South African defence crisis: One of Africa’s strongest militaries faces internal fragmentation, credibility, deterrence and maritime neglect
Irregular warfare in the South African context refers to decentralised, asymmetric conflict carried out by non-state actors who use criminal violence, coercion and subversion to undermine state authority. These include armed illegal mining groups, organised criminal groups, smuggling syndicates and extremist insurgent militias. They do not engage in direct, conventional combat.
Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels agree to end decades-long conflict in eastern Congo via declaration of principles
Backed by neighbouring Rwanda, the M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control in Congo’s mineral-rich east. With seven million people displaced in Congo, the UN has called the conflict in eastern Congo “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.”
Report: Failure by US, NATO to prepare for war against Russia is down to military leaders, Pentagon officials, defence contractors and politicians
In the years between Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea and its 2022 invasion, for example, repeated warnings from top NATO commanders and from officials who operated or supervised US munitions plants went largely unheeded. They advised their governments, both publicly and privately, that the alliance’s munitions industry was ill-equipped to surge production should war demand it. Because of the failure to respond to those warnings, many artillery production lines at already-ancient factories in the United States and Europe slowed to a crawl or closed altogether.
