West African countries are adapting their interdiction strategies as drug traffickers and other criminals turn to sophisticated technology to evade detection, U.S. officials said this week.

The presence of the 6th Fleet flagship and the service’s second-highest-ranking officer in Europe and Africa is a notable message to competitors that the U.S. remains interested and involved in North Africa, an analyst said.

The transfer of two American patrol boats to Tunisia and a Navy command ship’s visit embody a centuries-old U.S. commitment to maritime partnership with the North African country, a top service official said this week.

Defense Department civilian employees and contractors abroad can no longer get rape test kits done at military medical facilities.

The United States once cheered the creation of South Sudan as an independent nation. Now the Trump administration has abruptly revoked the visas of all South Sudanese, saying the country’s government has failed to accept the return of its citizens “in a timely manner.”

The commanders of U.S. troops in Europe and Africa expressed trepidation Thursday about the Pentagon’s reported plans to consolidate commands and give up America’s role as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

Africa’s most lethal terrorist organization is expected to gain strength in Somalia, raising the security threat through a Middle East choke point for commercial shipping, a new report cautions.

A series of airstrikes this week killed multiple Islamic militants in Somalia. According to U.S. Africa Command, the strikes, which were in coordination with the Somali government, hit ISIS-Somalia operatives.

The recapture of the palace is unlikely to mean an immediate end to the war, as the RSF still controls territory in other parts of the country, but it is a significant development.

U.S. Africa Command was in the political crosshairs even before it stood up 18 years ago in Stuttgart, Germany.