Kenyan Job Seekers Were Lured to Russia, Then Sent to Die in Ukraine
Hundreds of Kenyans have been recruited by the Russian military to serve on the front lines in Ukraine, according to former recruits and their families. Many have never returned. Most men said they were tricked — offered civilian or “safe” security jobs in Russia, only to be handed a weapon and sent to the battlefield. Others were current or former soldiers who joined up as mercenaries, lured by promises of higher wages. The survivors described inhumane treatment by Russian commanders and harrowing scenes of slaughter. While there have been isolated reports of Africans conscripted by Moscow to fight, The Washington Post uncovered an extensive clandestine pipeline stretching from Nairobi to the forests of eastern Ukraine. Russian recruitment in Kenya is more widespread, and more deadly, than previously reported, and the effort extends across the continent. The Post spoke to recruits or their family members in South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania and Nigeria, and it heard anecdotal accounts of fighters in Ukraine from eight other African countries, including Ghana, Zimbabwe and Cameroon — hidden victims of the largest European conflict since World War II. The Washington Post
UN to Deploy Ceasefire Monitoring Mission in Congo, Qatar Says
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo will send its first team to monitor a ceasefire between Congo’s government and the AFC/M23 rebel group in the coming days, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Monday after hosting talks in Doha. Qatar said the team would be deployed to Uvira, a strategic city in eastern Congo that AFC/M23 fighters captured in December during a rapid offensive, and which Congolese forces and allied militias re‑entered last month, restoring government control after the rebels announced they would withdraw. … The Qatari foreign ministry said on Monday that Congo and M23 had agreed on detailed terms of reference for the ceasefire monitoring mechanism created under an agreement reached in October, and reaffirmed their commitments under the broader peace deal framework signed in November. The latest push to activate ceasefire monitoring comes amid persistent fighting in the east. Reuters
“You Take What You Can and Run”: Families Describe Harrowing Journey to Escape Fighting in DRC
“When war begins, you take what you can in your hands and run,” [35-year-old Dieudoné Muka] says over the phone. … “We were told on the phone that everything we left behind had been stolen or looted,” Muka says. Their journey from Luvungi began on 5 December. His wife, Noella Zawadi, was eight months pregnant and caring for two toddlers. … Before fleeing Luvungi, the family had lived a relatively stable life. Like many in the region, Muka farmed his own land and had planned to sell two tonnes of maize he had harvested. He also owned livestock that included nine cows and four goats. By 7 December, they had reached the town of Sange, 30km south of Luvungi. Then it too was bombed, forcing the family to flee again. Eventually, they crossed into Burundi. … On 19 January, M23 announced it had withdrawn from Uvira. Still, Muka has no intention of returning home. … “I have grieved for the people and things I lost. I’m not going back.” But Busuma is not a long-term solution either. Health risks remain high, and infrastructure is stretched thin. The Guardian
Aid Agencies in South Sudan Decry Restricted Access as Government and Opposition Troops Fight
Humanitarian organizations in South Sudan said Monday that restricted access to the conflict-hit eastern state of Jonglei has left thousands of people in need of lifesaving medical care and food assistance at risk, as the United Nations raises concern over a growing number of displaced people. The International Rescue Committee’s country director for South Sudan, Richard Orengo, said that “intensified fighting and the militarization of key areas have forced the suspension of services.” Medical organization Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF, said that the government has suspended all humanitarian flights, cutting off medical supplies, staff movement and emergency evacuations. At least 23 critically ill patients, including children and pregnant women, urgently require evacuation, MSF said. … The U.N. and human rights groups have also expressed alarm over inflammatory rhetoric by a senior army commander, who urged troops advancing in Jonglei to “spare no lives.” AP
62 International Rights Groups Warn of “Sudan’s State Disintegration”
Sudan has passed more than 1,000 days of war, as 62 Sudanese, African, and Arab rights organisations warn that the conflict is contributing to state fragmentation alongside ongoing mass atrocities and a limited international response. In a joint statement published [last week], the signatories said the conflict has “accelerated state disintegration and systematic atrocities”, while the international community remains “incapable of preventing the return of genocide, widespread atrocities, and the weaponisation of the justice system”. … Warning that repression now extends beyond the battlefield, the organisations said Sudan’s judiciary has been “systematically weaponised to criminalise humanitarian action, silence dissent, and intimidate displaced persons and perceived opponents”. … The signatories called on the international community to halt arms transfers, protect civilians, and ensure accountability for atrocity crimes committed during the war. Dabanga
Sudan: South Kordofan Facing “Catastrophic” Famine as Food Supplies Dwindle, NRC Warns
South Kordofan is spiralling toward a humanitarian disaster as severe food shortages push major towns into famine, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned on Monday. Jan Egeland, the NRC’s secretary general, said Kadugli, the state capital, is grappling with famine conditions, while the town of Dilling faces a similar crisis. The Sudanese army broke the siege on Dilling on January 26, allowing some food to reach the area, but roads remain highly insecure, hindering consistent aid delivery. … The conflict and resulting starvation have displaced approximately 147,000 people from Kadugli — roughly 80% of its population — and about 117,000 from Dilling, nearly half of its residents, according to United Nations estimates. Many of those who fled reported facing abuses during their journey, driven by the total lack of food in the cities. The closure of major supply routes to Dilling and Kadugli has led to a total collapse of local markets. Trapped civilians now face a complete absence of food, cash, and essential services, Egeland said. Sudan Tribune
World Leaders Urge Restraint as Clashes in Western Tigray Resume
The fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, which resumed last week, has prompted concern from UN Secretary-General António Guterres, as well as from the African Union, the European Union and the UK, all of whom have called on the parties to exercise restraint. Hostilities flared in recent days in Tsemlet, western Tigray, an area claimed by forces from the neighbouring Amhara region, raising fears of a renewed conflict between local fighters and federal troops. … Around three years ago, the volatile region emerged from a brutal war between Ethiopian forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that the African Union says killed at least 600,000 people. … Tension has been brewing in northern Ethiopia for several months as Amhara and Eritrean forces remain present in violation of the peace deal. RFI
Guinea-Bissau: Opposition Leaders Refuse Offer to Join Government
They would not “dirty their names”: Guinea-Bissau’s two main opposition leaders Domingos Simões Pereira and Fernando Dias have refused an offer from the military authorities, in charge of the country since a military coup last November, to join the ranks of the government. This follows Pereira’s release from prison on Friday, where he had been detained for two months. Dias was allowed to leave the Nigerian embassy, where he had found refuge from persecution by the military authorities. … But both remain wary of the soldiers, and perhaps with good reason: although Pereira was released from detention, he remains under house arrest, despite never having been through a legal procedure warranting this measure. … The proposal to join the government has also been criticised for its merely symbolic weight: the opposition leaders’ movements would have received three jobs in the government and ten seats in the National Transitional Council – not enough to have real political weight, according to the opponents. Africanews
Mozambique’s President Opens Chinese-Owned Graphite Processing Plant
Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo opened a 200,000 metric ton per year graphite processing plant at a Chinese-owned mine on Friday, as the south-east African country boosts output of the battery mineral. Annual global mined graphite production is 1.6 million metric tons, the United States Geological Survey estimates, and Mozambique is one of the world’s top producers of the mineral, which is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity and is used in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones. China has the world’s largest graphite reserves and dominates its mining and processing as well. … “Today we are entering the world’s industrial map,” he said, adding: “We are no longer a supplier of raw materials, but a producer, processor and exporter of materials”. Reuters
Tunisia Upholds and Increases Jail Terms for Opponents and Security Officials
A Tunisian appeal court on Tuesday upheld and increased lengthy prison sentences on high-profile politicians, including opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi and former security officials, as part of a crackdown on dissent. Among those sentenced on charges of conspiring against the state in the mass trial were Nadia Akacha, the former chief of staff to President Kais Saied. Akacha, who was sentenced in absentia after fleeing abroad, received a 35-year jail term, TAP state news agency said. Rached Ghannouchi, 84, veteran head of the Islamist-leaning Ennahda party, was handed an increased 20-year prison sentence, up from the previous 14-year term. Ghannouchi, who was speaker of the elected parliament dissolved by Saied in 2021, has been in prison since 2023. With this new sentence, the total sentences against him on several charges rise to 50 years. … Most opposition leaders, some journalists and critics of Saied, have been imprisoned since he seized control of most powers in 2021. Reuters
Africa’s Economic Growth Set to Overtake Asia’s
Africa’s economic growth this year is forecast to outpace Asia’s for the first time, according to the International Monetary Fund, though experts warned that Africa needs major investment. Some countries are forecast to grow at double-digit rates, according to the IMF’s latest economic outlook, with average growth in sub-Saharan Africa expected to hit 4.6%, compared to 4.1% across Asia. Africa’s economic prospects have been buoyed by its demographics: It’s home to the planet’s youngest population, and is forecast to account for a quarter of the world’s people by 2050. However, the region will have to invest heavily in education and create hundreds of millions of formal jobs to meet its potential, the head of the French Development Agency told RFI. African policymakers say a mispricing of risk on the continent means they’ll struggle to meet their economies’ capital needs. Semafor
World Creeps Closer to Eradicating Human Guinea Worm Cases, With Just 10 Last Year: Carter Center
There were only 10 reported cases of Guinea worm infections confined to three countries in 2025, a historic low announced Friday by The Carter Center. The new mark comes barely a year after the death of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who often said he hoped to outlive the Guinea worm. When the former president’s center launched an eradication program in the mid-1980s, the parasite still afflicted millions of people in developing countries. … In 2025, four human cases were reported in Chad, four in Ethiopia and two in South Sudan. Animal infections still number in the hundreds, declining in some countries but up slightly overall and making it harder to predict when Guinea worm might be eradicated. … [Adam Weiss, director of the center’s Guinea worm eradication program said the program’s] next step is developing diagnostic tests, especially for animals. Testing long before an infected person or animal becomes symptomatic would allow behavioral changes to minimize or eliminate the chances of them allowing more larvae to enter a water source. AP