Sudan Civilian Bloc to Bypass Appointed PM, Send Peace Plan to Warring Sides
A major Sudanese civilian coalition said on Wednesday it would not recognise the country’s army-appointed prime minister and will instead send its proposal for ending a 14-month-long war directly to the rival military factions. The Civil Democratic Alliance “Somoud” (Resilience), a pro-democracy group led by former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, finalised a political vision last week to end the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A senior Somoud leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the coalition would not submit the plan to Prime Minister Kamil Idris, who was appointed by the army-aligned government and is based in Port Sudan. “Somoud does not recognise any government formed in Port Sudan or anywhere else inside the country,” the leader said. Instead, the final version of the peace plan will be sent to the leadership of both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, coalition spokesman Bakry Eljack said…The move comes as Somoud leaders conduct a diplomatic tour of African capitals. Al-Jack confirmed the coalition’s leadership was currently in South Africa, where they met with President Cyril Ramaphosa this week, and that the next stop would be Morocco. Sudan’s foreign ministry, which represents the army-led government, announced on Sunday that it rejected any official engagement by foreign countries with the Somoud alliance. Somoud’s leadership is based mainly in exile in countries such as Egypt, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Sudan Tribune
Sudan’s Army Says It Seized Positions in Blue Nile State
Sudan’s army said on Wednesday it had captured several positions in the southern Blue Nile state from an alliance of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and a major rebel faction. The announcement marks a potential shift in the region, where the RSF had gained ground in late 2024. In a statement, army spokesman Brigadier General Nabil Abdallah said forces from the 4th Infantry Division had “cleared the Baldago area and its surroundings… of remnants of the Daglo family’s militia and the forces of Joseph Tuka.” Joseph Tuka is a senior leader in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) faction led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, which forged a military and political alliance with the RSF…The RSF had previously taken control of several areas in Blue Nile after inflicting defeats on the army in neighbouring Sennar state in late 2024. In recent months, however, the army has pushed the RSF back towards towns near the border with South Sudan. Fighting in the Blue Nile region has displaced more than 100,000 people to the state capital, Damazin, according to humanitarian reports. Sudan Tribune
At Least 16 People Killed and 400 Injured in Kenyan Protests
At least 16 people have been killed and 400 injured in Kenya as a nationwide demonstration to honour those killed during last year’s anti-government protests turned chaotic, with police clashing with protesters in different parts of the country. Amnesty International Kenya’s executive director, Irũngũ Houghton, told Reuters the death toll had been verified by the government-funded Kenya national commission on human rights. “Most were killed by police,” he said…Wednesday’s protests come against a backdrop of demonstrations last year prompted by proposed tax increases, in which dozens of people died and many more disappeared. The street protests reduced over time, but killings, arrests and disappearances continued, triggering more anger towards the authorities. Two incidents this month – the death of the teacher Albert Ojwang in police custody after reportedly criticising a senior police official on social media, and the police shooting of the vendor Boniface Kariuki at close range during a protest over Ojwang’s death – have further inflamed public anger. The Guardian
Kenya Media Ordered To Stop Live Coverage of Protests: Communications Authority
The Kenyan government ordered TV and radio stations to immediately stop broadcasting protests on Wednesday marking a year since massive anti-government demonstrations. The Communications Authority of Kenya said live coverage of the protests was in breach of constitutional rules…Most Kenyan media appeared to be continuing with live coverage despite the order. The Standard Group, which runs TV, radio and a newspaper, said in a statement that it was an attempted “news blackout” and that it would continue broadcasting. It said it had information that the Communications Authority had “ordered signal carriers to deplatform any media house doing live broadcasts”. The Standard Group said “similar threats” were made at the height of the 2024 protests. Amnesty International condemned the ban, saying “silencing the press is not the solution”. AFP
Burkina Faso Accused of ‘Silence’ on Missing Reporter
A year after the disappearance of a journalist in Burkina Faso, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned what it termed the ruling junta’s “unacceptable silence” on the issue. The press freedom watchdog said it had brought up the case of Serge Oulon in an official letter to the Burkinabe ambassador to Senegal. RSF said in a statement that despite multiple demands for an official response from authorities, they had “to date, shown unacceptable silence” on the matter. The past year has seen several reported kidnappings of vocal opponents of the military authorities both in and beyond the capital Ouagadougou. On June 24, 2024, Oulon was “abducted from his home by about 10 armed men” who claimed to be from the National Intelligence Agency, according to RSF. The group added that Burkinabe authorities “accepted” his forced enlistment into the army in October. The watchdog called on the Burkinabe ambassador to Senegal, Saidou Maiga, to “provide answers” on the case of Oulon and other missing reporters and their conditions…Oulon, who edits investigative bimonthly L’Evenement, had notably conducted a probe into suspected embezzlement by a high-ranking officer…According to RSF, three other journalists and columnists were “victims of enforced disappearance” in June and July 2024, while three others have been requisitioned into the army since March…Since Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power in a 2022 coup, Burkina Faso has suspended several media outlets — particularly foreign ones — accusing them of hampering junta attempts to tackle jihadist violence. AFP
UN Experts Pressure Guinea Over ‘Enforced Disappearances’
A group of United Nations experts have written to Guinea’s ruling junta to raise concerns about the alleged enforced disappearance of three human rights defenders, two of whom remain missing. Three UN special rapporteurs — on torture, on freedom of association, and on human rights defenders — and the UN working group on enforced disappearances, said their joint letter had gone unanswered. The experts raised concerns about “allegations of the abduction, enforced disappearance, and torture of human rights defender Abdoul Sacko, as well as the prolonged enforced disappearance of human rights defenders Oumar Sylla and Mamadou Billo Bah”. If the allegations were confirmed, the letter said, Guinea’s government “would have seriously violated fundamental human rights and its commitments under international human rights law”…A well-known critic of Guinea’s military rulers, Sacko was abducted in February by masked assailants who broke into his home through the ceiling, sparking an outcry across Guinea. He was discovered “tortured” and in a “critical state”, his lawyers said the following day. Sacko’s Forum of Active Forces movement, which calls for the return of civilian rule in Guinea, denounced his disappearance as a “kidnapping” and pointed the finger at the ruling junta…The experts said they were concerned that the enforced disappearances “appear to illustrate a pattern… aimed at silencing members of civil society, the political opposition, and dissent”, and deterring people from “speaking out, demonstrating peacefully, assembling, and participating in public and political life in Guinea”. AFP
‘You’ll Get the Bill Soon’: Ukraine Warns Africa over Russia’s Embrace
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has warned African countries deepening ties with Moscow that while Kremlin-backed deals may seem beneficial now, they will carry a heavy cost in the future. ‘Look at the facts,’ Sybiha told a group of visiting African journalists in Kyiv on Friday…Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many African countries have opted for a neutral stance, often abstaining from UN General Assembly resolutions condemning Moscow…But that neutrality has provided fertile ground for Russia to grow its influence. From arms deals and military training to disinformation campaigns and trade agreements, Moscow has worked aggressively to present itself as a reliable alternative to the West…Ukraine has, in recent months, stepped up its diplomatic overtures to Africa, seeking to counter Russia’s narrative and rebuild historical ties forged during the Cold War when many African students studied in Soviet and Ukrainian universities. The Africa Report
State-backed Militia Kills More Than 100 Nigerian ‘Bandits’
Government-sponsored vigilantes in northwest Nigeria killed more than 100 gang members in a gun battle earlier this week, a local official said late Wednesday. Members of Zamfara Civilian Protection Guard (CPG), a state-backed militia, stormed the stronghold of Bello Turji, a notorious “bandit” kingpin, engaging his fighters in hours-long gunfight that left scores dead, said Ahmad Manga, security adviser to the state governor of Zamfara. AFP
Uganda: NRM Fronts Museveni as NUP Backs Bobi Again
The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and National Unity Platform (NUP) have picked President Museveni and Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine as their respective sole candidates in the 2026 presidential race. This will be the second time the two political foes will face off after a hotly contested 2021 election…Addressing his supporters, Mr Kyagulanyi promised to end Museveni’s 40-year rule in what he called a protest vote. “We are ready and good to go, to end the 40-year rule of Mr Museveni and the suffering of Ugandans,” Mr Kyagulanyi said as he reminded NUP members of what he called illegal arrest and detention of his comrades, including Yasin Ssekitoleko alias Machete; Edward Ssebuufu, alias Eddie Mutwe; John Bosco Kibalama, among others…More presidential hopefuls are expected to join the race when the National Electoral Commission opens the window for nomination in October. Monitor
Eritrea Seeks to End Mandate of UN Expert Investigating Abuses, Document Shows
Eritrea is trying to cancel the mandate of a U.N. expert investigating alleged abuses, a document sent to the U.N. Human Rights Council showed, in a rare move that Western diplomats fear may set a precedent for states looking to escape scrutiny. The Special Rapporteur, a position currently held by Sudanese human rights lawyer Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, is mandated to document violations in Eritrea, where civil society groups such as Human Rights Watch say impunity is widespread. In a May report he described the situation as “critical”, highlighting cases of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and the use of lengthy national and military service terms that are driving thousands to flee…Eritrea, which has long opposed the mandate, sent a large delegation to champion its proposal at a U.N. meeting in Geneva on Monday and voiced opposition to investigations targeting individual countries’ records…The U.N. expert position was set up in 2012 by a group of African states and has been renewed annually by the Geneva-based council in an effort led recently by the European Union. But this year, Eritrea beat them to it and instead tabled a rival motion to discontinue the mandate, the document showed. While states subject to U.N. investigations often lobby against them or try to dilute them, rights experts say there has never before been a proposal to end a mandate put before the council in its nearly 20-year history and worry it could embolden states looking to block accountability efforts. In 2023, Ethiopia tried to end a mandate early, before backing off…A vote is expected next month. Reuters
Angola, Zambia Push Lobito Corridor Rail Project as Financing Talks Advance
Zambia hopes to start work on the Lobito Corridor railway connecting its copper belt to Angola’s Atlantic coast by the third quarter of 2026, Transport Minister Frank Tayali said, as the project moves forward amid financing negotiations. The corridor, which will link Zambia’s Chingola region to Angola’s Benguela railway line at Luacano, is expected to span over 530 km and serve as a key export route for copper and agricultural goods. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the U.S.-Africa summit being held in Luanda, Tayali expressed optimism about the multinational project, noting interest from the United States, the European Union, and regional stakeholders…Massano also confirmed that Angola is advancing on a planned $500 million World Bank funding, with requirements expected to be fulfilled by the end of the year…Asked whether the country had ruled out an IMF programme, Massano said Angola remains open to dialogue with multilateral organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, to consolidate public finances if necessary. Reuters
Afreximbank Prepares to Appoint New Leader
The African Export-Import Bank will this week appoint a new president after a credit downgrade by Fitch Ratings this month sparked heightened scrutiny of the way the continent’s main trade lender operates. Shareholders will pick a new leader on Saturday, at the end of this week’s gathering in Abuja. The outgoing president, Nigerian banker Benedict Oramah, has led the institution since 2015, after rising to the top job over a two-decade career. He helped to raise Afreximbank’s assets to $40 billion last December, from under $6 billion at the end of 2014. The next leader will face the challenge of restoring confidence in the lender after a scathing Fitch assessment that said it had “weak risk management policies” and faced “high solvency risks.” The downgrade to a notch above junk was based on loans extended to countries that have defaulted on their obligations. The bank said Fitch’s analysis was “erroneous.” Semafor