSF fighters reportedly crossed into Chadian territory, clashing with Chadian forces and killing several Chadian soldiers. Chad's government condemned the incursion, the second such border violation in two months following a similar January 2026 incident.
Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minawi accused the RSF of targeting unarmed civilians on ethnic grounds and pursuing forced displacement and demographic change. JEM leader Dr. Jibril Ibrahim congratulated forces for repelling the attack and called for continued pursuit. The RSF claimed it was implementing security plans to stabilize the area and facilitate humanitarian access.
Separately, Sudan's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Sunday condemning Uganda for hosting RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ("Hemedti"), who met President Museveni in Entebbe on February 20. The ministry called the reception an affront that disregards the laws governing relations between member states, according to Al Jazeera. The meeting came days after the U.S. sanctioned three RSF commanders, the UN Fact-Finding Mission declared RSF actions in El Fasher bore the hallmarks of genocide, and U.S. envoy Massad Boulos proposed a five-pillar peace plan at the UN Security Council. Sudan's General Authority for Geological Research also disclosed on Sunday that the mining sector had sustained $7 billion in losses from the 34-month civil war, with operational reach reduced from 18 to 6 states.
The Angola-proposed ceasefire, nominally effective since February 18, was completely non-functional by Sunday. Armed clashes occurred in Lemera, Uvira territory, South Kivu, with displaced civilians directly referencing fighting on February 22. Congolese-aligned Wazalendo forces clashed with M23-backed Twirwaneho fighters across the South Kivu highlands, according to civil society groups. The fighting centered on Fizi territory around Minembwe, Point Zéro village, and surrounding highlands south of Uvira. At least 15,000 people were displaced from Lemera alone since February 17, according to Africanews.
The FARDC accused M23 of attacking positions in both North Kivu and South Kivu in the preceding days, claiming Rwandan special forces participated in the operations. M23 coordinator Corneille Nangaa rejected the Angolan ceasefire entirely, telling reporters the movement was committed only to the Doha process and accusing Kinshasa of manipulation. Rwanda's foreign minister cast doubt on the ceasefire from the start, stating the DRC had shown no political will. By February 22, three overlapping diplomatic processes, the Doha/Qatar track, the Angolan/AU track, and the Washington Accords, were all stalled.
The humanitarian toll continued to mount, with over 7 million people internally displaced across the DRC and 25 million facing acute food insecurity. In M23-controlled Goma, banks remained closed by government order, the airport has been shut since January 2025, and mobile money with exploitative fees was the only financial channel. On February 20, M23/AFC released 40 minors, approximately 100 women, and 230 wounded FARDC soldiers following EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib's visit. The EU had announced 81.2 million euros in humanitarian aid for the Great Lakes region on February 17.
JNIM fighters attacked a military post in the Djenne district of central Mali on February 22, killing 4 Malian soldiers and capturing 2 army pickup trucks. The attack was assessed as tactically aimed at delaying FAMa reinforcements needed to support the Dan Na Ambassagou militia in Bandiagara. This followed a February 20 FAMa airstrike in the Yanfolila sector (Buguni region) that reportedly killed approximately 50 militants, one of a series of aerial operations enabled by recent Russian equipment deliveries.
In Burkina Faso, the armed forces destroyed two militant bases in the villages of Tongumale and Belehede on February 21, claiming 21 militants killed as part of a sustained campaign to break JNIM's siege of Djibo in northern Soum province. JNIM demonstrated its continued offensive capacity on the same day by simultaneously attacking two military posts near Rambo and Fonsay in Soum province, killing 10 Burkinabe soldiers and VDP militia members, according to local security reports. The Burkinabe government announced a February 23 general mobilization campaign, calling on citizens to "make a physical contribution to the defense of the homeland."
In Niger, militants attacked a construction site near Tahoua, committing arson on equipment and disrupting the telephone network, consistent with the broader jihadist pattern of targeting economic infrastructure. Niger's National Committee of the Alliance of Sahel States validated the confederation's second-year roadmap on February 22, with Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Zeine announcing approval of a plan spanning defense, diplomacy, and development. Senior officials were set to convene in Burkina Faso on February 24-26 to finalize the consolidated roadmap. A critical source caveat applies: most granular tactical reporting from the Sahel on this date came from Russian state-affiliated media outlets, which carry a pro-junta editorial perspective.
Nigerian security forces from Operation FANSAN YANMA neutralized several suspected Lakurawa fighters after repelling a failed market raid on Dadinkowa community in Kebbi State on Sunday morning. The IS Sahel-affiliated group attempted to storm a local market, blocking a major access road to facilitate the operation. Security forces engaged the attackers in a gun battle, killing several and forcing the remainder to retreat with suspected gunshot wounds, according to the Daily Post.
The attack came amid a devastating week for Kebbi State. On February 19, Lakurawa militants killed 33-34 people in coordinated attacks across Arewa Local Government Area, striking villages including Mamunu (16 killed), Awashaka, and Masama. On February 20, police repelled a separate night attack along the Maje border road where armed men advanced using a cattle herd as cover. Lakurawa, originally a vigilante group turned radical jihadist entity, was designated a terrorist organization in January 2025 and serves as a bridge between IS Sahel Province and ISWAP in the Lake Chad Basin. Despite U.S. drone strikes on December 25, 2025 that killed an estimated 136 fighters, the group has continued to expand operations across an area covering approximately 500 villages.
Separately, suspected bandits killed 7 people and critically injured 3 in an attack on Ratatis community, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, Plateau State, at approximately 7:30 PM Sunday. Attackers shot sporadically for several hours and set houses and farmlands ablaze. A security alert had been issued at 5:45 PM on February 21 warning of mobilization, but distress calls to the Operation Enduring Peace sector command were reportedly ignored. Across Nigeria's conflict theaters, the security environment was characterized by expanding geographic violence despite a growing U.S. military partnership launched after the December 2025 strikes, with approximately 200 U.S. military personnel now deployed.
The Ethiopia-Eritrea crisis dominated the Horn of Africa on February 22, with major international outlets publishing dispatches from Mekelle describing a population bracing for renewed conflict. The International Crisis Group had warned on February 18 that hostilities could erupt at any time, with both sides deploying troops and military equipment toward northern Tigray. Ethiopia demanded Eritrean withdrawal from Ethiopian territory in a February 7 letter, calling incursions outright aggression. Approximately two-thirds of ENDF troops were reportedly heading to Tigray and the Eritrea border, redeployed from the Amhara and Oromia counterinsurgency campaigns. Young people were fleeing Tigray to avoid forced recruitment, and food prices in Mekelle had more than doubled.
In the Amhara region, the Fano insurgency continued to escalate, with fighting recorded in at least 37 administrative areas across 11 zones during the week of February 9-15. Fano entered Debre Tabor city on February 11, burning government buildings before withdrawing under drone strikes. The government's redeployment of troops from Amhara to the Tigray boundary was reportedly creating opportunities for Fano's offensive, a dangerous multi-front dynamic for Addis Ababa. The crisis stems from unresolved elements of the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, Ethiopia's demand for Red Sea access through Eritrea's Assab port, and Eritrea's continued military presence in parts of Tigray.
In Somalia, the federal government announced on February 22 that al-Shabaab was experiencing its worst financial strain in seven years following targeted killings of senior financial operatives. The government claimed al-Shabaab's 2025 revenue fell to less than $80 million with fighter salaries reduced below $80 per month. This came amid a record U.S. air campaign, with at least 36 airstrikes in 2026 as of February 19. Kenya had foiled a major al-Shabaab mass-casualty plot on February 17, arresting 13 suspects in Kajiado County with AK-47s, grenades, and explosives intended for coordinated Ramadan attacks on Nairobi.
Fighting between SSPDF forces and SPLA-IO opposition in Jonglei State remained ongoing and continuous on February 22, with over 280,000 people displaced across eight counties since the government's Operation Enduring Peace began on January 27. OCHA's Flash Update No. 9 (February 20) documented the IOM verifying nearly 189,000 displaced persons by February 16, while fighting had been recorded in 8 of 10 states, unprecedented since the 2018 peace agreement. Three humanitarian workers were killed between February 7-16 (UNICEF, IMA World Health, and WFP staff). MSF was denied access to Pieri and Lankien on February 18.
The humanitarian situation was compounding. A cholera outbreak had reached 98,401 cumulative cases and 1,624 deaths since September 2024. Twenty-four nutrition sites were forced to close, cutting off 8,000 children including 2,600 with severe acute malnutrition. The SSPDF had ordered civilians to evacuate three Jonglei counties and humanitarian organizations to withdraw within 48 hours. Vice President Riek Machar remained under house arrest since March 2025, facing murder and treason charges. On February 22, South Sudan's Council of Ministers approved $2 billion for road infrastructure, critical for humanitarian access in the conflict zones. Human Rights Watch and 77 partner organizations had urged the UN Human Rights Council on February 19 to extend its investigation mandate.
No specific combat events were confirmed for February 22 in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, or Mozambique, though the preceding week saw activity in each theater. In Cameroon's Far North, Boko Haram launched a coordinated overnight assault on the Hile Alifa BIR outpost on February 18-19, with more than 40 attackers; 5 militants and 1 Cameroonian soldier were killed. In the Anglophone regions, Bishop George Nkuo of Kumbo published a Lenten letter denouncing a decade of violence, highlighting over 3,000 Cameroonians trafficked to Nigeria.
In the Central African Republic, Russian military specialists and FACA forces uncovered three militant bases in northeastern CAR during the week ending February 21, with militants withdrawing across the Chadian and Sudanese borders, reflecting growing spillover from the Sudan conflict. The UN Security Council was scheduled to hear a MINUSCA briefing on Monday, February 23. In Mozambique's Cabo Delgado, the ISM insurgency continued with adapted tactics despite over 2,000 Rwandan troops deployed alongside FADM. The most recent ACLED/Cabo Ligado update documented simultaneous ISM attacks on two FADM positions in Catupa forest (January 31), road ambushes, and mobile money extortion operations. Over 107,000 people had fled Memba district since mid-December 2025.