Southern Africa Bloc, M23 Agree on Regional Force Evacuation from DR Congo
The M23 armed group agreed a deal on Friday with the Southern African Development Community on the evacuation of SADC forces from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where more than a dozen of its soldiers have been killed in the conflict. The 16-nation SADC, the regional bloc for southern Africa, decided to end the deployment earlier this month at a summit focused on the escalating violence. Rwanda-backed M23 fighters have taken control of large swathes of North and South Kivu provinces since the group resurfaced in 2021. The anti-governmental group launched a lightning offensive in January, capturing two major eastern cities, Goma and Bukavu, within a couple of weeks…On Friday, the chiefs of staff of the armed forces of South Africa, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania met the M23’s military chief Sultani Makenga in the city of Goma, according to a joint text released after the meeting. The parties agreed, the text said, that the M23 would “facilitate immediate withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops with their weapons and equipment” via Goma airport, which is currently out of use because of damage caused by the fighting. The M23 and SADC agreed to set up a joint committee to assess its condition, and the southern African bloc agreed to help repair it. AFP
Congo Wants Stiffer Sanctions on Rwanda, Envoy Tells UN Security Council
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is asking the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions on the Rwandan government for its noncompliance with the Council’s resolution demanding a ceasefire in Congo. The country’s envoy to the UN, Zénon Mukongo Ngay, appealed to the Council on March 27, saying that the continued involvement of the Rwanda Defense Forces in the conflict violates Congo’s sovereignty. “An effective cessation of hostilities and de-escalation will not be possible until increased pressure is brought to bear or until there are more robust sanctions against Rwanda and its M23/ADF allies,” Ngay said. The Council should “establish a sanctions regime applicable to Rwanda and its leaders, impose an arms embargo on Rwanda until it ceases its support for M23, and until it fully withdraws its army from DRC territory.” Bintou Keita, the special representative of the UN secretary-general in Congo and head of the peacekeeping mission there, warned that human rights violations and abuses against women and children have risen in the last few months…Ngay of the Congo also urged the 15-member Council to consider referring Rwanda’s military interference in his country to the International Court of Justice. PassBlue
Sudan Paramilitary Chief Admits Withdrawal from Capital
The head of the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces admitted in a speech to fighters on Sunday that the group had withdrawn from the capital Khartoum which rival army forces have retaken. The comment from RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo came three days after the group said there would be “no retreat and no surrender” and that its forces had “repositioned”, despite the army’s declaration on Thursday that “the last pockets” of the RSF had been eliminated from Khartoum after nearly two years of war. “I confirm to you that we have indeed left Khartoum, but… we will return with even stronger determination,” Daglo said in the speech posted on social media…Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Saturday also vowed not to back down, after a decisive blitz in which the army reclaimed the presidential palace, the war-damaged airport and other key sites in the city centre where buildings are burned and bullet-scarred…”We will neither forgive, nor compromise, nor negotiate,” Burhan said…Despite the military’s reclaiming of Khartoum, Africa’s third-largest country remains essentially divided in two by the war. The army holds sway in the east and north while the RSF controls most of the vast Darfur region in the west, where it is rooted, and parts of the south. AFP
Sudan War Leaves 90% of Media Infrastructure in Ruins
In a report, the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate laments that the offices headquarters of more than 29 media institutions and press offices were subjected to invasion, complete destruction, and closure. In Khartoum state, 10 radio stations have ceased operations, while Sudanese Radio resumed broadcasting from Port Sudan. The fighting disrupted six TV stations in Khartoum state, while at least eight radio stations were suspended across the other states of Sudan. Newspaper offices Khartoum and the states, radio stations, local public and private TV stations, press training centres, production and media services, are still completely suspended, either because they are located in the midst of fighting areas, which makes access difficult, or because of looting, smuggling or occupation…In the past 18 months, 445 journalists in Sudan have been killed, arrested, or tortured, with 20 facing charges for alleged links to the RSF. Women journalists have been particularly vulnerable, with 11 assaulted and 54 disappeared or arrested, while many have faced gender-based violence or exploitation. Displaced journalists also struggle with professional and legal challenges, including forced exile. Radio Dabanga
South Sudan: I Was Unable to Meet with Dr. Machar in Juba, Raila Reveals
Kenya’s special envoy to South Sudan, Raila Odinga, has revealed he was unable to meet First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar during his visit to Juba, where he sought to mediate in renewed hostilities between government and opposition forces. Mr Odinga travelled to Juba on Friday at the request of President William Ruto, following reports of Dr Machar’s house arrest. Tensions have escalated in the world’s youngest nation, with clashes threatening fragile peace efforts. In a statement on Saturday evening in Nairobi, the Kenyan opposition leader said South Sudanese authorities had denied him permission to meet Dr Machar, who remains under house arrest…President Kiir said an investigation was ongoing and cited the incident as the reason for Dr Machar’s detention, Mr Odinga said. “They are saying it is some militia linked to him, but they have not made a direct connection between him and the killing of the general. We hope they will finalise this matter soon,” he said. After leaving Juba, Mr Odinga travelled to Entebbe, Uganda, where he briefed President Museveni on the crisis. Mr Museveni pledged to engage with President Kiir. Mr Odinga stressed that the situation remains unresolved and requires international attention. Radio Tamazuj
How Social Media Is Fanning Tensions In South Sudan
Misinformation and online hate speech is fuelling panic and division in South Sudan at a time of acute political tensions that observers fear could drive the country back to war. Ethnic divisions, particularly between the largest communities, the Dinka and Nuer, fuelled the brutal civil war of 2013-18 in which some 400,000 people died. After years of relative calm, there are worrying signs of renewed ethnic polarisation, said Nelson Kwaje, chair of Digital Rights Frontlines, an organisation based in the capital Juba that monitors hate speech and misinformation online. It comes as the 2018 peace agreement between President Salva Kiir and his long-time rival, First Vice President Riek Machar — who are respectively of Dinka and Nuer ethnicity — is hanging in the balance after Machar’s arrest on Wednesday…”There are rumours of assassinations, talk of retaliatory violence… warnings about ethnic violence,” [Kwaje] said…”There is limited access to good information and free media in South Sudan. It creates a vacuum,” said Kwaje. “The people who fill the vacuum are not all nefarious, many just want to share information to protect their community. “But then you have actors who want to fan engagement, and a small section who are politically motivated.” He said it was hard to identify who was behind these political messages, but they were consistent and well-designed. “When we see that level, we know there’s someone on a payroll,” said Kwaje. AFP
Suspected Jihadist Attack Kills ‘Several Dozen’ Soldiers in Burkina
“Several dozen” soldiers and civilian auxiliaries have been killed in a suspected jihadist attack in eastern Burkina Faso, local and security sources told AFP on Sunday…In the latest attack, a security source in Tapoa province said an army detachment from the main city of Diapaga was targeted in a “violent attack” on Friday. The victims were regular army soldiers and civilian volunteers, and there were “many wounded”, the source added…The eastern region was hit earlier this month by two separate attacks that killed at least a dozen members of the security forces and civilians…In early January, the government announced the creation of a new rapid intervention battalion (BIR) to be stationed in Diapaga. The BIR was created by the head of the military regime, Captain Ibrahim Traore, in power since 2022 following a military coup, to combat jihadist attacks. It is supported by the VDP (Volontaires pour la defense de la patrie), civilians recruited from the local population who receive three months training. NGOs such as Human Rights Watch have previously denounced the massacre of civilians blamed on the Burkinabe army and the VDP under the guise of the fight against jihadism. AFP
Niger Says Withdrawing from Lake Chad Anti-jihadist Force
Niger has withdrawn from the military coalition fighting Islamist insurgency groups in the Lake Chad region of west-central Africa, saying it will focus instead on protecting its oil operations from jihadist attacks. The announcement late Saturday comes amid rising tensions between the four countries bordering Lake Chad since a 2023 coup by Niger’s military. In a bulletin read on state TV, the army said the operation under the Multinational Joint Task Force, active since 2015, would now be called “Nalewa Dole” following Niger’s withdrawal. The move “reflects a stated intent to reinforce security for oil sites”, the bulletin stated, without further elaboration. The four countries that surround Lake Chad — Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria — have been battling insurgencies since 2009, after a spate of violent campaigns by the Boko Haram group in Nigeria’s northeast spilled into its neighbours. The ensuing conflict, which has drawn in other jihadist groups such as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has killed over 40,000 people and displaced around two million, causing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. AFP
Mounting Calls to Free Niger’s Deposed President
Niger’s democratically elected former President Mohamed Bazoum and his wife Hadiza have spent more than 20 months in detention by a military that seized power in 2023 and [last] week cemented its grip on the country. A former high school philosophy teacher who went on to become Niger’s interior minister, Bazoum represented a break with the past: His presidential inauguration in 2021 was hailed as the first peaceful democratic transition in the West African nation since it gained independence from France in 1960. But he was ousted only two years later as Niger followed in the footsteps of neighboring Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso in returning to military rule. On Wednesday, coup leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani was sworn in as Niger’s president for a “transitional” five years…Next month, a campaign group — supported by dozens of former heads of state or government — plans to lead a delegation to Washington, led by one of Bazoum’s daughters, urging the Trump administration to call for his release. Earlier this year, a UN independent expert body determined that Bazoum and his wife’s detention violated international human rights law, and several countries leaders, including the US, France, and the UK, demanded Bazoum’s release at the time of his 2023 detention…Niger’s military junta has detained at least 30 other officials from the ousted government, according to advocacy group Human Rights Watch. Last year, the regime revoked Bazoum’s presidential immunity and announced its intention to prosecute him for “high treason.” Semafor
Guinea’s Former Dictator Pardoned over the 2009 Stadium Massacre
Guinea’s ruling junta has pardoned the country’s former dictator, Moussa “Dadis” Camara, who was serving a 20-prison sentence for the 2009 stadium massacre by the military, according to a decree read on state television. Camara was sentenced in July 2024 after he was found guilty of crimes against humanity in the deaths of at least 157 people at the stadium. Dozens of women were also raped. Troops opened fire on demonstrators at the stadium who were protesting Camara’s plans to run for president, a year after staging a coup. The junta at the time said “uncontrolled” elements of the army carried out the rapes and killings. But Camara’s top aides were at the stadium and did nothing to stop the massacre, a Human Rights Watch report said. Many of the victims were shot, crushed or knifed to death while some of the women were dragged out from hiding and gang-raped by uniformed men over several days, witnesses said. Many could not flee the gunfire after Camara’s presidential guard surrounded the stadium and blocked the exits, according to survivors…“For us, it’s all hope that’s gone. After two years of trial and 13 years of unbearable pain for us who lost loved ones at the stadium, this is what it leads to: a presidential pardon for the executioner,” said Idrissa Sow, a metalworker who lost his nephew in the massacre. AP
Zimbabwe Cities Empty, Security Tight After Protest Call
Police were out in force and businesses and offices closed in key Zimbabwe cities after authorities warned against demonstrations called for Monday to demand that President Emmerson Mnangagwa leave power. Security forces patrolled city centres after warning people to ignore a call by a faction of Mnangagwa’s own ZANU-PF party to demonstrate against the president, who took power in a coup eight years ago. A small group of people tried to assemble at President Robert Mugabe Square in the capital Harare but were dispersed by police, videos on social media showed…The protests were called by a veteran of the ZANU-PF, in power since independence in 1980, following moves by a faction of the party to keep Mnangagwa, 82, in power beyond the end of his term in 2028…[Blessed] Geza and his group of veterans of the war that led to independence in 1980 are pushing to replace Mnangagwa with his vice president, Constantino Chiwenga, a retired general who orchestrated the coup against Mugabe. AFP
Ethiopia: UN Reports Worsening Malnutrition in Parts of Amhara Region as Renewed Fighting Disrupts Aid
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says the humanitarian situation across the broader Amhara Region remains dire…In its latest update, OCHA stated that “movement and access restrictions” throughout 2024 had “affected humanitarian operations,” leaving conflict-affected populations with “limited access to basic services like health care, education, and clean water.” The Amhara Disaster Risk Management Commission identified Bugna district in April 2024 as “severely food insecure” due to a combination of “conflict, drought, floods, and snowstorms,” OCHA said. Addis Standard previously reported, citing the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), that access restrictions imposed by “local militia” in Bugna and Lasta districts had deepened the humanitarian crisis for 77,000 people, including 10,000 displaced…While OCHA indicated that this year’s harvest is expected to be “better than last year’s,” it also reported that “food markets remain under strain,” with “rising prices and reduced availability of essential goods.”…The report from OCHA comes amid renewed fighting in the restive Amhara region under the name “Unity Campaign,” the latest escalation since the militarized conflict began in the summer of 2023, claiming civilian lives and displacing many. Addis Standard
Guinea-Bissau: Coups, Cashews, Cocaine
Portuguese-speaking Guinea-Bissau — gripped for months by tensions over claims the president’s mandate has expired — is one of the most unstable and putsch-prone countries in the world. The poor west African nation’s chronic instability has made it vulnerable to corruption and South American drug cartels. The former Portuguese colony close to the tip of Africa’s western bulge fought an 11-year armed struggle for independence led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde (PAIGC), its longtime ruling party. Since then, it has been through four successful coups — the last in 2012 — as well as 17 attempted, plotted or alleged putsches…Last year, the son of a former Guinea-Bissauan president, Malam Bacai Sanha Jr, was sentenced to jail in the United States for involvement in a transnational heroin trafficking conspiracy…According to US justice, he planned to use the proceeds to finance a coup in the African country that would lead to his eventual presidency and establishment of a “drugs regime”. Five Latin Americans were arrested in the capital Bissau in September with 2.6 tonnes of cocaine in an aircraft coming from Venezuela. In August 2021, [President] Embalo refused to extradite an ex-head of the army and former coup leader, Antonio Indjai, who the United States claims handled tonnes of cocaine for the Colombian rebel group FARC…Agriculture is the main economic driver and the country is one of the biggest cashew nut producers in the world. AFP