Over 600 Sudanese Medical Staff Killed or Injured since War Began
At least 600 medical personnel have been killed or injured in Sudan since the outbreak of war in April 2023, the preliminary committee of the Sudanese Doctors Union said on Tuesday. The figures underscore the mounting risks for healthcare workers as the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) nears its third year. Adiba Ibrahim Al-Sayed, a member of the union’s preliminary committee and an internal medicine specialist, told Sudan Tribune that the committee recorded 222 deaths among medical staff while on duty. Another 378 personnel have been wounded between April 15, 2023, and March 2026. … Al-Sayed said more than 2,000 hospitals and health centres have been destroyed during the war. The destruction has triggered a collapse of the country’s health sector, leaving millions without access to basic medical care. Sudan Tribune
UN Records 42,000 Unaccompanied Sudanese Children as War Nears Third Year
At least 42,000 unaccompanied and separated children have been registered in Sudan and neighbouring countries as a result of the ongoing conflict, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday. As the war nears the end of its third year, Sudanese children have faced grave violations, including killing, maiming, and sexual violence, alongside being stripped of access to education and medical care. In a child protection briefing, UNHCR said it had identified 42,000 children separated from their families. Of these, 5,000 are within Sudan, while the remainder are among refugee populations in neighbouring states. … The report further cautioned that displaced children face heightened risks of family separation, recruitment by armed groups, child labour, and forced marriage. These threats are exacerbated by psychological trauma and limited access to basic services amid worsening insecurity and vanishing livelihoods. Sudan Tribune
Ghana and EU Sign Landmark Defence Deal to Combat Militant Islamist Threat
Ghana has signed a defence agreement with the European Union (EU) as Islamist militants continue to wreak havoc in neighbouring countries. The agreement, signed in Accra by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Ghanaian Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, strengthens cooperation in areas such as counterterrorism and cybersecurity. Ghana is the first African country to make such a deal with the EU, Opoku-Agyemang said. Though Ghana has so far remained largely untouched by militant violence, the surrounding West African region has become a hotbed of [jihadist activity]. Tuesday’s agreement “signals the EU’s determination to support Ghana’s efforts at tackling emerging threats both at the national and at the regional levels”, Osman Abdul Razak, Ghana’s national security coordinator, said at a joint press conference on Tuesday. In her address, Kallas said the EU supports West African countries like Ghana to “counter terrorism, strengthen border security and enhance maritime security”. During the visit to Accra, EU representatives delivered drones, anti-drone systems, bomb disposal vehicles, and motorcycles to the Ghanaian military. BBC
Benin Presidential Candidate Vows New Police Forces to Fight Jihadists
The ruling party candidate in Benin’s upcoming presidential election has vowed to create municipal police forces in northern border towns to defend against persistent attacks from jihadist groups. Romuald Wadagni, who has been finance minister under President Patrice Talon since 2016, also said Benin had “no choice” but to work with neighbouring countries to address security challenges, as insurgents active in the Sahel rapidly increase their attacks on the borderlands between Niger, Benin and Nigeria. … Benin’s national Republican Police force already has a presence in the north along with soldiers. Wadagni did not specify a target number for municipal police officers in the area, nor did he say how much the programme would cost. “The goal will be to ensure that young people, in their own environment, are trained, equipped, and given the opportunity to defend their homes, their families, their siblings, and their surroundings,” he said. Reuters
‘I Intend to Go Back to My Country’: Exiled Ugandan Opposition Leader Bobi Wine
In an interview with FRANCE 24, Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine said he intends to return to his country, days after resurfacing in Washington following nearly two months in hiding in Uganda. “I am still under threat,” Wine warned, calling for international sanctions against Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his son. Wine fled Uganda in January, days after a presidential election that saw Museveni obtain a controversial seventh term in office and following a military raid on Wine’s home ordered by General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is Museveni’s son and the head of the military. His home was later raided again and his wife assaulted. … In light of these threats, the raids on his home and the attack on his wife, Wine said he took the decision to flee. … Speaking from Washington, Wine rejected any transactional approach to his return, saying “I am not going to negotiate my freedom.” He also called on all democracies to impose sanctions on Museveni, his son and those who “violate human rights” and “subvert democracy and the rule of law” in Uganda. France24
Italy’s Meloni to Travel to Algeria as Iran War Disrupts Qatar LNG Supplies
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will travel to Algeria this week as Rome looks to secure alternative gas supplies amid prolonged disruptions in deliveries from Qatar. The prime minister’s office said Meloni will be in Algiers on Wednesday, without giving a detailed schedule for the official trip. Algeria is one of the countries Italy is in talks with to secure gas supplies after Iranian strikes on Qatar appeared to have halted its exports for an extended period, Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said on Friday. The minister said Italian state-controlled energy companies were talking to suppliers from Algeria, the United States and Azerbaijan to receive more gas, and the government was trying to assist them. Algeria has become one of Italy’s top gas suppliers after Rome moved to replace Russian gas following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and now covers around 30% of the country’s annual gas consumption. Qatar used to cover around 10% of Italy’s consumption, but after Iranian attacks it told Italian customer Edison it would not be able to fulfil its contractual obligations for April. Reuters
Fertilizer Shortages Threaten West African Farmers
West African farmers could be hardest hit from a global fertilizer supply squeeze sparked by the war in the Middle East, experts warned. The agriculture-reliant region imports the majority of its fertilizer, much of which came from the Gulf before Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz. The timing of the war is particularly worrying, coming just as farmers prepare for the spring planting season. Though it may take months for food prices to reflect the fertilizer shortage, experts fear catastrophic consequences in the world’s poorest regions, warning that 45 million more people could be pushed into acute hunger. Meanwhile, Russia, a major fertilizer producer, could stand to gain from the shortage as rising prices could help boost its war coffers. Semafor
Kenya’s Flower Industry Loses Millions of Dollars Weekly Due to the Iran War
Kenya’s flower industry has reported weekly losses of up to $1.4 million since the Iran war began, with growers attributing the losses to a decline in demand and shipping disruptions. The Kenya Flower Council, a private sector organization representing growers and exporters of cut flowers and ornamentals in Kenya, said Tuesday the ongoing conflict has resulted in over $4.2 million in losses over the last three weeks. “We are seeing a reduction in movement, delays in movement of produce, and longer routes, while pricing is extremely high. … Kenya’s horticulture sector, one of its most important industries, is worth over $800 million annually, according to the Central Bank of Kenya. Normally, direct flower exports to the Middle East account for about 30% of business at Isinya Flower Farms and up to 15% nationally, with Europe being the largest market, accounting for up to 70%. However, while the Middle East isn’t Kenya’s main export market for flowers, cargo freight to Europe been disrupted by the conflict in the Middle East, resulting in reduced exports as well as higher costs. … The Kenya Flower Council now says it is lobbying the Kenyan government to introduce direct cargo flights to Europe in a bid to maintain the European market and cushion growers. AP
Kenya Finalises Trade Deal with China, President Says
Kenya’s President William Ruto said on Wednesday that his government had finalised a trade deal with China this week, without giving further details. Ruto made the comments at an investment conference in the capital Nairobi. In January Kenya announced a preliminary trade deal with China that would give 98% of its exports duty-free access to the large Chinese market. The East African nation has been forging closer ties with China, with Ruto making a state visit to Beijing last year during which a number of financing and cooperation agreements were signed. The two countries’ bilateral trade is currently heavily tilted in favour of China. Reuters
East Africa Pushes for Unified Labour Deals to Boost Skilled Migration Abroad
East African partner states and the Horn of Africa have called for harmonised labour agreements to promote skilled employment abroad, marking a shift from the region’s heavy reliance on exporting untrained casual labour. The consensus emerged during the 7th Regional Ministerial Forum on Migration held at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala on Tuesday, with officials emphasising the need to secure better pay, protection, and dignity for migrant workers. … Migration experts raised concerns over increasing irregular migration facilitated by criminal networks exploiting porous borders. Lucy Daxbacher of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said human trafficking and migrant smuggling remain major threats. … Participants also highlighted the need to streamline migration systems, improve data collection, and strengthen identification frameworks to enhance governance. Monitor
South Africa Arrests 12 Senior Police Officers on Suspicion of Corruption
South African anti-graft investigators have arrested 12 senior police officers on allegations of corruption and fraud, prosecutors said Wednesday. The officers appeared later in a court in the capital, Pretoria. The arrests come while an inquiry continues into allegations of high-ranking corruption in the South African police. The inquiry was ordered by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who also suspended the police minister last year. A second inquiry by Parliament is also looking at claims that senior police officers had corrupt relationships with alleged crime bosses and in some cases allegedly received money from them for favors. The arrest of the 12 officers relates to an allegedly corrupt contract to provide health and wellbeing services to police officers, the National Prosecuting Authority’s anti-corruption investigative unit said in a statement. It said a 13th person, the director of a company, was also arrested. AP
Libya Tows Drifting Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tanker to Avert a Mediterranean Spill
Libyan authorities were towing a Russian tanker drifting in the Mediterranean for the past three weeks, after the vessel was damaged in a suspected sea drone attack, officials said Tuesday. The Arctic Metagaz is part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet transporting fossil fuels in violation of international sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Libya’s coast guard said that the tanker, which carries liquefied natural gas, was being towed to a safe zone off the town of Zuwara on Libya’s western coast. A video posted on Tuesday by Libyan authorities showed a tugboat towing the slowly moving tanker with a thick rope. The tanker is seen tilting on one side, with a blackened hull from a fire. The National Oil Corp. in Libya said over the weekend that it was collaborating with Italian energy company Eni to safely bring the damaged tanker to the shore to avert an environmental crisis. AP