South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi Will Withdraw Troops from Conflict-Torn Eastern Congo
African leaders on Thursday announced the withdrawal of thousands of troops from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi who were sent to quell insurgencies in mineral-rich eastern Congo, where M23 rebels have killed some of the peacekeepers while overrunning the region this year. Troops from the three countries were sent in 2023 under the banner of the Southern African Development Community, or SADC, but public opposition to the deployment has surged since 14 South African and three Malawian peacekeepers were killed by the rebels in January. The decision was announced after a virtual meeting of the 16-member bloc, which also includes Congo, and came a day after Angola announced it would host peace talks next week between the Congolese government and the M23 rebels. No timetable was announced for the pullout of troops, who have numbered up to 3,000, but the SADC said in a statement that it would be a “phased withdrawal.” AP
Rwanda-backed M23 Welcomes Talks to End DR Congo Conflict
The Rwanda-backed M23 armed group cautiously welcomed Thursday the prospect of direct negotiations with the Congolese government to end the conflict in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo…On Tuesday, Angola said it would host talks in a bid to halt the fighting, later giving a date of March 18 for the beginning of negotiations…In a statement the M23 said it “welcomed favourably” the announcement of the talks, to be held in the Angolan capital Luanda. The armed group nonetheless raised several “concerns”, urging Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi to “publicly and unequivocally express his commitment to direct negotiations” as an “absolute necessity”. Tshisekedi had previously refused to engage in direct dialogue with the M23, which he has repeatedly branded a “terrorist” group. But Angolan President Joao Lourenco had said Tuesday that “direct negotiations” between the two sides would take place, after receiving Tshisekedi for discussions. Tshisekedi’s spokesperson, Tina Salama, said on X that his government took “note” of Angola’s efforts but would not be drawn on the specifics. AFP
Rwanda Latest Country to Sign Defense Cooperation with Ethiopia
Field Marshal Berhanu Jula, Chief of General Staffs of Ethiopia National Defense Forces (ENDF), and Lieutenant General Mubarak Muganga, Army Chief of Staff of Rwanda have signed a defense cooperation on Thursday to collaborate in various military sectors…The agreement covers cooperation in areas including counterterrorism, training, and related military capacity building programs. Brigadier General Patrick Karuretwa, Director of Rwanda Defense Force’s International Military Cooperation, reinforced Maj. Gen. Teshome’s comments on the “strong and long-standing relationship” between the two. He also acknowledged Ethiopia as a country that has always been “quick to support Rwanda in times of need” and reaffirmed Rwanda’s commitment to strengthening its military ties with Ethiopia. Addis Standard
Ethiopia: Why Fear of a Return to Full Conflict Is Growing in Tigray
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) – with the approval of Debretsion Gebremichael, the chairman of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – seized control of several major towns, including Adigrat, Tigray’s second-biggest town, defying the Interim Regional Administration of Tigray, headed by Getachew Reda. Getachew requested an urgent intervention from the Ethiopian government, warning of a potential “second round of destruction” and referring to the TDF as “agents of a backward and criminal clique” who do not represent the people or the Interim Administration. The TPLF, in a statement, rejected “direct and indirect calls for third-party intervention” in the region, warning that it would pose a “serious threat” to the 2022 truce. The seizure of towns comes after Getachew on Monday announced the suspension of three senior generals of the TDF, the region’s de facto army, accusing them of plotting to undermine the regional government. It followed a provocative statement by the generals on 23 January, appearing to support Debretsion, a shift from position of neutrality in the leadership dispute in Tigray. The TDF’s senior leadership rejected the suspension, downplaying Getachew and the regional government’s authority to remove the generals. In response to the suspensions, the TDF occupied government buildings in the seized towns, forcibly expelling officials appointed by Getachew’s regional government and installing TPLF cadres in their place. The Africa Report
African Union Expresses ‘Deep Concern’ Over Crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray
The African Union said Friday it was following events in the Ethiopian region of Tigray with “deep concern”, as tensions between rival factions threaten a fragile peace agreement. “The African Union (AU) has been closely monitoring the evolving situation within the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) with deep concern,” it said in a statement. A peace agreement in 2022 ended a brutal two-year war between Tigrayan rebels and the federal government that claimed up to 600,000 lives, according to some estimates. But a failure to fully implement the terms has fuelled divisions within the Tigrayan political elite and combined with deteriorating ties between Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea to raise fears of a new conflict. AFP
Sudan War: Children Facing ‘Unimaginable Suffering’, Warns UNICEF Chief
Sudan is now the world’s largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Thursday. After two years of war, over 30 million people – more than half of them children – are living in the grip of mass atrocities, famine and deadly disease. “This is not just a crisis, it is a poly-crisis affecting every sector, from health and nutrition to water, education and protection,” Catherine Russell, UNICEF Executive Director, told ambassadors in the Security Council…Children are bearing the brunt of the violence. UNICEF has received alarming reports of grave violations against children, including killings, sexual violence and forced recruitment into armed groups. Between June and December 2024 alone, more than 900 cases of gross child rights violations were recorded, with 80 per cent involving killings or maiming…She recounted abhorrent testimony of rape, warning that an estimated 12.1 million women and girls – and increasingly men and boys – are currently at risk of sexual violence, an 80 per cent increase from last year. UN News
Suspected Jihadists Kidnap Dozens in Mali Bus Hold-up
Suspected jihadists abducted dozens of civilians after holding up a bus in the centre of jihadist-rocked Mali, an eyewitness and local sources told AFP Thursday. Tuesday’s attack saw a bus bound for the capital Bamako from the central town of Bankass “intercepted by a group of jihadists”, said local Bankass leader Abdalah Togo in a statement. A man passing by on the road told AFP he saw “five motorcycles and six people” by the bus at the time of the hold-up. “Other attackers were already on the bus checking the passengers,” the eyewitness added…”The kidnapped people are civilians,” the source added… A local official told AFP on Thursday that “buses coming from Bankass are often targeted by armed groups”, several kidnappings having taken place over the last three years…Another Bankass source suggested the abductions were reprisals. “They warned us not to mix with villages that have not signed a deal with them,” the source said. AFP
Nigeria: Notorious Bandit Terrorising Abuja, Kaduna Killed in Shootout
Dogo Saleh, a 21-year-old who leads an armed group terrorising communities in Abuja and Kaduna, has died from gunshot wounds sustained during a gun battle between his group and police operatives, according to an official statement. The police said Mr Saleh, born Salisu Mohammed, had been apprehended by the police and was leading a police team to his group’s hideout when they were ambushed. Abuja police spokesperson Josephine Adeh said Mr Saleh was arrested on 3 March when police operatives acted on intelligence about the infiltration of bandits into the Nigerian capital…The police said that a day after he was arrested, Mr Saleh led armed police officers to his gang’s den in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna, in an effort to arrest the other gang members. The team was ambushed by the suspected terrorists who tried to free Mr Saleh and a shootout ensued, the police said…Mr Saleh sustained gunshot wounds during the shootout from bullets believed to have been fired by his gang members…According to the police, Mr Saleh was involved in at least nine violent operations including kidnapping-for-ransom and killing. Premium Times
Women Step Into The Ring At West African Wrestling Tournament
Traditional west African wrestling — and the gargantuan, sometimes sumo-like men who step into the ring — captivates audiences across the region, from stadiums in Senegal to desert villages in Niger. This month’s ECOWAS wrestling tournament, however, marked the first time that the annual showdown featured a women’s division, drawing competitors from across the regional bloc to the Nigerian capital Abuja. “Women know how to fight. We just had to be given a chance,” 33-year-old Ivorian fighter Celine Bakayoko told AFP from the sidelines…Missing, however, was last year’s medal table-toppers, Niger. Run by military juntas, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali all left the bloc earlier this year after years of deteriorating relations with ECOWAS…Though envoys have been sent to bridge the divide, and ECOWAS officials at the tournament spoke of regional unity during the opening ceremony, none of the nations sent fighters to this year’s tournament. AFP
Dragged from a Taxi and Driven to the Border: Kenya’s ‘Safe’ Reputation Tainted by Forced Deportations
Dozens of activists, political opponents and asylum seekers have been abducted while living in Kenya over the past year, before, in some cases, reappearing in neighbouring African countries and elsewhere in the world. None of the alleged victims are believed to have gone through a formal deportation process. Last July, 36 members of the Ugandan opposition party were arrested and deported to Uganda, while in October, four Turkish asylum seekers were abducted in Nairobi and returned to Turkey. One of the most high-profile abductions was the Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who disappeared after attending a book launch in Kenya last November before reappearing in a Ugandan military prison a few days later. His wife claims he was driven over the border at night by Ugandan security operatives…Human rights campaigners say the spate of abductions in Kenya are part of a growing and worrying trend of transnational repression – the state-led targeting of refugees, dissidents and ordinary citizens living in exile – in the country. The Guardian
Namibia Records First Cholera Case In Nearly A Decade
Namibia has recorded its first case of cholera in nearly a decade, in a region bordering Angola where an outbreak has killed at least 237 people, the African Union’s health agency said Thursday…”For the first time after almost 10 years… Namibia reported the first cholera case two days ago,” said Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC), headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “The good news is that Namibia informed us that the person has recovered and been discharged from the hospital. But this was a major wake-up call for the country to strengthen its system and work on… the cholera response,” he added during an online press briefing. The case in the southern African country concerns a 55-year-old woman who developed “acute watery diarrhea” in the Kunene region bordering Angola. Angola has been hit by a cholera epidemic since last year that has killed at least 237 people, many in the capital Luanda, according to the Africa CDC. The country struggles to cope with high poverty rates and poor sanitation, despite vast oil riches. Cases and the mortality rate are nevertheless declining, according to the CDC…The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced last year that cholera deaths increased by 71 percent compared to the previous year. The regions most affected by cholera have changed considerably, with a 32 percent drop in cases in the Middle East and Asia, against a 125 percent increase in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the WHO. AFP