Analysis

India’s Military Capabilities are Maturing Fast. Its Latest Security Operation Shows Why.

Evan Moloney · November 5, 2026 · 9 min read

The UN is Leaving Western Sahara. What Happens Now?

After three decades monitoring a frozen conflict, UN peacekeepers are withdrawing from a territory Morocco annexed in 1975, leaving the Sahrawi people without international protection.

Simon Whistler · November 4, 2026

Algeria is Undertaking its First Military Intervention in Decades. Here's What You Need to Know

After half a century of non-intervention, Algeria is sending troops abroad to fight jihadists. France learned how that can end. Algiers may be about to.

Paweł Wójcik · November 3, 2026 · 9 min read

Foreigner Kidnappings are Fueling the Sahel Crisis.

Ransoms from Dubai, Moscow, and New Delhi have turned hostage-taking into a lucrative industry — one that bankrolled JNIM's assault on Bamako and now offers a template for insurgent groups elsewhere.

Simon Whistler · September 30, 2026

Mali's Conflict is Nearing Crisis Point. Here's What Comes Next.

JNIM's capture of Kidal and tightening grip on northern Mali have pushed the junta and its Russian backers toward the brink — but Islamic State Sahel's rivalry may yet decide who rules, and whether the state survives.

Paweł Wójcik · September 29, 2026 · 7 min read

The Briefing Room: Iran's Plan for the Houthis, Trouble in South Ossetia, The LRA Returns.

Iran's state-linked press is urging the Houthis to conquer all of Yemen, a Russian official just won South Ossetia's presidency, and the Lord's Resistance Army is spreading again in the Central African Republic.

Simon Whistler · September 25, 2026

Ukraine's Intervention in the Sahel is Hurting Russia. It's also Destabilising the Region.

A handful of Ukrainian trainers embedded with Mali's Tuareg rebels are fighting Russia's Africa Corps — but their allies include al-Qaeda's JNIM, and Kyiv's drone tactics are already reaching the jihadists.

Paweł Wójcik · September 24, 2026 · 7 min read

ISIS and al-Qaeda are at War in the Sahel

The Sahel's two jihadist rivals once fought side by side. Six years of fratricide — more than 320 clashes and 2,200 fighters dead — have since shattered that truce, and the region's juntas are too weak to profit from it.

Simon Whistler · September 23, 2026

Armenia is Rearming

Humiliated by drones in 2020, Armenia has rebuilt its arsenal with suppliers from India to France and a homegrown drone industry — but Azerbaijan's oil-funded buildup is growing faster, and the peace may not hold.

Neil Hauer · September 22, 2026 · 10 min read