Republic of Congo Votes in an Election that’s Expected to Extend Incumbent President’s 42-year Rule
Ballot counting began Sunday after polls closed in The Republic of Congo, where President Denis Sassou N’Guesso is seeking a fifth consecutive term. Results are expected within two weeks. The elections were marked by a low turnout, as locals said they did not believe the election would result in a change in leadership from Sassou N’Guesso, who has ruled for 42 years. Opposition parties called for a boycott of the election. Six other candidates challenged the 82-year-old for the top job in the Central African country that boasts one of the largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa. But analysts say none of them can mount a significant challenge against the incumbent. The internet was shut down across the country as usual during the presidential election and traffic was restricted across the capital. … Sassou N’Guesso, running for the Congolese Party of Labor, first came to power in 1979 and ruled until 1992 when he organized the country’s first multi-party elections. He returned to power as a militia leader following a four-month civil war in 1997. A constitutional referendum in 2015 removed presidential age and term limits, allowing him to run again. … The election is the latest in a trend of octogenarian African leaders clinging to power. Sassou N’Guesso is the third-longest-serving African president, only behind Cameroon’s Paul Biya and Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. AP
Nearly 1,300 Killed in Niger’s Tillabéri as Jihadist Attacks Surge
In less than a decade, the Tillabéri region in western Niger has become the bloody frontline of a conflict between Niger and its neighbours against jihadist groups. … Despite coming to power through a 2023 coup promising to curb violence, Niger’s military junta has struggled to contain fighters from the Islamic State and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM). Years after jihadists first arrived in the region in 2017, the vast Tillabéri area had become by 2025 the deadliest part of the central Sahel for civilians, according to the conflict monitor ACLED. That makes it the most lethal region in an area that the Global Terrorism Index has described as the “global epicentre of terrorism” for two consecutive years. Of the 1,939 deaths recorded in Niger last year by ACLED, nearly 1,300 occurred in the Tillabéri region. About half resulted from clashes between jihadist groups and Nigerien forces, while the other half came from attacks targeting civilians, ACLED analyst Heni Nsaibia told AFP. … Although ACLED attributes most of the violence to jihadist groups, it has also accused the Nigerien army in some cases of violence against civilians. To protect themselves, many residents have formed self-defence militias. The surge in violence in Tillabéri is partly explained by its strategic location at the crossroads of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, where jihadists also move freely, Nsaibia said. Africanews with AFP
Armed Group Killed Security Personnel in an Ambush in North-central Nigeria, Authorities Say
Gunmen ambushed and killed security personnel who were on patrol in communities in Nigeria’s Plateau state, according to the state government. The government did not specify the number of casualties, but the Kanam Development Association (KADA), a local group, claimed 20 personnel, including two senior military officers and eight local security operatives, were killed in the ambush. The ambush happened on Friday around Wanka, Kyaram and Gyambau communities located in the Kanam area of Plateau state. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The state government on Sunday condemned the attack and said the security agencies are implementing measures to intensify surveillance and reinforce security presence across vulnerable communities. … Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction known as Islamic State West Africa Province. There is also Lakurawa, as well as other armed groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and illegal mining. The crisis has worsened recently to include other militants from the neighboring Sahel region, including the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which claimed its first attack on Nigerian soil last year. Several thousand people in Nigeria have been killed, according to data from the United Nations. AP
‘We Will Go Wherever They Hide’: Rooting Out IS in Somalia
By April 2025, Gen Michael Langley, who was then the commander of United States Africa Command (Africom), told the US Congress that “ISIS controls their global network from Somalia”. … IS-Somalia, based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in the north-east of the country, was established by a Somali national, Abdulqadir Mumin. He once lived in Sweden and the UK and held British citizenship. In 2015 he appeared alongside 17 men in a video pledging allegiance to IS. Mumin had previously been a member of the militant group al-Shabab, which has been battling the government for two decades and still controls large parts of southern Somalia. IS-Somalia forced al-Shabab out of Puntland’s al-Miskad mountains, bringing in foreign recruits and gradually becoming a training and financial hub for IS’s wider network. The group had influence in the port city of Bosaso and a US treasury report stated that in 2022 IS-Somalia “raised $2m from extortion payments from local businesses, imports, livestock, and agriculture”. … After many months of fighting, the village was taken by the Puntland Defence Force in February 2025. The Americans had helped, targeting and killing three IS militants in May 2024. However, IS still has bases in the area. … In June 2025, the UN estimated that the Islamic State group had up to 800 fighters in Somalia, more than half of them foreign. The Puntland Forces claim to have killed hundreds of members of IS over the past 16 months, and have released images of more than 50 captured foreign fighters, from countries including Ethiopia, Morocco and Syria. BBC
UN Says over 200 Civilians Killed in 10 Days of Sudan Drone Strikes
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Thursday he was appalled by the devastating impact of increasing drone attacks on civilians in Sudan, following reports that more than 200 people were killed in Kordofan and White Nile since March 4. Turk said it was deeply troubling that warring parties continue to use increasingly powerful drones to deploy explosive weapons with wide-area impacts in populated areas despite multiple reminders and appeals. He renewed calls for full compliance with international humanitarian law, specifically the prohibition on targeting civilians and infrastructure. In West Kordofan, at least 152 civilians have reportedly been killed by Sudanese army drone strikes. This included at least 50 people killed when a market and a hospital were hit on March 4 in El Muglad. … The High Commissioner also expressed alarm at the recent expansion of the conflict into White Nile state, which has come under heavy attack by RSF drone strikes since March 4. Many homes, schools, and health facilities have been damaged or destroyed, compounding the impact on local communities. Sudan Tribune
Sudanese Rights Group Emergency Lawyers Splits amid Leadership Dispute
Sudan’s Emergency Lawyers group has formally split into two factions following a leadership struggle that saw the executive office expel three members who had moved to dissolve the current administration. The executive office announced on Sunday the dismissal of Noon Kashkoush, Hanan Hassan, and Suhair Saeed Adam. It accused them of violating the organization’s bylaws and undermining its unity. The office stated that the move was essential to preserve organizational integrity and discipline. It added that the expelled members have 15 days to appeal the decision. Kashkoush told Sudan Tribune that the expulsion was a retaliatory move following a general assembly meeting that withdrew confidence in the executive office and elected a new leadership team. She acknowledged the internal division but emphasized the group’s commitment to transparency. The general assembly issued a statement on Saturday regarding a meeting held on March 9 to review the status of the executive office appointed in 2024. It announced that it had dismissed the remaining members and elected a new 13-member body. … The Emergency Lawyers group has been a prominent voice in documenting human rights violations against civilians in Sudan. The organization is well-known for providing free legal defence to victims appearing before the courts. Sudan Tribune
Uganda Opposition Leader in Hiding Says Left Country
Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, who has been in hiding since a January presidential election he alleged was stolen, announced Saturday that he has left the country. Wine, 44, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, went into hiding after a January 15 election in which President Yoweri Museveni, 81, was re-elected for a seventh term. Observers and NGOs have criticised the results of the polls, which the opposition has denounced. “Fellow Ugandans and friends of Uganda all over the world, by the time you see this video, I will have left the country,” Wine said in a video published on X. Wine has not appeared in public since he fled, nor indicated where he is. His lawyer had urged the UN and the international community to seek guarantees for his safety after deadly threats following elections marred by repression and an internet blackout. In the video Saturday, Wine said he plans to advocate for sanctions against Uganda. His deputy, Lina Zedriga, would assume the presidency of the National Unity Platform (NUP) party in his absence, he added. … The Ugandan president’s son and army chief, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, 51, known for his often vulgar posts on social media, had said on X that he wanted Wine dead, a message he has since deleted. He had also hailed the deaths of 30 opposition members and the arrest of some 2,000 of their supporters following the vote. AFP
Rwanda Threatens to Withdraw Its Counterinsurgency Troops from Mozambique
Rwanda will withdraw its counterinsurgency troops from Mozambique if the mission’s foreign backers don’t maintain “sustainable funding,” the foreign minister said on Saturday. … Last week, the U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions on “several senior Rwandan officials for fueling instability” in eastern Congo, intensifying pressure on the East African country after sanctions that targeted Rwanda’s military. The unnamed Rwandan officials allegedly support Congo’s M23 rebel group, which the U.S. government says persists despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement signed in December between the governments of Rwanda and Congo. Eastern Congo’s M23 rebellion has caused the death or displacement of thousands of people. Congo, the U.S. and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing M23, which has grown from hundreds of members in 2021 to around 6,500 fighters, according to the U.N. … In Mozambique, however, Rwandan troops are helping to deter a jihadi insurgency launched in 2017 in Cabo Delgado. The insurgent group, known as Islamic State-Mozambique, gained notoriety when it launched a 12-day attack on the coastal town of Palma in 2021, killing dozens of security officers, local civilians and foreign workers — and forcing French energy company TotalEnergies to halt a $20 billion offshore liquified natural gas project nearby. That project is key to Mozambique’s development — one reason authorities there welcomed the deployment of Rwandan peacekeepers in July 2021. AP
ADF Rebels Stage Deadly Attack on DR Congo Mines, Says Government
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a group formed by Ugandan rebels attacked gold mining sites near the town of Muchacha in Ituri province on Wednesday night, the government said in a statement. Eastern DRC has been gripped by three decades of conflict involving various armed groups, militias and army troops. The ADF has been accused of massacres and pillaging in Ituri and the neighboring province of North Kivu. … Local police chief Matadi Muyapandi said the area targeted was home to “major gold-mining activity” and a Chinese-run mine. He said fighters had ambushed soldiers sent to combat the rebels, leaving seven troops wounded. … Since 2021, the Ugandan army has been deployed in the northern part of North Kivu and in Ituri to fight the ADF, alongside Congolese forces. But the joint operation has not stopped the violence. The Congolese army, already grappling with the M23 armed group, has struggled to respond to attacks by the ADF, which operates in small groups and hides in the region’s dense forests. Le Monde with AFP
South Sudan: Women’s Coalition Urges Time-Bound Political Dialogue
Women’s groups in South Sudan on Friday called for an urgent and inclusive political dialogue to complete pending tasks under the peace agreement and ensure credible elections scheduled for December this year. The call came in a communiqué issued at the end of a three-day meeting in Juba by women signatories to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, together with the South Sudan Women’s Coalition for Peace, the South Sudan Women’s Union, civil society groups, mediators, business leaders and faith-based representatives. Rita Lopidia, executive director of the Eve Organization for Women Development, who read the communiqué, said women were deeply concerned about the country’s deteriorating political and security situation. Participants cited recent violence in Akobo and Abiemnom, warning that the attacks risk renewed conflict and displacement, particularly affecting women, children and the elderly. They also highlighted a worsening economic and humanitarian crisis marked by hyperinflation, loss of livelihoods and the collapse of basic services. The women’s groups urged the government to immediately launch a time-bound leadership dialogue to resolve outstanding issues in the peace agreement and prepare for credible elections. They said no further extension of the transitional period should be accepted. Radio Tamazuj
‘Never Forget’: Ivory Coast Commemorates 2016 Jihadist Attack on Resort
Ivory Coast on Friday commemorated the 19 victims of a jihadist attack on a popular beach resort a decade ago. Three attackers wielding assault rifles stormed the beach at Grand-Bassam, popular with foreigners and 40 kilometres east of the main city of Abidjan, on March 13, 2016 before attacking restaurants. The 45-minute bloodbath ended when Ivorian security forces shot the attackers dead. The assault was the first jihadist attack in Ivory Coast, one of west Africa’s economic powerhouses. The country has largely escaped the jihadist violence that regularly hits neighbours Burkina Faso and Mali. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), claimed responsibility for the attack, whose victims comprised nine Ivorians, four French citizens, a Lebanese, a German, a Macedonian, a Malian, a Nigerian and one person who could not be identified. “This attack was not only against people,” Deputy Prime Minister Tene Birahima Ouattara said at the official ceremony. “It was against what defines the Ivorian nation: our cultural diversity, our history open to the world, our legendary hospitality and our joy of living,” he added, in front of a memorial honouring the 19 dead. The attack was in response to anti-jihadist operations in the Sahel by France and its allies. It targeted Ivory Coast for having handed over AQIM operatives to Mali. Ten men have since been jailed for life for their role in the attack, including six in absentia. AFP
South African Soldiers Dismantle Illegal Mining Operations near Johannesburg as Miners Flee
South African soldiers deployed to high-crime areas have dismantled illegal gold mining operations in a community near Johannesburg, forcing some illegal miners to flee and abandon their equipment. Police and the army recovered various tools used by illegal miners, including generators and drill machines — equipment documented by an Associated Press photographer on Thursday. Makeshift trenches with food supplies and utensils belonging to the miners were also dismantled, with clothing items left behind after the miners fled the site in Randfontein, about 40 kilometers to the west of Johannesburg. The operations were part of a rare move by the government to deploy soldiers in some of the country’s most crime-ridden areas, including in the Western Cape province that includes the city of Cape Town and the economic hub province of Gauteng. With dozens of abandoned mine shafts lining the outskirts of Johannesburg, illegal mining is rife in the area as heavily armed crime syndicates and informal miners known as “zama zamas” enter the shafts in search of leftover deposits of gold or other precious minerals. It is illegal to mine without a government license, and in some places, the conditions are dangerous. AP
Senegal to Take Back Assets of Phosphate Giant ICS
Senegal’s government said on Friday it would take back all the assets of ICS — one of Africa’s biggest phosphate fertiliser producers -– ending the licence to control it held by Asian group Indorama Ventures. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko issued a statement saying there had been major irregularities at ICS (Industries Chimiques du Senegal). In September 2024, recently elected President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a Sonko ally, announced a sweeping review of contracts and agreements signed with foreign partners. This was an election promise made by PASTEF, the party to which Faye and Sonko belong, designed to bring more benefit to the country’s 18 million people. Senegal faces substantial debt, with the government accusing the previous administration of having concealed the extent of the budgetary situation. Its leading industrial complex was taken over in 2014 by the Asian petrochemical group Indorama and employs thousands of people in the west African country. Late on Thursday, Sonko told a press conference the government had renegotiated a string of contracts -– mainly with foreign firms — in key sectors including mining, and withdrawn dozens of licences where companies had breached regulations. AFP