The Islamic Movement in Nigeria, a radical Shiite organisation that claims millions of followers, is riven by power struggles and bitterly divided over whether to move into mainstream politics. Its increasingly unpopular leader Ibrahim el-Zakzaky has lost support from Iran and is battling to keep his job.
A UN panel of experts and Congolese intelligence services suspect Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's army of having "facilitated" M23 movements on its territory. The UN panel is expected to shortly issue a related report.
To the great displeasure of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, the Republic of Congo's Falcon 7X jet will be sold at auction with a starting price of €15m.
Mamadi Doumbouya has ordered his troops to put an end to illegal mining in Siguiri, Guinea's main gold producing region. This activity is largely organised by Chinese nationals. The major miners in the area, notably AngloGold Ashanti and Nordgold, had been complaining for several months about the negative impact on their concessions.
Ministerial meetings, reassuring reminders, a technical study... Official communications from both Algiers and Abuja about the progress of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline are in stark contrast to the security reality on the ground. Both countries play this down in a bid to outdo a rival Nigeria-Morocco project, which is just as hypothetical.
Despite the proclaimed determination of the Sudanese political and military elite to get the political transition process under way, the 13-month stand-off, which has now ended, has left some parties seriously disgruntled.
Plans to build the two Rift Valley dams were shelved in 2019 over concerns about corruption that led some of William Ruto's allies to lose their government jobs. The new president is now tentatively talking about getting the projects off the ground again.
After focusing on the Sahel and the DRC, the European External Action Service is looking towards the Horn of Africa.
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa is looking to win re-election as head of the ANC. He plans to change his ministerial team before the return of parliament in February but is waiting first to see what will be the balance of power in the party following its upcoming conference.
The Egyptian state is in the process of withdrawing from the management of commercial ports on the River Nile. The United Arab Emirates is ready to take advantage of the new market this will create.
Brussels is anxiously awaiting the results of the first round of legislative elections in Tunisia on 17 December. The European Union is concerned about the lack of campaigning and a boycott by opposition parties.
