At Least 770 Killed in Goma, East DRC, in Fighting with Rwanda-backed M23
At least 773 people were killed in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo’s largest city of Goma and its vicinity this week amid fighting with Rwanda-backed rebels who captured the city in a major escalation of a decade-long conflict, Congolese authorities have said. The rebels’ advance into other areas was slowed by a weakened military that recovered some villages from them. There were 773 bodies and 2,880 injured people in Goma’s morgues and hospitals, the Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya told a briefing in the capital, Kinshasa, on Saturday, adding that the death toll could be higher. The Guardian
Southern African Leaders Seek Meeting with East African Leaders over DRC Crisis
Leaders from the Southern African Development Community met Friday in Zimbabwe to discuss the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between the government and M23 rebels. The 16-nation bloc, which includes DRC, resolved to meet with its East African counterpart — the East Africa Community — about the matter…DRC is a member of the SADC and the East Africa Community, or EAC, while Rwanda is an EAC member…DRC President Felix Tshisekedi did not attend an EAC meeting earlier in the week. He did not attend Friday’s SADC meeting, either, but was said to be following it online. VOA
Sudan: UN Rights Chief ‘Alarmed’ by Summary Executions, Attacks on Civilians
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has voiced deep alarm over reports of summary executions of civilians allegedly carried out by fighters and militias allied with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the city of Khartoum North, calling for an immediate halt to the killings…In a statement released on Friday, the High Commissioner reported that at least 18 civilians, including one woman, were killed in seven separate incidents after SAF forces regained control of the area around Khartoum North – Sudan’s third largest city – on 25 January, according to verified information from the rights chief’s office (OHCHR). Many of the victims were originally from the Darfur and Kordofan regions, raising concerns about targeted violence…Meanwhile, attacks on civilians by the RSF continue across Sudan. UN News
WFP: ‘Life-saving Darfur Aid Stalled by Fighting and Bureaucracy
The World Food Programme (WFP) is struggling to scale up food aid in Sudan, despite expanding its reach to assist seven million people. In a press release [last week] WFP warned that “arbitrary obstructions” from local authorities and escalating security concerns are disrupting the steady flow of aid. With nearly half of Sudan’s population, 24.6 million people, facing acute food insecurity, WFP is urging all parties to lift barriers and guarantee humanitarian access…Their statement reports they have reached Zamzam Camp in North Darfur, South Khartoum, and Ghubeish locality in West Kordofan…Sudan’s worsening liquidity crisis has also paralysed relief efforts. WFP has been unable to distribute aid to over four million people for more than a month due to severe banknote shortages. Porters essential for loading aid trucks have gone unpaid, stalling deliveries. Recent interventions by the Central Bank of Sudan and the Ministry of Finance have allowed WFP operations to slowly resume. Dabanga
Ugandan Leader Pledges to Continue Using Military Courts despite Ban
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni said on Saturday his government would continue to prosecute civilians in military tribunals even after the country’s top court banned the practice, ruling it unconstitutional. In a majority decision on Friday, the east African country’s Supreme Court banned prosecutions of civilians in military courts and ordered all ongoing cases there to be transferred to civil courts. The ruling was hailed by key opposition figure Kizza Besigye’s lawyer as offering him some relief during an ongoing trial by the country’s general court martial. In a statement to the media on Saturday, Museveni described the court’s decision as wrong and said military prosecutions reinforce the civil courts and had helped in pacifying Karamoja, a region in Uganda’s northeast plagued by armed violence. Human rights activists and opposition politicians have long accused Museveni’s government of using military courts to prosecute opposition leaders and supporters on politically motivated charges. Reuters
Central African Republic Soldiers Arrest Cameroonian Loggers for ‘Illicit Occupation’
The Central African Republic (CAR) soldiers arrested 16 Cameroonians allegedly caught amid illegal logging in the country’s forest on Feb. 1. The arrest, which some have tagged ‘abduction’, has created palpable tension among authorities of CAR and Cameroon. The 16 loggers were in a forest on the Cameroonian side of the border felling trees and sawing them to planks when the accused soldiers “erupted from nowhere and started harassing us”. They eventually rounded up the 16 Cameroonians and took them to their side of the border…Since 2014, Cameroon has participated actively in ending the ongoing crisis in the CAR under the banner of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA). HumAngle
How Russian Disinformation Alters Views across Africa
According to a report published in March 2024 by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies…Russia is now the main agent of such state-sponsored campaigns across Africa. It found that 80 out of almost 200 campaigns could be attributed to Russia as a state actor…The organization also highlights that since its previous survey two years earlier, there had been a fourfold increase in deliberate disinformation campaigns documented… [South African digital consultancy Murmur Intelligence] focuses on analyzing social networks for various clients, often providing the basis for studies conducted by think tanks. Examining Russia’s campaigns in Africa has become par for the course at his offices. [Murmur co-founder Aldu Cornelissen] explains the infrastructure of Russia’s social media strategy as a “global network of key accounts that are interwoven with other key accounts in the African context.” “From there, local influencers in each country take over the messages and adapt the narrative to the local context.”…Russia’s state broadcaster RT (formerly Russia Today) is also part of the media campaign designed to spread pro-Russian narratives…Meanwhile, other Russian-run channels have also been set up specifically for propagandist use in Africa: The best known example is probably the online news site African Initiative, which reportedly is part of the business empire of the late Yevgeny Prigozhin. DW
Djibouti Drone Attack Kills Eight Rebels: Govt
Djibouti security forces launched a drone attack near the Ethiopian border, killing eight members of a rebel group and an unknown number of civilians, authorities said Sunday…The Horn of Africa state announced it had opened an investigation, adding the rebels had been engaged in “hostile actions” which constituted “a potential threat to our advanced posts”. Questioned by AFP, Alexis Mohamed, an advisor to Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh, said the militants were members of the Armed Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD A), which Djibouti considers a terrorist group…Recruited from the Afar community in northern Djibouti, FRUD launched an anti-government rebellion in 1991, claiming to defend Afar interests against the Issas, the country’s other main ethnic community. The group later split. While FRUD is part of a four-party coalition backing President Guelleh, its armed wing FRUD A continues to carry out attacks. AFP
Suspected Al Shabaab Gunmen Abduct Chiefs in Northeast Kenya, Media Reports
Gunmen suspected of belonging to the al Shabaab group abducted five government officials in northeast Kenya on Monday as they were on their way to work, media reported. The incident happened in Mandera county when the five chiefs were heading to the town of Elwak…[A]l Shabaab has been fighting for years in Somalia to topple the central government and establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. It has also carried out attacks in neighbouring Kenya as part of efforts to press Kenya to withdraw troops from Somalia, where they are part of an international peacekeeping force defending the central government. Reuters
Ghana President Picks Asiamah as Next Central Bank Governor
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has chosen Johnson Asiamah as the West African country’s next central bank governor, pending approval by the Council of State, the presidency said on Friday. Asiamah has worked at the Bank of Ghana for more than 23 years. From 2016 to 2017 he served as a second deputy governor of the central bank…The current governor, Ernest Addison, is due to retire from the bank at the end of March and will go on leave from Feb. 3. Mahama was sworn in in early January, pledging to overcome public discontent by boosting the economy and creating much-needed jobs. He inherited an economy emerging from its worst economic crisis in a generation, with turmoil in the vital cocoa and gold industries. His administration has yet to formally publish its economic policy plans, which was cited by the central bank on Monday as one reason why it kept its key lending rate. Reuters
Ugandan Health Authorities Are Set to Begin an Ebola Vaccine Trial after New Outbreak Kills a Nurse
Ugandan officials are preparing to deploy a trial vaccine as part of efforts to stem an outbreak of Ebola in the capital, Kampala, a top health official said Sunday…A range of scientists are developing research protocols relating to the planned deployment of more than 2,000 doses of a candidate vaccine against the Sudan strain of Ebola, said Pontiano Kaleebu, executive director of Uganda Virus Research Institute…The World Health Organization said in a statement that its support to Uganda’s response to the outbreak includes access to 2,160 doses of trial vaccine…The candidate vaccine as well as candidate treatments are being made available through clinical trial protocols to further test for efficacy and safety, it said…A trial vaccine known as rVSV-ZEBOV, used to vaccinate 3,000 people at risk of infection during an outbreak of the Zaire strain of Ebola in eastern Congo between 2018 and 2020, proved effective in containing the spread of the disease there. AP
Benin Seeks Home-grown Cotton ‘Revolution’
Benin has long vied with Mali for the title of Africa’s largest cotton producer, exporting mostly raw fibres for processing abroad to countries like Bangladesh or China, the world’s largest garment exporters. But it now wants to process more of its “white gold” locally, to boost production and exports of 100 percent Beninese clothing…Under the initiative of Benin’s President Patrice Talon — who made his fortune from cotton in the 1990s and 2000s, earning him the nickname “King of Cotton” — authorities are racing to consolidate the nation’s lead. Those ambitions came to life in 2020 with the creation of the Glo-Djigbe Industrial Zone (GDIZ), a vast manufacturing district 45 kilometres (30 miles) from the economic capital Cotonou in the south of the country….In the short term, Beninese authorities say they are aiming to process “50 percent of the cotton produced in Benin and export the remaining 50 percent”, Adjovi Ahoyo said. To achieve this, he said, Benin must increase production capacity and attract investors, especially foreigners. AFP
Tanzania, Burundi Sign Deal with China to Build Nickel-carrying Railway
Tanzania and Burundi have signed an agreement with two Chinese firms to build a railway between the two African countries for transporting metals, including battery mineral nickel, to the port city of Dar es Salaam…It will be financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Tanzania’s finance minister Mwigulu Nchemba said. The two nations expect the 282 kilometre (175 mile) standard gauge line to transport three million metric tons of minerals annually, Tanzania’s finance ministry said last year. In the last decade China has funded infrastructure projects, such as railways, power plants and ports, and across Africa through its Belt and Road Initiative. Reuters
Nigeria’s Tems Wins Grammy In Field Dominated By Afrobeats
Nigerian afrobeats star Tems has won her second Grammy with her hit “Love Me JeJe” seeing off a line-up heavily dominated by Nigerian artists vying for “Best African Musical Performance”. The song, which beat four others by star afrobeats performers, has notched up some 20 million views on YouTube…Afrobeats has its roots in the afrobeat pioneered by Nigerian megastar Fela Kuti in 1970s Lagos and has been influenced by international hip-hop and rhythm and blues. Exported to the West African diaspora in Britain and the United States, the genre is breaking through into the international mainstream and music awards circuit. AFP