Ebola Epidemic in the DRC: Explainer
The latest outbreak of the Ebola virus in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—the country’s 17th since 1976—has resulted in more than 1,000 confirmed cases and over 250 deaths. The number of cases has risen faster for this outbreak than any other Ebola outbreak to date. … The outbreak is concentrated in the northeastern DRC, with more than 97 percent of all cases in Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu Provinces. … In addition to the lack of a proven vaccine for the Bundibugyo variant, the current Ebola response is particularly challenging because of the region’s remoteness and the ongoing insecurity caused by dozens of armed groups operating in the area. The outbreak is estimated to have circulated within the community for weeks—and possibly months–before it was detected and confirmed on May 15, 2026. Now, public health officials are racing to contain the spread, provide care, trace and monitor contacts, and deploy public health messaging campaigns throughout the region and neighboring countries. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Fears Grow for Civilians as Paramilitary Group Closes in on Strategic Sudanese City
Paramilitary attacks on a strategic city of a half-million people in central Sudan have raised international alarm that another round of mass violence against civilians is being planned as the country’s war surges into its fourth year. “We must not allow the horrors of El Fasher to be repeated in El Obeid,” a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. More than 6,000 people were killed in three days last year when the Rapid Support Forces seized el-Fasher in an attack that U.N. experts said bore the “hallmarks of genocide.” The U.N. Security Council has said it is alarmed by reports of “substantial” reinforcements by the RSF around el-Obeid in North Kordofan. The United States, Britain and some other European countries have warned of “escalating atrocity risks.” AP
Sexual Violence Increasingly Used as ‘weapon of War’ in Sudan, UN Says
Sexual violence is increasingly being used as a “weapon of war” in Sudan to terrorise the civilian population, a UN report says. The violence is “unprecedented in terms of the scale, prevalence and brutality of its widespread use as a weapon of war”, the report adds. Sudan has been hit by a devastating civil war since 2023, following a fallout between the army the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Meanwhile, the UK and six other European powers have added their voice to calls for an immediate halt to violence in el-Obeid city as fears grow that the RSF is preparing for a major assault to capture it. … In its report, the UN Human Rights Office said it had verified 546 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, including gang-rape and sexual slavery, in Sudan since the war started more than three years ago. It affected at least 838 victims – 539 women, 284 girls, eight men and seven boys. The figures represent “only the tip of the iceberg”, as “persistent under-reporting has obscured the full scale of the prevalence of sexual violence”, the report said. Most of the verified cases were attributed to fighters in the RSF and allied militias, but the army and its allies were also accused of carrying out sexual violence, the report added. BBC
Nigeria: Tinubu Transmits State Police Framework to Senate
President Bola Tinubu has transmitted a constitutional amendment bill seeking the establishment of state police to the Senate. The proposed legislation seeks to amend relevant provisions of the Constitution to provide the legal framework for the creation of state police in Nigeria. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, disclosed this in a letter read during an emergency plenary session on Tuesday. Although the bill was transmitted with its various clauses, Mr Akpabio did not disclose their details. He only stated that the relevant provisions were attached to the proposed legislation. In the letter, Mr Tinubu said his administration was committed to reorganising Nigeria’s security architecture to adequately protect the lives and property of citizens. … The Senate had on 11 June passed for second reading a separate bill seeking to establish state police after most senators supported it during plenary. … The insurgence of banditry, kidnapping, and other terrorism activities have increased pressure from governors and political leaders for the creation of state police. In the absence of a formal state policing structure, some regions have established informal security outfits such as Amotekun in the South-west, Ebube Agu in the South-east, and Hisbah in the North-west. Premium Times
How Women Steer Youths Away from Gang Violence in Northeastern Nigeria
For years, youth gangs known locally as “Marlians” have terrorised neighbourhoods across Maiduguri and neighbouring Jere. Armed with knives, axes, machetes and locally made weapons, rival groups fought over territory, leaving residents trapped between fear and retaliation. The violence escalated to the point that in 2023, Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum ordered a widespread crackdown on the gangs after a series of deadly clashes. As the groups grew, residents accused members of using commercial tricycles to snatch phones, ambush passengers and carry out robberies across the city. But in communities shaped by more than a decade of conflict and displacement, an unlikely peace effort has emerged. Instead of relying solely on arrests and security crackdowns, local women, community leaders and former gang members are attempting to persuade young men to walk away from violence. … The breakthrough, community leaders say, came when they stopped treating gang members solely as a security problem. From 2018 to 2021, [Unified Members for Women Advancement (UMWA)], with support from Conciliation Resources, began holding regular dialogue sessions with gang leaders in 10 volatile communities. … While security forces pursued arrests, women in some of Maiduguri’s most volatile neighbourhoods began tackling a harder challenge: changing minds. Al Jazeera
South Africa: Police, Private Security Band Together to Avoid Repeat of July 2021 Unrest
South African law enforcement and the private security sector have tightened operational coordination ahead of the planned nationwide demonstrations on 30 June, with authorities warning that any criminal conduct will be met with a decisive response. Acting national police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane, said preparations were at an advanced stage, with operational plans finalised and resources mobilised across national, provincial, and local levels. She was addressing a joint briefing between the South African Police Service, the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority, and private security stakeholders in Pretoria on Wednesday. Dimpane said the memory of the July 2021 unrest, which left widespread destruction and exposed weaknesses in coordination and early warning systems, remained a driving force behind current preparations. “Those events exposed gaps in coordination, communication and collaboration. We cannot afford a repeat,” she said, adding that no single organisation could manage threats of that scale alone. News24
Inside the Containers: The Atrocity at the Heart of the Western Gas Project in Mozambique
On the night of 21 June 2021, [hundreds of civilians] near the town of Palma, fled into the bush with around 500 others. Insurgents linked to the local group known as al-Shabab – unrelated to the Somali group of the same name – had taken control of much of the area around TotalEnergies’ LNG site at Afungi following the March 2021 attack on Palma. A week later, text messages from the Mozambican army told civilians to seek sanctuary at the military base at Patacua, near the project’s main entrance. Hundreds walked north and arrived on 1 July. There they found Mozambican commandos in red berets. What followed has been reconstructed from more than two dozen direct survivor accounts gathered across multiple investigations. … According to those accounts, the commandos systematically sexually assaulted women at Patacua and then detained approximately 200 men in two shipping containers at Quatro Caminho, a crossroads directly in front of the entrance to TotalEnergies’ Afungi compound, an area identified in TotalEnergies’ own reporting as under the protection of the Joint Task Force (JTF). The men were held for several weeks. An estimated 26 are believed to have survived. M28 Investigates
Why African States Keep Backing Beijing over Taiwan
Kenya’s deportation of a Taiwanese environmental scientist has highlighted a broader reality across Africa: governments increasingly see adherence to the One China policy as aligned with their economic and diplomatic interests. On June 15, Kenya deported the official after authorities said he had arrived for an oceans conference using a passport that Nairobi does not recognise for diplomatic travel. Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said an electronic travel authorisation (eTA) had been issued in error. … Kenya has not traditionally barred Taiwanese passport holders and its immigration portal continues to list Taiwan-issued passports. Official policy, however, is that such documents cannot be accepted for diplomatic travel because Kenya does not recognise Taiwan diplomatically. … Kenya’s position mirrors that of most African governments. … In many cases, political support has been accompanied by practical measures. South Africa downgraded Taiwan’s liaison office and relocated it from Pretoria to Johannesburg. Earlier this year, Mauritius, Seychelles and Madagascar reportedly denied air navigation permits to Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te during travel plans linked to a visit to Eswatini. The East African
Eleven More Bodies of Migrants Wash Ashore from Capsize Last Week off Libya
Eleven more bodies of migrants washed ashore off a city in eastern Libya in recent days after their boat capsized last week, bringing the total recovered to 26 with dozens more feared lost at sea, medical and security sources said on Tuesday. Last week, 15 bodies of migrants including a girl were recovered from several places along the coastline of Tobruk, a city near the Egyptian border. Ten survivors were rescued, who said the vessel was carrying about 61 people, a navy source said. The sources said the further 11 people had been found since Sunday when the body of a woman was recovered. Libya has become a transit route for migrants, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa, risking their lives to flee to Europe across desert and sea in the hope of escaping conflict and poverty. The Coast Guard in Tobruk posted pictures showing members of its search and rescue department along with Red Crescent volunteers recovering bodies and wrapping them in white cloth before placing them at the back of vehicles. A medical source said the bodies were all decomposed, while another medical source added that “all the bodies are buried on the same day or the day after the recovery due to bad odors and the disappearance of the bodies’ features.” Reuters
A Former Zambian President’s Family Can Finally Choose where He’s Buried after Yearlong Legal Battle
A legal battle over where former Zambian President Edgar Lungu’s remains will be buried is over, more than a year after he died, as South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday in favor of his family and rejected the Zambian government’s claim of custody over his body. The ruling overturned a lower South African court’s decision that ordered the family to hand over Lungu’s remains to the Zambian government for repatriation. Lungu died in South Africa on June 5, 2025, at age 68. The Zambian government wanted his body to be buried at a cemetery set aside for the African nation’s leaders, but his family preferred to bury him in South Africa. The dispute saw Lungu’s bitter rivalry with political opponent and current Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema continue after his death. His body has been at a mortuary while the legal battle played out. Lungu’s family said it was honoring his last wishes that Hichilema come nowhere near his body and not preside over a state funeral for him in Zambia. AP