UN Aid Chief Warns of Worsening Humanitarian Crisis in Rebel-held Eastern Congo
The United Nations’ humanitarian chief called Thursday for more international support for displaced people in Congo’s rebel-controlled east during his first visit to the central African country. “What I saw here is that the needs are enormous. The people need medicine, food, and protection. They are facing huge problems and challenges, and they need support,” Tom Fletcher, the head of the U.N. humanitarian agency, said after visiting refugee camps in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu. The decades-long conflict in eastern Congo escalated in January, when the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advanced and seized the strategic city of Goma in North Kivu province, followed by Bukavu in February. In February, the rebels closed settlement camps, leading to the displacement of more than 110,000 people in just a few days, according to the U.N. and locals…More than 4 million people have been displaced, including hundreds of thousands who fled homes this year. AP
Clashes Break Out in Togo’s Capital as Protesters Call for the President’s Resignation
Clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in several parts of Togo’s capital Lomé on Thursday, as President Faure Gnassingbé faced increasing pressure from critics over recent changes in the constitution that could effectively keep him in power indefinitely…Civil society groups and social media influencers had called for protests on June 26, 27, and 28, after the government’s clampdown on protests early this month. A coalition of political groups known as “Hands Off My Constitution” said in a Facebook post on Wednesday it “strongly urges Faure Gnassingbé to immediately and unconditionally release all of the roughly one hundred political prisoners, and to take urgent measures to restore purchasing power to the population. It called for an “unprecedented peaceful demonstration.” Togo’s leader Faure Gnassingbé, who has ruled since 2005 after the death of his father, was in May sworn in as President of the Council of Ministers. The powerful role has not official term limits and he is eligible to be re-elected by parliament indefinitely. Opposition politicians have denounced the move as a “constitutional coup.” AP
Wagner’s Red Room: How Russian Mercenaries Flaunt Their Crimes on Telegram
For several months, [Jeune Afrique] infiltrated a private Telegram channel linked to Russia’s Wagner Group. The findings are horrifying: routine torture, executions and desecration of corpses – particularly in Mali. The war crimes, laced with racism, are documented by the perpetrators themselves and shared with an audience that leans neo-Nazi…This Telegram channel is unlisted. It is accessible only via a link shared with subscribers of another Wagner-linked group. Its name: White Uncles in Africa 18+. Its aim is to share forbidden content that cannot be posted on public channels, with a small circle of fanatics. Most of this content is staged by the perpetrators of the violence themselves: the White Uncles – a nickname for a group of Wagner men operating on Malian territory. White Uncles in Africa 18+ is what is sometimes called a ‘red room’ – a hidden digital space where scenes of violent crime are broadcast, live or recorded… [Jeune Afrique] documented at least four other sequences showing acts akin to cannibalism. Desecration of bodies is a constant theme…Beheadings, regularly condemned by human rights groups in Mali, are common currency. [Jeune Afrique] noted at least 25 instances. In Mali, the Russian presence has meant a surge in violence. Deaths from the conflict more than doubled – from 864 in 2020 to 1,974 in 2024, according to ACLED, which tracks armed conflict. Wagner is believed to be directly responsible for at least 2,898 civilian deaths. Its scorched-earth and ultraviolent strategy has not altered the war’s trajectory. Now, as Africa Corps – the Kremlin’s new armed wing on the continent – takes over operations in Mali, Wagner’s mercenaries are packing up. The Africa Report
‘I Want My Wife to Know I’m Alive,’ Says Ghana’s Only POW in Ukraine
Joshua, now in his late 30s, worked for five years in Dubai as a fire and rescue officer. Like many Africans abroad, he harboured big dreams. ‘I decided to look for school to further my education,’ he says…By July 2024, Joshua was in Moscow with a short-term student visa, only to be told he was too late to register…Then came Kylian, a Nigerian acquaintance who offered him what seemed like a lifeline – a job as a security guard on lands ‘captured’ by the Russian military. The job came with promises of a fast-tracked Russian passport and a monthly salary of 195,000 rubles (around $2,480) …On 10 July 2024, Joshua signed a contract. Instead of guarding buildings, he was taken to Avangard for two weeks of military training, then to Rostov for weapons instruction. In Donetsk, he received two more weeks of frontline preparation. ‘The commander informed me that I will be taken to the frontline to fight,’ he says. ‘I had no choice [but] to obey. I was at a point of no return.’…Miraculously, Joshua survived…In his dazed escape attempt, he wandered unknowingly into Ukrainian-held territory. On 6 September 2024, he was captured…His tale is not isolated. Joshua is part of a growing number of young African men lured into the Russia-Ukraine war by unscrupulous recruiters. In late 2024, about 14 Ghanaians – duped into military service after being promised jobs in agriculture and security – pleaded publicly for help. Since then, nothing has been heard of them. With unemployment soaring across Africa, foreign conflict zones are increasingly preying on vulnerable young men. The Africa Report
African Union Court Denies Cote d’Ivoire Opposition Leaders’ Appeals
The African Union’s human rights court has rejected petitions by former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo and former prime minister Guillaume Soro to overturn bans on their running in the country’s upcoming presidential election. Gbagbo and Soro petitioned the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2020, arguing their rights had been violated by the Ivorian justice system, which has barred them from standing in the 25 October presidential election. The Tanzania-based court ruled Thursday that Gbagbo had provided insufficient evidence to challenge his ban and was not the victim of discriminatory treatment. It threw out Soro’s case, ruling he had not exhausted his appeals in Cote d’Ivoire. Gbagbo was the west African country’s leader from 2000 until he was forced from power in 2011 in a bloody civil war that brought current President Alassane Ouattara to power. Gbagbo, 80, has declared his candidacy for the October poll. While he was acquitted on charges of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, a conviction in Cote d’Ivoire stemming from the violent post-election crisis that ended his rule means he is ineligible to run. Soro, 53, a former prime minister and one-time rebel leader, was sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia in 2021 on charges of plotting a coup against President Alassane Ouattara. He lives in exile in Niger. RFI
Sudan: Darfur Armed Groups to Keep Cabinet Posts in New Government, Sources Say
Ministers from Darfur armed groups that are party to a peace deal are expected to retain their posts in a new Sudanese cabinet, sources familiar with the negotiations said on Wednesday, indicating a concession to the factions. Prime Minister Kamil Idris, who is forming a new government, was advised to keep the ministers after leaders of the signatory groups expressed discontent over a potential reshuffle, a source close to the prime minister said. The move comes as Idris takes the first steps to form a government of “independent, non-partisan technocrats” more than a month after being sworn in. On Tuesday, he appointed new ministers of defence and interior. Mohamed Zakaria, a spokesman for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of the key factions, said in a statement that the groups were “fully committed to the Juba Peace Agreement… including the executive positions established under it.” …Under the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement, which established a power-sharing arrangement among several armed factions, the signatory movements were granted 25% of the executive government seats. Sudan Tribune
UN Warns of Sudanese Conflict ‘Spill Over’ in CAR
The UN peacekeeping chief warned Thursday about potential spill over from Sudan’s war to undermine nascent stability in the Central African Republic, including paramilitary operations. Last week, an armed group attacked a patrol by the UN mission in the CAR, killing a Zambian peacekeeper. Among the world’s poorest countries, the CAR shares a border with Sudan, which has been plunged into devastating conflict between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix highlighted the armed group attacking the CAR mission during a Security Council meeting Thursday, and a report released by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’s office noted attacks in the region as well. “The security situation remains fragile in border areas,” Lacroix told the UN Security Council, referring to the CAR. “In the northeast, on the border with Sudan, instability is characterized by the overflow of Sudanese conflict, including incursions by armed groups,” he added. The Central African Republic is also reckoning with rising numbers of Sudanese refugees fleeing the conflict, with the UN report estimating 36,642 living in the country as of June 1. AFP
UN Expert Sounds Warning Over CAR 2025 Elections
The United Nations’ expert on rights in the Central African Republic warned Thursday that the country’s electoral body needed an urgent overhaul ahead of elections later this year. Yao Agbetse said the National Elections Authority (ANE), which organises elections, faced serious operational hurdles ahead of the legislative, presidential and local polls. “Persistent internal dysfunction has hampered its effectiveness, compromising the running of the electoral timetable,” he said. Agbetse called for a realistic, agreed electoral timetable and appealed to the international community to enhance support for CAR’s democratic institutions and ensure credible, inclusive and peaceful elections in line with international standards. The UN’s independent expert on human rights in the CAR called for an institutional overhaul of the ANE to boost its capacities and ensure transparent internal governance…Agbetse said that despite assurances provided by senior ANE officials during his mission to CAR in February, the holding of local elections on August 31 remains uncertain. He said a revised electoral register was fundamental for the electoral process, but the ANE had so far failed to produce even a provisional version. AFP
Cameroon Presidential Ally Quits and Announces Election Bid
A Cameroon minister who resigned this week on Thursday confirmed he will stand in this year’s presidential election, stating he wants to “put an end to the old system”. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, long an ally of veteran President Paul Biya, first announced his intention to stand in an open letter posted on social media on Wednesday evening, then confirmed his ambition in a live online broadcast 24 hours later. The former employment and vocational training minister is a well-known political figure in Cameroon and leads the Front for the National Salvation of Cameroon (FSNC), which has long been allied to Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM)…Tchiroma, 75, was transport minister from 1992 to 1996, then held the communications brief from 2009 to 2019, and was one of the government’s staunchest defenders…The CPDM has not yet announced its candidate, while the opposition is struggling to unite behind a consensus figure. Tchiroma’s candidacy comes as several longstanding supporters of Biya appear to be distancing themselves from the Cameroon leader. AFP
Norway To Extradite Rwanda Genocide Suspect
Norway will extradite a man sought by Rwanda for his suspected role in the country’s 1994 genocide, police said Friday…The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was detained in October 2022 by Norway’s criminal police Kripos. He was wanted by Rwanda for “committing a murder during the 1994 genocide”, Kripos said in a statement. The Oslo district court ruled in September 2023 that the conditions were met for the man’s extradition, a decision confirmed by an appeals court in April 2024. The suspect then lodged an appeal with Norway’s Supreme Court which was rejected in June 2024. With the man’s legal options exhausted, the justice ministry decided in February that the extradition could go ahead, a ruling ultimately confirmed by the government’s Council of State. AFP
As Kenya Protests Police Killings, Families Search for the Disappeared
No one seems to know what happened to Emmanuel Mukuria. Not his friends, who said they last saw him being dragged off the streets of the Kenyan capital by unidentified men during an anti-government protest. And not his family, which has spent a year searching for him…[At least 60 people were killed by security forces in the protests in Kenya last year] and more than 70 abducted, rights groups say — snatched off the streets by plainclothes officers and held incommunicado without charge or trial. Although most were ultimately released, at least 26 are still missing, according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, a state investigative body, leaving behind bereft families desperate for answers — and growing calls for accountability…Mukuria’s relatives had spent a month searching for him in morgues, hospitals and police stations when a bruised young man turned up at their house unannounced, according to Mukuria’s mother…The man told her that her son was still alive, that they had been held together with 200 other young men in Block L8 of the Industrial Area Remand Prison in Nairobi, a pretrial detention facility. The prisoners were kept in the dark, she remembers him telling her, and beaten as they were interrogated about who was funding the protests. After his July visit, the family immediately went to the prison, the first of more than a dozen visits. Each time, officials told them Mukuria was not there…Last month, Kenyan President William Ruto acknowledged the wave of disappearances for the first time but said all those taken had been returned to their families…Not everyone who disappeared was taken during the initial wave of protests. Some were taken months later…In total, 74 people have been “forcibly disappeared,” the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights said in April. Some of those who were released have returned with harrowing accounts of their time in detention. The Washington Post