Sudanese Army Takes Full Control of Omdurman-El Obeid Road
The Sudanese army announced on Sunday that it had seized complete control of the vital Export road connecting the capital Khartoum to North Kordofan state, following two days of fierce clashes with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). … Military operations began on Saturday when army troops and allied forces advanced from defensive positions in the Raheed Al-Nuba area, west of Omdurman. The force engaged in heavy battles to secure the towns of Um Sayala, Bara, and Jabrat Al-Sheikh before advancing further on Sunday. … The RSF had controlled most of the 350-kilometre strategic highway since the early months of the conflict that erupted in April 2023, using it as a main supply route between western Sudan and Khartoum. Sudan Tribune
Tanzanian Lecturer Arrested over Anti-government Protests Charged with Terrorism
A Tanzanian university lecturer who was arrested earlier this month over allegations of inciting anti-government protests has now been charged with terrorism. … He was among more than 130 people arrested over planned protests calling for democratic reforms and justice for those killed in a post-poll crackdown last year. The 7 July demonstrations were banned and did not take place. … He was arrested a day after the planned nationwide protests and initially charged with inciting people to join them. … Colleagues have described him as a respected lecturer whose popularity stems from his teaching rather than political activism. His case comes amid a broader crackdown by the authorities on opposition figures and activists critical of President Samia Suluhu Hassan. BBC
How Junta-Led Sahel States Are Building a Censorship Cartel in the Region
The military juntas of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger came to power on a shared common political narrative: that the civilian governments they overthrew had failed their people through corruption, dependence on Western institutions, and an inability to manage the Sahel’s compounding security crises. … Findings show a Sahel-wide architecture of censorship constructed law by law, decree by decree, suspension by suspension, and disappearance by disappearance. What began in Mali has been replicated in Burkina Faso and Niger and is now evolving into something more alarming: cross-border enforcement, where one junta’s regulators act against journalists operating in a neighbouring country, at the request of that country’s junta. … In the Sahel region, the silence created by expelled broadcasters, conscripted journalists, dissolved professional associations, and shuttered newsrooms has been filled with a coordinated ecosystem of pro-junta propaganda, state-aligned digital influence networks, and what researchers describe as a ‘hostile narrative swarm.’ PR Nigeria
Niger: Lawyers Call for Former President to Be Freed Three Years after Coup
Lawyers for Niger’s deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, have called for his immediate release three years after he was toppled and detained by the military. Elected in 2021, the 66-year-old has been held along with his wife, Hadiza, in a wing of the presidential palace in Niamey since the July 2023 coup. The international collective of lawyers says Bazoum is being arbitrarily detained. “They have never been brought before a magistrate and have not been informed of the existence of any proceedings against them,” said West African lawyers and US human rights attorney Reed Brody. … In addition, the lawyers say Bazoum and his wife have been allowed almost no contact with the outside world, with no visits from family in the past three years. … Niger’s new leaders have presided over a crackdown on opponents, jailing journalists, activists and civil society figures. Africanews
DR Congo: More People Seeking Treatment for Ebola as Trust Grows
In the town of Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province – the epicentre of the current Ebola outbreak – community trust appears to be growing. Medical staff say more people are coming to receive treatment for the deadly haemorrhagic virus, making their care easier. At least a dozen facilities have been attacked by ordinary people, largely due to fear, misinformation and deep mistrust of outside authorities. Most of the 1,000 death from Ebola since mid-May have occurred in communities, not in treatment centres. Dr Job Kkabagambe Tibasima is the deputy supervisor for the Ministry of Health at the Ebola Treatment Centre at the Evangelical Medical Centre in Bunia. He says this is a positive shift in the relationship between communities and health service providers. … Priorities remain reducing transmission in Ituri by strengthening surveillance, safe and dignified burials, clinical management, and community engagement. Africanews
Senegal’s President Faye Launches New Party, Cementing Ruling Camp Split
Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has launched a new political party, formalising his break with former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and the ruling Pastef party that swept him to power in 2024. Faye unveiled his Kiiraay — Republican Patriots party at a gathering in the capital Dakar on Saturday. … Kiiraay means “shield” in the local Wolof language. Faye and Sonko, once the twin faces of Senegal’s anti-establishment movement, have been engaged in a months-long power struggle. Faye dismissed Sonko in May, but Sonko later became speaker of the National Assembly and remains the leader of Pastef, which retains a large majority in parliament. Senegal is grappling with a crisis stemming from the revelation of misreported debt under the previous government. Reuters
Senegal Appeal Date Set after Afcon Win Overturned
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has set a date for a hearing over Senegal’s appeal against being stripped of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title. Hosts Morocco were declared the tournament winners after the Confederation of African Football (Caf) overturned the result of the final in January, which Senegal won 1-0. The Senegalese players walked off the field after Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless. Following a delay of about 17 minutes, the players returned and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner. Senegal lodged their appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) on 25 March, seeking to set aside Caf’s decision and reinstate them as tournament winners. Caf deemed that Senegal had forfeited the final and awarded Morocco a 3-0 victory. Caf and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) did not agree to expedite the procedure so there will now be a hearing on 8 October. BBC
Gabon Opposition Leader Jailed for Political Reasons, His Lawyers Say
Gabon’s main opposition leader, Alain Claude Bilie By Nze, has been in jail for more than three months after the government resurrected an 18-year-old private financial dispute as a pretext to sideline him, his lawyers said in a statement. Nze was serving as prime minister when Brice Oligui Nguema, Gabon’s current president, took power in a coup in 2023, and he unsuccessfully challenged Nguema in an election last year. … Nze’s lawyers said in a statement that he has spent 100 days in “political and arbitrary” solitary confinement after being arrested on April 15. The basis for his arrest was a private dispute over about 7,600 euros dating to 2008, they said. His party said he was accused of fraud and breach of trust in that dispute. Nze has been confined to a five-square-metre cell without light at a prison in the capital, Libreville, his lawyers said. His lawyers said that they have not been allowed to inspect case files and that the investigating judge has said he no longer has those documents. A Libreville appeals court rejected a defence request to annul proceedings on June 2. … “A man is being held on the basis of a case file his defence has never been permitted to see,” Nze’s counsel, Arthur Vercken, said in the statement. Reuters
South Africa Halts Impeachment against President Cyril Ramaphosa over Stolen Cash Inquiry
A South African court ordered a halt to impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over a scandal involving over $580 000 of cash stolen from his farm in 2020. The Western Cape High Court judgment on Friday does not stop the impeachment committee from doing other preparatory work for the pending proceedings. Lawmakers had started impeachment proceedings in June after a damning parliamentary report concluded the president had a case to answer regarding the handling of the theft, including why such large amounts of cash were kept in a sofa at the farm. The inquiry also includes questions over the source of the money, whether the foreign currency was legally declared and why he did not immediately report the theft to the police. Ramaphosa is challenging the report in court and applied for the impeachment proceedings to be halted until the process to review the report is complete. AP
Kenya: 2,500 Officers Set to Join Nairobi Metropolitan Police Unit
At least 2,500 officers from Nairobi County inspectorate will join Nairobi Metropolitan Police Unit once it is unveiled, governor Johnson Sakaja has announced. The directive to form the Unit composed of police officers drawn from the National Police Service and Nairobi County was issued in February by President Ruto during the signing of Cooperation Agreement between the County and National government. As part of the ongoing preparation, it is stated the officers who will join the unit will first undergo specialised training before deployed. … He said the continued use of goons to intimidate political opponents had heightened political tensions and posed a serious threat to peace and stability ahead of the elections. The Standard
Ugandan Diplomat Otunnu Joins Race to Become Next UN Head
Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu has joined the contest to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations, the seventh contender to succeed Antonio Guterres when he steps down at the end of this year. Otunnu, a former U.N. under-secretary-general who served as a special representative for children and armed conflict, was nominated by Uganda in a letter on Friday to the presidents of the U.N. General Assembly and Security Council. At 75, he is the oldest of the current candidates for the role, which Guterres has held for two five-year terms. … In his vision statement, Otunnu stressed the need to continue institutional reforms and said he would give immediate priority to efforts to help end major international conflicts. He also pledged work to establish a body to oversee U.N. work on AI and highlighted the need for climate change action that does not undermine economic development. Reuters
Tunisia Records 900 Fires in 72-hour Window during Intense Heatwave
At least 900 fires broke out in Tunisia over a 72-hour period, a senior official said on Friday, as the country grapples with an intense heatwave. “These are not only forest fires but also brushland, crops, houses,” said civil protection official Khalil Mechri, without offering details on the areas affected. He said most of the blazes recorded between 20 and 22 July had been extinguished, though two major ones were still raging. … He said most of the blazes recorded between 20 and 22 July had been extinguished, though two major ones were still raging. An Italian firefighting aircraft joined efforts Friday to contain the two wildfires, one of which is in the north-western region of Sakiet Sidi Youssef. “We requested international assistance, and at the moment one Italian plane and two Algerian planes are helping to put out the fire,” said Colonel-Major of Civil Protection, Seif Eddine Dekhlaoui. … The outbreak of so many blazes has coincided with exceptional heat. Temperatures on Tuesday ranged between 40 and 49 degrees Celsius depending on the region, exceeding seasonal averages by 8 to 14 degrees. Africanews with AFP