Ebola Outbreak Is Now the Second-Deadliest Ever, and in Record Time
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has already become the second-worst on record, and it is spreading much faster than previous outbreaks, the nation’s health ministry reported on Thursday. The official death toll has jumped to 1,521 people in fewer than three months. Put another way, the species of Ebola behind the current outbreak, Bundibugyo, has killed more than five times as many people as previous outbreaks did in the same amount of time, officials from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said at a press briefing on Thursday. The last outbreak, which began in 2018 and was declared over in 2020, took more than 10 months to reach the same death toll. … The virus ripping through eastern Congo is on pace to surpass the number of infections and deaths of the 2014-2016 Ebola crisis in West Africa, the worst outbreak ever that killed more than 11,000 people. New York Times
Child Soldiers Recount Horrors of Sudan’s War and Presence of Colombian Mercenaries
The teenage boy’s hands and legs were shackled to the anti-aircraft gun mounted on a pickup as Sudanese warplanes attacked. He saw another child chained to the steering wheel. As their captors sought cover, the terrified children were ordered to stay and shoot down the jets over the capital, Khartoum. If they tried to flee, they’d be killed by their captors — if the planes didn’t get them first. The boy, now 17, told The Associated Press that those who ordered him strapped to the gun were Colombian mercenaries providing military aid to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces against the army in the war, now in its fourth year. Another child said he was forced to carry out artillery strikes and beaten for disobedience. The rare, firsthand accounts show the perils faced by tens of thousands of children believed to have been conscripted into the war by all sides. Six former child soldiers who were abducted and forced to fight with the Rapid Support Forces, known as the RSF, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Two said they were trained by Colombians. AP
Russia’s Africa Corps Kills Mali Civilians in ‘Indiscriminate’ Attack, Rights Group Says
Russian paramilitary group Africa Corps killed eight civilians, including three children, in Mali last month, Human Rights Watch said on Friday, during air strikes the campaign group called “unlawfully indiscriminate.” Established by Russia’s defence ministry, Africa Corps has largely taken over the mercenary Wagner Group’s activities on the continent and is backing operations by Mali’s military-led government against armed Islamist groups. A HRW investigation found that an aircraft identified by two Malian military sources as a Sukhoi Su-24 dropped at least two munitions on the village of Kyrnia in the central Mopti region on June 15. One strike hit near the home of the village chief, killing his wife, two of his children and another child, while a second strike hit a nearby cattle market, killing four men, HRW said. Reuters
Nigeria: First Daily Dialogue – Ex-Military Chiefs, Politicians, Others Back State Police, Urgent Security Reforms
Amid ongoing constitutional reforms by the National Assembly to establish state police, former military chiefs and other stakeholders have urged the federal government to strengthen internal security institutions, improve intelligence gathering, and increase funding to confront insecurity. Former military chiefs, politicians and security experts have called for the establishment of state police, emergency funding for security agencies and comprehensive reforms of Nigeria’s security architecture to address the country’s worsening insecurity. They made the call on Tuesday at the First Daily Sixth Anniversary National Dialogue on Security held in Abuja, against the backdrop of recent moves by the National Assembly to amend the Constitution and establish state police services. … The event formed part of activities marking the sixth anniversary of First Daily Media Network and reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to promoting informed national conversations and policy-driven solutions to issues of critical national importance. Premium Times
Activists in Kenya Demand Release of Ugandan Opposition Leader Kizza Besigye
Activists gathered in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi on Thursday to demand the release of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, a day after he collapsed in court in Kampala. The activists described Besigye’s condition as critical and accused Ugandan authorities of frustrating due process in the opposition leader’s treason case. … They also called for the release of Erias Lukwago, Besigye’s lawyer who is being held in Luzira Prison with charges linked to the case. … Besigye fell in the dock on Wednesday while protesting his trial without lawyers of his own choosing, after authorities detained his main attorney, Erias Lukwago, and charged him with alleged failure to report acts of treason. Besigye’s wife, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, said in a post on X that Besigye is unconscious in an intensive care unit at a public hospital in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Africanews
Zimbabwe Braces for Anti-Constitutional Amendment Protests, Month After Mnangagwa Got His Way
Anti-riot police officers were all over Harare Thursday afternoon and evening as they assessed the situation in anticipation of either protests or a shutdown on Friday. Talk in most parts of the capital was centred on the planned anti-Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA3) protests as residents brace for what many expect to be cases of violence. CAA3 extended Mnangagwa’s hold on power to 2030, as has always been Zanu PF’s wish. It also changed the manner in which Zimbabweans vote for Presidents by giving that authority to legislators only. With no clear leader to point at, social media has been awash with posts on it, while some users encourage Zimbabweans to take to the streets. Despite Zimbabwe’s constitution explicitly protecting the right to freedom of assembly, speech and protests, these actions have, as usual, been taken as “terrorist” actions against Mnangagwa’s “constitutionally elected government.” New Zimbabwean
Egyptian PM Announces Investigation After Damietta Port Drone Attack
Egypt’s Prime Minister said Thursday that the country would now be examining the remains of a drone that attacked two vessels at the Egyptian port of Damietta on Wednesday. … On Wednesday, British maritime security firm Ambrey said drone strikes ignited fires on two natural gas vessels at the Egyptian port of Damietta. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the strikes on a U.S.-owned floating storage facility and a Greek-owned tanker. No injuries were reported. The office of the Egyptian prime minister said initial investigations showed the fires on the two vessels had been caused by a drone. Egypt, a close U.S. ally and regional mediator, is one of the only countries in the Middle East to have been spared direct military action during the war. A strike by Iran or its allies, if confirmed, would mark a significant widening of the conflict. Africanews
SA Blocks Ghana’s Attempt to Put Xenophobic Violence on African Union Agenda
South Africa has thwarted a bid by Ghana to place xenophobic violence in the country on the agenda for the African Union’s Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in October. Ghana raised the issue on Wednesday during an AU Executive Council meeting of foreign ministers in Addis Ababa. However, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, pushed back against the proposal. He argued that rather than singling out South Africa, the AU should hold a broader discussion on continental migration patterns. South Africa has been pushing all along for a broader discussion, not only to include more countries but also to discuss what it calls the push-pull factors — essentially poor political and economic conditions in other countries that drive their people to flee and head for South Africa and other countries. Daily Maverick
What to Know About Ceuta
Thousands of migrants in recent days have crossed onto a tiny peninsula on Morocco’s coast that Spain has governed for centuries, aggravating tensions over a border that has long troubled the relationship between the governments of Madrid and Rabat. At least 18 people have died so far in their attempt to reach Spanish soil, a government spokesman for Spain said on Thursday. The peninsula, Ceuta, is one of only two cities on the African mainland that are officially part of Europe. In search of better economic prospects, thousands of migrants have scaled a 20-foot-high border fence into Ceuta or entered the territory by sea in mass crossing episodes over the years. New York Times
The Return of the African Megaproject
“When it began it was very quiet,” concedes Abdulaziz Mzee, the port’s manager. Now, though, Lamu’s port is stirring from its slumber and plans for the corridor are being dusted off. The immediate reason is the war in Iran. Scores of vessels bound for the Persian Gulf have been rerouted to Lamu’s relative sanctuary since February. Yet the renewed discussion of LAPSSET is also a sign of a wider shift in thinking among African policymakers and some investors. Africa is entering a new era of “megaprojects”, schemes costing billions of dollars and affecting millions of people. … The OECD reckons that to double Africa’s total GDP by 2040 the continent would need to spend $155bn (around 5.6% of GDP) per year on infrastructure—nearly twice the annual average from 2016 to 2020… Economist