France blocks invasion of Chad; Kenya's deepening terror problem; no U.S. visas for Ghanians, and more

The US needs a real plan to counter china in Africa (Adam Ereli, Defense One)
The current toothless strategy won’t prevent Beijing from, say, squeezing supply lines to America’s biggest African base.

French military stops “hostile progression” into Chad (VOA)
The French military said it has helped to repel a column of 40 pickup trucks entering northern Chad from Libya. The French Defense Ministry said Monday that it used Mirage 2000 fighter jets to launch air strikes on the armed group in the trucks Sunday.
The military said the “intervention, in response to a request from Chadian authorities, helped hinder this hostile progression and disperse the column.”
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incursion from Libya.

Central African Republic and rebel groups sign peace deal (DW)
A peace deal has been made between the Central African Republic government and 14 rebel groups after their first-ever direct dialogue aimed at ending years of conflict, the United Nations and the African Union announced on Saturday. “This is a great day for Central African Republic and all its people,” said the AU commissioner for peace and security, Smail Chergui. The deal will “enable the Central African people to embark on a path of reconciliation, harmony and development,” Chergui said, appealing to all citizens to support the agreement. The agreement was signed at the end of a 10-day negotiation in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. As the talks began, the Norwegian Refugee Council warned of a “catastrophe” if no agreement was reached, saying repeated cycles of violence in one of the world’s poorest nations had “pushed people’s resistance to breaking point.”

Kenya is still on edge three weeks after a deadly terror attack (Quartz Africa)
On Monday (Feb. 4), barely 48 hours later, the US embassy in Nairobi issued a security alert cautioning its citizens to exercise caution across Kenya. The embassy said it had “credible information” that Westerners in towns including Nanyuki itself alongside the capital and the coastal areas faced the risk of being targeted by extremists. The message also noted that “shopping malls, hotels, and places of worship” were of particular concern, and urged those going there to be aware of their surroundings and report suspicious activities. (Cont.)