Rubio To Host Signing Of Agreement Between Rwanda, DR Congo
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday will host the signing of an agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo following a truce pledge, officials said. The State Department on its public schedule said that Rubio would sign a “declaration of principles” with DRC Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe. The State Department did not immediately offer further details. In a surprise announcement Wednesday, the DRC and M23 rebels, who have made rapid advances, said they had agreed to halt fighting in the east of the country while they work toward a permanent truce. Thousands have been killed in a conflict that has raged along the border of the two countries since January. UN experts, the United States and other Western governments say that Rwanda supports the M23, which in recent months has seized key cities in the turbulent but resource-rich east of the DRC…Qatar, which has worked with the United States on a range of thorny diplomatic issues, spearheaded talks between Rwanda and the DRC. The DRC has sought US support in part by offering to reach its own agreement with the United States on access to critical minerals. AFP
West African Bloc Slams ‘Barbaric’ Benin Jihadist Attack
West African regional bloc ECOWAS on Thursday condemned an attack by suspected jihadists which killed 54 troops in northern Benin as a “barbaric and cowardly act”. After authorities previously gave a death toll of eight soldiers, the Benin government on Wednesday said suspected jihadist insurgents killed 54 troops last week in an attack on military posts in a Benin national park. The Economic Community of West African States “condemns in the strongest possible terms this barbaric and cowardly act, which once again aims to sow terror and destabilise our member states”, it said in a statement. The “odious terrorist attack” caused the “loss of lives and left several people injured”, the statement added, without giving precise figures. The April 17 attack was claimed by the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM), which said it had killed 70 Beninese soldiers. The official toll of 54 dead would make it the deadliest attack confirmed by the Beninese authorities since a recent uptick in strikes on military bases. AFP
Benin Tensions with Burkina, Niger Open Door for Jihadists
Diplomatic tensions between Benin and its junta-led Sahel neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso have led to a security vacuum which jihadists are exploiting with ever-deadlier attacks, analysts told AFP. North Benin, which borders both Niger and Burkina Faso, has seen a recent rise in strikes targeting army positions, with an attack last week claimed by Islamists killing 54 soldiers, the deadliest toll given by officials so far. Benin’s government has blamed those attacks on a spillover from Niger and Burkina Faso, both ruled by army officers who took power in coups on the promise of quashing the Sahel region’s long-running jihadist scourge…”The growing presence of jihadists in the south of Burkina Faso and Niger along with the limited capacity of the armed forces of Sahel countries along their borders have allowed jihadist groups to create cells in territories like north Benin,” Control Risks analyst Beverly Ochieng told AFP. And the forested areas of Benin’s W and Pendjari national parks near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger “offer an additional layer of cover for jihadist activities”, Ochieng said. “With only limited aerial surveillance, Islamists can move about within these zones without being detected,” she added. AFP
Sudan Army Builds Tunnels to Shield Drones, Strategic Weapons – Sources
The Sudanese army is building tunnels inside several military bases to protect strategic weapons and drones, sources told Sudan Tribune on Thursday. Armed drones have helped the Sudanese army shift the momentum in its conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), halting the RSF’s advance and enabling the recapture of the capital and other cities, the sources added. Sudan has reportedly obtained drones from several countries, including Iran and Russia…The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the army recently received advanced air defence systems, monitoring equipment and radars specifically “to counter RSF drones”. Separately, advanced drones, suspected by experts to be Chinese-made, have recently attacked targets in multiple Sudanese cities, causing significant infrastructure damage…Military analysts express concern that the widespread use of drones by both sides risks prolonging the conflict and potentially spreading it to new areas of the country. Sudan Tribune
Sudan War Destroys World’s Only Research Centre on Skin Disease Mycetoma: Director
The world’s only research centre on mycetoma, a neglected tropical disease common among farmers, has been destroyed in Sudan’s two-year war, its director and another expert say. Mycetoma is caused by bacteria or fungus and usually enters the body through cuts. It is a progressively destructive infectious disease of the body tissue, affecting skin, muscle and even bone. It is often characterised by swollen feet, but can also cause barnacle-like growths and club-like hands. “The centre and all its infrastructure were destroyed during the war in Sudan,” Ahmed Fahal, director of the Mycetoma Research Centre (MRC), told AFP. “We lost the entire contents of our biological banks, where there was data from more than 40 years,” said Fahal, whose centre had treated thousands of patients from Sudan and other countries…The centre had grown to include 50 researchers and treat 12,000 patients each year, Fahal said. Mycetoma is listed as a neglected tropical disease by the WHO. The organisms that cause mycetoma also occur in Sudan’s neighbours, including Chad and Ethiopia, as well as in other tropical and sub-tropical areas, among them Mexico and Thailand, WHO says. AFP
Somalia: ISIS Loses Ground in Puntland as Final Offensive Gains Momentum
The ISIS militants in the northeastern state of Somalia — Puntland, are increasingly losing ground as the region pulls the final assault on the group, whose activities had raised concerns among stakeholders, including the US State Department of the US. Last week, the Puntland security forces launched the third and final phase against ISIS militants, with local authorities exuding confidence in defeating the group, which is limited to the Bari region within the Cal-Miskaad mountains. Just upon the launch of the third phase, the fighting in Miraale valley, one of three areas where the militants are hiding, was reportedly intense…In Curaar valley, the militants launched an attack on government forces four nights ago, losing 7 men. No fighting has been reported in the vicinity of Karinka Qandala to the north of Tog Jaceel valley, where militants are still suspected to be holed up. But to a large extent, the militants have lost ground in all aspects, including some of the strategic forward operating bases. Garowe Online
Tunisia Mass Conspiracy Trial ‘Marred by Violations’: UN Rights Chief
The United Nations human rights chief on Thursday condemned the conviction of around 40 Tunisian opposition figures, saying their right to a fair trial was violated. “The process was marred by violations of fair trial and due process rights, raising serious concerns about political motivations,” the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement. A Tunisian court on Saturday handed down sentences of between 13 and 66 years to defendants accused of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group”. Among those sentenced were vocal critics of President Kais Saied, well-known opposition figures, lawyers and businesspeople, some of them already behind bars, while others have been living in exile. Lawyers representing the accused and their relatives have denounced the trial as “fabricated” and “unfounded”, and pledged to appeal the rulings. AFP
Tunisia Burns Migrant Tents in Latest Clearance Effort
Tunisian authorities on Thursday set fire to tents housing sub-Saharan African migrants, an AFP correspondent said, in a new drive to clear their informal camps. Many migrants arrived in Tunisia after crossing the deserts of Algeria and Mali, hoping to reach Italy. But tighter controls on the sea route have left them stranded. For nearly two years, olive groves around El Amra, a town near the city of Sfax, served as informal camps for thousands of the migrants but on April 4 authorities began dismantling the camps. Around 3,300 more migrants had to leave the olive groves on Thursday, said Houcem Eddine Jebabli, spokesman for the National Guard, which said around 4,000 had left in the earlier operation…The makeshift shelters located a few kilometres from Tunisia’s Mediterranean coast have grown as a source of tension. Local residents complain about the camps and demand that the land be cleared. Last year, Tunisia signed a 255-million-euro deal with the European Union, nearly half of which is earmarked for tackling irregular migration. Tunisian President Kais Saied on March 25 called on the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) to accelerate voluntary returns for irregular migrants to their home countries. AFP
More than 1,800 Migrants Expelled from Algeria into Niger, Rights Group Says
Algerian authorities rounded up more than 1,800 migrants and left them at the Nigerien border in a record expulsion earlier this month, a Niger-based migrant rights group said Thursday. Alarmphone Sahara, which monitors migration across the region, said the migrants were bused to a remote desert area known as “Point Zero” after being apprehended in Algerian cities. Abdou Aziz Chehou, the group’s national coordinator, told The Associated Press on Thursday that 1,845 migrants without legal status in Algeria had been counted, arriving in Niger’s border town of Assamaka after the April 19 mass expulsion. That pushed the total number of expelled migrants arriving in Assamaka this month beyond 4,000, he said…The mass deportations come amid rising tensions between Algeria and its southern neighbors, all now led by military juntas that ousted elected governments previously aligned with Algiers. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger withdrew their ambassadors from Algeria earlier this month over border security disputes. For migrants fleeing poverty, conflict or climate change, Algeria serves as a transit point en route to Europe. Many cross vast stretches of the Sahara en route before attempting dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean. AP
Amnesty Denounces Algeria Over ‘Alarming’ Crackdown
Amnesty International on Thursday denounced what it called a “crackdown on peaceful dissent” in Algeria in response to an online protest campaign. “Algerian authorities have intensified their relentless clampdown on peaceful dissent through arbitrary arrests and unjust prosecutions leading to lengthy prison sentences,” the rights group said in a statement. It said the authorities have arrested and sentenced at least 23 activists and journalists over their purported support for an online protest movement dubbed Manich Radi (which loosely translates as “I do not agree”). The campaign, Amnesty said, was launched in December 2024 “to denounce restrictions on human rights and difficult socioeconomic conditions in the country”. Amnesty said the 23 were detained “solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights”. Its regional director for the Middle East and North Africa Heba Morayef said: “The trajectory of suffocating online activism pursued by the Algerian authorities is alarming and must be reversed. ” AFP
Top Uranium Producer Namibia to Open Talks on Nuclear Energy Plant
Leading uranium producer Namibia will this year launch talks on its first nuclear energy plant as it seeks to exploit its rich natural wealth to transform its economy, the president said on Thursday. As the world’s third-highest producer of uranium, the southern African nation should benefit from this resource to meet its own energy needs, President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah told parliament. Uranium mines in the sparsely populated nation are estimated by the World Nuclear Association as capable of providing 10 percent of the world supply of the metal used in nuclear power production…Namibia has long stated its interest in introducing nuclear power into its energy mix, which relies on imports, mainly from South Africa…Investments in this sector — which has attracted significant international interest — would secure Namibia’s energy supply and also drive electrification, job creation and growth, Nandi-Ndaitwah said. AFP
Macron Seeks ‘forgiveness’ for Colonialism on Madagascar Visit
President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday, April 24, during a visit to Madagascar that he wanted to work toward “forgiveness” for France’s colonization of the Indian Ocean island, including with the return of cultural artifacts…Macron highlighted the planned return of various cultural items taken from the island by its French occupiers, including the skull of a king decapitated in 1897 by French troops and taken to France as a trophy. “These human remains belong here and nowhere else,” he said. The fifth-largest island in the world, known for its rich biodiversity and natural resources but burdened by high poverty, Madagascar was under French colonial rule from the 19th century until 1960, when it gained full independence. Macron called for a collaboration between historians from both countries so that “truth, memory, history and reconciliation can see the light of day.” The proposal is modeled on historian commissions set up with other territories colonised by France, such as Cameroon, Algeria, Senegal and Haiti. Le Monde with AFP
How Pope Francis Redefined the Church’s Ties with Africa
Thousands of miles from the Vatican, the death of Pope Francis is being mourned by millions of Catholics on the African continent. Francis, who was renowned for his liberal embrace of all groups of people and his vocal support for poor and marginalised communities, was a key figure on a continent sometimes referred to as the “future of the Catholic Church”, owing to the vast population of African Catholics: One in five Catholics is African. Throughout his papal leadership, Pope Francis solidified recently established Vatican conventions by visiting 10 African countries, reinforcing engagements made by his predecessors…He opted to visit nations that were in strife and were facing war or low-level conflict…The pontiff did not shy away from holding mass in ghettos or kissing the feet of warring leaders in hopes of bringing peace. Al Jazeera