From the Andes to Darfur: Colombians Lured to Sudan’s Killing Fields
An AFP investigation has uncovered how Colombian mercenaries ended up on the other side of the world through a network of profit and silence stretching from the Andes to Darfur. Initially recruited via WhatsApp, they were brought to Sudan via the UAE, where they underwent brief training missions. They then traveled into Sudan via at least two routes: one through UAE-loyalist eastern Libya, and another through an airbase in Bosaso, Somalia that houses Emirati military officials. Geolocation of footage shot by the mercenaries themselves places them at the scene of some of the worst fighting in Darfur. … Though the RSF reportedly commands tens of thousands of fighters, most are low-skilled foot soldiers, better at rape-and-pillage offensives than the long-range sophisticated operations of the Colombians. “Supported by Colombian fighters,” according to the United States, the RSF finally captured El-Fasher in October, amid evidence of mass killings, abductions and rape. Videos verified and geolocated by AFP show Colombians in and around the city before the takeover. AFP
Sudan/Chad: Escape From the Abyss: Surviving the Atrocities in El Fasher
The United Nations’ migration agency estimates that 100,000 people have fled El Fasher since its collapse. That would leave more than 150,000 people still unaccounted for. … Oure Cassoni is one of the most remote camps in Chad. It was founded by the government of Chad in 2004, when tens of thousands of people fled Darfur to escape mass killings led by the Janjaweed, the militia that became the precursor to the Rapid Support Forces. The camp has doubled in size over the past year, but support from Chad and international aid have not kept pace with its needs. … Before reaching permanent camps like Oure Cassoni, many Sudanese pass through Tine, a small border town about 100 miles south in Chad. The New York Times
Clashes in DR Congo’s Uvira After M23 Promised To Withdraw
Clashes broke out Monday near Uvira in the Democratic Republic of Congo between the M23 group and pro-government militia, days after M23 vowed to withdraw from the city, local sources said. … The leader of the M23’s political branch, Corneille Nangaa, announced that the group would “unilaterally withdraw its forces from the city of Uvira, as requested by the US mediators.” However, plainclothes M23 members stayed behind in the city, according to local and security sources. M23 and a pro-Kinshasa militia called the Wazalendo traded gunfire on Monday “that could be heard across Uvira”, Mafikiri Mashimango, a local civil society leader, told AFP. People remained indoors for safety and activity in the city was “paralysed”, according to a resident contacted by telephone. Clashes appeared to be focused on surrounding hills and neighbourhoods in the south and southwest of the city, including near the port of Kalundu on Lake Tanganyika, residents reported. AFP
Security Council Renews DR Congo Peacekeeping Mission amid Renewed M23 Offensives in the East
The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously extended the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for another year, as fighting in the country’s east intensified amid renewed offensives by the M23 rebel group. … Under the resolution, MONUSCO’s core area of operations remains North Kivu and Ituri, with any deployment linked to ceasefire monitoring in South Kivu subject to security conditions and prior notification to the Council. The mission’s Force Intervention Brigade was also renewed on an “exceptional basis,” with the Council underlining that precedent was created. The specialized force was created in 2013 and tasked disrupting and disarming armed groups. The resolution also highlights what it calls a “rapidly deteriorating security and humanitarian crisis” in eastern DRC due to the armed group M23 (Mouvement du 23 Mars) offensive in North Kivu and South Kivu “with the direct support and participation of the Rwanda Defence Forces.” UN News
Nigerian President Vows Security Reset in Budget Speech
Nigeria’s president vowed a national security revamp as he presented the government budget on Friday, allocating the biggest chunk of spending to defence after criticism over the handling of the country’s myriad conflicts. Africa’s most populous country faces a long-running jihadist insurgency in the northeast, while armed “bandit” gangs commit mass kidnappings and loot villages in the northwest, and farmers and herders clash in the centre over dwindling land and resources. President Bola Tinubu last month declared a nationwide security emergency and ordered mass recruitment of police and military personnel to combat mass abductions, which have included the kidnapping of hundreds of children at their boarding school. He told the Senate his government plans to increase security spending to boost the “fighting capability” of the military and other security agencies by hiring more personnel and buying “cutting-edge” equipment and hardware. AFP
Nigeria Says All Freed after Release of 130 Abducted Catholic Schoolchildren
Nigerian authorities have secured the release of 130 schoolchildren who were taken at gunpoint from a Catholic school in November. The government says that no more staff and students are still being held. In late November gunmen attacked St Mary’s boarding school in the rural hamlet of Papiri, in north-central Niger state, kidnapping students and staff. The exact number of people kidnapped has been in dispute, and there has not yet been an official accounting of who was released and escaped. … A UN source told the AFP news agency that all those taken appeared to have been released, as dozens thought to have been kidnapped had managed to run off during the attack and make their way home. RFI with AFP
Nigeria: Troops Arrest Notorious Bandit Leader in Benue – Official
Troops of Forward Operating Base (FOB) Wukari, under the 6 Brigade Nigerian Army/Sector 3 Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), have arrested a bandit leader in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State. A statement on Monday by Umar Muhammad, acting assistant director, Army Public Relations of the Brigade, described the arrest as a major operational breakthrough for the army. According to him, the arrest of the notorious bandit leader responsible for multiple kidnapping and armed robbery incidents along the Benue–Taraba axis is a major breakthrough. “The arrest was carried out on December 22, 2025, during a precision, intelligence-driven operation at Vaase Community, Ukum LGA of Benue State. News Agency of Nigeria
Guinea Takes News Channel Off the Air Ahead of Vote
The broadcast authority in Guinea, where junta strongman Mamady Doumbouya is almost certain to win Sunday’s presidential vote, has suspended news channel Africa 24 ahead of the contest. Africa 24, founded by Cameroon national Constant Nemale and covering news across the continent, is the first international media to be taken off the air by the authorities. Several domestic outlets have been suspended in recent years, or shut down completely. … The junta in power is regularly accused of restricting press freedom, by blocking outlets or arresting journalists. Habib Marouane Camara, editor of the Lerevelateur224 news site, has been missing since December 2024, after what the Reporters Without Borders NGO has said was an “abduction”. AFP
Sweden Says Journalist Held 24 Years in Eritrea Is Alive
Sweden said Friday it believed Swedish-Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak, held without trial in Eritrea for 24 years with no news of his fate, was still alive. The claim came after the Swedish government’s first visit to the repressive nation in more than 30 years. Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said she visited Asmara [last] week and met with Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, among others, and raised the question of Isaak’s fate. Isaak, now 61, was among a group of around two dozen people, including senior cabinet ministers, members of parliament and independent journalists, seized in a September 2001 purge of autocrat Isaias Afwerki’s critics. Isaak has never been charged and has been held incommunicado almost the entire time. Asmara has provided no information about his whereabouts or health over the years. … He fled to Sweden in 1987 during Eritrea’s struggle against Ethiopia, but returned after Eritrea won its independence in 1993. He co-founded Setit, the country’s first independent newspaper, which in 2001 began reporting on a group of ministers and politicians known as the G-15, who were criticising Afwerki and demanding elections. AFP
Uganda: Bishop Lubaale Appeals for Peaceful, Open Campaigns
The Bishop of Busoga Diocese, Rev Canon Prof Grace Lubaale, has appealed to security agencies to act professionally during the election period and allow candidates from all political parties to campaign freely, warning that blocking politicians from reaching voters undermines the democratic process. Delivering his Christmas message on Monday December 22, 2025, at Christ Cathedral Bugembe, Bishop Lubaale said the primary role of security agencies during elections should be to protect lives, not restrict political activity. … The bishop cautioned that preventing candidates from campaigning in certain areas compromises electoral fairness. “If you block people from campaigning in places like Katakwi, you are actually rigging the election. Security should facilitate politicians to reach the electorate so that voters can make informed decisions,” he added. Monitor
Hosts Morocco Off to Winning Start at Africa Cup of Nations
Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi scored second-half goals as hosts Morocco got their Africa Cup of Nations bid off to a winning start by beating minnows Comoros 2-0 in the tournament’s opening game on Sunday. … The result also allowed Morocco, Africa’s best team in the FIFA rankings in 11th place, to extend their world-record winning run to 19 consecutive matches. … The game was played out before a crowd of 60,180, with Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan — who appeared on the pitch ahead of kick-off — and FIFA president Gianni Infantino among those in attendance. … Elsewhere on Monday, South Africa face Angola in Marrakesh before Mohamed Salah’s Egypt — the record seven-time African champions chasing a first title since 2010 — get their bid up and running against outsiders Zimbabwe in Agadir in Group B. AFP