Sudan: Last Hospital in El Fasher Risks Closure over Intensive Bombardment
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), in a statement released on Wednesday, said multiple attacks on [El Fasher] have taken place over the past week. Since Saturday, at least 15 people have reportedly been killed, more than 130 injured, and yet another attack on the MSF-supported Saudi Hospital, the last remaining public hospital in the city with the capacity to treat the wounded and perform surgery, has occurred, causing extensive damage and leaving the facility only partially functioning…At the same time, MSF said, 15 casualties were brought from El Fasher to MSF’s facilities in Zamzam camp…“However, our field hospital has been built to treat children with malnutrition and pediatric diseases and it is not currently set up to treat the wounded. There is no operating theatre and no blood bank, which means our team will be under exceptional pressure if casualties continue to arrive,” [Michel Olivier Lacharité, head of MSF’s emergency operations] noted. Sudan Tribune
Sudan’s SPLM-N Rebel Group Declares Famine in Its Territory
A rebel group controlling Sudan’s Nuba Mountains and parts of Blue Nile state said on Wednesday that the local population was experiencing a hunger catastrophe. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) said that 20% of families were suffering severe food shortages, while 30% of children suffered from malnutrition. An Arabic version of the statement described the situation as a famine. It said the parties involved in Sudan’s civil war and a poor harvest were to blame for the crisis…Some 3.9 million people live in the two territories under SPLM-N control, a number that swelled after people from other parts of the country were displaced by the fighting. The ongoing war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has plunged half the population of about 50 million into food insecurity and created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Reuters
Burkina Faso Newspaper Suspends Publication after Reported Abduction of Journalist
A Burkina Faso-based investigative newspaper is suspending publication following the kidnapping of its publishing director, the media outlet said on Wednesday. Armed men had arrived at the home of Atiana Serge Oulon, the publishing director of L’Evenement, in June and ordered him to get into a minibus, media freedom organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a report. A few hours later two men had returned to Oulon’s home and introduced themselves to his wife as secret service agents before seizing his computer and telephone, according to the report…In June, the Sahel nation’s authorities suspended the publishing of L’Evenement, but a month later the newspaper won a trial against the regulation authority. In a statement on Wednesday, L’Evenement’s managing director said the newspaper was not available on the market, adding that it was beyond the staff’s control. Reuters
16 Villagers in Eastern Congo Killed as Fighting Continues despite a Cease-fire
Clashes between local rebels and pro-government militias in eastern Congo killed 16 villagers Thursday, a government official said, the latest violation of a cease-fire announced to help millions displaced in the region. The villagers were killed in the Rutshuru territory in North Kivu province during fighting between the M23 rebel group allegedly backed by neighboring Rwanda and the local Wazalendo fighters who often fight alongside Congolese security forces, according to Isaac Kibira, an administrative head in Rutshuru…None of the deceased villagers were participants in the fighting, officials said. The fighting raised fresh concerns about the sustainability of a cease-fire that took effect on Aug. 4 to halt fighting in the region and get help to millions in need. Several other cease-fires announced in the past between the government and the rebels have also been violated. AP
IFRC Says Shortage of Testing, Vaccines Hampers Mpox Response in Africa
Far more diagnostic kits, treatments and vaccines need to be shipped to Africa to respond adequately to the outbreak of a new strain of the mpox virus there, [Bronwyn Nichol of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)] said on Friday…Health officials on Thursday confirmed an infection with the new mpox strain in Sweden, the first sign of its spread outside Africa after the World Health Organization declared the disease a global public health emergency. IFRC’s Nichol expressed concern that cases outside of Africa could prompt developed countries to go back on existing commitments to support the response of international groups in Africa. Reuters
UN Takes Key Steps toward Somalia’s Takeover of Its Own Security
The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to authorize the African Union to maintain its peacekeeping operation in Somalia until the end of the year, while also calling for plans for a successor mission, a key step toward the country’s takeover of its own security. The British-sponsored resolution authorizes the AU to continue to deploy up to 12,626 uniformed personnel, including 1,040 police, for the transitional peacekeeping mission known as ATMIS until Dec. 31. It requests the U.N. political mission in Somalia to continue providing logistical support to the African peacekeepers…To maintain momentum on the security transition, the resolution encourages Somalia to continue developing and implementing its Security Sector Development Plan so the country “can eventually assume full responsibility for, and ownership of, its security.” Reuters
UN Rights Office Calls for Zimbabwe to Release Activists Ahead of SADC Summit
The United Nations’ Human Rights Office has joined calls for Zimbabwe’s government to release more than 100 activists detained ahead of the Southern African Development Community summit on Saturday…Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said that since mid-June, there has been a “wave” of arrests of pro-democracy activists nationwide. Other activists reportedly are in hiding…At the Saturday summit, Zimbabwe will assume SADC’s chairmanship for the first time since the 16-nation bloc became a development community in 1992. VOA
Enforced Disappearances’ Send a Chill through Kenya’s Protests
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has recorded 66 cases of people who are thought to have been abducted or have gone missing since the protests began, leaving behind relatives and friends who are desperately searching for them…Some of those declared missing have resurfaced alive, but others have been found dead…One challenge with addressing disappearances during the protests is the lack of a public and dedicated database to document the cases. Oscar Oduor, a freelance web developer in Nairobi, has created a website, Missing Persons Database Kenya, for people to report cases of missing people and track progress in finding them. Users can submit images and information on missing people, including where and when they were last seen, and contact information. Oduor and his partners verify it before publishing it, and he tracks developments for updates. The Guardian
Nigerian Lawmaker Withdraws Bill that Would Jail Citizens for Subversive Activities
Nigerian legislation that critics said would have allowed the government to crack down on dissent has been withdrawn. Supporters said the bill was intended to stop what were seen as subversive activities. But Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of Nigeria’s lower chamber of parliament and sponsor of the bill, withdrew it in a statement Wednesday. He said the decision was made in response to public concerns, and after careful consideration of Nigeria’s current circumstances. The Counter Subversion Bill, with 24 clauses, had reached the first reading in parliament — a significant step in Nigeria’s legislative process, since it was introduced in late July. The bill called for a 10-year jail term or a hefty fine for refusing to recite the national anthem and a five-year sentence for erecting an illegal roadblock, proposing illegal curfews or conducting illegal processions. VOA
Boost for South Africa’s Zuma as Prominent Leftist Politician Joins His Party
The deputy leader of South African opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said on Thursday he was resigning to join the party led by former president Jacob Zuma, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Floyd Shivambu’s departure is a blow to the Marxist EFF, headed by Julius Malema. The EFF saw its share of the vote fall to below 10% in May’s national election, as the newly formed MK party surged ahead to become the third-biggest in parliament. EFF and MK are both part of a leftist opposition alliance formed after the election to counter the coalition government led by the long-ruling African National Congress (ANC) and the business-friendly Democratic Alliance…The EFF and MK have similar policies, including the nationalisation of banks and mines, and the expropriation of land for the benefit of Black farmers. They both rail against “white monopoly capital”, which they say still controls South Africa’s wealth three decades after the end of apartheid. Reuters
South Africa Drops Immigration Charges against 95 Libyans Arrested at a Military-style Camp
South African prosecutors withdrew immigration-related charges against 95 Libyan nationals who were arrested last month at what police called an illegal military training camp in the northern Mpumalanga province, officials said Thursday. Police had said that the men — who entered the country on study visas — were receiving military training at the camp where firearms and ammunition were recovered during a widely publicized police raid. During their appearances in court, the men said they were receiving security training at the camp from a private company. Prosecutors brought charges relating to breaching immigration laws but there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the men, the National Prosecuting Authority said. AP
Sierra Leone: Now You Can Have Rest in Your Home’: The Mirror Roofs Cooling Homes in Freetown
A heatwave hit parts of west Africa from February until April, with temperatures of between 30C and 40C- but with intense humidity, which [Freetown] residents say made them feel things were 10 degrees hotter…Part of the problem is that the city’s expansion has triggered massive deforestation of the natural land cover and hotter weather, said Eugenia Kargbo, who was appointed chief heat officer by the city’s mayor in 2021…In Kroo Bay, a few dozen households now have new heat-reflective roofing sheets made from recycled plastics in a pilot programme – which will be expanded to cover 35% of residents across all informal settlements in Freetown. The sheets are being applied on to existing roofing sheets and on new buildings. Temperature sensors are being used to capture data from the houses where the mirror sheets have been installed. And there is constant research, testing different techniques and technology to improve and scale up cooling within the informal settlements. While a full evaluation will be made by the end of the year, officials say initial results show reductions in house temperatures by as much as 6C. The Guardian