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Will Brown

@willbrownecfr.bsky.social

820 followers 340 following 52 posts

Senior Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Working on African affairs. Previously Nairobi, Dakar and Delhi. https://ecfr.eu/profile/will-brown

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Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Nov 19

The bottom line is if you're consuming the Sahel/West Africa political or conflict content on X, you're being bathed in disinformation/FIMI.

This one graph we at ECFR published, looking at X posts on Niger, shows you just how far the rot has gone.

Full report here

ecfr.eu/publication/...

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Comfort Ero @comfortero.crisisgroup.org · Mar 27

“It looks like President Kiir is continuing to escalate. … Some people in Juba worry that Kiir is trying to start an ethnic war,” ~ Alan Boswell, @crisisgroup.org project director for the Horn of Africa.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

South Sudan’s president arrests VP, opposition says, risking imminent war

President Salva Kiir ordered the arrest of Riek Machar, the opposition said, imperiling a 2018 peace deal. Several embassies urged their citizens to leave the country.

www.washingtonpost.com

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ECFR Africa @ecfrafrica.bsky.social · Mar 25

📢 NEW policy brief on Gulf players' geoeconomic engagement in Africa is out now.

ECFR @ecfr.eu · Mar 25

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are making geoeconomic inroads into sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in energy and climate. This could affect Europe’s African interests.

Read our new policy brief by Maddalena Procopio & Corrado Čok.
@ecfrafrica.bsky.social

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Christian Thiels @christianthiels.bsky.social · Mar 21

"In both Ethiopia and South Sudan, conflicts are escalating again. To prevent further regionalisation of the conflict landscape, Europe should support high-level diplomacy", writes Gerrit Kurtz at @swp-berlin.org
www.swp-berlin.org/en/publicati...

Horn of Africa: Time for preventive diplomacy

In both Ethiopia and South Sudan, conflicts are escalating again. To prevent further regionalisation of the conflict landscape, Europe should...

www.swp-berlin.org

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Andrew Lebovich @andrewlebovich.bsky.social · Mar 11

I’m quoted along with the excellent @simnasr.bsky.social and @menastream.bsky.social on the brutal and escalating tactics and attacks on civilians that mark the Wagner group’s presence in Mali: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Russia’s Wagner mercenaries are leading a campaign of terror in Mali

Fighting alongside Malian soldiers, Wagner mercenaries have massacred civilians and burned their villages in northern Mali, fueling a fast-growing refugee crisis.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Wim Zwijnenburg @wammezz.bsky.social · Mar 2

The number of civilians casualties from #drone strikes in #Ethiopia is rising sharply with the arrival of new Turkish #drones. The lackluster international attitude on drone warfare is sending states on a killing spree. Strong piece by @zekuzelalem.bsky.social
ecfr.eu/publication/...

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Andrew Stroehlein @andrewstroehlein.bsky.social · Mar 4

On #Ethiopia’s drone-backed wars... "In just a few years, they have become some of the deadliest conflicts for civilians in the country’s history."
ecfr.eu/publication/...

Deadly skies: Drone warfare in Ethiopia and the future of conflict in Africa

Drone warfare is increasing in Ethiopia and across Africa. These foreign-supplied weapons risk prolonging wars and can help drive governments further away from the West…

ecfr.eu

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · Mar 5

A must read from one of the journalists I respect the most, @zekuzelalem.bsky.social. We heard all about how drones were going to be revolutionizing medicine delivery in Africa and all that. But what is happening?

Cheap drones have been extending warfare on the continent.
ecfr.eu/publication/...

Map showing drone warfare casualties in Ethiopia in the Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and Somali regions.

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Christian Odendahl @codendahl.bsky.social · Mar 7

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Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Mar 7

4/ Zech focuses goes wide and then hones in on Horn of Africa and Ethiopia. Looking at how imported drones changed the course of the Tigray War and how their use by trigger-happy governments is leading to longer, bloodier conflicts.

ecfr.eu/publication/...

Deadly skies: Drone warfare in Ethiopia and the future of conflict in Africa

Drone warfare is increasing in Ethiopia and across Africa. These foreign-supplied weapons risk prolonging wars and can help drive governments further away from the West…

ecfr.eu

Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Mar 7

3/ Second, I'm really delighted to say my old comrade in arms @zekuzelalem.bsky.social has joined our programme as a visiting fellow.

His first policy brief looks at how drones are changing the nature of power and warfare in Africa. How some countries are handing them out like candy.

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Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Mar 7

2/ A brilliantly thought through and researched brief which can be read as a primer for those who know little about the conflict, building up to pointed recommendations for those already deep, deep in the weeds.

ecfr.eu/publication/...

Split decision: Why Sudan is on the brink of partition—again

The prospect of a divided Sudan is gaining traction among local and regional actors, threatening to further destabilise an already fragile region. European policymakers must act swiftly to arrest this...

ecfr.eu

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Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Mar 7

1/ I want to flag two brilliant new policy briefs from @ecfrafrica.bsky.social fellows.

First, the inimitable Jonas Horner wrote about the greatest crisis on earth today: Sudan. How Europeans can navigate the dizzying range of interests, foreign powers to help bring about peace?

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Jeremy Cliffe @jeremycliffe.bsky.social · Mar 2

Ivan Krastev: “what history teaches us is that the best strategy is not to resist the revolutionaries but to hijack their revolution. In doing this, Europe’s success will mostly depend not on its ability to resist but on displaying a talent to surprise.”

on.ft.com/3QE2FPH

Europe should hijack Trump’s revolutionary plans for the world

Liberal nationalists must respond with imagination to US policies rather than gripe at being cut out of Ukraine talks

on.ft.com

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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · Feb 28

A first for me, I wrote a policy brief for the @ecfr.eu, addressing the proliferation of cheap drones across Africa, distributed by the likes of China, Türkiye & the UAE. They cause carnage, the erosion of democracy, but also a political realignment towards Moscow.

I used Ethiopia as a study case.

Deadly skies: Drone warfare in Ethiopia and the future of conflict in Africa

Drone warfare is increasing in Ethiopia and across Africa. These foreign-supplied weapons risk prolonging wars and can help drive governments further away from the West…

ecfr.eu

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Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Feb 15

A must read from my old colleagues. The world needs to wake up to what's going on www.telegraph.co.uk/global-healt...

Children reduced to skin and bones in war-torn Sudan’s forgotten famine

Every scrap of food counts for the millions on the brink of starvation in the remote Nuba mountains

www.telegraph.co.uk

Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Feb 13

Latest: As Trump rattles sabres against old allies, North Korean troops fight on Europe’s border, and Gaza and Khartoum lie in ruins, the restraints—real or imagined—on expansionist ambitions are collapsing.

ecfr.eu/article/pres...

Pressure points: How Europeans could help avert a Third Congo War

Congo stands on the brink of being at the centre of a devastating new regional war. Europe should act in its own self-interest to avert further humanitarian catastrophe

ecfr.eu

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ECFR @ecfr.eu · Feb 13

Congo stands on the brink of being at the centre of a devastating new regional war. Europe should act in its own self-interest to avert further humanitarian catastrophe, writes @willbrownecfr.bsky.social 📝 @ecfrafrica.bsky.social

Pressure points: How Europeans could help avert a Third Congo War

Congo stands on the brink of being at the centre of a devastating new regional war. Europe should act in its own self-interest to avert further humanitarian catastrophe

buff.ly

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Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Feb 11

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

Campaigner for migrants in Libya targeted in spyware attack

Exclusive: Italy-based David Yambio, a critic of Meloni government, was told of attempt to compromise his phone

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Will Brown

Koen Vlassenroot @kvlassen.bsky.social · Feb 11

www.reuters.com/world/africa...

Militia kills more than 35 civilians in east Congo, village chief says

Armed militants killed more than 35 civilians during an attack on a cluster of villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's Ituri province on Monday night, a village chief said on Tuesday.

www.reuters.com

Reposted by Will Brown

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · Feb 7

"The role of the ultra-wealthy has morphed from one of shared social responsibility and patronage to the freewheeling celebration of selfish opulence," @brianklaas.bsky.social writes:

The Rise of the Selfish Plutocrats

Instead of pursuing philanthropy, many now seek to evade social responsibility.

www.theatlantic.com

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Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Feb 6

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Goma jailbreak: More than 100 women raped and burned alive in DR Congo, UN says

As M23 rebels entered Goma and the city was plunged into chaos, female prisoners were attacked, the UN says.

www.bbc.co.uk

Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Feb 6

More than 100 female prisoners were raped and then burned alive during a jailbreak in the Congolese city of Goma, according to the UN.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

DR Congo: Escaped prisoners on the streets of Goma

Footage shows people believed to be escaped prisoners on the streets of Goma, as M23 rebels enter the Congolese city.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Will Brown @willbrownecfr.bsky.social · Feb 6

Well this is absolutely horrying pepfarimpact.vercel.app

PEPFAR Impact Tracker

Track the impact of PEPFAR funding halt

pepfarimpact.vercel.app