Gabon’s Military Leader Announces He Will Run in April Presidential Election
Gabon’s military leader announced Monday that he would run as a candidate in the oil-rich central African nation’s presidential election set for April 12. Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who is interim president, led a 2023 military coup that toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who many Gabonese accused of irresponsible governance and major embezzlement that risked leading the country into chaos…In August 2023, soldiers proclaimed Nguema, who was the republican guard chief and a cousin of Bongo, as president of a transitional committee to lead the country. The announcement of his candidacy came after the adoption last month by Gabon’s parliament of a new electoral code, which sets out the rules and conditions for organizing elections in the country. The legislation was contentious as it authorized military personnel to be candidates in all political elections in the country, which wasn’t possible in the past. It paved the way for Nguema to run for his first presidential term. AP
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan Arrives in DRC amid Escalating Eastern Conflict
[The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, arrived in the DRC last week.] Kahn [was] set to meet with Congolese authorities, beginning with the head of state, Félix Tshisekedi, and members of the government. He has also held a meeting with Bintou Keita, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres. Kahn has urged both sides to end the violence, particularly those responsible for crimes in North Kivu, where the M23 militia, backed by Rwanda, continues to fight the Congolese army and has seized a significant portion of the province…[Last] month, the prosecutor also launched an appeal for witnesses to any crimes committed during the conflict…In addition to the investigation, his office at the ICC also intends to back the creation of a special court in the DRC. RFI
Rebels in Eastern Congo Abducted 130 Hospital Patients, UN Says
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels abducted at least 130 sick and wounded men from two hospitals in a major city in eastern Congo, the United Nations said Monday. On Feb. 28, M23 fighters raided the CBCA Ndosho Hospital and Heal Africa Hospital in Goma, a strategic city they seized earlier this year, the U.N. Human Rights Office spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, said in a statement. The rebels took 116 patients from CBCA and 15 others from Heal Africa they suspected of being Congolese army soldiers or members of the pro-government Wazalendo militia. “It is deeply distressing that M23 is snatching patients from hospital beds in coordinated raids and holding them incommunicado in undisclosed locations,” Shamdasani said, calling for their immediate release. AP
More than 200 Children Were Raped in Sudan since the Beginning of 2024, UN Children’s Agency Says
Children in conflict-ravaged Sudan as young as a year old have been raped since the beginning of 2024, according to the U.N. children’s agency Tuesday, which said sexual violence is being used as a tactic of war. UNICEF said 221 children, including boys, were raped by armed men, according to records compiled by gender-based violence service providers…Right groups say that atrocities, including sexual violence and forced child marriages, have been committed by both sides…Of the 221 children raped, 73 cases were conflict-related and 71 were not, while the others were unidentified, Tess Ingram, a spokesperson with UNICEF, told The Associated Press. AP
How a Key Ingredient in Coca-Cola, M&M’s Is Smuggled from War-Torn Sudan
Sudan produces around 80% of the world’s gum arabic, a natural substance harvested from acacia trees that’s widely used to mix, stabilise and thicken ingredients in mass-market products…The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)… seized control late last year of the main gum-harvesting regions of Kordofan and Darfur in western Sudan. Since then the raw product, which can only be marketed by Sudanese traders in return for a fee to the RSF, is making its way to Sudan’s neighbours without proper certification…The gum is also exported through informal border markets…In recent months, traders in countries with lower-gum arabic production than Sudan, such as Chad and Senegal, or which barely exported it before the war, like Egypt and South Sudan, have begun to aggressively offer the commodity at cheap prices and without proof it is conflict-free. Reuters
South Sudan Leaders Agree to Ease Tensions
In an effort to de-escalate rising tensions in Nasir County, Upper Nile State, and Western Equatoria State, South Sudan’s Presidency convened a high-level meeting on Monday, chaired by President Salva Kiir Mayardit. The extended meeting included key political figures such as First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar, Vice President for the Economic Cluster Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel, Vice President for the Service Cluster Josephine Lagu, and leaders of various political parties. The leaders agreed that soldiers from the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) en route to Nasir County should proceed without disruption. The deployment aims to replace long-standing forces stationed in the area, according to officials. Radio Tamazuj
“We Don’t Have Protection”: The Worsening Crisis in Disputed Abyei
In Abyei, a disputed oil-rich region between Sudan and South Sudan, political limbo has long fuelled local conflicts and left the area neglected by international aid groups. But the situation for residents has become even tougher over the past three years, as political elites stir new conflicts and as the war in Sudan causes prices to rise and refugees and returnees to seek safety there…Abyei was supposed to hold a referendum alongside South Sudan’s 2011 independence vote, allowing its residents to decide whether they wanted to join the South. Yet despite South Sudan’s official independence, the Abyei referendum never took place because of disputes over who gets to vote, and because of the competing interests of Sudan and South Sudan, which also benefit from the status quo. The subsequent stalemate has left Abyei’s main inhabitants, the Ngok Dinka, feeling forgotten. Identifying largely as South Sudanese, many sided with southern rebels during their decades-long independence struggle against Sudan’s northern government. On a recent visit to Abyei, local residents told The New Humanitarian that uncertainty around territorial boundaries has hindered the region’s ability to attract sufficient humanitarian assistance, and has left it vulnerable to incursions and attacks. In recent years, that has included deadly raids on southern parts of Abyei by Twic Dinka militias from South Sudan’s adjoining Warrap state. Twic politicians are accused of stoking the conflict by claiming that parts of Abyei belong to their territory. The New Humanitarian
Over 30 Sea Migrants Stranded on Oil Rig off Tunisia, Charity Says
More than 30 migrants including two children have been stranded for three days on an oil rig off Tunisia and are in dire need of help, the Sea-Watch charity said on Monday. A reconnaissance plane operated by Sea-Watch spotted the group on the Miskar oil platform on Saturday, with an empty rubber dinghy floating nearby, a statement said…Alarm Phone, a group that operates a help line for sea migrants, said on X that it had spoken to the migrants on Sunday and been informed that one person had died and others were sick…According to Sea-Watch, the migrants had originally fled from Libya. Reuters
How Nigeria Plans to End Illegal Mining – Minister
The Nigerian government has approved N2.5 billion to procure satellite surveillance gadgets to combat illegal mining activities in the country. Speaking to State House correspondents after Monday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, [the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake,] estimated that the country has lost trillions of Naira to illegal mining activities, but assured that the satellite project is also expected to generate significant revenue for the government…In addition to the satellite project, Mr Alake said the government is also setting up the Nigerian Mining Corporation, which will be substantially controlled by the private sector. The corporation’s equity structure will be divided into 50% for the private sector, 25% for the government, and 25% for individuals. Premium Times
Ethiopia: EHRC Announces Lifting of Suspension on Four Rights Groups, Cites “Successful” Advocacy Efforts
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has announced that the Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO) has lifted the suspension of four civil society organizations (CSOs), including the Center for the Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD), stating that its “advocacy efforts were successful” in reversing the decision…The suspension of CARD, the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE), and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) was initially imposed by ACSO in November 2024 over allegations that they had engaged in activities contrary to the “national interest” and lacked “political neutrality.” The suspensions were lifted the following month. However, in December 2024, ACSO again suspended CARD and LHR, this time alongside the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) and the Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC)…Following its December 2024 investigation into the matter, EHRC had raised concerns about the impact of the suspensions, urging ACSO to “expedite its investigations” and ensure that the process avoids “undue interference with their organizational and associational rights, in accordance with civic freedoms.”…Welcoming the resolution, EHRC called for a more dialogue-based approach in handling such issues, stating that “problems should be resolved through dialogue, prioritizing human rights protection and national interests.” Addis Standard