Zambia Suspends Vote Counting over Violence against Election Officials
Zambia’s election commission on Friday suspended the counting of votes and announcement of election results nationwide after reports of violence in some districts targeting election officials. Election officials told a briefing there had been instances where marked ballot papers in ballot boxes had been stolen, adding it would review the suspension within 24 hours. The Southern African country held presidential, parliamentary and local government elections on Thursday. President Hakainde Hichilema is running for a second term after steering the major copper producer out of a debt crisis since taking office in 2021. Analysts say he is favoured to win, although the leading opposition candidate Brian Mundubile has drawn large crowds in some areas. The full results were previously expected to be announced on Monday. It was unclear whether the suspension would change that. Reuters
Chadian President Pardons Nine Jailed Opposition Leaders
Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Déby on Friday, August 14, pardoned jailed ex-prime minister and leader of the main opposition party Succès Masra and eight other opposition leaders. Déby has led the country since 2021 after taking charge of a military transition following the death of his father, who was killed by rebels after 30 years leading the central African country. Masra, one of the president’s fiercest critics, was sentenced to 20 years in prison a year ago, convicted of hate speech, xenophobia and having incited a massacre. The eight other party leaders all belonged to the Political Actors’ Consultation Group (GCAP), the main opposition coalition, which was dissolved by the Supreme Court in April. They were jailed in May for eight years after being found guilty of inciting an insurrection. … Like other opposition figures, Masra, 42, an economist, had fled Chad after the army and police opened fire on demonstrators protesting an extension of the political transition under the Déby-led ruling junta in October 2022. Masra returned from exile and signed a reconciliation deal with Déby before being named prime minister five months ahead of the 2024 presidential election. … He was arrested in May 2025 and sentenced three months later to 20 years in prison, in what Human Rights Watch called a politically motivated trial. Le Monde with AFP
Mali Separatists Release 82 Soldiers, Including Some Held since a Major Attack in April
Separatists in northern Mali have released 82 soldiers, including some taken captive during a nationwide attack on government forces in April, the Malian military and a rebel spokesperson said Thursday. … Mali has been plagued for over a decade by insurgencies by [jihadist groups], as well as a Tuareg-led separatist rebellion in the north. Violence escalated in recent months after an alliance of JNIM and Tuareg separatists carried out coordinated attacks on April 25, targeting the airport of the country’s capital, Bamako, the nearby garrison town of Kati, and several northern and central cities. … April’s attacks exposed weaknesses of Mali’s strategy to combat the rebellion, including relying on Russia, which has partnered with the military-led government after it distanced itself from former allies such as France. AP
US Missionary Kidnapped in Niger Is Released after 9 Months in Captivity, His Organization Says
An American missionary who was kidnapped in Niger in October has been released, his organization said Friday. Kevin Rideout “is in good health in the care of US officials,” SIM International said in a statement. He will soon be reunited with his extended family, the statement added. Rideout was kidnapped in the West African country’s capital, Niamey, on Oct. 21 by three armed individuals and was probably driven out of town, according to information provided by a security official at the time. No armed group claimed responsibility for the abduction. Niger has long faced attacks from armed groups including jihadis. … Niger is ruled by a military junta that took power in 2023 after deposing the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. AP
Turkey Urges Egypt to Join Its Defence Pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan
Turkey has urged Egypt to join a defence agreement it signed in Mecca last week with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Although details still need to be fleshed out, its central feature stipulates that an attack on any of the three states will be treated as an attack on all. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hopes more countries would join the deal aimed at stabilising a region wracked by conflict. … While Egypt has robust military cooperation with Ankara, its foreign minister says Cairo must first conduct an in-depth study of the defence pact’s “legal and constitutional considerations”. “When it comes to cooperation in defence fields, there are legal obligations in this regard,” said Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty. The signing of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement comes as the Middle East grapples with fallout from the US-Iran war. It has dragged in regional players and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. Africanews
Sudanese Army, RSF Clash around North Kordofan Capital El Obeid
Heavy fighting erupted on Friday between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) southwest and west of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, as both sides contested strategic routes leading to the city. The RSF launched a dawn ground assault on positions around Umm Arada and the Hashaba Hills, about 25 kilometres (15 miles) southwest of El Obeid. Army artillery based around the city shelled advancing RSF units moving between al-Iyara to the west and Umm Arada to the southwest, sending loud explosions echoing across El Obeid until mid-morning. Military sources told Sudan Tribune that government forces repelled two RSF assaults in the area, using artillery and drone strikes to destroy RSF vehicles and pushing fighters out of the zone. The RSF said in a statement that its fighters had seized Umm Arada, describing the push as a major operational advance. Both sides circulated video footage on social media claiming control of the disputed positions southwest of the city. The clashes follow an army statement on Thursday saying troops had repulsed a large RSF assault involving roughly 250 vehicles at Jabrat al-Sheikh, 170 kilometres northeast of El Obeid along the strategic Exports Road. The RSF has intensified its attacks in North Kordofan in a bid to recover ground lost late last month, when the army captured a string of towns and secured the vital highway linking the capital region to El Obeid. Sudan Tribune
AU Names Truth Commission Nominees as South Sudan Civil Society Demands Action
South Sudanese civil society groups have welcomed the African Union’s nomination of non-South Sudanese commissioners to the country’s long-delayed Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, but urged the government to complete the appointment process without further delay. The Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) and South Sudan Civil Society Forum (SSCSF) said the AU’s submission was an important step towards establishing one of the transitional justice mechanisms provided for under the fragile 2018 peace agreement. The groups said the commission could help South Sudan confront its history of conflict, address serious human rights violations and promote truth, accountability, reconciliation and healing. But they warned that further delays in appointing commissioners and making the commission operational could weaken public confidence in the wider transitional justice process. The groups urged the government, particularly the ministries responsible for foreign affairs, cabinet affairs and justice, to complete the remaining steps needed to appoint the commissioners and establish the commission. … They also called for the commission to be formally established and made operational, with the remaining stages conducted transparently and with the participation of victims, survivors and affected communities. Radio Tamazuj
Is A New Conflict Brewing In Northern Ethiopia?
A recent flare-up in tensions in Ethiopia’s Tigray, including reports of heavy artillery battles and drone strikes, has raised fears of a return to war in the northern state — a conflict potentially stoked by foreign nations. For several months, the Ethiopian federal army (ENDF) and Tigrayan forces (TDF) have been massed on either side of the Tigray border. This buildup comes as animosity grows between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s federal government and the region’s rebel authorities — led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a now-outlawed party that governed Ethiopia from 1991 to 2018. Each side accuses the other of seeking to trigger a new conflict, following the devastating 2020-2022 war that claimed at least 600,000 lives. The Pretoria peace agreement ended the fighting and maintained an uneasy calm until late 2025, when fresh clashes between federal troops and Tigrayan forces erupted. On August 1, the TPLF accused the ENDF of attacking its forces at Shererina, near the Sudanese border, using heavy artillery. Ethiopia has not publicly commented on these clashes, however, the NGO ACLED — which specialises in conflict monitoring — confirmed the incidents. … Ethiopian authorities have accused the TPLF of allying with neighbouring Eritrea and with the Fano militia, from the neighbouring Amhara region, who took up arms against Addis Ababa in 2023. Eritrea and the Fano — historical enemies of the TPLF — backed the federal army against the group during the previous conflict, before animosity toward Abiy led to a shift in alliances. AFP
Nigeria: IGP Disu Orders Stronger Security Response After Kebbi Attack
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has ordered strengthened security measures and intensified operations following the terrorist attack that killed 10 police officers and other civilians along the Rafin Makuku axis of Sakaba Local Government Area of Kebbi State. The directive followed the deadly attack on security personnel, which prompted the Nigeria Police Force to deploy additional operational and intelligence resources to prevent further attacks and protect vulnerable communities in the affected areas. As part of the response, Disu on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, deployed a delegation led by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Umar Shehu Nadada, to Kebbi State. The delegation met with the state Governor, Nasir Idris, and other relevant stakeholders to assess the security situation and strengthen ongoing efforts to restore lasting peace in affected communities. PR Nigeria
Ebola Spread Undetected for Months, WHO Says
The Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 2,000 people began three months before it was officially declared in mid-May, the World Health Organization said, raising the likelihood that its true scale is far larger than previously thought. The outbreak, centered in eastern DR Congo, is caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of the virus and marks the second-deadliest outbreak on record. WHO Africa director Mohamed Janabi said genomic sequencing showed the outbreak began in February, with some early cases misdiagnosed as malaria and typhoid. “We are chasing the virus, the virus is ahead of us,” he told reporters. WHO experts recently recommended prioritizing Ervebo, the only licensed existing Ebola vaccine, for clinical trials against Bundibugyo as researchers work on a jab to target the new strain. Semafor
Congo’s Fastest-growing Ebola Outbreak Reaches a Sixth Province
Congo’s Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province after a death was recorded in the previously unaffected Bas-Uele province, the head of Africa’s CDC said Thursday. The man died in Buta, the capital of Bas-Uele, after traveling there from Isiro in Haut-Uele province, said Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. He was a motorcycle-taxi driver who had sought treatment at several hospitals before he died, Jean-Jacques Muyembe, head of Congo’s National Institute for Biomedical Research, said. His colleagues tried to forcibly take his dead body, prompting police intervention and concerns that more people may have been exposed to the virus, Muyembe added. … Bas-Uele is a vast province in northeastern Congo that borders the Central African Republic, where there is recurring armed violence that has forced thousands to flee and take refuge in the province. Access can be difficult due to bad and poorly connected roads as well as limited communication networks, and there are frequent population movements related to gold mining and displacement from conflict. AP