UN Says Rwanda-backed Militia Denied Investigators Access to East DR Congo
A United Nations fact-finding mission was denied access by the M23 to the parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo under the Rwanda-backed militia’s control, the UN rights body said on Wednesday. The UN fact-finding mission was set up in February to investigate allegations of dire human rights abuses in the conflict between the DRC and the M23, which has devastated a region already riven by decades of conflict. Denial of access to areas under control of M23 armed group (is) seriously hampering work… to gather & verify information about the dire human rights and humanitarian crisis there,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) wrote on X. The UN team was on official business in Rwanda and intended to carry out investigations in Goma, a key eastern Congolese city which the M23 captured in January, UNHCHR spokeswoman Liz Throssell told AFP.”At the Gisenyi-Goma border crossing the team was denied entry by the immigration authorities appointed by M23,” Throssell said. “This was despite the fact that the (UN) team had informed M23 ahead of time of their visit and of the purpose of the mission,” the spokeswoman added. AFP
HRW Urges Niger Junta Release Detained Ex-president
Human Rights Watch on Wednesday urged Niger’s ruling junta to release Mohamed Bazoum, the president the military authorities overturned and detained on July 26, 2023. Bazoum has been held, along with his wife Hadiza, in a wing of the presidential palace and according to his lawyers has not left the building in that time. Elected in 2021, he has not resigned…Months after the coup the junta said it intended to pursue Bazoum, accusing him of “plotting against the security and authority of the state” as well as “treason.” Bazoum’s lawyers say the latter charge could earn him the death penalty. In June last year Niger’s state court, set up by the regime, lifted Bazoum’s presidential immunity, which would open the path to a trial. To date, however, no case has been opened against the former president. His lawyers have initiated several proceedings before international bodies, notably before the Court of Justice of ECOWAS — the regional bloc Niger has now left — and also the UN. Both found his detention to be arbitrary and demanded his release. “The abuses against Bazoum are emblematic of a military junta that has cracked down on the political opposition, peaceful dissent and the media, and that appears to intend to solidify its power, delaying a transition to civilian rule and credible, free, and fair elections,” Human Rights Watch said. AFP
Furious Protests at Move to Cement Togo Ruling Family’s Grip on Power
A new constitution that has allowed Togo’s long-time head of state Faure Gnassingbé to shift to a new role as all-powerful prime minister – and escape the constraint of presidential term limits – has triggered anger on the streets of the capital, Lomé. Protests are set to continue this Friday. At least five demonstrators have died while confronting official security forces in recent weeks. But it is not the orthodox political opposition – predictably crushed in local elections last week – that has mobilised frustrated young Togolese people. Instead it is musicians, bloggers and activists who have tapped into popular anger and weariness with a regime that has been in power – under the leadership of Faure Gnassingbé or, before him – his father Gnassingbé Éyadéma, for almost six decades…The new constitutional framework was announced at short notice in early 2024 and quickly approved by the compliant government-dominated national assembly. There was no attempt to secure general public approval through a referendum…Although the local elections on 17 July passed off quietly, with Unir predictably dominant according to official results, Jean-Pierre Fabre, a leading opposition figure, said there were no other voters in his local polling station when he went to cast his ballot. Critics see the new constitution as no more than a device to perpetuate the rule of the Gnassingbé dynasty – a regime variously described by West African regional media as a “republican monarchy” and “legalist authoritarianism”. BBC
Sudan: RSF Destroyed $1 Mln Water Lab in Khartoum, Official Says
Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have destroyed the main water analysis laboratory for Khartoum state, a facility worth around $1 million, the head of the state’s water authority said in an interview with the Sudan Tribune on Wednesday. Mohamed Ali al-Ajab, director general of the Khartoum State Water Corporation, told the Sudan Tribune news outlet that the RSF had wrecked the al-Mugran laboratory, the largest in the state, which analyzed water from the Nile River and wells for both public and private clients. “The authority has lost approximately 454 vehicles, whether they were cars, mobile tankers, cranes, or excavators,” Ajab said, noting that a recent report confirmed only 54 vehicles remain, of which 44 were described as “dilapidated.” He announced that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had delivered new spare parts for the water authority valued at $77,000, with another $223,000 worth expected to arrive… “The public network is hidden, and until water is pumped, we cannot know its integrity,” he said. “After we began pumping from the al-Mugran station, 18 major fractures appeared on the main lines… these require excavators and equipment that the authority lost in the war.” Sudan Tribune
War-torn Sudan’s Prodigal Premier League Returns to Cheers
In the Sudanese town of Berber, hundreds of kilometres away from the frontlines of war, a modest stadium seems to shake with the roar of football fans jumping to their feet. “It’s a wonderful feeling, it’s indescribable, to see this beautiful return,” football fan Ahmed Taj told AFP from the sidelines of the penultimate league match between newly-crowned champions Al-Hilal and Hay al-Wadi. “We’re so happy to see Al-Hilal come back, to see Sudanese football come back, after everything we’ve lost in the past two years,” he added. Since April 2023, war between Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed tens of thousands and made Sudan the scene of the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis. But for a few hours each week in July, the country seemed to pause during match time, a welcome respite for a population buffeted between mass displacement, starvation and death…The season reached its climax on Tuesday as the country’s favourite teams — rivals Al-Hilal and Al-Merrikh — met in a title-deciding match-up. Al-Hilal claimed victory and finished top of the table, with second-placed Al-Merrikh also qualifying for the African Champions League. For Al-Hilal’s celebrated captain and national team striker Mohamed Abdel Rahman, playing on Sudanese soil, even if not on his home turf in the capital, was thrilling. “We’re so happy to be home, playing in front of our fans,” he told AFP. AFP
Somalia’s Puntland State Rejects ‘Piracy’ Claim over Seized Ship
The Somali state of Puntland on Thursday rejected accusations of piracy made by the central government after it seized a ship off the province’s coastline. The oil-rich state declared autonomy from Somalia in 1998, but that has never been formally recognised, leaving relations deeply strained with the central government in the capital Mogadishu. Last week the Puntland authorities intercepted a Comoros-flagged vessel, which the federal government said was transporting military equipment to a Turkish military camp in Mogadishu. After days of silence, the federal government labelled the “hijacking” of the vessel “an act of piracy”. On Thursday, Puntland expressed “deep dismay” over the accusation. In a statement, it said the vessel had been seized after it was observed “loitering” near the coast, to prevent the ship’s cargo from “falling into the hands of unauthorised parties”. Puntland said the “entire cargo… consists solely of military equipment and contains no goods of a commercial nature”. Mogadishu had said previously the ship was carrying legally authorised military cargo, and commercial goods belonging to Somali traders. AFP
Central African Republic Publishes Voter Lists Ahead of December General Elections
The Central African Republic has taken a major step in its electoral process with the publication of provisional voter lists, just five months ahead of the general elections scheduled for December 2025. The National Elections Authority (ANE) has posted the lists at voting centers in Bangui and several provincial towns. The voter registration process, which began in December 2024, faced significant delays due to technical, financial, and security challenges. While some citizens have welcomed the move as progress toward credible elections, others have voiced concerns over irregularities, including missing names and duplicate entries. The ANE has opened a complaints window, allowing voters to review and contest the lists. Observers and civil society groups are urging swift corrections to ensure a transparent and inclusive electoral process. The publication of these lists marks a crucial milestone on the road to what many hope will be a peaceful and credible vote. Africanews
Gambians Protest Corruption Following Recent Scandals
Thousands of Gambians protested Wednesday in Banjul alleging government corruption and calling for justice over a number of scandals that have rocked the country. The protesters carried handwritten placards with slogans such as “Gambians are not slaves to corruption” as they chanted slogans such as “People! Power!” “We have been living under pillage and plunder for so long, and corruption is endemic in this country”, Fallou Gallas Ceesay, program and administrative director for the youth movement Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA), told AFP. The organisation, which staged the protest at Westfield Monument, a downtown landmark popular for demonstrations, said it was demanding accountability and calling on President Adama Barrow to tackle corruption…The demonstrators presented petition letters to several government ministries, the office of the president and the National Assembly. One of the petitions, which was handed to the Ministry of Health, concerned some 70 children aged five and under who died in 2022 after taking an over-the-counter cough syrup made by India-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals. Another petition was delivered to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy concerning a Russian oil deal in which government officials allegedly received kickbacks. AFP
Tunisia Overturns Six-month Term for Inmate Who Refuse to Watch President
A Tunisian appeals court on Wednesday overturned an inmate’s six-month prison sentence, handed to him after he had refused to watch a news segment about President Kais Saied, his lawyer told AFP. The court “dismissed the case and nullified all proceedings in the case of the young man”, lawyer Adel Sghaier said, without identifying his client. Sghaier said his client was initially prosecuted under Article 67 of the penal code, which covers crimes against the head of state. But the charge was later revised to violating public decency to avoid giving the case a “political” dimension, according to the lawyer. The inmate had already been in prison over an unrelated case that was ultimately dismissed too, and his family only learnt of his second sentence when he was not released as expected, the lawyer said. The Tunisian League for Human Rights had said the man in question was reported by a cellmate for having “expressed his refusal to watch presidential activities” broadcast on TV. The NGO had condemned what it called a “policy of gagging voices that even extends to prisoners in their cells”. AFP
Greece Invites Libya to Maritime Zone Talks to Ease Strained Ties
Greece has invited Libya’s internationally recognised government in Tripoli to start talks on demarcating exclusive economic zones in the Mediterranean Sea, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said late on Wednesday. The move is aimed at mending relations between the two neighbours, strained by a controversial maritime deal signed in 2019 between the Libyan government and Turkey, Greece’s long-standing foe, which mapped out a sea area close to the Greek island of Crete…Greece this year launched a new tender to develop its hydrocarbon resources off Crete, a move that Libya has objected to, saying some of the blocks infringed its own maritime zones…In recent months, Athens has sought closer cooperation with Libya to help stem a surge in migrant arrivals from the North African country to Greece’s southern islands of Gavdos and Crete and passed legislation banning migrants arriving from Libya by sea from requesting asylum. Reuters