Sudan Sets Conditions for U.S.-supported Peace Negotiations
Sudan’s foreign ministry on Tuesday set out conditions for participating in U.S.-backed peace talks in Switzerland next August, including prior consultations on the agenda and who can attend. The ministry was responding to a U.S. invitation for the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to hold talks from Aug. 14 in Geneva, with Saudi Arabia as a co-host. The talks would be overseen by the United Nations, the African Union, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Egypt. Sudan’s foreign ministry said any talks must be preceded by consultations with the Sudanese government on the agenda and participants. It also called for direct talks between Sudan and the U.S. to prepare for the negotiations. The ministry said the RSF must be forced to withdraw from cities and towns and end attacks against civilians, as a prerequisite for any peace talks. Sudanese officials, also, voiced opposition to the UAE’s participation in the negotiations, citing allegations of support for the paramilitary forces. Sudan Tribune
Sudan Reopens Embassy in Tehran after Eight Years
Sudan reopened its embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, resuming diplomatic relations with Iran after an eight-year hiatus. The embassy was inaugurated by Sudan’s acting foreign minister, Hussein Awad Ali, in a ceremony attended by Iranian and Sudanese officials, as well as diplomats from other countries. Sudan severed ties with Iran in 2016, following the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran by protesters. The decision was made by then-President Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted in a coup in 2019. In October 2023, Sudan’s new government announced it would restore relations with Iran. The two countries have since exchanged ambassadors and agreed to reopen embassies. Sudan Tribune
Rain and Floods Add to Misery of Sudanese Displaced by War
Thousands of people are stranded on the streets of the eastern Sudanese city of Kassala as a deluge of rain compounds the suffering of more than a million Sudanese who sought refuge in the region from a 15-month-old war. The rainy season that began earlier this month has already damaged shelters, made roads unusable, and will put millions at risk of water-borne diseases across large areas of the country. It comes as the number of displaced people within Sudan, currently more than 10 million, continues to tick up as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) expands its territory in the war with the national army…They now wait under store awnings or tarps in the street, with heavier than usual rains expected to continue until September. Some have rejected a plan to move them outside the city, a government official and aid workers said, where there would be few income opportunities. Reuters
Somalia Arrests Another Journalist as Press Clampdown Intensifies
The arrest of a journalist for reporting on drug use in the Somali military is the latest incident in an apparent clampdown on critical reporting in the country, which is having a “chilling” effect on Somalia’s media, rights campaigners said. AliNur Salaad was detained last week and accused of “immorality, false reporting and insulting the armed forces”, after publishing a now-deleted video suggesting that soldiers were vulnerable to attacks by al-Shabaab militants because of widespread use of the traditional narcotic khat. In the past month, the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), a trade union and press freedom group, has criticised the threats and charges levelled against another journalist, Mohamed Salah, for “false and misleading information” in reporting on the suspension of licences for aid organisations by the Somali state of Puntland. Said Abdullahi Kulmiye was also arrested in July for reporting on incidents of police and armed men demanding bribes at checkpoints. Abdulkadir Isse, a state media employee, was blocked from reporting after publishing an article exploring corruption and abuse of power involving a government minister. The Guardian
Cameroon Arrests Activist over TikTok Posts, Says HRW
Social media activist Junior Ngombe was arrested outside his shop in the western city of Douala on 24 July by three plainclothes men claiming to be intelligence officers, the rights group said in a statement published Monday. The arrest of the 23-year-old activist, who is also a hairdresser, has prompted an outcry over what international human rights groups call a growing crackdown on freedom of expression under 91-year-old President Paul Biya, in power for 42 years. Ngombe was taken to a detention facility in the capital Yaounde, which HRW says is notorious for practising incommunicado detention and torture, including near-drownings and severe beatings. Ngombe’s lawyers said he had been charged with “incitement to rebellion” and “propagation of false information”, which they believe to be linked to videos he posted on social media. In his posts on TikTok, Ngombe encouraged people to vote in the presidential election and challenged the Cameroonian authorities’ crackdown on dissent. RFI with AFP
UN Ends Arms Embargo for Central African Republic, in what Government Sees as Sign of Confidence
The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday formally ended an arms embargo on the Central African Republic, a largely symbolic move but one that was welcomed by the country’s government as a sign of confidence as it seeks to end more than a decade of intercommunal conflict. The unanimous vote essentially reaffirmed a resolution approved last year that permitted weapons to be supplied to government forces, but not to other fighters…The resolution continues to tell all U.N. member countries to prevent arms sales to “armed groups and associated individuals” operating in the Central African Republic, including those that commit or plan attacks which “undermine efforts for a return to peace and violate international humanitarian law.” AP
Guinea’s New Draft Constitution Will Reduce and Limit Presidential Term
Guinea’s transitional authorities have presented a draft of a new constitution which will reduce and set presidential term limits, and potentially allow current military leader Mamady Doumbouya to participate in the next presidential election. The junta that took power in a coup in 2021 proposed a two-year transition to elections in 2022 after negotiating with the Economic Community of West African States regional bloc, but has shown little sign of moving to organise a vote…If the draft of the new constitution gets approval, the president will be elected for a five-year term renewable once, reducing the presidential term from six years in the constitution that was approved in 2020. Reuters
African Human Rights Commission Condemns Indigenous Groups’ Eviction to Protect Nature
The Congolese government violated the rights of the Indigenous Batwa community by evicting them about 50 years ago from their ancestral lands to expand one of the country’s biggest national parks, according to the African Union’s commission on human rights. The decision, made public on Monday, is the first of its kind to recognize the central role that native populations play in protecting biodiversity. Batwa people lived as hunters and gatherers in the forested areas of Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. In 1970, a Belgian photographer and conservationist founded the now-famous Kahuzi-Biega National Park near the western bank of Lake Kivu on a territory, traditionally used by the Batwa people. Following the park’s expansion in 1975, around 13,000 Batwa people were evicted from their homes in the name of protecting biodiversity. Most still live on its fringes in makeshift villages, struggling to access land and healthcare. The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights called on the Congolese government to allow for the safe return of Batwa people, to grant them ownership of their ancestral lands located within the national park, issue a public apology acknowledging their abuses and pay the Indigenous people compensation after recognizing them as citizens. AP
Ghana’s Mahama Would Renegotiate IMF Deal if He Regains Presidency
Former Ghanaian president John Dramani Mahama will try to renegotiate terms of an International Monetary Fund bailout and boost local ownership of future oil and mining projects if he wins a new term in office in December, he told Reuters. Mahama, who was in office from 2012-16, will be the main challenger to the ruling party’s candidate, Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia, with a good chance to win given a severe economic crisis that has made the government unpopular…Ghana defaulted on most of its $30 billion external debt in 2022 after the effects of years of overstretched borrowing were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, knock-on impacts of the war in Ukraine, and higher global interest rates. The oil, gold and cocoa producer secured a $3 billion IMF bailout in May 2023, and in June this year reached separate deals with bilateral and commercial creditors to restructure its debts and freeze repayments until 2025. The IMF has already disbursed $1.56 billion with another $360 million due by December. But Mahama said he would seek additional IMF funds to help Ghana resume the debt repayments. Reuters
Ghana Court Bans Planned Protests against Cost of Living
A high court in Ghana has blocked civil society groups from holding protests in the capital Accra, one of the organisers said, joining other African governments in trying to quell youth-led demonstrations over the high cost of living. Organisers said the protests would draw over two million people onto the streets to demand more action from President Nana Akufo-Addo on corruption and living conditions, as well as to protest delays in signing an anti-LGBT bill into law. High court Justice Abena Afia Serwaa approved a request by Ghana’s police to ban a handful of organisations from carrying out protests planned between July 31 and August 6 after the police said it lacked the personnel necessary to provide security as officers have been deployed to political rallies amid election campaigning for elections. A wave of youth demonstrations has swept across several African countries in recent weeks. Reuters
African Governments on Edge as Youth Plan Kenya-style Protests
Governments in African countries including Nigeria and Uganda are facing growing discontent, with planned protests by youthful demonstrators calling attention to long-standing issues including high unemployment, corruption and economic stagnation. It comes against the backdrop of massive youth-led protests in Kenya over the past month in opposition to proposed tax hikes and corruption…With a median age of 19, Africa is home to the world’s youngest population. More than 400 million people on the continent are aged between 15 and 35. A limited number of employment opportunities, coupled with questionable governance and a rising cost of living, has been central to the frustration of youth across the continent…Joachim MacEbong, a governance and policy analyst based in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, emphasized that Africa’s youth had shared frustrations, from “South Africa to Morocco.” He said governments needed to effect policies to accelerate job creation, and reduce corruption. MacEbong described the level of corruption as unsustainable in many “barely growing” African economies. “The immediate causes of the protests in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and elsewhere are different, but the broad drivers are the same,” he observed. “So when Nigerian youths see their counterparts in Kenya and Uganda rise in protest, they find that there is no shortage of things to protest about at home.” Semafor
Kenya: Who Is Ruto’s New Nominee for the EAC Ministry?
President William Ruto on Tuesday completed the formation of his new Cabinet when he appointed Ms Beatrice Askul Moe as Cabinet Secretary for EAC Affairs and Regional Development…She is a politician, a long-time ally of opposition leader Raila Odinga, whose party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), recently benefited from President William Ruto’s latest ministerial appointments. Ms Moe is also a social scientist and consultant, having previously served as the County Executive Committee Member in charge of Water, Irrigation, Agriculture and Land Reclamation in Turkana County Government. She has also previously served as Director of the Rift Valley Water Services Board, Chairperson of the Technical Committee of the Rift Valley Water Services Board, Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Rift Valley Water Services Board, Project Officer for AMREF Kenya Turkana Project and Relief Officer for Oxfam Turkana Relief Programme. The EastAfrican