Editor's Note: In the coming year, RANE will analyze the geopolitics of natural resources and raw materials. This series will be published periodically throughout the remainder of 2026; you can find all parts here . Across sub-Saharan Africa, armed groups are bolstering their material capabilities and political influence by exploiting weak governance to advance varying levels of control over critical natural resources, and climate stress will intensify this trend in the coming years. In recent years, some of the most active jihadist and rebel groups in sub-Saharan Africa have significantly strengthened their operational capacity. This development has been partly facilitated by armed groups' control and taxation of natural resources, which enables them to better finance recruitment, procure weapons and sustain wider operations.