Fighting Flares in East DR Congo Despite Rwanda Truce Push
Fierce fighting between the Congolese army and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has flared up again in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled east despite truce talks between the two neighbours. The DRC and Rwanda agreed at talks in the United States on Friday to reach a draft peace deal by May 2, raising hopes of an end to the crisis sparked by the M23’s lightning offensive. Though mutual suspicion lingered, both countries committed to the respect of each other’s sovereignty and to cease supporting rebel movements. But over the weekend fresh clashes erupted along several fronts in the eastern DRC, a mineral-rich region plagued by violence and ethnic tensions for more than three decades, local and security sources told AFP on Monday. The fighting has taken place in South Kivu, where the front line has stabilised around the Ruzizi plains and the regions to its west since February, when the M23 seized the provincial capital Bukavu…From Monday morning the M23 was locked in intense skirmishes with pro-Congolese militia fighters in Kalehe territory, in the north of South Kivu, again according to local and security sources. AFP
DRC: Goma Residents Endure Hardships under Rebel Control
[VIDEO] For three months, the people of Goma have lived under the control of M23 rebels. Daily violence, economic collapse, and families being torn apart threaten the city’s survival. DW
RSF Shelling Halts Vital Food Aid Kitchens in Sudan’s Besieged El Fasher amid Fierce Clashes
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) heavily shelled El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, on Monday amid renewed clashes, forcing the suspension of communal kitchens providing vital food aid to thousands of trapped residents, sources and activists said. For weeks, the RSF has shelled El Fasher neighbourhoods and the nearby Abu Shouk camp for displaced people with artillery and drones, killing many civilians and destroying water sources and health facilities, according to residents and local reports…The sources added that the RSF intensively shelled civilian areas and military positions held by the army and allied joint forces with artillery and drones, before launching ground attacks near the Mellit Gate axis, adjacent to Abu Shouk camp, and around the city’s main market. Witnesses reported Sudanese Army artillery firing from bases west of the city towards RSF positions in eastern, southern, and western El Fasher, causing large explosions and plumes of smoke…Thousands of trapped civilians in El Fasher rely on these communal kitchens for food amid severe shortages of basic goods caused by the prolonged RSF siege on the Darfur regional capital, which has lasted nearly a year. Sudan Tribune
UN Panel Investigates Emirati Links to Seized Weapons in Darfur
A U.N. panel of experts charged with monitoring sanctions in Sudan is investigating how mortar rounds exported from Bulgaria to the United Arab Emirates ended up in a supply convoy for Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia fighters, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Mortar rounds seized from the convoy in November in Sudan’s North Darfur region bore the same serial number as those Bulgaria told United Nation investigators it had exported to the UAE in 2019…Bulgaria’s foreign affairs ministry told Reuters that no-one had sought its permission to re-export the munitions to a third party…[L]etters exchanged between Emirati officials and the U.N. panel show that investigators continue to examine the UAE’s role in the conflict. The letters, reviewed by Reuters, show that Emirati authorities declined to provide manifests that U.N. investigators requested for 15 different flights originating from UAE airports and landing in Amdjarass and N’Djamena in Chad. On November 26, the U.N. panel wrote to Emirati authorities to request cargo manifests for the flights. In a December 10 response to the panel, the UAE declined to provide that information, citing an inability to comply with the tight deadline. Instead, the UAE provided details for about 22 metric tons of items on three flights to Amdjarass, including food, medicine, and civilian vehicles. The items listed in the letter represented about half the capacity of the IL-76 cargo planes, which can carry up to 40 metric tons per trip. Reuters
South Sudan: Continual Violations Grind Peace Implementation to a Halt
The Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) on Monday said the security and political situation in South Sudan has deteriorated due to recurrent violations, which have frustrated and now stalled the implementation of the 2018 revitalized peace agreement. The Commission’s Quarterly Report on the status of implementation of the Agreement…documented “repeated violations” of the Revitalised Agreement…The Commission said that another threat to the survivability of the agreement is the abandonment of official portfolios, including that of some Agreement Institutions and Mechanisms, by SPLM/-IO leaders and officials out of fear of being targeted for arrest and/or detention. The inability of the leadership of the parties to dialogue and resolve the emerging security and political challenges within the framework of the Revitalized Peace Agreement is another issue, according to the RJMEC. Radio Tamazuj
South Sudan: Govt Divides Nuer Areas into ‘Hostile’ and ‘Friendly’
South Sudan’s government has classified Nuer-majority areas as either “hostile” or “friendly” in a rare public announcement, amid rising tensions between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar following recent violence in Nasir. Last month, Kiir placed Machar under house arrest, accusing him of inciting rebellion against the government to undermine peace…At a press conference in Juba on Saturday, Cabinet Affairs Minister Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro named Nasir, Ulang, Akobo, Nyirol, Uror, Fangak, Ayod, Rubkona, and Panyijiar counties as “hostile,” while Maiwut, Longechuk, Guit, Leer, Mayendit, Koch, and Mayom were designated as “friendly.”…The government’s move to classify Nuer areas has raised fears of renewed conflict and divisions in a country still recovering from years of war. Radio Tamazuj
26 Killed in Nigeria as Truck Drove over Explosive Device
At least 26 people were killed on Monday, April 28, when a truck drove over a roadside bomb in northeast Nigeria near the border with Cameroon, a military source and a local resident told AFP. The attack happened in Borno state which has been a hotbed of the Boko Haram jihadist uprising in Nigeria. More than 40,000 people have died there in the past 15 years of conflict…Boko Haram and rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) launch sporadic ambushes on convoys and plant landmines along highways in northern Borno. It was not clear which jihadist group was behind the mine blast although ISWAP is active in the area. The jihadist groups have intensified attacks in recent weeks, with more than two dozen killed in two attacks at the weekend. Le Monde with AFP
Fearing Ban, Mali Opposition Boycotts Party Charter Talks
Mali’s junta on Monday began a consultation on adopting a national charter for political parties, boycotted by nearly all opposition movements out of fear of their dissolution by the soldiers in power. Many Malian opposition parties fear that the military-led government, like its fellow junta-run west African allies in Niger and Burkina Faso, will use the charter to ramp up the junta’s already tough crackdown on political dissent. After seizing power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, Mali’s military leaders in late 2022 organised a national assembly to “build a way out of the crisis”, which planned the charter’s drafting. Among the three recommendations it made was one for “the reduction” of political parties, whose activities it had already suspended from April to July 2024…To justify last year’s suspension of political activities the junta accused Mali’s political parties of “subversion”…The military reneged on its commitment to hand over power to civilians at the end of March 2024, and postponed the presidential election to a date as of yet unknown. AFP
Landlocked Burkina, Mali, Niger Back Sea Access through Morocco
Foreign ministers of military-ruled Sahel states of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger said on Monday they endorse an initiative offering them access to global trade through Morocco’s Atlantic ports, Morocco’s state news agency reported. The foreign ministers expressed their countries’ position during a meeting with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI in Rabat, it said. The West African nations, run by juntas that have taken power in coups in recent years, withdrew from the regional grouping ECOWAS last year and formed an alliance known as the Confederation of Sahel States (AES). Morocco, a major investor in West Africa’s financial and agricultural sectors, announced its trade access initiative in November 2023, after ECOWAS imposed trade restrictions on the three states…The visit takes place as relations between the AES and Algeria, Morocco’s regional rival, deteriorate. Reuters
Ivory Coast Opposition Leader Launches Legal Challenge to Election Exclusion
Ivory Coast’s main opposition party said Monday that it had launched legal action seeking to overturn a ruling that barred its leader from running in a presidential election this year. The Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) suffered a major blow when a court last week struck Tidjane Thiam off the electoral list, only days after he was elected as its leader. The court ruled that Thiam, a 62-year-old former international banker, lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987 and so could not be on the list. The decision prevents him from being a candidate in a presidential election in October. There is no appeal against the court’s decision but lawyers for the PDCI said they would launch a procedural challenge, alleging that the judge had not properly communicated the decision to the judicial authorities…Tensions in the west African country are running high six months from the election. Three other prominent figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo, are also barred from running. AFP
IGAD Welcomes Somalia’s New Chief Diplomat
A few days after the cabinet changes, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) welcomed the new minister of foreign affairs for the Republic of Somalia, who takes over amid rising insecurity incidents and diplomatic missteps of the country. Abdisalam Abdi Ali took over from Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, who was shifted to defence by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre. He is set to set to solve several diplomatic issues, including strained relationships with member states. Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, IGAD executive secretary, expressed his confidence in the new team, noting that the Authority shall work closely with Somalia on matters of security and economic development while focusing on the elimination of the al-Shabaab militants. Abdisalam Abdi Ali served as the Deputy Prime Minister. The changes are intended to handle the intricate issues of security and defense, given the recent al-Shabaab gains within the country, inflicting setbacks on the security forces. Garowe Online
Puntland to Support Somali Government in Fight Against Al-Shabaab Militants
After a series of successes in the war against ISIS militants in the Calmiskat mountains, Puntland has pledged to assist southern Somalia in facing the al-Shabaab group, which has recently made significant gains following victories against the Somalia National Army (SNA) in Middle Shabelle. Puntland forces, without assistance from the federal government, managed to rein on the ISIS militants in the Cal-Miskaad mountains, marking a significant victory against the group, which had made some gains within the Bari region. On Saturday, Puntland leader Said Abdullahi Deni said the state has options of sending troops to southern regions to help the federal government fight the al-Shabaab militants, but Mogadishu must wait until the Operation Hilaac [Lightning] is concluded. During the graduation of new PMPF forces, Deni reaffirmed Puntland’s commitment to Somalia’s unity, noting that Puntland cannot watch the country being overrun by the Al-Shabaab militants. Garowe Online
Ethiopia: Despite Target to Rehabilitate 75,000 Ex-combatants in Tigray by June, NRC Reports Only 17,000 Reintegrated so Far
The National Rehabilitation Commission announced that, despite plans to rehabilitate 75,000 former fighters through the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) process during the first phase in the Tigray region by June, only 17,000 have completed the process so far. Temesgen Tilahun, NRC Commissioner, told Deutsche Welle (DW) that the initiative, launched in mid-November, had been “interrupted for months” and described progress as “limited.” Temesgen explained that political instability in the region had “posed a major obstacle,” forcing the Commission to suspend its operations. “We were forced to suspend our work,” he said, adding that “there were issues we needed to clarify,” including the screening of former combatants’ information and the “organization and handover of weapons.” …The DDR program in Tigray officially began on November 21, 2024, targeting 75,000 former combatants. It is part of a broader national effort to demobilize over 371,000 former fighters from seven regions, with a budget exceeding $760 million. The first phase in Tigray is supported by 1 billion birr from the Ethiopian government and $60 million from international partners. Addis Standard