Africa Intelligence Source Registry
Nothing on this platform comes from an unnamed feed. This is the register of what we collect from, what each source is genuinely good for, how reliable we hold the publisher to be, and how often we pull from it. Tier 1 is the backbone — when those sources are silent on a question, we report the gap rather than substituting weaker material.
Tier 1 — Essential Africa OSINT
The backbone. Every country assessment, journey brief and situation-room layer draws on these first, and each is named in the record it informs.
| Source | Best for | Priority | Layer | Reliability | Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACLEDAll 54 African states, event-level | Political violence, protests and conflict events, geolocated to admin level | L1Conflict & armed groups | A | Daily | |
| UN OCHA / HDXContinental, with admin boundaries and 3W operational data | Humanitarian, population, displacement and operational datasets | L2Early warning & emergencies | A | Daily | |
| ReliefWebCountry and crisis pages for every African emergency | Humanitarian reports, situation updates and emergency declarations | L2Early warning & emergencies | A | Continuous | |
| Insecurity InsightAid-in-danger and health-care attack reporting across Africa | Violence affecting health care, aid workers and civilians | L1Conflict & armed groups | A | Weekly | |
| UN agenciesDisplacement tracking, food security and health surveillance | Country security and humanitarian information — UNHCR, IOM DTM, WFP, WHO, UNDSS advisories | L2Early warning & emergencies | A | Daily to weekly by agency | |
Named feeds pulled
| |||||
| Government sourcesNational gazettes, electoral commissions, aviation and port notices | Regulations, elections, curfews, closures and official security announcements | L5Strategic & political risk | A | As published | |
Named feeds pulled
| |||||
| Local African mediaNational and regional outlets in all five working languages | Early indicators and local developments in English, French, Arabic, Swahili and Somali | L1Conflict & armed groups | B | Continuous | |
Named feeds pulled
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| Satellite & geospatial dataCopernicus Sentinel, NASA FIRMS fire detections, USGS hazards | Infrastructure, displacement, environmental and conflict indicators | L3GEOINT & remote sensing | A | Daily passes | |
Named feeds pulled
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Tier 2 — Corroboration & context
Used to confirm, date or contextualise a Tier 1 signal. Strong on pattern and background, weaker on single-incident precision.
| Source | Best for | Priority | Layer | Reliability | Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCDP Georeferenced Event DatasetAfrica-wide since 1989 | Long-run organised-violence baselines used to judge whether current tempo is unusual | L1Conflict & armed groups | A | Annual, with candidate monthly files | |
| GDACSGlobal, filtered to African exposure | Automated disaster alerts — flood, cyclone, drought, earthquake | L2Early warning & emergencies | B | Continuous | |
| FEWS NETHorn, Sahel, Great Lakes and Southern Africa | Food-security phase outlooks that precede displacement and access loss | L2Early warning & emergencies | A | Monthly and quarterly | |
| GDELTGlobal media, language-filtered to Africa | Media volume and tone shifts used as a tripwire, never as a fact | L5Strategic & political risk | C | 15 minutes | |
| OpenSanctionsConsolidated global lists with African entity coverage | Sanctions, PEP and enforcement screening for due diligence | L5Strategic & political risk | A | Daily | |
| IMB & maritime noticesGulf of Aden, Somali basin, Gulf of Guinea, Mozambique Channel | Piracy, armed robbery at sea and port advisories | L1Conflict & armed groups | A | Weekly | |
| CISA / AlienVault OTX / URLhausGlobal indicators, triaged for sector relevance | Threat indicators and advisories relevant to NGO networks and donor systems | L4Cybersecurity | B | Continuous | |
| Research institutesRegional and thematic analysis | Structural drivers and political-economy background — ISS Africa, Crisis Group, Chatham House | L5Strategic & political risk | A | As published |
Tier 3 — Verification tradecraft
Techniques rather than feeds. Applied before a contested image, claim or location is allowed to influence a rating.
| Source | Best for | Priority | Layer | Reliability | Collection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reverse image searchApplied to all user-submitted and social imagery | Detecting recycled or mislabelled imagery before it is cited | L6Verification | B | Per claim | |
| Chronolocation & shadow analysisUsed on contested incident footage | Testing whether footage was taken when a source claims | L6Verification | B | Per claim | |
| Satellite corroborationSentinel-2 and FIRMS overlays on reported coordinates | Confirming reported burning, flooding or structural damage independently | L6Verification | A | Per claim, subject to pass timing | |
| Practitioner networkHorn, East Africa, Sahel, Great Lakes, coastal West Africa | Ground detail automation cannot see — access, checkpoint behaviour, local sentiment | L6Verification | B | On request |
Reading the reliability grades
Grades follow the NATO admiralty convention and describe the publisher, never an individual claim. Credibility of a specific report remains an analyst judgement recorded alongside the record.
- Grade A
- Completely reliable — institutional record, methodology published
- Grade B
- Usually reliable — sound record, occasional correction needed
- Grade C
- Fairly reliable — useful signal, requires corroboration
- Grade D
- Not always reliable — treated as a lead only
From public information to reviewed assessment
Collect
Capture a dated public record and preserve its original publisher and link.
Verify
Test source identity, location, time and internal consistency before reuse.
Corroborate
Compare the claim with an independent source, dataset or official notice.
GEOINT
Use maps, imagery or remote-sensing evidence where it can test the claim.
Analyse
Separate facts from assumptions and identify patterns, actors and exposure.
Assess
Set an evidence label, confidence level and a bounded analytical judgement.
Identify indicators
State what would strengthen, weaken or overturn the assessment.
Review
Revisit the judgement against subsequent evidence and record limitations.
Regional reporting layer
East Africa and Horn publishers
Regional outlets are where most Horn and East Africa incidents surface first, and where the desk does most of its verification work. A single regional report is a lead, not a finding: it is held as reported until a second independent source, a dataset entry or a remote-sensing signal supports it. Where an outlet reports under access or political constraint, that is recorded as a limit on the evidence rather than treated as silence.
| Publisher | Country / language | Best use | Caution | Reliability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiiraan Online | Somalia Somali, English | Aggregated Somali political and security reporting, including outlets without English editions | An aggregator: trace each item to the originating outlet before citing it. | C |
| Garowe Online | Somalia (Puntland) Somali, English | Puntland administration, federal-state disputes and north-eastern security incidents | Regional editorial position on federal disputes; balance against Mogadishu-based outlets. | C |
| Radio Dalsan | Somalia Somali, English | Mogadishu and Banadir incident reporting, security-force statements, parliamentary politics | Fast on incidents, with casualty figures that often move over the following day. | C |
| Somaliland Standard | Somaliland English | Hargeisa politics, Somaliland–Puntland border friction, Berbera corridor developments | Writes from a Somaliland statehood perspective; terminology is politically loaded either way. | C |
| Addis Standard | Ethiopia English, Amharic | Regional-state politics, conflict in Amhara and Oromia, federal security operations | Operates under real reporting constraints; absence of coverage may reflect access, not calm. | B |
| Ethiopia Insight | Ethiopia English | Longer-form analysis of federalism, ethnic politics and the drivers behind incidents | Analysis rather than incident reporting; useful for causation, not for dating events. | B |
| Sudan Tribune | Sudan, South Sudan English, Arabic | Sudanese and South Sudanese political and military developments, agreements and talks | Relies on party and military statements; separate claim from confirmed event. | B |
| Radio Dabanga | Sudan English, Arabic | Darfur and Kordofan incidents, displacement and civilian protection reporting | Often the only outlet on a locality; single-source items should be graded as such. | B |
| Eye Radio | South Sudan English | Juba politics, state-level violence, road ambush and cattle-related conflict reporting | Coverage is thinner outside state capitals; rural quiet is frequently unobserved. | C |
| The EastAfrican | Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda English | Regional politics, EAC dynamics, cross-border trade and security cooperation | Weekly rhythm: strong on pattern, slow on incidents. | B |
| Daily Nation | Kenya English, Swahili | Kenyan security operations, north-eastern and coastal incidents, protest policing | Incident detail is strongest in urban centres and along the Nairobi–Mombasa axis. | B |
| The Citizen | Tanzania English, Swahili | Tanzanian politics, Cabo Delgado spillover into the south, port and corridor developments | Sensitive security subjects are reported cautiously; read alongside regional outlets. | B |
| The Observer | Uganda English | Ugandan politics, ADF-related incidents and security-force conduct | Political coverage carries a clear editorial line; corroborate incident claims. | C |
| Somali Dispatch | Somalia English | Rapid English-language notice of Somali incidents for onward verification | Speed over confirmation: treat as a lead requiring a second source. | D |
Questions we get about the registry
Which sources form the Tier 1 backbone?
ACLED for political violence and protest events, UN OCHA/HDX for humanitarian and displacement datasets, ReliefWeb for situation reports and emergency declarations, Insecurity Insight for violence affecting aid and health care, UN agency portals (UNHCR, IOM DTM, WFP, WHO), official government and regulator notices, local African media in English, French, Arabic, Swahili and Somali, and satellite or geospatial data from Copernicus, NASA FIRMS and USGS.
What do the reliability grades mean?
Grades follow the NATO admiralty convention and describe the publisher, not the individual claim. A is completely reliable with a published methodology, B usually reliable, C fairly reliable and needing corroboration, D a lead only. Credibility of any single claim stays an analyst judgement.
What happens when Tier 1 sources are silent on a question?
We report the evidence gap rather than substituting weaker material. Tier 2 can date or contextualise a signal, and Tier 3 verification tradecraft is applied before contested imagery or locations influence a rating, but no record is published without a named analyst setting confidence.
Source names and datasets belong to their publishers and are cited for attribution. We hold no affiliation with, or endorsement from, the organisations listed here.