Uganda Moves Opposition Figure’s Treason Trial to Civil Court
Ugandan authorities said Friday they have abandoned a bid to try opposition leader Kizza Besigye for treason in a military court, passing the case to a civilian tribunal and prompting him to end his hunger strike…He was abducted in Kenya in November and had been facing the death penalty on treason charges in a military court, accused of plotting against Museveni’s government, in a case condemned by human rights groups…Besigye was taken into a civilian court in Kampala in a wheelchair on Friday to hear the newly-formulated charges against him…He was charged with plotting “by force of arms to overturn the government of Uganda”, according to the charge sheet seen by AFP. He is accused of the plot alongside his longtime party ally Obeid Lutale and a military officer, Denis Oola. Kalibala said they were remanded in custody until March 7 and would be later summoned to a higher court to make their plea…The United Nations and several rights organisations have voiced concern about the suppression of the opposition in Uganda in the run-up to presidential elections in 2026. AFP
Congo Army Runaways Loot and Sow Panic in North Kivu Town
The Congolese army called on deserters to rejoin their units on Thursday, as rogue soldiers fired guns and looted parts of the eastern town of Lubero after fleeing nearby clashes with advancing Rwandan-backed rebels. The unrest points to mounting disarray within the Congolese armed forces in the face of the M23 rebel group’s ongoing offensive, which has captured eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s two largest cities and stoked fears of a wider war…On Thursday morning, five residents of Lubero town described chaotic scenes linked to the desertions from the front line, including bursts of gunfire and looting at the central market and in shops selling mobile phones and clothes…Such incidents and a flare-up of fighting with the M23 around Lubero have added to pressure on the army. It staged a disorderly retreat in neighbouring South Kivu province after the M23 advance into the provincial capital Bukavu over the weekend led to clashes between Congolese forces and allied militias, which wanted to stay and fight. Reuters
US Sanctions Rwandan Minister, Militant over DRC Conflict
The United States on Thursday said it was imposing sanctions on a Rwandan government minister and a senior member of an armed group for their alleged role in the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Rwanda-backed M23 militant group has overrun eastern Congo’s two major cities in recent weeks, deepening a dire humanitarian crisis and sparking open talk of a coup against President Felix Tshisekedi’s government in Kinshasa. “This aggression has undermined the territorial integrity of the DRC,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement, warning that Rwanda should end its support for M23 and return to Angola led negotiations…The U.S. Treasury Department, announcing the financial sanctions, said Rwanda’s Minister of State for Regional Integration James Kabarebe, a retired general, was targeted for orchestrating Rwandan support for M23. M23 itself has been under U.S. sanctions since 2013 for alleged violations of international law including targeting children, killing and maiming civilians and sexual violence…Also targeted on Tuesday was Lawrence Kanyuka Kingston, an M23 and Congo River Alliance senior member and spokesperson, and two companies he controls in Britain and France, the Treasury said. Reuters
Airstrikes in Darfur, RSF Shells El Fasher, Army Advances in Central Sudan
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) resumed their shelling of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, on Wednesday. About 10,000 families fled neighbouring Zamzam camp for displaced people last week. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) reported advances in Khartoum, White Nile state, and North Kordofan. At least 10 people were killed, and dozens were wounded in an aerial bombardment on El Khazan Jadeed in El Shaeiriya in East Darfur yesterday morning. Speaking to Radio Dabanga from Khazan Jadeed, residents said that that the air raid was the first of its kind in the area. The blasts led to the burning of several houses. The sources noted that El Shaeiriya locality hosts tens of thousands of displaced people who fled the fighting between the SAF and RSF in North Darfur since war erupted between the two military factions in April 2023…On Wednesday, the RSF renewed its heavy artillery shelling of El Fasher, while warplanes continued their airstrikes on RSF-controlled areas in the city, which has been witnessing heavy fighting for months…The SAF announced yesterday morning that they had taken control of El Hurriya Bridge in central Khartoum. Violent SAF-RSF battles continue in the neighbourhoods of El Haj Yousef in Sharg El Nil (East Nile) locality in Khartoum North/Bahri. Radio Dabanga
Niger’s National Committee Proposes a Return to Civilian Rule after Five Years
A national committee to chart Niger’s future proposed Thursday that the junta-ruled country return to civilian administration in five years under new rules that strictly limit the number of political parties…The National Conference, made up of 700 community leaders including members of the country’s diaspora, submitted the plan Thursday to the junta that seized power in the West African nation in July 2023. The plan includes abolishing all of the country’s current political parties and drafting new rules that authorize no more than five parties. The current junta would stay in power during the five-year period and the junta leader, Brig. Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, would be allowed to stand as a candidate in proposed elections…The security situation in the Sahel region has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and civilians killed both by Islamic militants and government forces. The violence in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso has killed more than 3,470 people in the last six months while 2.6 million people are currently displaced, according to the United Nations refugee agency. AP
South Sudan: Kenya Suspends Tumaini Initiative Talks
Kenya’s President William Ruto has suspended the ongoing mediation talks between the South Sudan government and opposition hold-out groups until March 2025. In a statement on X on Thursday, Ruto said he had met with the opposition delegation and, at the request of the South Sudanese government, agreed to temporarily pause the negotiations for the Tumaini (hope) Initiative…Kenya has been leading the mediation efforts for the past 11 months, following a request by South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit. The process seeks to end the country’s political stalemate, which has resulted in a humanitarian crisis and security challenges. The Opposition Hold-Out Group delegation was led by General Pagan Amum, alongside Gen Paul Malong, Gen Stephen Buoy, Gen Mario Lada, Mr Lual Dau, and Dr Cirino Hiteng. Radio Tamazuj
Peace Monitors Urge Early Preparations for South Sudan Elections
The outgoing Chairperson of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) Amb. Maj. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai has urged the parties in South Sudan to begin early election preparations. He was speaking during RJMEC’s 39th plenary meeting in Juba on Thursday…He urged the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) “to demonstrate unprecedented sense of urgency to accomplish the critical pending tasks for the conduct of credible, peaceful, free and fair democratic elections.” According to the outgoing RJMEC Chairperson, the key tasks whose non-implementation necessitated the extension of the Transitional Period, include the unification and redeployment of forces, making of the permanent constitution and preparations for the conduct of credible elections. Sudan Tribune
Somali Government Says Attacks on Bases Repulsed, 130 Militants Killed
Officials in Somalia say 130 militants were killed Thursday as Somali National Army troops “repulsed” attacks on four government military bases in the center of the country…In a statement, Somalia’s Ministry of Information said that militants used explosives to attack the bases in the Middle Shabelle region…The statement said government forces also recovered weapons from the defeated militant fighters. For the last couple of weeks, Somali government forces, supported by local clan militias, have carried out operations aimed at securing rural villages along the Shabelle River that were recently liberated from al-Shabab…In separate clashes on Thursday, at least 20 Islamic State militants were killed, and dozens were injured in Somalia’s northeastern Puntland region, according to officials…This month, U.S. warplanes twice targeted the Islamic State affiliate in the area, hitting what officials described as high-ranking operatives in the terror group’s mountainous stronghold. VOA
Tunisian Judge Releases Prominent Journalist Mohamed Boughalleb
A Tunisian judge on Thursday released prominent journalist Mohamed Boughalleb, a critic of President Kais Saied, his lawyer told Reuters, a move the opposition hopes will lead to the release of other jailed opposition and media figures. On Wednesday, Sihem Ben Sedrine, a veteran politician and head of the Truth and Dignity Commission, was also released after months of detention. Riadh Mouakhar, a former minister, was also freed on Thursday. The move comes two days after the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Tunisia to end the arrests, arbitrary detentions and jailing of humans rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and politicians…Boughalleb, was jailed last year, on charge of insulting a public official, which the journalists union said was aimed at silencing the voices of journalists…Since Tunisia’s 2011 revolution, press freedom has been a key gain for Tunisians and its media has become one of the most open of any Arab state. However, politicians, journalists and unions say that freedom of the press now faces a serious threat under Saied’s rule. Reuters
Daughter Of Journalist Held For 23 Years Urges World To ‘Wake Up’ On Eritrea
The daughter of a journalist held incommunicado in Eritrea for more than 23 years insists it is past time for the world to address the horrific abuses happening in the country. “We need the international community to wake up,” Betlehem Isaak told AFP in an interview this week. “We need your help,” she said, on the sidelines of the annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. Her father Dawit Isaak, she said, was “a symbol” of the brutality in Eritrea, ruled with an iron fist by autocrat Isaias Afwerki for more than three decades. Isaak has never been charged and has been held incommunicado for nearly the entire time since his September 2001 arrest…Isaak was among around two dozen people — including senior cabinet ministers, members of parliament and independent journalists — who were seized in a purge of Afwerki’s critics. Amnesty International considers Isaak a prisoner of conscience, and press freedom group Reporters Without Borders says he and his detained colleagues are the longest-held journalists in the world…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 President Afwerki and demanding elections. AFP
Exposing an Indian Pharma Firm Fuelling West Africa’s Opioid Crisis
Aveo Pharmaceuticals, based in Mumbai, makes a range of pills that go under different brand names and are packaged to look like legitimate medicines. But all contain the same harmful mix of ingredients: tapentadol, a powerful opioid, and carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant so addictive it’s banned in Europe. This combination of drugs is not licensed for use anywhere in the world and can cause breathing difficulties and seizures. An overdose can kill. Despite the risks, these opioids are popular as street drugs in many West African countries, because they are so cheap and widely available. The BBC World Service found packets of them, branded with the Aveo logo, for sale on the streets of Ghanaian, Nigerian, and Ivoirian towns and cities…In the city of Tamale, in northern Ghana, so many young people are taking illegal opioids that one of the city’s chiefs, Alhassan Maham, has created a voluntary task force of about 100 local citizens whose mission is to raid drug dealers and take these pills off the streets…Publicly-available export data show that Aveo Pharmaceuticals, along with a sister company called Westfin International, is shipping millions of these tablets to Ghana and other West African countries. In India, pharmaceutical companies cannot legally manufacture and export unlicensed drugs unless these drugs meet the standards of the importing country. Aveo ships Tafrodol and similar products to Ghana, where this combination of tapentadol and carisoprodol is, according to Ghana’s national Drug Enforcement Agency, unlicensed and illegal. By shipping Tafrodol to Ghana, Aveo is breaking Indian law. BBC