DRC: Rwanda-backed Rebels Seize Key City of Bukavu
Columns of M23 fighters allied with Rwandan troops on Sunday, February 16, entered the center of another key city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as the African Union highlighted growing fears that the strife-torn country could break up. The armed group reached the outlying districts of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, on Friday, shortly after taking control of its airport about 30 kilometers away. The fall of the city of one million people, which was barely defended by the Congolese armed forces (FARDC), gives the M23 total control of Lake Kivu, following its capture of Goma, capital of the neighboring province of North Kivu, at the end of January. The bulk of the Congolese armed forces abandoned Bukavu on Friday, leaving behind weapons that were collected by civilians and bandits. There was extensive looting on Saturday and most residents took refuge in their homes for safety…In a statement on Saturday, M23 instructed the Bukavu population to organize “into vigilance committees to ensure security.” The group also demanded “the immediate withdrawal” of Burundian soldiers who support the Congolese army in the province. Le Monde with AFP
Sudan’s Burhan Rejects Regional Efforts for Civilian Rule, Says Fighters Deserve Priority
Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Monday criticized regional efforts to restore civilian rule, saying those who have fought in the ongoing conflict should be given priority in any future government…Former Prime Minister Hamdok participated in a humanitarian issues conference organized by the United Arab Emirates on the sidelines of the recent African Union summit in Addis Ababa. The AU plans to resume talks with civilian forces in the coming days, paving the way for a political process aimed at restoring a civilian-led transition after the end of the war. The continental bloc has made the restoration of its Sudan’s membership conditional on the return of civilian rule. The country’s membership was suspended following the coup led by Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on October. 25, 2021. Burhan ruled out the return of politicians who have left the country. Sudan Tribune
Official Says Ugandan Opposition Figure Will Be Tried in Civilian Court Instead of Military One
A prominent opposition figure facing military trial in Uganda will be charged before a civilian court instead, an official said Monday, as authorities faced mounting pressure to free him. Kizza Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate in the East African country, went missing in November in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and appeared days later in a cage before a military tribunal in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Besigye’s close associates have said his trial on charges including treachery, which carries the death penalty, is politically motivated. Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled last month that civilians can’t be court-martialed, questioning the competence of untrained military officers to dispense justice…Besigye has been on hunger strike for days, according to his family. He looked weak when he appeared in a courtroom last week. On Sunday he was taken in an ambulance for treatment at a clinic outside the maximum-security prison where he is held…He is a physician who retired from Uganda’s military at the rank of colonel and is a former president of the Forum for Democratic Change party, for many years Uganda’s most prominent opposition group. He served as Museveni’s personal doctor before they fell out in the 1990s over what Besigye said was Museveni’s slide into authoritarianism. AP
New African Union Leader Elected as Two Major Crises Rage
At their annual summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the organization’s members elected Djibouti Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf as the next chair of the African Union Commission in a secret ballot. Youssouf, who celebrated his 60th birthday a week ago, defeated Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and former Foreign Minister of Madagascar Richard Randriamandrato. The selection took several rounds of voting. Youssouf was a close second in the first and second rounds behind Raila. In the following four rounds, Youssouf took the lead until he became the sole candidate in the seventh round, with an unassailable 33 votes needed for victory in the final. He replaces Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad, who served two terms as AU commissioner. Youssouf, who has been minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Djibouti since 2005, is the longest-serving foreign minister on the continent…The election of the new chief comes as the conflict in Africa’s second-largest country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, escalates following recent territorial gains by M23 rebels…Sudan is another major focal point of conflict that leaders are discussing. VOA
Militant Attack Kills Six Benin Soldiers, Army Spokesperson Says
A militant attack on an army position has killed six soldiers in northern Benin, where government troops are trying to curb cross-border assaults by armed Islamist groups, an army spokesperson said. The encounter on Saturday also left 17 militants dead, spokesperson Ebenezer Honfoga told Reuters late on Sunday, without giving further details. The incident follows the killing of dozens of soldiers in a January assault in the northern department of Alibori, which shares a border with insurgency-plagued Niger and Burkina Faso. Benin and coastal neighbour Togo have both suffered attacks in recent years as groups linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda expanded their presence beyond West Africa’s central Sahel region to the north. Reuters
Wagner Mercenaries, Mali Army Accused of Killing Civilians
Around 20 people were killed in northern Mali on Monday when the vehicles they were traveling in came under attack, with local sources telling Agence France-Presse that Wagner mercenaries and Mali’s army were responsible. A relative of the driver of one of the vehicles told AFP from the northern city of Gao that the group was bound for Algeria when the deadly attack occurred…Mali, run by a military junta following coups in 2020 and 2021, has spent the past dozen years mired in a security crisis due to violence by groups affiliated with Al-Qaida and Islamic State. The military junta has been supported by Wagner mercenaries since breaking ties with former colonial ruler France. The nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch in December denounced the “atrocities” committed against civilians by the Malian army and its Russian ally Wagner, as well as by Islamist armed groups. AFP
Missing Central African Republic Soldiers Were Kidnapped by Russian Mercenaries, Advocates Allege
Human rights advocates and politicians in Central African Republic claim soldiers who disappeared after being detained last month were kidnapped by mercenaries backed by Russia. The Kremlin has in recent years deepened ties with the gold- and diamond-rich country’s military and government. Celestin Bakoyo and Elie Ngouengue — two soldiers who led a Wagner Group- aligned militia fighting rebels in the country’s southeast — were reportedly detained on Jan. 24 at a police station in the country’s capital…[A] police officer, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said mercenaries were gradually vying for position and replacing officers on the ground in conflict zones…The backlash against their disappearance comes as Russia expands its military and economic presence throughout Africa, using mercenaries to quell rebellion and fight extremists…A 2023 investigation from the U.S.-based watchdog group The Sentry found that mercenaries train the army on torture tactics and as part of the fight against armed groups opposed to the government had carried out killings, torture and rape. AP
Several Civilians Killed in Nigeria by Military Airstrike Targeting Rebels, Officials Say
Government airstrikes targeting rebels in Nigeria’s northwest after an attack on a police division killed several civilians, authorities said Monday. The Nigerian air force did not disclose the number of civilians killed in the Safana area of Katsina state but spokesperson Olusola Akinboyewa said in a statement that an investigation was underway to verify the casualties. Akinboyewa called the reports of civilian casualties “deeply troubling” and said the air force carried out the strike in response to a rebel attack on a police division…It was the second time this year that a military airstrike killed civilians in the restive northwestern region of Nigeria. In January, a Nigerian military airstrike targeting armed groups in Zamfara state mistakenly killed a number of civilians working in community security outfits. Nigeria’s military often conducts air raids to battle extremists who have destabilized the country’s north. The air raids have killed some 400 civilians since 2017, according to the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence research firm. AP
At AU Summit, Tigray Demands Full Implementation of Peace Deal
The leaders of Ethiopia’s Tigray region have called for the full implementation of the Pretoria agreement that ended the conflict between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray rebels in 2022. The bloc released a report about the agreement during the African Union Summit over the weekend in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The two main leaders of Tigray, who also are political rivals, urged the AU to pay attention to the implementation of the agreement. The AU-brokered agreement, reached in November 2022, required the cessation of hostilities, return of internally displaced people, disarmament, expedition of humanitarian access, and restoration of services in the region. The agreement ended the two-year conflict and prompted the return of some social services…But the Tigray region’s leaders say there are outstanding issues. Some territories have not yet been returned by the federal government, and internally displaced people have not returned to disputed areas in Western Tigray. VOA
Ethiopia, Somalia Begin Technical Talks on Ankara Declaration in Türkiye
Ethiopia and Somalia have begun technical negotiations on implementing the Ankara Declaration, with the first round of discussions taking place in Ankara, Türkiye…The negotiations follow a meeting between Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gedion Timotheos, and Türkiye’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Burhanettin Duran, on 6 February 2025…The declaration outlines a four-month timeframe for technical negotiations on Ethiopia’s sea access…The agreement came after tensions escalated in early 2024 when Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Somaliland to lease 20 kilometers of coastline in exchange for recognizing Somaliland’s independence—an agreement Somalia called an “infringement on Somalia’s territorial sovereignty.” Following the Ankara Declaration, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud traveled to Ethiopia on 11 January 2025, where he and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed agreed to restore full diplomatic ties. Addis Standard
African Leaders Approve Creation of $20 Bln Financial Stability Fund
African leaders have approved the establishment of a $20 billion continental financial stability fund, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said, a move designed to stave off potential debt crises on the continent before they take hold. The facility, known as The African Financial Stability Mechanism (AFSM), will get its own credit rating to allow it to borrow on international capital markets, the AfDB, which will host the mechanism, said in a statement seen by Reuters on Tuesday. African leaders had called for the creation of the fund in February 2022 and mandated the AfDB to carry out preparations to set it up…As well as soaring external commercial repayments and the risk of default, many economies in the region are also grappling with pressure for higher spending, sluggish government revenues, and the effects of climate change. Reuters
Mauritius Ex-PM Freed on Bail in Money-laundering Probe
A court in Mauritius on Monday released on bail the island’s former Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth in a money-laundering probe after seizing suitcases of cash in raids on his alleged accomplices’ homes…Prime minister from 2017 to 2024, Pravind Jugnauth is a member of one of the dynasties that have dominated the leadership of Mauritius, a stable and relatively prosperous Indian Ocean island nation, since it became independent from Britain in 1968. He oversaw a historic deal with Britain for Mauritius to regain sovereignty over the Chagos Islands following a long-running dispute. He and his Militant Socialist Movement suffered a crushing defeat in tense elections in November. He ceded office to center-left rival Navin Ramgoolam, who became prime minister for the third time. AFP
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo Smashes Half-Marathon World Record
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo has become the first person to break the 57-minute barrier for the half-marathon, clocking a stunning new world record time of 56 minutes, 42 seconds in Barcelona. The 24-year-old set the record at the World Athletics Gold Label road race on Sunday. Kiplimo is a two-time world cross-country champion who held the half-marathon record from 2021 to 2024. He reclaimed it by slashing 48 seconds off the previous record of 57:30, set by Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha in Valencia in October. It is the greatest single improvement on the men’s world half-marathon record. Al Jazeera