During Sudan's civil war, which erupted in April 2023, both sides have increasingly relied on drones, and civilians have borne the brunt of the carnage. The conflict between the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group is an example of war transformed by commercially available, easily concealable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones. Modular, well-adapted to sanctions evasions and devastatingly effective, drones have killed scores of civilians, crippled infrastructure and plunged Sudanese cities into darkness. In this visual investigation, Al Jazeera examines the history of drone warfare in Sudan, the types of drones used by the warring sides, how they are sourced, where the attacks have occurred and the human toll. The RSF traces its origins to what at the time was a government-linked militia known as the Janjaweed.

Accurate electricity forecasting is crucial for grid stability and energy planning, especially in Benghazi, Libya, where frequent load shedding, generation deficits, and infrastructure limitations persist. This study proposes a data-driven approach to forecast electricity load, generation, and deficits for 2025 using historical data from 2019 (a year marked by instability) and 2023 (a more stable year). Multiple time series models were applied, including ARIMA, seasonal ARIMA, dynamic regression ARIMA, exponential smoothing, extreme gradient boosting, and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks. The dataset was enhanced through missing value imputation, outlier smoothing, and log transformation. Performance was assessed using mean squared error, root mean squared error, mean absolute error, and mean absolute percentage error. LSTM outperformed all other models, showing strong capabilities in modeling non-stationary and seasonal patterns. A key contribution of this work is an optimized LSTM framework that integrates exogenous factors such as temperature and humidity, offering robust performance in forecasting multiple electricity indicators. These results provide practical insights for policymakers and grid operators to enable proactive load management and resource planning in data-scarce, volatile regions.

Libya's government denied reports it is responsible for drone attacks that hit an airbase in the east used by mercenaries of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner. The origin of the early Friday attack on the Al-Kharruba airbase, 150km (90 miles) southwest of Benghazi, was unclear but it caused no casualties. Army Chief of Staff General Mohamad al-Haddad denied the Tripoli-based authorities had anything to do with the raid. "None of our aircraft targeted any site in the east," al-Haddad said, according to the Libyan news website Addresslibya. "These reports are aimed at stoking a new war between Libyan brothers and involving Libya in a regional conflict."

Russian mercenary groups have enabled renegade military commander Khalifa Hafter, who is based in eastern Libya, to blockade the country's oil exports, starving the country of much-needed money. Moscow's backing of Haftar, a former CIA asset, has increased tensions with the United States. Russian private military contractors are active in 16 African nations. How is the country paying for its overseas wars? Also on Counting the Cost: Currency crisis, debt default, hyperinflation and poverty - Lebanon was in economic and political paralysis long before the devastating explosion in Beirut.

Air power has played an increasingly important role in the Libyan conflict. The relatively flat featureless desert terrain of the north and coast means that ground units are easily spotted, with few places to hide. The air forces of both the United Nations-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar and his self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) use French and Soviet-era fighter jets, antiquated and poorly maintained. While manned fighter aircraft have been used, for the most part the air war has been fought by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones. With nearly 1,000 air strikes conducted by UAVs, UN Special Representative to Libya Ghassan Salame called the conflict "the largest drone war in the world".

TRIPOLI – A drone airstrike by eastern Libyan forces on the southern Libyan town of Murzuq has killed at least 43 people, a local official said on Monday. The attack is the second major airstrike blamed on the eastern Libyan National Army (LNA) forces loyal to Khalifa Hifter after at least 44 migrants were killed in June when a detention center in a suburb of the capital Tripoli was hit. The LNA confirmed a strike late on Sunday on Murzuq, but denied it had targeted any civilians. The LNA had also denied it had hit the detention center but acknowledged increased air strikes on the capital. The internationally recognized government based in Tripoli opposing Hifter said dozens were killed and wounded in Murzuq. Reached by telephone, Murzuq municipal council member Mohamed Omar told Reuters: "The airstrike resulted in 43 killed and 51 wounded.

Before he took office in 2008, Barack Obama vowed to end America's grueling conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his second term, he pledged to take the country off what he called a permanent war footing. "Our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue," he said in May 2013. "But this war, like all wars, must end. But Obama leaves a very different legacy as he prepares to hand his commander-in-chief responsibilities to Donald Trump. U.S. military forces have been at war for all eight years of Obama's tenure, the first two-term president with that distinction. He launched airstrikes or military raids in at least seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. Yet the U.S. faces more threats in more places than at any time since the Cold War, according to U.S. intelligence. For the first time in decades, there is at least the potential of an armed clash with America's largest adversaries, Russia and China.

Before he took office in 2008, Barack Obama vowed to end America's grueling conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his second term, he pledged to take the country off what he called a permanent war footing. "Our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue," he said in May 2013. "But this war, like all wars, must end. But Obama leaves a very different legacy as he prepares to hand his commander-in-chief responsibilities to Donald Trump. U.S. military forces have been at war for all eight years of Obama's tenure, the first two-term president with that distinction. He launched airstrikes or military raids in at least seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan. Yet the U.S. faces more threats in more places than at any time since the Cold War, according to U.S. intelligence. For the first time in decades, there is at least the potential of an armed clash with America's largest adversaries, Russia and China.

Since taking office, President Obama has sent U.S. troops into action on land or in the skies of seven countries on two continents. Obama's administration has authorized Navy SEALs to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and approved the fatal drone strike on an American cleric in Yemen. Here is a look at targeted killings under the Obama administration. Mansour was killed when a drone strike hit his vehicle as he traveled in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Mansour, known for his mercurial leadership, had been in the U.S. military's crosshairs for years.