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In recent years, an Islamic State branch has deepened its influence in rural Tillabery, near Niger’s border with Mali. Women there have long navigated difficult conditions, but the jihadists have made things worse. Niamey and partners should undertake initiatives to help women overcome these challenges.

Au Tchad, les violences agropastorales ont atteint un niveau sans précédent ces dernières années, renforçant la perception d’un clivage entre le nord et le sud du pays. Elu en mai dernier, le président Mahamat Déby devrait faire de la résolution de ces conflits l’une des priorités de son mandat.

Moldovan officials are worried that Russia may try manipulating divisions between the capital and two dissident regions ahead of October polls. These fissures have widened as Chisinau draws closer to the West. To reduce frictions, the government should reach out anew to the regional authorities.

Organised crime is flourishing in the jungle expanse trisected by the borders of Brazil, Colombia and Peru, putting the populations and ecosystems of the Amazon’s heartland at serious risk. With donor aid, the three states should act fast before the illegal activity does irreversible damage.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians are caught in the crossfire with war intensifying in North Darfur and its capital El Fasher. Concerted pressure is needed to get all sides to de-escalate. It will be difficult, but bowing to fatalism would be inexcusable.

Progress in restoring relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia has sputtered over a year after China brokered a rapprochement. To get it going again, the two states will need to contain disagreements while they work to advance in less political domains.

Ethnic armed groups have pushed the military out of most of Myanmar’s borderlands, putting the country on a path toward fracturing into self-governing statelets with the regime hanging on in the centre. Outside actors wishing to help Myanmar’s people should adjust to this new reality.

From the onset of the Gaza war, Cairo has worried about the risks it creates for Egypt, from refugee flight to economic shocks. Foreign partners should keep working for a ceasefire – the best way to prevent spillover – while pushing Egyptian officials toward reform at home. 

Disputes over water in the northern tip of Cameroon turned deadly in 2021, taking on a troubling ethnic dimension. The authorities have striven to contain the fighting, but to be sure of preventing a recurrence, they need to address the conflict at its roots. 

The two jihadist groups in north-eastern Nigeria have bruised each other badly in internecine fighting. But they are still a menace to civilians, both in Nigeria and in the other Lake Chad states. The governments cannot afford to shift their gaze from the militant danger.