Rebels Backed by Rwanda Announce Capture of Key City in Eastern Congo
A rebel militia backed by Rwanda on Monday announced the capture of the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a major victory for the group and one of the most significant escalations in the conflict between the two countries in years. The militia, known as M23, briefly occupied Goma once before, in 2012, then was defeated and lay dormant for almost a decade. Now it has come roaring back, aiming to occupy the region for the long term and exploit its valuable rare minerals, with the backing of several thousand Rwandan troops who are in Congo, according to United Nations experts. This time, M23 appears to be in a stronger position to keep hold of Goma, a city made up mainly of people who left their homes in terror and will now have to live under the rule of one of the armed groups they fled…Bintou Keita, the head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, called for Rwandan armed forces to withdraw from Congo. She told [an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Sunday] that three peacekeepers had been killed trying to protect Goma and a nearby town, Saké, from M23’s advance. She also said that the rebels had closed the airspace over Goma. “In other words, we are trapped,” she said. The New York Times
SANDF to Send Reinforcements to DRC after Nine SA Soldiers Die in Battle
The SA National Defence Force is preparing to send reinforcements from South Africa to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), said military sources, after nine South African soldiers were killed and several injured in fighting there on Thursday, 23 January and Friday, 24 January. Parliament has called for a probe into the combat readiness of the force and whether it has adequate air and other support after its heavy losses. The SANDF announced on Saturday that nine soldiers had died and an unnamed number were wounded in successfully repelling a full-scale attack on them by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels who have laid siege to the provincial capital, Goma. It said seven of those killed were members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC) while two were members of the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, Monusco. Daily Maverick
About 70 People Killed in Attack on Hospital in Sudan’s Darfur Region, WHO Chief Says
Around 70 people were killed in an attack on the only functional hospital in the besieged city of El Fasher in Sudan, the chief of the World Health Organization said Sunday, part of a series of attacks coming as the African nation’s civil war escalated in recent days. The attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital, which local officials blamed on the rebel Rapid Support Forces, came as the group was experiencing apparent battlefield losses to the Sudanese military and allied forces under the command of army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan. That includes Burhan appearing near a burning oil refinery north of Khartoum on Saturday that his forces said they seized from the RSF…The Saudi hospital, just north of El Fasher’s airport, sits near the front lines of the war and has been repeatedly hit by shelling. Still, its doctors continue surgeries, sometimes by the light of cellphones while the hospital is hit. AP
Surging Attacks On Vital Civilian Infrastructure In Sudan: Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned Monday that surging attacks in Sudan had severely disrupted access to clean water and electricity for millions of people across the war-ravaged country…Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy and head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The war has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, uprooted more than 12 million and pushed many Sudanese to the brink of famine. It has also decimated Sudan’s already fragile infrastructure, with large-scale attacks in recent weeks on dams and oil refineries…ICRC stressed Monday that disruptions to electricity and water supply also have dire ripple effects on the proper functioning of hospitals and thereby on critical healthcare. AFP
W.African Bloc’s Future Uncertain As Three Key Members Quit
The withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from the Economic Community of West African States takes effect on Wednesday after a year of political tensions, fracturing the region and leaving the bloc with an uncertain future. On January 29, 2024, the three countries led by military regimes formally notified ECOWAS of their desire for “immediate” withdrawal. But the texts of the West African organisation required one-year’s notice for it to be effective. This will happen on Wednesday, all three countries having ignored ECOWAS’s call to extend the period by six months to try to find a solution. Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger are now united in a confederation called the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)…In the sub-region, the diplomatic cards have been reshuffled, with the role of Togo boosted. As well as playing the role of mediator, its port in the capital Lome supplies the landlocked countries of the AES…Ghana, under the newly elected President John Dramani Mahama, is also reaching out to the AES. He has met its leaders and [named an envoy to the new bloc]. AFP
Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum to Tackle Regional Security Issues
The Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) has organised the fifth Governors’ Forum hosted by the Yobe State Government in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, Northeast Nigeria. The forum, scheduled for January 27 – 30, aims to tackle the Lake Chad region’s pressing challenges. Bringing together humanitarian organisations, local and international communities, and eight governors from Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and the Republic of the Niger, the forum will focus on sustainable solutions to promote security, peace, and development…A key highlight of the forum will be the launching two critical documents—Transitional Justice in the Lake Chad Basin and Community Based Reconciliation and Reintegration Policy. These are part of efforts to implement non-kinetic approaches to counter Boko Haram and ISWAP insurgencies in the region. HumAngle
New Nigerian Jihadist Group Declared Terrorists
Nigeria’s authorities have officially declared the Lakurawa armed group – which flogs people for listening to music – a terrorist organisation and banned it across the country. Lakurawa is a new militant group which carries out attacks, targeting local communities in north-western Nigeria and across the border with Niger. Nigerian officials say Lakurawa is affiliated with jihadist factions in Mali and Niger, and its militants have for years settled in communities along the Nigeria-Niger border, marrying local women and recruiting youths…The group emerged few years ago in some villages in Sokoto and Kebbi states and people had notified authorities of its existence but nothing was done. At first, Lakurawa members promised to tackle banditry and help protect local people from cattle thieves. “But things escalated when they started asking to check people’s phones and would flog those that have music in them before deleting them,” one Sokoto resident told the BBC last year. BBC
CPJ Tells South Sudan to Lift Social Media Ban
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the South Sudanese authorities to reverse the social media ban and ensure that the public has open and reliable internet access. CPJ, in a press release from Nairobi, Kenya, said social media was essential for news gathering amid unrest in the country. “Blocking social media access is a blanket act of censorship and a disproportionate response to unrest that makes it difficult for journalists to do their jobs and robs the public of the diverse sources of news,” the press release quoted the CPJ Africa Program Coordinator, Muthoki Mumo, saying…On January 22, South Sudan’s telecommunications regulator, the National Communication Authority (NCA), directed all internet service providers to “block access to all social media accounts” for a “minimum of 30 days” and a “maximum of 90 days”. The Authority said it issued its orders to stop the social media spread of footage showing the killings of South Sudanese nationals in Sudan, which triggered violent protests in South Sudan. Radio Tamazuj
Police Chief Accused of Mozambique Abuses Sacked by New President
Mozambique’s police chief Bernadino Rafael has been sacked, following allegations of brutality during October’s disputed election and its aftermath. He has denied claims by prominent opposition figures that he had worked with criminal groups to kidnap and kill civilian protesters in recent months. The country’s new President Daniel Chapo, who took office last week, announced Mr Rafael’s removal on Thursday. It is the first major security shake-up of Chapo’s presidency so far, as he faces immense pressure to win public trust and kick-start the ailing economy after months of unrest…President Chapo has replaced him with Joaquim Sive, who was previously the police chief for the provinces of Sofala and Nampula. In 2019, Sive was suspended from his duties after at least 10 people died after a Frelimo rally at the 25 de Junho Stadium in Nampula. BBC
Thirty-seven Suspected Terrorists Arrested in East Africa, Says Interpol
Thirty-seven suspected terrorists, including suspected members of Islamic State, have been arrested across east Africa over the last two months, the global police body Interpol said on Monday. Interpol, which is headquartered in France, said the arrests had been made during November and December during operations conducted jointly with the pan-African police body Afripol. The arrests come as concerns mount over a possible resurgence of the ISIS militant group, after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in Syria…Interpol said the operations in Africa had resulted in the arrests of 17 people, including two suspected ISIS members, in Kenya, and the arrest of a suspected member of ISIS Mozambique in Tanzania. Others were arrested in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. Reuters
European Cocaine Kingpin Has High Level Protection in Sierra Leone
One of Europe’s most wanted fugitives, convicted cocaine smuggler Jos Leijdekkers, has found refuge and high-level protection in Sierra Leone, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the matter as well as photos and video footage seen by Reuters. The images and accounts shed fresh light on the role of the West African nation, which international law enforcement officials say is a transshipment point for large volumes of Latin American cocaine headed to Europe. Leijdekkers, who is Dutch, was sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison on June 25 by a Rotterdam court for smuggling more than 7 tonnes of cocaine…Videos and photos of a church mass in Sierra Leone on Jan. 1, 2025 show Leijdekkers, 33, sitting two rows behind Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, next to a woman. Reuters identified Leijdekkers by using five different facial recognition tools to compare the man at the church, as seen in a video and images on Facebook and in another video on YouTube, with photos of Leijdekkers released by Europol in 2022. The tools all determined they were a match, ranging between 82 – 98% confidence. Reuters
2024 ‘Deadliest Year On Record’ For Kenyan Women
Almost 200 Kenyan women were murdered in gender-based violent incidents in 2024, nearly double the previous year, monitoring groups said Monday. The issue of gender-based violence is endemic in the east African country. Activists were tear-gassed by police when they tried to march through the capital Nairobi last year to demand an end to femicide. The second annual report by the Silencing Women Project –- a collaboration between data firm Odipo Dev and media outlet Africa Uncensored –- found 170 women had been murdered, up from 95 the previous year…Nairobi saw the highest number of women killed, with 28 deaths recorded, according to the report which is based on analysis of 930 female murders since 2016 and draws on court and media reports. Almost 70 percent of the murders were undertaken by intimate partners, it found, with 61 percent carried out in private or “home” spaces. AFP
Drought Led to 71,000 ‘Excess Deaths’ in Somalia, Report Shows
A study finds that severe drought plaguing parts of Somalia since 2022 has killed at least 71,000 people beyond the number expected. About 40% of the lives lost were children under the age of 5, said the study, commissioned by the U.N. Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization and Somalia’s Ministry of Health. The study covered the period between January 2022 and June 2024. In an interview with VOA Somali, Dr. Najib Isse Dirie, the deputy director for research at Mogadishu’s SIMAD University, which helped carry out the study, said the excess deaths were the result of five failed rainy seasons that brought parts of Somalia to the brink of famine…In 2011, a famine in Somalia killed more than a quarter-million people. VOA
Cameroon: He Fought in a Separatist Rebel Group that Burned Schools. Now He’s a Teacher Emphasizing Peace
For a year and a half, Ateasong Belts Tajoah fought with the Red Dragons, a separatist militia in the country’s conflict-ridden southwest…The fight for independence for English-speaking areas, which the emerging rebel groups called Ambazonia, has killed over 6,500 people and displaced over 1.1 million…The rebel group believed that destroying schools would weaken the government’s control over the region, a strategy that left a deep scar on the educational landscape…The breaking point for [Tajoah] came with the loss of his 11-year-old child during an attack by government forces on his camp. Already disillusioned with the separatist leadership and overwhelmed by grief, he surrendered in early 2019. He entered a government-run rehabilitation center for former fighters in Buea, the capital of Cameroon’s Southwest region, where he spent 18 months reflecting on his past. Like many ex-combatants, Tajoah has faced a long and lonely road, with widespread stigma marking his path to reintegration into society…Despite the challenges, Tajoah carved out a new path. He earned a master’s degree in philosophy in July…His decision to teach logic and philosophy stemmed from a long-standing interest in critical thinking and human behavior…Today, he uses [these subjects] to challenge students to think differently and to guide them toward a more constructive path Beyond the classroom, Tajoah has become an outspoken advocate for peace. He employs a social media strategy to educate people about the dangers of rebellion, sharing images of fallen fighters to highlight the realities of armed conflict. AP