HRW Says Russian Paramilitaries Killed 9 Civilians in Mali
Human Rights Watch on Thursday said Russian paramilitaries from Africa Corps, which is supporting Mali in its fight against insurgents, killed nine civilians, including four children, in an operation last month. More than 100 Russian fighters, accompanied by several Malian soldiers, stormed a village in the central Mopti region at dawn on July 10 looking for jihadists, HRW said. Bombori had been under the control of the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) since 2017 and its fighters had a base nearby, it added. “They broke into homes in the ethnic Fulani neighbourhood, dragged people out, and rounded up at least 80 men and boys under a tree,” the rights group said in a statement. … “There, the fighters beat the men and boys, interrogated them about alleged links to Islamist armed groups, and threatened to kill them if they withheld information,” HRW said. “They shot and killed six civilians who tried to flee, and detained and executed three others, one of whom they beheaded,” it added. After the Africa Corps fighters left, residents recovered nine bodies, five men and four children aged between six and 17, HRW said. Africanews
Sudan Seeks Military Edge through Saudi Pact and Turkish Drone Diplomacy
A new strategic pact between Sudan and Saudi Arabia, paired with high-level military talks in Ankara, signals a coordinated diplomatic push by Khartoum to secure vital financial backing and modern weaponry as the war for control of the country intensifies. The agreement signed in Riyadh on Tuesday establishes a supreme council for strategic coordination. While official statements centered largely on economic and trade cooperation across 10 sectors, analysts say the initiative carries deep security and geopolitical implications for the Red Sea corridor. The diplomatic outreach coincided with a visit to Turkey by Sudanese army Assistant Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Yasir al-Atta. The trip comes amid reports of negotiations to secure advanced Turkish drones financed with Gulf backing. The dual diplomatic track unfolds as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) intensify ground and air operations against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the contested Kordofan and Darfur regions. Sudan Tribune
Nigeria State Police: Presidential Panel Reviews Public Submissions as Bill Drafting Begins
The Presidential Working Group on the National Policing Bill said it has started reviewing memoranda and position papers submitted by Nigerians as part of the plan to incorporate public input into the proposed legislation. … The submissions, received during a nationwide consultation, are being analysed alongside the ongoing drafting of the bill, according to a statement issued Thursday evening by Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and chairperson of the working group. He said the exercise is intended to ensure that relevant recommendations and perspectives from the consultation are considered as the proposed legislation takes shape. Mr Gbajabiamila added that the review is simultaneously being conducted as legal drafters nominated by the Federal Ministry of Justice begin the first drafting sprint under the working group’s seven-week workplan. The Policy Advisory Committee (PAC), chaired by a retired judge, Mohammed Liman, has also completed the first stage of its oversight role and provided policy direction for the drafting process, Mr Gbajabiamila added. … The proposed National Policing Bill is expected to provide the constitutional and legislative framework for a dual policing structure comprising a Federal Police Service and State Police Services. Premium Times
Pirates Hijack Cargo Ship Carrying Turkish Weapons off Somalia’s Coast, Official Says
Pirates hijacked a Cameroon-flagged cargo ship off Somalia’s Puntland coast earlier this week and took the vessel, which was carrying Turkish weapons, toward the region’s Nugaal coast, a Somali official said Thursday. The M/V LUTUF was seized on Monday about 3½ nautical miles off Marraya in Puntland’s Eyl district, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about sensitive information. The ship, owned by Polar Movement Shipping, was carrying weapons bound for a Turkish military training facility in Mogadishu, as well as communications and satellite equipment, the official said. The 10-member crew included six Indians, one Turkish national, one Georgian and two Serbian security guards, he said. … Eight pirates, believed to be members of a group previously involved in the hijacking of the M/V Sward on April 26, took the vessel toward the coast near Garmaal in Puntland’s Dangoroyo district. Two Turkish-owned vessels later approached the hijacked ship, while Turkish helicopters and drones monitored the area, the official said. On Tuesday, a small boat carrying two men approached the vessel and delivered khat, a stimulant commonly chewed in Somalia, he said. After the boat returned to shore, an airstrike followed, killing four men and wounding two others, the official said. AP
Killing of Guinea-Bissau Rapper Sends Opposition Underground
In the months before opposition activist and rapper Vigario Luis Balanta was beaten to death and his body dumped in a field outside the capital of Guinea-Bissau, his wife begged him to keep a low profile. Balanta’s killing in March sent shockwaves through the political movement he founded in the West African country, which has been under military rule since late November. The new leaders of his movement have gone underground as they seek ways to end the cycle of coups and violence since independence from Portugal in 1974. … Balanta, who was 32 at the time of his death, was known for rap music that described the challenges of growing up in a poor country with few opportunities, appealing to young people frustrated with constant political unrest in Guinea-Bissau. “He was the only person who had the courage and audacity to speak out openly about political and social issues,” said Emilio Lima Betungut, a childhood friend and member of the Po’ di Terra political movement that Balanta created in 2023. … Po’ di Terra’s new leader, Nado da Cunha, is based in Brazil. An inner circle of around 21 members, mostly in Guinea-Bissau, communicate through an encrypted chat group. … The group shares ideas and information in a chat with some 100 members to keep the movement alive and develop grassroots support. Their goal is to encourage the population of around 2 million to demand political freedoms and the rule of law. Reuters
New Opposition Group Plans Protest in Tunisia after Extreme Heat-driven Power and Water Cuts
A summer of extreme heat has left many Tunisians short of water and electricity — and full of anger at the country’s leadership. Protesters rallied in the capital Tunis on Thursday, many calling on President Kais Saied to leave power. Mobilized by a new opposition collective, the demonstrators pleaded for improvements to basic utility services and an end to medicine shortages, rising living costs and restrictions on freedoms. Some denounced what they described as the president’s failure to meet the people’s demands since he was elected seven years ago. The protest was called by the Nafas movement, which seeks to bring together political parties and independent figures beyond the North African country’s traditional opposition to Saied. The umbrella initiative, launched in May, has been calling for an end to what it describes as government failure and injustice in the country that was the birthplace of the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings. … The protest came during a summer of extreme heat, with temperatures reaching up to 50 degrees C (122 F) in some parts of Tunisia. The heat wave pushed electricity demand to record levels and led state-owned utility STEG to introduce rationing measures in several regions. The power cuts also affected water pumping stations, exacerbating long-running concerns over access to drinking water in parts of the country. AP
Tanzania Court: Lissu Has Case to Answer on Treason Charges
Tanzania’s High Court has ordered opposition leader Tundu Lissu to open his defence in a treason trial after finding that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for him to answer the charge. The decision on Friday, August 21, 2026, by a three-judge panel at the High Court’s Dar es Salaam Sub-Registry means Lissu, who has been in detention for 14 months, will now go on trial. … The ruling marks the transition of the case to the defence stage, where Lissu will have an opportunity to respond to the prosecution’s allegations and present evidence in his defence. The treason case arises from political tensions surrounding Tanzania’s 2025 General Election, following Chadema’s position against participating in the polls unless the government implemented what the party described as key electoral and political reforms. The East African
Congo to Receive 70,000 Doses of Ervebo Ebola Vaccine Which Has Been Effective in past Outbreaks
Congo will receive 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine, which has been effective in past Ebola outbreaks, the World Health Organization and partners said Thursday, announcing a step seen as a major boost to efforts to contain what officials have described as the fastest Ebola outbreak in history. The Ervebo vaccine is licensed for use against Ebola virus, one of the viruses that cause Ebola disease, but not for Bundibugyo virus, which is responsible for the current outbreak which has so far killed 2,476 people out of the 5,208 confirmed cases WHO said in a statement that while it’s not known whether Ervebo may protect against the Bundibugyo virus, “early laboratory and animal data suggest it may provide some protection.” The allocation includes 20,000 doses for a Phase 3 clinical trial to understand the impact of the vaccine on the Bundibugyo virus, the agency said. The remaining 50,000 doses will be used for front-line and health workers as recommended by WHO experts. … The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision, which includes WHO and other partners, said the doses will be released immediately following a request from Congo’s government. AP
President Paul Biya Back in Cameroon after 73 Days Away
President Paul Biya returned to Cameroon on Thursday after a 73-day absence that fueled speculation about the 93-year-old’s health and who is really running the country. The world’s oldest serving head of state, Biya landed in Yaounde at around 1600 GMT from Geneva, where he had been staying since June 7 on what his office called “a short private stay”. Cameroonian media had reported that Biya, leader since 1982, had been in the Swiss city with family members and close aides. … Biya’s health has long been the subject of rumours, often linked to his frequent stays in Geneva. … His unusually long absence sparked sharp criticism from the opposition, which condemned an “institutional vacuum” and a country on “autopilot” while the appointment of a new government and vice-president have been pending for months. … Biya’s re-election to an eighth term in October 2025 triggered protests that were violently suppressed. The authorities acknowledged several dozen deaths but did not provide a definitive toll. His long stay abroad has also stoked talk of a post-Biya future and accelerated jockeying among would-be successors as questions over who might replace him persist. Without a vice-president, the senate president, Aboubakary Abdoulaye, is next in line to lead in the event of a power vacuum, until a presidential election can be organised. AFP
Togo Detains French Filmmakers over Alleged Immigration Violations, Advocacy Group Says
Two French documentary filmmakers and their Togolese fixer have been jailed in Togo after more than three weeks in custody in the West African nation, an advocacy group said Thursday, amid strained relations between the government and French media. Reporters Without Borders said that filmmakers Gaël Mocaër and Sebastian Perez Pezzani and fixer Fred Vedomey were placed in pretrial detention Monday and charged with making “false declarations” in immigration procedures. The Paris-based media freedom group, known by its French acronym RSF, called for their immediate release. Mocaër and Perez Pezzani were filming an episode of a documentary series for a French public television network when police arrested the three on July 27 in Kara, northern Togo, RSF said. … The detentions come as Togo has moved closer to Russia and to Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, three military-led countries that have expelled or sidelined French forces and strengthened relations with Moscow. Russia and Togo signed a military cooperation agreement last year providing for joint exercises and military training. Togo has also restricted French media. In June 2025, authorities suspended broadcasts by French international outlets Radio France Internationale and France 24 for three months, accusing them of inaccurate and biased reporting during their coverage of protests against leader Faure Gnassingbé. AP
How a Road Could Change West Africa’s Urban Future
A set of coastal interconnected cities — between Lagos, Nigeria, and Abidjan, Ivory Coast — is expanding at an unprecedented rate. Africa is the world’s youngest and fastest-growing continent. By 2050, the Lagos-Abidjan region will be home to more than 50 million people. But the vast potential of this region is barely being realized. This has led urban experts to question whether this growth is creating prosperity or new extremes. … Migration in Africa is often characterized by the desperation of African migrants to reach the West and the sometimes deadly routes they risk to get there. But this doesn’t capture the full picture. “Actually, what you see is that the vast majority, more than 80 to 85% of those migrating in West Africa, are doing so regionally, to towns and cities within their countries and on the continent,” says Hertzog, the social anthropologist at the University of Zurich. “And that shows a very different side to how people in the region are pursuing opportunities.” … A restless search for scarce opportunities by millions of people is driving population growth in towns and cities along the Lagos-Abidjan corridor. But as the cities expand, so do the inequalities and challenges, says Hertzog, in Zurich. NPR