Photo : Reuters/Al Jazeera
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : Reuters/Al Jazeera
MALI
JNIM fighters attack major prison and tighten blockade around Mali’s capital
On 7 May, Al Jazeera reported that fighters from the Al Qaeda-aligned Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) stormed the Kenieroba Central Prison near Bamako and set fire to food trucks heading to the capital as violence escalated across Mali. The prison, which houses around 2500 inmates including high-value militant suspects, came under attack amid a broader offensive launched by JNIM and Tuareg separatists from the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) that recently captured the northern city of Kidal and killed Defence Minister Sadio Camara. The military government has since launched widespread arrests targeting military officers, opposition figures and civil society members accused of links to the attackers, while the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of alleged extrajudicial killings and abductions by security forces. JNIM has also imposed checkpoints around Bamako, raising fears of a humanitarian crisis as food supplies struggle to reach the capital. (“Al-Qaeda-linked fighters storm Mali prison, block food supplies to Bamako,” Al Jazeera, 06 May 2026)
MOROCCO
Search continues in Morocco for two missing US soldiers
On 07 May, Africa News reported that a large multinational search operation involving more than 600 personnel continued off the south-western coast of Morocco for two missing American soldiers who disappeared during the annual African Lion military exercise. According to reports, the soldiers were among a group of US servicemen hiking near the Cap Draa training area when one fell from a cliff into the ocean, prompting another soldier - who reportedly could not swim - to jump in to help. A third service member also entered the water in an attempted rescue and managed to return safely to shore, but the other two remain missing. The search effort, coordinated by United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), includes helicopters, ships, divers and mountain rescue units covering more than 45 square kilometres of coastal and open ocean area during the ongoing multinational military drills involving US, African and NATO forces. (“Search continues for two missing US soldiers in Morocco,” Africa News, 07 May 2026)
CAPE VERDE
WHO says hantavirus outbreak linked to cruise ship poses low global risk
On 07 May, Africa News reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) said the recent hantavirus outbreak linked to the cruise ship MV Hondius poses a low risk to the wider public and is far less contagious than COVID-19. The outbreak, which has killed three passengers and left two others receiving treatment in South Africa and Switzerland, was confirmed to involve the Andes strain of hantavirus - the only known variant capable of limited human-to-human transmission. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed that transmission remains “very rare” and generally requires close contact, while health authorities continued monitoring dozens of contacts linked to the ship, which has been anchored off Cape Verde. Investigations are ongoing into how the virus emerged aboard the vessel carrying passengers and crew from 23 nationalities. (“Health officials downplay global threat from ship hantavirus cases,” Africa News, 07 May 2026)