Eastern DR Congo: Crisis Deepens as Crime and Insecurity Surges
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate as M23 rebels push deeper into the region, capturing key towns and displacing thousands. The security situation remains volatile, with increasing reports of crime and targeted violence. In Goma, criminal activity has surged, with home invasions, kidnappings and vehicle hijackings targeting humanitarian agencies. Some incidents have resulted in deaths. A similar increase in crime and insecurity has been reported in South Kivu, particularly in Bukavu and Uvira, where rape and looting have also been documented, according to UN aid partners…The UN peacekeeping mission in the country (MONUSCO) also warned that the security situation in areas seized by M23 rebels remains “unstable and highly unpredictable”, with reports indicating further advances by the group towards Lubero. UN News
Children Face Lethal Violence, Rape in East Congo War
The United Nations has warned of surging child recruitment, abductions, killings and sexual violence as the rebels, known as M23, press on after seizing more territory in eastern Congo than ever before. Last week the U.N. human rights office said M23 fighters summarily executed three children in Bukavu, the region’s second-largest city which fell earlier this month…The victims in Bukavu were holding weapons left behind by fleeing soldiers, Patrice Vahard, head of the rights office in Kinshasa, told Reuters…In the week after Goma fell, 42 healthcare facilities in and around Goma recorded 572 rape cases, including 170 children, said Lianne Gutcher, chief of communications for the U.N. children’s agency in Congo. That is up from 95 cases of rape per week in 2024 in the same facilities, she said. “Rapes were perpetrated by armed men. It is suspected that all parties to the conflict committed sexual violence,” she said. A medical worker in Goma who treats sexual violence survivors said there had been an increase in “serious” cases. “There were women and girls who were raped to the point of destroying their bladders,” the worker said, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. Reuters
Kenyatta, Obasanjo, Hailemariam to Co-facilitate Merged DR Congo Peace Bid
A joint Summit of leaders from the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has named two new facilitators for the peace bid on the Democratic Republic of Congo, formally merging two processes that had struggled to pursue end of animosity. The decision means Kenya’s former president Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya will remain on the mediation as a co-facilitator. He will be joined by ex-Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo and former Ethiopian prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn to co-facilitate the merged Luanda-Nairobi Process, a peace drive meant to dissuade armed groups in the Eastern DRC to lay down arms, while also addressing the tensions between Rwanda and the DRC, who accused each other of fomenting rebellions against their administrations. The EastAfrican
AUHIP, IGAD Special Envoy Urge Return to Civilian Rule in Sudan
The African Union High Level Panel (AUHIP) on Sudan and the IGAD Special Envoy to Sudan have backed calls for a Sudanese- owned and Sudanese-led process that reflects the aspirations and welfare of the Sudanese people, and returns the country to civilian-led constitutional order. In a joint statement issued on Friday, both the AUHIP and the IGAD Special Envoy stressed the need for peace, saying there is no military solution to Sudan’s crisis. The call came as Sudanese civilian political groups convened at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between 19 – 21 February, 2025 to discuss the way forward towards an inclusive Inter-Sudanese Political Dialogue. The meeting, the statement noted, reaffirmed that the situation in Sudan remains fluid and increasingly complex, with recent developments further deepening divisions and complicating efforts to achieve a unified political solution. Sudan Tribune
Heavy Fighting in Sudan Forces Doctors Without Borders to Stop Aid at a Camp with 500,000 People
Doctors Without Borders on Monday halted its operations in Sudan’s famine-stricken Zamzam camp due to an escalation of attacks and fighting in the vicinity. The international medical aid group, also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières and acronym MSF, said fighting between the Sudanese military and its rival paramilitary the Rapid Support Forces intensified in the camp in North Darfur. The escalation made it “impossible” for the group to provide lifesaving humanitarian help to thousands of displaced people, it said in a statement, adding it had suspended all activities in Zamzam, including at its field hospital…The MSF facility in Zamzam can’t provide trauma surgery for those in critical condition as it was originally established to address the significant malnutrition crisis unfolding in the camp. AP
Morocco Says It Dismantled Islamic State Cell that Was Planning Attacks
Moroccan authorities this month arrested a dozen people they said were planning attacks on behalf of the Islamic State in the Sahel officials said Monday. The discovery of the terrorist cell and what authorities called an “imminent dangerous terrorist plot” reflect the expanding ambitions of extremist groups in the region. Authorities did not provide details of the suspects’ motives or their plot, beyond saying they planned to set off bombs remotely. They released photographs and videos showing officers raiding terrorist cells throughout the country. The images showed weapons stockpiles found during police raids, Islamic State flags drawn on walls, and thousands of dollars of cash…Militant groups have been expanding their presence in the Sahel, capitalizing on instability in countries including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger…Authorities said the suspects arrested this month had maintained ties to Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, a militant leader born in the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara who was killed by French forces in 2021. In the years since, they took direction from the Libyan commander Abderrahmane Sahraoui, who oversees the group’s operations outside the Sahel. AP
Suspected Somali Pirates Abandon Yemeni Fishing Boat They Seized off Horn of Africa
Suspected Somali pirates have fled a Yemeni fishing boat they seized off the Horn of Africa and operated for five days, authorites said Monday. In a statement, a European naval force known as EUNAVFOR Atalanta said the pirates’ initial Feb. 17 attack targeted a dhow, a traditional ship that plies the waters of the Mideast, off the town of Eyl in Somalia. The vessel, called the Saytuun-2, was under their control until Saturday, EUNAVFOR said. The pirates had ladders and weapons, suggesting they possibly sought to hijack other vessels while using the fishing boat as a so-called mothership. “The fishing vessel was vacated by the alleged pirates after they stole some of the crew’s belongings,” the naval force said. It added that the Saytuun-2’s crew now were safe and free. The Feb. 17 attack came just days after another pirate attack on another Yemeni fishing boat which ultimately ended with the pirates fleeing and the mariners on board being recovered unhurt. AP
Alleged Killing of Soldier by Wagner Mercenaries Sparks Tension in Central African Republic
The alleged killing of a Central African Republic (CAR) soldier has sparked high tension among locals of the country’s Ippy town. The soldier succumbed to injuries inflicted on him by Russian mercenaries of the Wagner Security Group on Monday, Feb. 24. Local sources in Ippy said the CAR soldier was on a drinking spree with friends when he was arrested by Russian mercenaries who accused him of being drunk and a threat to security. “The soldier, who is yet to be positively identified, was copiously brutalised by the Wagner operatives…” a local source told HumAngle…“This murder is not a simple incident. It is a criminal act, an affront to human dignity and a further stain on the macabre record of the Wagner mercenaries in the Central African Republic. How many more citizens of this country would be killed by the Russian mercenaries before the authorities end their barbaric atrocities in this country?” a political activist asked angrily. HumAngle
Mauritania Prosecutors Seek 20 Years’ Jail For Ex-leader Aziz
Mauritanian prosecutors asked an appeals court Monday to sentence ex-president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to 20 years in prison for abuse of office and embezzlement, seeking to increase the original five-year sentence he is appealing. Aziz, who led Mauritania from 2008 to 2019, was convicted in 2023 of using his power to amass a fortune. [The lead prosecutor] asked the court to dissolve the charity Rahma, an organisation he said was founded by Aziz’s son with illicit ends. Aziz, who has been in custody since his original trial began in January 2023, was appearing alongside several former top officials and advisers also facing charges of abuse of office, illicit enrichment, influence peddling and money laundering. Aziz denies the charges. His lawyers are due to make their case Tuesday. Investigators estimate Aziz, who led the northwest African country of 4.5 million people for more than a decade, accumulated assets and capital worth $70 million during his presidency. AFP
Ghana’s New President Seeks to Overhaul $3bn IMF Deal
Ghana’s president will ask a panel of experts to chart a new path for the country’s economy, as he seeks changes to the IMF agreement credited with bringing financial stability to the west African country three years after its default. John Mahama will lead a two-day “national economic dialogue” in the capital, Accra, from March 3, bringing together participants from the private sector, academia, think-tanks and civil society. The session follows his pledge, upon taking power in December, to reverse years of economic drift, which resulted in Ghana’s 2022 debt default and its 18th IMF programme since independence…Yet John Asafu-Adjaye, senior fellow at the Accra-based African Center for Economic Transformation think-tank, said Mahama had “no choice” but to continue with the fiscal discipline imposed by the IMF due to the conditions attached to the bailout…Analysts said Mahama, who was also Ghana’s president from 2012 to 2017, would want to work out a deal on debt restructuring. Financial Times