SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS - The African Mirror

Feb

25

2026

The growing threat of conflict in the Horn of Africa

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

CLASHES last month in two Tigrayan districts between the federal army and Tigrayan forces could be the first steps towards a wider war that has been frozen for the past three years by a shaky ceasefire. Following the skirmishes in Tselemti, in southwestern Tigray, and Wajirat in the southeast, the federal government has moved several army divisions towards the Tigray border. It has also blocked the bank accounts of selected ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) officials. In anticipation of trouble ahead, people in the regional capital, Mekelle, have been stocking up on groceries, and long queues have formed at…

Feb

24

2026

By ULF ENGEL

African Union: how does it make a difference in everyday life and what would happen if it didn’t exist?

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE African Union held its 39th Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2026. The two-day assembly produced the usual number of decisions and declarations across African peace and security, trade, governance and development. Such gatherings, however, can feel distant from the everyday realities of African citizens. They are a showcase of high-level diplomacy that can feel far removed from public life. Since the Union’s establishment in July 2002, the AU Assembly and the AU Executive Council (the meeting of ministers) have taken more than 2,000 decisions. Usually, decisions are prepared by ambassadors to…

Feb

23

2026

By JILL KLEIN and PETE MANASANTIVONGS

Want to avoid palm oil? You need a label

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE most important factor determining whether consumers avoid purchasing a product containing palm oil is not how they feel about orangutans, the environment, or anything else for that matter. It’s whether they know what’s in the product. Research by Melbourne Business School and Zoos Victoria reveals that consumers’ ability to diagnose whether a product is made with palm oil is the leading driver of whether they choose a palm-oil-free product over a similar product that is, or could be, made with palm oil. Hurting orangutans, but you’d never know it According to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a…

Feb

20

2026

By CLEMENT SEFA-NYARKO

Critical mineral supply faces risks if local communities aren’t consulted enough: the case of lithium in Ghana

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

CLEAN technologies depend on critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt. Over 65% of the world’s cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nearly 40% of the world’s manganese is mined in South Africa. Substantial deposits of lithium are found in Zimbabwe. Ghana is emerging as a miner of lithium, too. What’s less well understood is how the supply chains of these minerals are assessed and managed. The dominant view is that only three players matter: the mineral-mining industry, the host state where the minerals are found, and the wider geopolitical equation. But there’s a fourth piece of…

Feb

19

2026

By SALAH BEN HAMMOU

Burkina Faso has dissolved all political parties: why African coup leaders often turn on the people who supported them

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE end of January 2026 effectively marked the end of party politics in Burkina Faso. On 29 January, Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s government formally dissolved all political parties, including those that had supported his September 2022 coup. Parties had already been suspended since Traoré took power, but the junta framed this latest step as part of a broader state “restructuring” meant to reduce social divisions. In practice, the move shuts down what little space remained for independent civic participation and further concentrates authority in Traoré’s hands. Party assets have also been taken over by the state. For a junta that initially…

Feb

17

2026

By PATRICIA HUON

Caught in the middle: Banyamulenge face violence and instrumentalisation in DR Congo’s Uvira

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE seizure and then abrupt withdrawal of the M23 armed group from the city of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s South Kivu province has drawn renewed attention to the precarious position of the area’s minority Banyamulenge population. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By A journalist in Uvira and Patricia Huon Banyamulenge, Congolese Tutsis of Rwandan descent who have lived in South Kivu for generations, are often unfairly viewed as associated with the Tutsi-led, Rwanda-backed M23, which has established a parallel administration across vast eastern areas. At the same time, the M23 and Rwanda have…

Feb

14

2026

By TEKLEHAYMANOT G. WELDEMICHEL

How to get away with mass murder: 4 tactics Ethiopia used to hide Tigray atrocities from the world

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE Tigray region in Ethiopia’s north has endured one of the world’s deadliest armed conflicts of the 21st century. Between 2020 and 2022, as many as 800,000 people were killed (out of a regional population of about 7 million). This rivals estimates from recent major conflicts, including those in Ukraine, Yemen, Sudan and Syria. The war was fought between Tigray’s security forces and the allied forces of Ethiopia and Eritrea, along with ethnic militias from different regions of Ethiopia. This period was marked by organised massacres. There was also systematic sexual violence and mass displacement. Ethnic cleansing and prolonged siege…

Feb

12

2026

By CYNTHIA KWAKYEWAH

Activists in Ghana are forcing extractive firms to account for the harm they cause – corporate abuse study

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

GHANA has a long history of resource extraction that has caused socioeconomic and ecological harm. The mining of gold, stones, sand and salt has displaced people, polluted the environment and destroyed livelihoods. It’s commonly believed that this continues to happen, with impunity. But recent developments reveal a more complex reality. As a global sociologist who specialises in human rights, corporate social responsibility and sustainable development, I mapped out the patterns of corporate abuse in Ghana’s mining, oil and gas sectors. I also looked at the strategies that local actors are using to push the state to act against firms violating…

Feb

11

2026

By SOPHIE DOUCE, PHILIP KLEINFELD, and a BURKINABÉ JOURNALIST

Arrests and red tape: How Burkina Faso’s junta is throttling humanitarian aid

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

BURKINA Faso’s ruling junta is tightening its grip on humanitarian relief organisations, obstructing their efforts amid a broader push to assert political sovereignty and limit scrutiny of its campaign against jihadist groups, aid workers say. Since taking power in 2022, the administration of Ibrahim Traoré has restricted relief groups from accessing areas of the country controlled by jihadists, while saddling them with a thicket of rules and regulations, and disciplining those who speak out. This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Sophie Douce, Philip Kleinfeld and a Burkinabé journalist Half a dozen aid workers and internal documents reviewed…

Feb

09

2026

By RICARDO JORGE MOREIRA GOULÃO SANTOS and ELINA PENTTINEN

Mozambique floods: why the most vulnerable keep paying the highest price

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

WHEN floods submerged parts of Mozambique after heavy rains in 2000, a baby girl was born in a tree, where her mother clung as the Limpopo River waters rose. The baby was nicknamed Rosita in the press. Her survival became a symbol of the country’s grit. But her story, once a symbol of hope, now frames a harder truth. Sadly, Rosita’s life was cut short on 12 January 2026. She reportedly died of anaemia in a provincial health centre. This condition might have been treatable in a stronger, better-resourced health system. Her death coincided with a new wave of severe…