Headline

Top 10 African Countries With The Strongest Military

Published

11 months ago

November 4, 2024

Nigeria, boasting Africa’s largest population and a rapidly advancing defense sector, sits in the fourth position among the countries on the continent with the strongest military forces.

This is highlighted in a recent Global Firepower (GFP) index.

The GFP index measures military strength by evaluating elements such as technological sophistication, defense budget, equipment quality, logistics, natural resources, and force numbers.

Here are the top 10 African countries with the strongest military

1. Egypt

Egypt currently holds Africa’s most powerful military due to its production of cutting-edge technology weapons, its sizable workforce, exceptional naval and aircraft capabilities, and substantial defense budget.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi oversaw a significant upgrade in the country’s military capabilities and weapon modernization. Strong international partnerships boost the armed forces, allowing for increased preparedness and flexibility. Together with its vast resources and connections, the country ranked 15th in the world and first in Africa

2. Algeria

The North African country ranked 26th in the world, and 2nd in Africa acquired the Russian Iskander-E short-range ballistic missile system has been seen for the first time in Algeria, ahead of the military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Algerian Revolution. This sighting confirms Algeria’s acquisition of the Iskander after years of speculation and marks the first time this missile system has appeared in the arsenal of an Arab country. The Arab country received four regiments of the Iskander-E between 2014 and 2017, comprising around 50 vehicles and 48 missiles per regiment, including 12 launchers, 12 transporter-loaders, 11 command vehicles, and various support vehicles to add to its arsenal in 2024.

3. South Africa

According to the most recent numbers from the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), the South African defense sector exported R3.3 billion worth of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment to 67 nations worldwide in 2022.

Despite having a relatively small defense budget in contrast to other major African countries, South Africa’s military ranks 33rd in the world and third in Africa. South Africa is known for its cutting-edge equipment and highly skilled soldiers because it uses its resources to maintain a strong military force while prioritizing internal security and peacekeeping activities.

4. Nigeria

Nigeria, ranked 39th in the world and 4th in Africa, is a key player in the security environment of West Africa because of its continuous investment in its armed forces and modernization. Nigeria is actively involved in internal security, especially in the fight against insurgencies in the northeast, and has been crucial in regional peacekeeping.

The country has spent no less than N63.6 billion to procure various equipment and ammunition for the Nigerian military and the Office of the National Security Adviser between January and July 2024. Allotted N11.72bn in 2020, N10.78bn in 2021, N9.64bn in 2022, N47.02bn, and a supplementary budget of N184.25bn in 2023, making a total of N231.27bn.

5. Ethiopia

Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) recently enhanced its defence capabilities by taking delivery of hundreds of Calidus MCAV-20 armored vehicles provided by the United Arab Emirates in 2024.

Ethiopia’s military has a wealth of combat experience thanks to its continuous border disputes with its neighbours despite having a lower defense budget than other highly ranked African countries. Ethiopia, known for its strong ground capabilities, is ranked 49th in the world and 5th in Africa, and its concentration on a powerful land military allows it to successfully address regional security challenges.

6. Angola

Angola’s well-funded military, ranked 55th in the world, prioritizes air and ground defence assets.
The nation’s large investments in updating military hardware are made possible by its huge oil earnings. In June 2024, the county purchased defense logistics vehicles, General Motors Defence light tactical vehicles, and other equipment from the United States. Angola’s military readiness and operational capacity are further enhanced by its comparatively high active manpower numbers.

7. Morocco

Morocco’s military, which is ranked 61st in the world, is highly skilled and well-equipped, with specializations in the ground and air forces thanks to its collaboration with U.S. Security. Morocco’s air force has 255 aircraft, including 83 fighters, 71 training aircraft, two fleets of air tankers, and 70 helicopters. Also, 1,564 tanks, 13,710 military vehicles, 565 self-propelled artillery elements, 306 towed artillery elements and 208 rocket artillery elements.

The United States works closely with Morocco to promote regional stability, and counter-terrorism, with a shared goal of a stable, secure, and prosperous Middle East and North Africa.

8. Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo received military equipment from Turkey in 2024, shortly after the UN arms embargo was abolished, allowing Congo to purchase weapons on the worldwide market. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), rated 73rd in the world, has recently increased its military fleet to meet the demands of its ground forces despite several challenges, such as internal wars and regional instability.

9. Tunisia

Tunisia is ranked 74th in the world with support from the US and the acquisition of the Chinese-made Dongfeng Mengshi CSK-131 armoured tactical vehicles to enable its skilled and well-trained military that prioritizes preserving internal security and combating regional threats.

The Tunisia army has a total of 84 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) including 30 American M60A1 and 54 M60A3. A total of 48 Austrian light tank SK-105 Kürassier armed with a 105mm cannon are also part of the current combat tracked vehicles in service with the Tunisian armed forces.

The military’s dedication to security and stability is essential to Tunisia’s continuous attempts to protect its interests as a nation and promote peace in the region.

10. Sudan

Sudan has received weapons from companies in China, Iran, Russia, Serbia, and the UAE to strengthen its artillery since the crisis escalated in April 2023, according to HRW.

Sudan, rated 76th in the world, has a substantial standing army with extensive ground combat experience as a result of internal conflict and regional instability. Sudan’s military forces’ capacity to undertake both air and ground operations allows them to respond quickly to emerging threats. Despite dealing with complex political and security difficulties, Sudan maintains a significant military presence in the region due to its extensive experience and manpower.

Headline

Trump Threatens To Unleash ‘Hell’ On Hamas

Published

19 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump has given Hamas until 2200 GMT on Sunday to accept his 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, warning the Palestinian militant group faced “all hell” if it did not agree to the terms.

The US leader set the deadline — which would fall at 1:00 a.m. Monday in Gaza — after an official for the Islamist movement told AFP earlier on Friday that the group still needed time to study the proposal to end nearly two years of devastating war in the Palestinian territory.

“If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

The proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

That would be followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

“Hamas is still continuing consultations regarding Trump’s plan… and has informed mediators that the consultations are ongoing and need some time,” the official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

On Tuesday, Trump gave Hamas “three or four days” to accept his plan, which has been welcomed by world powers, including Arab and Muslim nations.

Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement Friday that the “plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon.”

As Hamas mulled Trump’s peace plan this week, a Palestinian source close to the group’s leadership told AFP on Wednesday that the Islamist movement wanted to amend some clauses, including the one on disarmament.

Hamas leaders also want “international guarantees” for a full Israeli withdrawal and that no assassination attempts would be made inside or outside Gaza, the source added.

Another source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that the group was split over Trump’s plan.

Structurally, the group’s leadership is divided between officials based in the Gaza Strip and those abroad, particularly in Qatar.

Much of Hamas’s leadership has also been wiped out in Israeli attacks throughout the war.

The source told AFP that “the first (opinion) supports unconditional approval, as the priority is a ceasefire under Trump’s guarantees, with mediators ensuring Israel implements the plan”.

“The second has serious reservations regarding key clauses… They favour conditional approval with clarifications reflecting Hamas’s and the resistance factions’ demands,” the source added.

Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said “ultimately it’s not just about convincing Hamas leadership in Doha, but also the leadership in Gaza, as well as Hamas members and fighters in Gaza.”

“Additionally, Hamas must then be able to convince other factions in Gaza,” he added.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 66,288 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

Headline

Israeli Forces Strike Gaza Despite Trump’s Ceasefire Call

Published

20 hours ago

October 4, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Saturday that Israel carried out dozens of attacks on Gaza City despite US President Donald Trump’s appeal to end bombardments after Hamas accepted a ceasefire deal.

“It was a very violent night, during which the (Israeli army) carried out dozens of air strikes and artillery shelling on Gaza City and other areas in the Strip, despite President Trump’s call to halt the bombing,” civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

Bassal, whose agency is a rescue force which operates under Hamas authority, added that 20 homes were destroyed in the overnight bombardments.

“The situation is very serious in Gaza City,” Bassal said, adding that his teams were not able to reach all the casualties due to the “presence of tanks and the ongoing bombardment”.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it was “checking” reports of overnight bombardments on Gaza City.

Gaza City’s Baptist Hospital said in a statement that it received casualties from a strike on a home in Tuffah neighbourhood, including four dead and “several wounded”.

Nasser Hospital in south Gaza’s Khan Yunis said two children were killed and eight people were wounded in a drone strike on a tent in a camp for displaced Gazans.

The peace plan for Gaza, presented by Trump this week and backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas said on Friday it was ready to release hostages held in Gaza under the Trump plan, but wanted negotiations on the details and a say in the future of the Palestinian territory.

AFP

Headline

Prosecutors Seek 11-year Sentence For Diddy, Citing ‘Lack Of Remorse’

Published

1 day ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Prosecutors urged a federal judge Friday to sentence Sean “Diddy” Combs to more than a decade behind bars for his conviction on two prostitution-related counts, saying the music mogul had shown a lack of remorse.

“This is not a person who has accepted responsibility,” prosecutor Christy Slavik told the New York court at Diddy’s sentencing hearing.

“His remorse was qualified. It’s as though he thinks the law doesn’t apply to him,” Slavik said in arguing for an 11-year prison sentence for the 55-year-old hip-hop innovator. ” “His respect for the law is just lip service.”

Combs’s lawyers have asked the judge for a 14-month sentence, which would effectively be time served.

Slavik said Combs had booked speaking engagements in Miami next week in anticipation of a light sentence, which she called “the height of hubris.”

Judge Arun Subramanian for his part said federal sentencing guidelines suggested a prison term of between six and seven years although he has the latitude to impose more or less.

The judge also noted an apparent lack of remorse, saying Combs has “challenged his factual guilt full-throatedly.”

Combs was expected to address the court at the sentencing hearing after submitting a letter to the judge on Thursday pleading for mercy and saying he had “lost my way.”

Following two months of often searing testimony, jurors in July rejected the most serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering against Combs, sparing him the prospect of life in prison.

Combs’s mother and six of his children were in court on Friday and have submitted letters to the judge in his support.

In his plea to the judge, Combs apologised for his conduct, saying he was “scared to death” to be away from his family and vowing he “will never commit a crime again.”

“I lost my way,” he wrote. “I got lost in my journey. Lost in the drugs and the excess.”

Combs’s former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, asked the judge in a letter of her own to consider “the many lives that Sean Combs has upended with his abuse and control.”

– ‘Humbled and broken’ –

Ventura, the 39-year-old singer known as Cassie, testified for days while heavily pregnant.

She described in wrenching detail physical, emotional and sexual abuse she suffered while in a more than decade-long relationship with Combs.

Ventura and another woman, identified as Jane, said they were coerced into performing so-called “freak-offs”: sexual marathons with hired men that Combs directed and sometimes filmed.

“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak off in 2016,” Ventura wrote.

“People watched this footage dozens of times, seeing my body thrown to the ground, my hands over my head, curled into a fetal position to shield me from the worst blows,” she said, noting she has nightmares and flashbacks “on a regular, everyday basis.”

Ventura said she and her family had left the New York area for fear of “retribution” from Combs if he is released.

The defense didn’t deny Combs’s sexual activity but insisted it was consensual.

They also didn’t deny Combs’s years of violence against both romantic partners as well as employees — but they said it didn’t meet the legal threshold for the grave charges he faced.

Jurors took their side.

The conviction on lesser if still serious counts stemmed from a federal statute that makes it illegal to transport people across state lines for prostitution.

Combs has been incarcerated in Brooklyn for more than a year.

He said his time in prison has left him “reborn.”

“I have been humbled and broken to my core,” Combs wrote.
AFP