Goma Hospitals Overwhelmed with Wounded, Dead Bodies in the Streets, UN Agencies Say
Dead bodies were scattered in the streets of Goma and hospitals were overwhelmed with patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds, a day after Rwanda-backed rebels marched into the biggest city in eastern Congo, U.N. and other aid agencies said on Tuesday. The M23 rebels entered Goma on Monday in a major escalation of a three-decade conflict. They were continuing to face pockets of resistance from the army and their backers. On Tuesday, small arms fire and mortar fire continued in the streets, where many dead bodies could be seen, said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA), citing reports from staff in the city….The fighting has been accompanied by a surge in looting with both the ICRC and the World Food Programme (WFP) reporting that medical and food supplies had been stolen. Reuters
S.Africa In Rwanda Talks As More Troops Killed In DRC
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has held talks with his Rwandan counterpart over the escalating violence in DR Congo, where 13 soldiers from South Africa have been killed in recent unrest. The South Africa military said Tuesday four more of its soldiers were killed after nine were confirmed dead last week in clashes with the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Fighting has raged around the regional capital Goma despite calls from the international community for the M23 to halt its advance on the city, which is home to more than a million people. Ramaphosa’s office said late Monday he had spoken to Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame about the escalation and the killing of South African troops, who were deployed as part of regional and UN missions. AFP
Red Cross Warns that Fighting in DR Congo Could Cause Viruses to Escape from Lab
The Red Cross voiced alarm Tuesday over the risk that fighting in the besieged DR Congo city of Goma could cause samples of Ebola and other pathogens held in a laboratory to escape. The International Committee of the Red Cross is “very concerned about the situation in the laboratory of the national biomedical research institute, which is facing a risk of power cuts, as well as a question of preserving the samples that may be affected by the clashes,” ICRC regional director for Africa Patrick Youssef said, warning of “unimaginable consequences if the (samples), including the Ebola virus, that it contains were to spread.” Le Monde with AFP
Sudan: ICC Prosecutor Urges Immediate Action to Address Atrocities
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday called on the UN Security Council to act decisively to address the worsening atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region. Briefing ambassadors, Karim Khan highlighted the urgent need for justice and accountability as violence and humanitarian suffering escalate…ICC Prosecutor announced that his office is preparing applications for new arrest warrants tied to alleged crimes committed in West Darfur. He emphasised that these applications would only proceed with robust evidence to ensure a realistic prospect of conviction, reinforcing the ICC’s commitment to justice for victims. Mr. Khan also stressed the need for greater cooperation in transferring ICC fugitives, including former President Omar al-Bashir and other high-ranking officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. UN News
At Least 22 Nigerian Soldiers Killed as Insurgents Counter Military Assault
At least 22 soldiers have been killed and several wounded in Nigeria’s northeast after insurgents deployed improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers to ward off attacks by the military, the army spokesperson Edward Buba said. The Nigerian military said late on Sunday that it had launched an assault 10 days ago against insurgents in the northeast and killed over 70 militants including three commanders. Government forces also shot down drones used by the insurgents, Buba said. Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province militants have mainly operated in Borno state, targeting security forces and civilians in an insurgency that has killed and displaced tens of thousands of people. On Friday, suspected Islamist insurgents killed at least 20 Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding officer, in an attack on an army base in a remote Borno town, according to security sources and local residents. Reuters
Barrick Gold and Mali to Start New Negotiations on Mine Tuesday
Mali’s government and Barrick Gold will start a new round of negotiations on Tuesday to resolve a deepening dispute over the alleged nonpayment of taxes by the Canadian miner and the seizure of its gold stocks by authorities in the country, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Barrick, the world’s second-largest gold miner by production, has temporarily suspended its mining operations in Mali after the government seized close to 3 metric tons of gold, worth $250 million from the company’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex. The issues at stake in the new round of negotiations are Mali’s demanding $199 million, Barrick’s agreeing to the new mining code and the release of the seized gold…Governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — all led by juntas — are all seeking to renegotiate new terms with gold miners to gain a bigger share of mining revenue at a time when gold prices have hit record highs. The dispute between Mali and Barrick is over the country’s new mining code that came into effect in 2023. Reuters
Ethiopia: EHRC Reports Widespread Extrajudicial Killings, Including Pregnant Women and Children, amid Conflicts in Amhara and Oromia
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has reported widespread extrajudicial killings, including those of pregnant women and children, amid the ongoing militarized conflict in the Amhara and Oromia regions, according to its quarterly report released [last week]. Covering the period from mid-September to December 2024, the report documents extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, destruction of property, and other violations, particularly in conflict-affected Amhara and Oromia regions…EHRC also raised concerns over mass detentions, stating that in the Amhara region, over 6,000 individuals, including government officials, security personnel, teachers, traders, and journalists, are being held in temporary detention facilities in towns such as Dangla, Chilga, Kombolcha, and Shewa Robit. Addis Standard
UN Special Envoy in Zambia to Assess Freedom of Expression
A United Nations special rapporteur is on a 10-day visit to Zambia to assess accusations that the government is stifling dissent. According to the U.N., Irene Khan will also focus on Zambia’s legal and policy framework and the safety of journalists, activists and human rights defenders in the country. Upon her arrival in Lusaka on Friday, the special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion told journalists that her visit to Zambia will give her the chance to hear from all sides and make recommendations…In May of last year, police in Zambia arrested two opposition lawmakers, two opposition party leaders and an activist on espionage charges. This followed their accusation that the government played a role in the alleged abduction of an independent lawmaker, Emmanuel Jay Jay Banda…Meanwhile, Zambian journalist Thomas Zgambo has been arrested three times in 13 months after writing articles critical of the government. He is facing sedition charges. And last August, the government warned it would tighten cybersecurity laws to curb online hate speech, propaganda and defamation. The ruling party later withdrew the bill after it was denounced by human rights groups. VOA
Zimbabwe’s War Veterans Demand President Mnangagwa’s Resignation
A group of Zimbabwe’s liberation war veterans has called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down. The veterans, affiliated with the ruling Zanu-PF Party, accuse the president of nepotism, corruption and failing to address the moribund economy. Zanu-PF Party leaders say they are not taking the calls seriously. At a press conference streamed online, Blessed Runesu Geza, a veteran of Zimbabwe’s 1960s and ’70s liberation war and a member of Zanu-PF’s central committee, called for the president to step down immediately. He accused Mnangagwa of failing to live up to the promises he made in 2017 when he came to power with the army’s help. Geza said many of those who died fighting for the country’s liberation do not have decent graves and that the country is being turned into “a banana republic.” He also spoke of looting and the struggles of people in the country. VOA
Chocolate Industry Braces as Ivory Coast Expects Dire Cocoa Crop
Ivory Coast expects to record one of the worst mid-crop cocoa harvests of the last 15 years this season with production seen no higher than 300,000 metric tons compared with a yearly average of 500,000 tons, regulator and industry sources said. A poor harvest could add upward pressure to cocoa prices, which are already around record highs after nearly tripling last year…Ivory Coast is the world’s top cocoa producer, but a lack of rain and excessive heat since November across all its 13 growing regions have stalled development of the mid-crop harvest, which is meant to start in April. The unfavorable conditions mean that the first beans will start to arrive in ports in June at the earliest, provided the weather improves and rains return in the coming weeks, the sources said…A dozen planters and middlemen across the West African country described the situation as unprecedented, characterized by a total absence of flowers and small pods after those that appeared in December and January dried up in the high heat. Reuters
Lake Tanganyika Fishers Fight for Their Future amid Declining Catches
Lake Tanganyika is Africa’s longest reservoir of fresh water and a lifeblood for the millions who live near it. But in recent years, fish catches have declined sharply. Some research suggests the lake’s habitable zones for fish have shrunk as much as 38 percent since the 1940s. A new survey is scheduled to begin later this year to understand the scale of the collapse, but changes in the lake are starting to manifest as catches flatline. Between 2020 and 2024, fish production dropped nearly 20 percent, fisheries officials told local media last year…The government implemented [a] fishing ban last year to ease fishing pressures in the lake…In September, after the lake had reopened, reports in government-owned media celebrated the ban’s success, claiming fish stocks had rebounded. But the last time officials conducted a lakewide assessment of fish stocks was in 1996, assisted by the FAO…To supplant fishing incomes during the closure, the government offered loans for fishers to set up their own fish farms as well as five days of training on how to operate them. Al Jazeera
African Presidents Outline Plan for ‘the Africa We Want
African leaders have laid out an ambitious reforms plan for the African Union (AU), focusing on peace, security, and financial independence to transform the continent into a powerhouse of development and stability. In a landmark retreat of the extended bureau of the African Union institutional reforms chaired by President William Ruto…on Monday at State House, Nairobi, leaders identified key policy areas, including the operationalization of the Africa Court of Justice to enhance conflict resolution on the continent. President Ruto said they agreed on a committee of five to drive the implementation of the already agreed reforms of the different agencies, institutions and organs. The meeting featured Presidents Azali Assoumani (Comoros), Umaro Sissoco Embalo, (Guinea Bissau), John Dramani Mahama (Ghana) and Taye Atske Selassie (Ethiopia), chairman of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat and Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who is also the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary. The EastAfrican
Remittance Startups Ride Africa’s Migration Wave
Earlier this month, remittance firm LemFi raised $53 million from Silicon Valley investors after crossing $1 billion in monthly transactions. The UK-headquartered company, which launched in 2021, already has more than a million users including in Europe and North America. Most of them send remittances to countries in Africa…Late last year LemFi added countries including France, Germany, Italy, and Norway to its growing list. Nala, a remittance startup born in Tanzania in 2017, also expanded this month, starting operations in the Philippines and Pakistan to target a migrant labour population that includes Africans. LemFi and Nala are part of a wave of companies tapping into the remittance boom in sub-Saharan Africa, which received an estimated $56 billion from overseas migrants in 2024, a fourth successive year of increases and a record peak, according to the World Bank. Semafor
Young Malians’ Quick Fix for Preventing Floods
[VIDEO] Young environmentalists in Mali’s capital Bamako are working to clear drains, collect waste and identify recyclables. It’s hoped these simple measures designed to prevent any repeat of the recent floods. Their efforts are raising awareness of the need to keep gutters clear. DW