Africa’s Constantly Evolving Militant Islamist Threat
The threat from militant Islamist groups in Africa over the past decade has steadily grown—with almost three times the number of annual violent events (roughly 6,700) as in 2014. The reported 21,780 annual fatalities represent a 56 percent increase just from 2021. These topline figures obscure the great variability seen between and within each region over this time. This underscores the distinct local features—leadership and organizational structures, community and government responses, and external actors—that are driving this violence…A decade ago, the Lake Chad Basin was the focal point of the violent extremist threat, comprising 13,670 annual fatalities—67 percent of the reported fatalities across the continent…Today, annual deaths in the Lake Chad Basin have declined almost fourfold from that high-water mark…A decade ago, the Sahel was the region facing the fewest deaths linked to violent extremism. Today it is the region with the most, a distinction it has held for the past 3 years. The 11,200 deaths in the Sahel in 2024—a tripling since 2021—now represent over half of all reported fatalities across the continent. This does not include the roughly 2,430 civilian deaths attributed to the Sahelian militaries and Russian forces (ostensibly in the name of countering violent extremism)—which is more than the number of civilians killed by the theater’s militant Islamist groups. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
As Famine Deepens in Sudan, U.S. Leads New Push for Ceasefire
The United States is initiating new peace talks on Wednesday that are aimed at stopping Sudan’s catastrophic civil war, with this push for dialogue driven by growing alarm that the conflict is sending the country deeper into a famine that experts warn could become the world’s worst in decades. But Sudan’s military, one of the war’s two main belligerents, has said it will not attend the negotiations in Switzerland, stymying hopes of a quick cease-fire in a fight between the forces of rival generals that has now lasted 16 months…The Switzerland meeting picks up from talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, that failed to stop the fighting. Even before the talks in Geneva could start, however, American officials sought to temper expectations. Tom Perriello, the U.S. envoy to Sudan, said in an interview that his goal is to broker a cease-fire and to strike a deal for full humanitarian access across Sudan, where more than 10 million people have been forced from their homes and tens of thousands are estimated to have died. The New York Times
Second round of Somalia-Ethiopia Talks in Turkey Ends with No Deal but Progress Made
A second round of Turkish-mediated talks between Somalia and Ethiopia over a port deal Addis Ababa signed with the breakaway Somaliland region ended without a deal on Tuesday, but Turkey and ministers from both countries sounded upbeat on progress. The negotiations held in Ankara have attempted to repair relations between the East African neighbours, whose relationship nosedived in January when Ethiopia agreed to lease 20 km (12 miles) of coastline from Somaliland in exchange for recognition of its independence. Mogadishu called the agreement illegal and retaliated by expelling the Ethiopian ambassador and threatening to kick out thousands of Ethiopian troops stationed in the country helping battle Islamist insurgents. The Ethiopian and Somali foreign ministers did not hold direct talks in Ankara, with Turkey’s foreign minister shuttling between them instead. Reuters
Ticking Time Bomb’: DR Congo Turns to Abusive Militias to Fight M23 Rebels
For the past year, the Congolese army has been supporting several militias…, using them as proxies to combat the M23 rebel group, which has seized swathes of territory in the east of the country with the backing of thousands of Rwandan troops. The militias, collectively known as Wazalendo (‘patriots’ in Kiswahili), are being used because of poor motivation and dysfunction within the ranks of DRC’s army, which has seen dozens of soldiers and officers prosecuted for deserting the battlefield. Yet the Wazalendo groups – some of which have previously fought each-other – are committing serious human rights abuses and bringing large numbers of child soldiers to the frontlines, thwarting long-running efforts to prevent their recruitment. UN experts say the militias are using the Wazalendo banner to legitimise their existence and criminal activities, expanding territory in some cases and taxing and exploiting civilians in others. Weapons transfers from the army to the militias have undermined prior calls by the government for armed groups to demobilise and are planting the seeds of future conflicts by further militarising the region, according to Congolese analysts…Congolese analysts who spoke to The New Humanitarian said they worry that Kinshasa’s support for local armed groups could result in many future security problems. “These are ethnic militias that still have their own interests as a priority, and they now have an even bigger feeling of impunity,” said Onesphore Sematumba, a researcher for the International Crisis Group. “How could the heroes of today ever be judged as criminals tomorrow?” The New Humanitarian
More than 700 Civilians Killed in South Sudan, Says UN
A total of 713 civilians were killed, 478 injured and 252 abducted in South Sudan between 16 February and 15 July 2024, the United Nations Secretary General said in a report presented to the Security Council on Tuesday. The report, covering the political and security developments, the humanitarian and human rights situation and progress towards the implementation of the UN mandate, also cited 272 arbitrarily arrests and detention with 12 unlawful detentions and ill-treatment. It says the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) documented 408 incidents of violence, which affected 1,727 civilians, including 157 women and 184 children…The Secretary General’s report attributed 76 per cent of the incidents to community-based militias and or civil defence groups, 28 per cent were attributed to government security forces and other armed groups and 6 per cent to unidentified armed elements. Also documented were 41 extrajudicial executions and 25 incidents of infringement on civic and political space, affecting 49 individuals, allegedly perpetrated by government security forces and state and county authorities. Sudan Tribune
Uganda Court Convicts LRA Rebel Commander of War Crimes
A Ugandan court on Tuesday found a commander in the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Thomas Kwoyelo, guilty of dozens of war crimes, the first time a senior member of the group has been tried by Uganda’s judiciary. Founded in the late 1980s with the aim of overthrowing the government, the LRA terrorised Ugandans under the leadership of Joseph Kony for nearly 20 years as it battled the military from bases in northern Uganda. The LRA was notorious for horrific brutality, including rapes, abductions, hacking off victims’ limbs and lips and using crude instruments to bludgeon people to death. In around 2005 the LRA fled under military pressure to South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic, where it also unleashed waves of brutal attacks against civilians. Reuters
Africa Public Health Body Declares Mpox Emergency
Africa’s top public health body declared what it termed a “public health emergency of continental security” on Tuesday over an outbreak of mpox that has spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to neighbouring countries. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) had warned last week of an alarming rate of spread of the viral infection, which is transmitted through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Most cases are mild but it can kill…The outbreak in Congo began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as Clade I. But the new variant, known as Clade Ib, appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, particularly among children…The health body said that more than 15,000 mpox cases and 461 deaths were reported on the continent this year so far, representing a 160% increase from the same period last year. A total of 18 countries have reported cases. Reuters
Human Rights Watch Says Cameroonian Activist Missing since Arrest
A Cameroonian social media activist and government critic has not been seen since his arrest three weeks ago and his lawyers believe he has been extrajudicially returned to Cameroon from Gabon, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
The activist, Steve Akam, was last seen in a video circulated online that showed him handcuffed and surrounded by Cameroonian police near the border with Gabon. Akam had been living in Gabon for the past decade…Akam is better known by his social media profile Ramon Cotta on TikTok, which has over 30,000 followers. In his last video, Akam accuses President Paul Biya of pursuing a war in Cameroon’s anglophone regions in order to remain in power. Reuters
Senegal’s Media Outlets Stage a Blackout Day to Bring Attention to Press Freedom Concerns
Media organizations in Senegal staged a blackout day on Tuesday to protest a government crackdown they say targets them directly and is aimed at curtailing press freedoms in the West African country. Television screens went blank on the main TV stations TFM, ITV and 7 TV, and radio outlets such as RFM and iradio were silent. Most of the daily newspapers did not publish Tuesday’s editions, except for the government-owned Le soleil and the private pro-government WalfQuotidien and Yoor Yoor Bi. The move comes as tensions have been rising between media organizations and the government, triggering international concerns over press freedoms in one of Africa’s most stable democracies…Cases of police brutality against journalists and arrests of government critics have also increased in Senegal over the past few years, according to the international watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which has urged Senegalese authorities to safeguard press freedoms. AP
Half a Billion Children Live in Areas with Twice as Many Very Hot Days as in 1960s
Almost half a billion children are growing up in parts of the world where there are at least twice the number of extremely hot days every year compared with six decades ago, analysis by Unicef has found. The analysis by the UN’s children’s agency examined for the first time data on changes in children’s exposure to extreme heat over the past 60 years…They found that 466 million children – about one in five children globally – live in areas that experience at least double the number of extremely hot days each year compared to six decades ago. They also found that children in west and central Africa have the highest exposure to extremely hot days and this area has had the most significant increases over time. A total of 123 million children, or 39% of children in the region, experience temperatures above 35C over an average of four months every year, the analysis says…[David Knaute, a Unicef regional climate specialist in west and central Africa] said the Sahel, the region south of the Sahara that includes Mali, Niger, Senegal and Sudan, was particularly vulnerable because, as a transitional zone between the arid Sahara and the more fertile belt south of the desert, it creates a natural source of intense heating, and the dust particles from the desert interfere with the climate. The Guardian
Four Candidates Confirmed for Top African Union Post
Four senior African politicians – from Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar and Mauritius – have thrown their hat into the ring to take over the African Union’s top post. The pan-continental body, which has 55 member states, will hold elections at its summit in February to choose a successor to Moussa Faki Mahamat as chair of the African Union Commission. This year the role is reserved for a representative from East Africa to replace Faki, a veteran politician from Chad who has served since 2017. The African Union issued a statement listing the four candidates as Mahamoud Ali Youssouf of Djibouti, Raila Odinga of Kenya, Richard Randriamandrato of Madagascar and Anil Gayan of Mauritius…The election is conducted by secret ballot, and the winner must secure a majority of two thirds of the vote among eligible member states. The AU commission chair – effectively the body’s chief executive – serves a four-year term, renewable once. AFP
Nigeria Unveils First National Protection Plan for Endangered Elephants
Nigeria has launched the country’s first National Elephant Action Plan. Authorities say the measure is designed to protect the small and rapidly declining population of elephants in the country. Human-caused activities, including poaching, have forced Nigerian elephants to the verge of extinction. The plan aims to save the remaining elephants by reducing illegal killings and trade, maintaining elephant habitats, creating public awareness and promoting community-led vigilance…Over the last decade, Nigeria has emerged as a key source, transit and destination country for illegal wildlife trade. Elephant ivories and pangolin scales are some of the most trafficked items. The Elephant Protection Initiative Foundation said Nigeria accounts for nearly a quarter of the world’s seized ivory. As a result, Nigeria’s elephant population — about 300 to 400 animals — is a fourth of the population size three decades ago. Authorities say that along with the threats from poachers and habitat destruction, human-elephant conflict due to the animals’ invasion of farms is leading to more elephant killings. VOA