Sudan: RSF Commander Vows to Continue Fight, Threatens New Offensives
The commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) vowed on Saturday to continue fighting and threatened new offensives, signalling a further escalation in the nearly two-year-old conflict. In a video statement, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemetti, said his forces would not withdraw from the presidential palace or the capital, Khartoum… The army has tightened its control around RSF elements in the presidential palace and Al-Mogran after regaining control of most of Khartoum Bahri and large parts of southern Khartoum and Omdurman…Hemetti said countries supporting the Sudanese army, including those providing food supplies, would “pay the price.”…He threatened to invade Port Sudan, a city in eastern Sudan used by the army as an administrative centre and a base for UN agencies and diplomatic missions. Sudan Tribune
Sudan: Army Advances in Central Khartoum, Tightening Siege on RSF
The Sudanese army advanced in central Khartoum on Sunday, tightening its siege on paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters stationed in the presidential palace and nearby government buildings, the army and witnesses said. On Friday, the commander of the army’s Armoured Corps, Nasr al-Din Abdel Fattah, said the military was nearing the completion of the third phase of its operations to retake the remaining parts of Khartoum state. Early Sunday, Armoured Corps soldiers moved from positions at Al-Hurriya Bridge, which links southern Khartoum to the city centre, and took control of key locations previously held by the RSF, according to pro-army sources…The Armoured Corps media office said the army had taken full control of the Sharoni bus station, the El Nilein Towers, and the Al-Musallamiya Bridge, all located near the presidential palace. Pro-army social media accounts reported that Armoured Corps troops had linked up with forces at the army’s General Command headquarters, cutting off the last remaining route used by the RSF. Sudan Tribune
Sudan Bans All Imports from Kenya after It Hosted Civil War Rivals
Sudan has suspended all imports from Kenya in protest after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who are fighting the army in a two-year civil war, were hosted in Nairobi. Last month, the RSF and its allied political and armed groups signed a founding charter in Kenya expressing the intention to form a parallel government in Sudan…The war-torn country imports several products from Kenya including tea, food items and pharmaceutical products…Both countries have traditionally enjoyed strong trade relations, with Kenya being an important partner for Sudan, particularly in agriculture and manufacturing. Kenya exports a range of goods to Sudan, with tea being its most significant export, followed by coffee, tobacco, and other products such as soaps, electrical equipment, and pharmaceuticals…Sudan is one of the top five destinations for Kenyan tea and producers are worried about the effects of the ban. BBC
Supermarket Guards, Truck Drivers and ‘Very Big Mistakes’: The Failed Role of Mercenaries in the Fall of Goma
The bulk of the mercenaries [in eastern DRC came from a] firm headed by Horațiu Potra, a Transylvanian and former French legionnaire, known for handling security for politicians and mining sites in Africa. At their height, Potra’s men in DRC, who were predominantly Romanian, numbered about 1,000. In security circles, they were known as “the Romeos”. The operation was sloppy, marred by pay disputes and equipment shortages. It deployed ex-members of the security forces but also untrained recruits, such as supermarket guards, according to a one-year joint investigation from the Guardian, Romania’s Public Record and Belgium’s Le Soir…As Congolese and allied military forces around Goma crumbled between 27 and 28 January, the Romeos made a run for the main UN base in the city centre, abandoning equipment, rifles and jeeps…M23 fighters then arrived at the UN base and gave the Romeos two hours to surrender…In 2022, word had spread quickly in Romanian security circles that Potra was recruiting. Underpaid men with mortgages and families jumped at the opportunity…The Romeos cooperated with local militias, providing money and ammunition, according to audio recordings and interviews. Some of the militias have been accused of war crimes, which could make the Romeos complicit, according to legal experts the Guardian spoke to. However, it is not clear which militia groups they cooperated with, as none of the fighters interviewed specified. The Guardian
Armed Groups Covet Cocoa in Eastern DR Congo
North Kivu is primarily rich in coltan and other minerals that have fuelled the fighting that has ravaged the region for the last three decades. Vast areas have been seized by the M23 rebel group in a lightning offensive since January including the capital Goma. But further north in Beni, cocoa, whose prices have soared on the world market in the last two years, also stokes the violence. Massacres committed by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels…have left thousands dead and prevented cocoa farmers from accessing their plantations for years…Cocoa production across the DRC remains relatively marginal, just over one percent of global production. But that is still enough to attract the attention of various armed groups in Beni who fuel smuggling networks to neighbouring Uganda, according to those involved in the sector…Even before the emergence of the ADF in the 2000s, the region was already plagued by attacks from the “sangabalende” –- criminal groups that specialised in cocoa theft and smuggling, said Richard Kirumba, Beni civil society president. AFP
Video of Burkina Faso Massacre Appears to Implicate Government-allied Militia, Watchdog Says
Video footage circulating on social networks of a recent civilian massacre in Burkina Faso appears to implicate government-allied militia, Human Rights Watch said, calling on authorities to investigate and prosecute all those responsible. According to testimonies collected by the watchdog, security forces and allied militias carried out large-scale operations in the Solenzo countryside on Monday and Tuesday, and targeted displaced Fulani in apparent retaliatory attacks against the community, which the government has long accused of supporting Muslim militants…[Burkina Faso] has been shaken by violence from extremist groups and the government forces fighting them, much of it spilling over the border with Mali, and by two ensuing military coups. The military junta, which took power in 2022, failed to provide the stability it promised. AP
Guinea Ex-president Says Junta Trying to Suppress Political Parties
Former Guinean President Alpha Conde, who was overthrown in a 2021 coup, said Saturday that the ruling junta was trying to “subjugate” the opposition after the military suspended his party. The military government led by General Mamadi Doumbouya said Friday it was suspending 28 political parties for three months, including two of the country’s leading formations: Conde’s Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG) and the Union of Republican Forces (UFR) party of Sidya Toure, who like Conde is living abroad. The military government claims these parties failed to meet their obligations to provide bank accounts or hold a congress over the past three months. The military also dissolved 27 parties and placed four other political groups under observation. It authorised 75 parties to continue political activities, including that of exiled opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo, on the condition that they hold a congress within the next 45 days. These decisions come amid a tense climate marked by the disappearance of several opposition leaders and severe restrictions on freedoms. AFP
Benin’s President Talon Rules Out Third Term
Benin President Patrice Talon on Friday said he would not stand for an unconstitutional third term in office but would be watching the choice of his successor closely. The former businessman has been in charge of the small west African nation since 2016 and his second term of office comes to end next year…The question over his succession was revived in September last year when one of his close friends, Olivier Boko, was arrested on suspicion of attempting a coup with the former sports minister Oswald Homeky. The two men were sentenced to 20 years in prison in January for “plotting against the authority of the state”…He said he would also be “careful” about the choice of his successor and intended to ensure that whoever took over does not want to reverse what he said was a decade of reforms…Talon went on to criticise “deteriorating” relations with Benin’s Sahelien neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso and the lack of security cooperation. AFP
Chadian Journalists on Russia ‘Collusion’ Charges Await Hearing
Three Chadian journalists accused of collusion with Russia remained in pre-trial custody on Friday, awaiting a hearing before an investigating magistrate, their lawyers said…Lawyer Alan Ndilyam said an estate agent was also remanded in custody at the same time on the same matter. A hearing before an investigating magistrate had been expected to take place on Thursday but did not go ahead…The estate agent is accused of having “acted as an intermediary to find the premises for the Russian House” cultural centre, Ndilyam said. All four “have had no contact with anyone whatsoever”, said Amos, adding: “No one has ever produced any document which comprises them nor any document proving that they have undermined the constitutional order.” Chadian press organisations have voiced alarm at the detentions while international media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called for an end to the media crackdown…Russia, Hungary and the United Arab Emirates are among those forging closer ties with Chad, which at the end of January saw the complete withdrawal of troops from its former colonial ruler France. AFP
Angola Refuses Entry to Opposition Leaders from across Africa
Angola is under fire after it denied entry to several senior African political figures set to attend a conference hosted by the country’s main opposition party. Unita said it had invited the politicians, including Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, Mozambique’s Venancio Mondlane and Botswana’s former President Ian Khama, to a summit on democracy…Delegates from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Sudan who had visas or were eligible for visa on arrival were deported, the Platform for African Democrats (Pad), a group of opposition parties across Africa, said in a statement. Khama, Colombia’s former President Andres Pastrana, Zanzibar’s first Vice-President Othman Masoud Othman and 24 others were detained at the airport for nine hours with no explanation. They were released but missed their connecting flights, according to Pad…All the deported leaders were part of a delegation invited by Unita to attend its 59th anniversary celebrations in Benguela province…The Angolan government has long been accused of shutting down dissent in order to maintain its hold on power. BBC
French Prosecutors Launch Manslaughter Probe against TotalEnergies over Mozambique Attack
French prosecutors said Saturday, March 15, they had opened a manslaughter investigation against oil giant TotalEnergies following a bloody 2021 jihadist attack in Mozambique…[M]ilitants killed dozens of people when they attacked the Mozambican port town of Palma in March 2021, sending thousands of people fleeing into the surrounding forest. The attack in Cabo Delgado province lasted several days. Some of the victims were beheaded. In October 2023, survivors and relatives of victims of the attack near a major gas field in northern Mozambique had launched legal action against the oil major, accusing it of failing to protect its subcontractors. The investigation into involuntary manslaughter and failure to assist persons in danger was launched on Friday…The attack triggered the deployment of forces from Rwanda and southern African countries, which have since helped Mozambique retake control of much of Cabo Delgado. Le Monde with AFP
Toxic Spill Tests Zambia‑China Partnership
The catastrophic failure of a tailings dam at Sino Metals’ Chambishi mine in Zambia’s Copperbelt, releasing over 50 million litres of acidic effluent into the Mwambashi River, has reignited concerns about environmental oversight amid the country’s push for record copper production. The spill poisoned fish and crocodiles, devastated farmland, and contaminated critical water sources affecting over 700,000 residents in Kitwe and nearby towns…Zambia’s ambitious goal to more than triple copper output by 2033 heavily depends on Chinese investment, crucial for both economic recovery and ongoing debt restructuring negotiations. However, the disaster at Chambishi underscores the risks inherent in this dependency. Chinese-owned mining companies in Zambia have a troubled history, repeatedly accused of flouting environmental and safety regulations with minimal consequences. Benefitting from preferential treatment within Zambia’s special economic zones, they face criticism for their environmental practices, often shielded by close relationships with local political elites. The Africa Report
Comoros Returns 28 Gold Bars to Madagascar That Soured Ties
The Comoros has returned to Madagascar 28 gold bars seized from smugglers at the main airport in 2021, both governments said Friday, concluding a saga that soured relations between the neighbours. The gold, weighing 49 kilogrammes, was discovered in the luggage of three people about to catch a flight from the Comoros to Dubai. The find uncovered a smuggling route by boat from Madagascar to the Comoros, about 800 kilometres away. Two of the men, from Madagascar, were swiftly repatriated to face trial. Five Comorans — including a former airport director and a customs officer — were arrested and sentenced to jail in 2022. However the Comoros held onto the gold, leading Madagascar to suspend sea and air links with its Indian Ocean neighbour. A statement issued by the governments of both countries said the gold had now been returned. AFP