Congo Refugees Pour into Burundi, Conditions Dire, Says UN
Conflict in Congo has sent 63,000 refugees fleeing to neighbouring Burundi in its largest such influx in decades, with conditions dire at a crammed stadium camp and many stuck in fields outside, the U.N. said on Friday. About 45,000 displaced people are sheltering in a crowded open-air stadium in Rugombo, a few km from the border with Democratic Republic of Congo where the Congolese army and M23 rebel group are fighting…Sanitary conditions inside the stadium are said to be poor with only 10 to 15 stalls of latrines for tens of thousands of people. Many families are being forced to camp in open fields nearby, according to the agency. On 21 February, UNHCR told a press briefing in Geneva that it would seek to move people from the stadium. However logistical challenges mean it takes six to eight hours to move large numbers of people to the Musenyi refugee site in southern Burundi. That site, which can host 10,000 people, is now 60 per cent full, according to the agency. Reuters
Congo Ex-president Holds Talks on Political Outlook amid Rebellion, Sources Say
Congo’s former President Joseph Kabila has initiated talks with opposition politicians about the country’s political future as Rwanda-backed rebels seize territory in the east, five sources familiar with the outreach told Reuters. The discussions, which have also involved civil society members, represent a potential additional threat to current President Felix Tshisekedi who has faced criticism over his response to the unprecedented advance by M23 rebels. Tshisekedi and Kabila once formed an awkward power-sharing deal following Congo’s disputed 2018 election, but Tshisekedi eventually began chipping away at his predecessor’s influence while accusing him of blocking reforms. The two men’s relationship soured to the point that, as M23 marched on east Congo’s second-largest city of Bukavu last month, Tshisekedi told the Munich Security Conference that Kabila had sponsored the insurgency. Kabila did not make any public statements on the crisis or respond to the accusation until he published an op-ed in a South African newspaper on February 23 that accused Tshisekedi of violating the constitution, committing human rights abuses and bringing Congo to the brink of civil war. Reuters
Sudan: Evidence of Torture Found as Detention Centre and Mass Grave Discovered outside Khartoum
A visit to a base belonging to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shortly after it was retaken by the Sudanese military found a previously unknown detention centre, with manacles hanging from doors, apparent punishment chambers and bloodstains on the floor. Accounts from people held at the detention centre describe being repeatedly tortured by their captors. Nearby was a large burial site with at least 550 unmarked graves, many of them freshly dug and a number apparently containing multiple bodies. The site is the biggest makeshift burial ground found in Sudan during its civil war and, if confirmed, would make this one of the worst war crimes of Sudan’s brutal conflict. People rescued from the detention centre at the base’s southern perimeter, about 40 miles north of the capital, Khartoum, said that many had died inside and were believed to be buried nearby. Examination of survivors by doctors found myriad signs of torture and concluded they were being starved…The RSF took over the base, close to the village of Garri, as a command and training centre after fighting began with the Sudanese military almost two years ago. Satellite images and military sources confirm that no graves were present at the location before the war started on 15 April 2023. The Guardian
Sudan Files Case to UN Court Alleging UAE Is Breaching Genocide Convention by Funding Rebels
Sudan filed a case at the top United Nations court accusing the United Arab Emirates of breaching the genocide convention by arming and funding the rebel paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces in Sudan’s deadly war, the court announced Thursday. The UAE called the filing a publicity stunt and said it would seek to have the case dismissed. The International Court of Justice said Sudan’s case, filed Wednesday, concerns acts allegedly perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces and allied militias including “genocide, murder, theft of property, rape, forcible displacement, trespassing, vandalism of public properties, and violation of human rights” targeting the Masalit people…Both the RSF and the Sudanese military have been accused of abuses in the war…The group Conflict Observatory, which is funded by the U.S. State Department and has been monitoring the war in Sudan, has identified aircraft it says carried UAE arms transfers to the RSF. Those flights went through Aéroport International Maréchal Idriss Deby in Amdjarass, Chad — flights the UAE has claimed have been for supporting a local hospital. In January, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, also known as Hemedti, had been targeted for sanctions along with seven RSF-owned companies in the United Arab Emirates, including one handling gold likely smuggled out of Sudan. That came as the U.S. declared the RSF are committing genocide. AP
South Sudan: Peace Minister Freed from Juba Detention
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) Director of Information and Public Relations, Puok Both Baluang, has confirmed the release from detention of the Minister for Peace Building, Stephen Par Kuol. Baluong said Kuol was released in Juba early Friday, after being detained by the security agents for more than 12 hours…No further information was provided about his detention, Baluong said. Early this week, security forces, allied to President Salva Kiir, detained several officials allied to SPLM-IO of First Vice-President Dr Riek Machar. They included the ministers for Petroleum and Peacebuilding and a deputy head of the military. Baluong also confirmed that communication was still underway for the evacuation from Nasir of the stranded SSPDF officers. Radio Tamazuj
Nine Egyptians Freed after 19 Months in Sudanese Captivity
Nine Egyptians freed after being held for 19 months by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces arrived in Egypt to celebrations on Thursday morning as the Sudanese army advanced in Khartoum…The freed Egyptian captives had been working in Khartoum for years importing household goods and small electric appliances. One, Emad Moawad, told Reuters he had a plane ticket to return to Egypt after the fighting started, but the airport was closed. “Sixty-five days later, the RSF raided our house and held us captive for over 19 months.” …The war has drawn in multiple foreign powers, with the RSF accusing Egypt of aiding the army while the army accuses the United Arab Emirates of arming the RSF. Reuters
Egyptian-UK Activist Begins Hunger Strike in Prison: Family
Jailed Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abdel Fattah began a hunger strike at the start of the month after his mother was hospitalised more than 150 days into her own hunger strike, his family said on Friday. Abdel Fattah began refusing food at the Wadi al-Natroun prison “on Saturday, March 1 after hearing news that his mother had been hospitalised” in London, where she has been on hunger strike to put pressure on the British government to secure his release. Laila Soueif, 68, eased her hunger strike on Wednesday and agreed to consume 300 calories a day in liquids, after doctors warned her blood sugar and blood pressure had dropped to dangerously low levels. Soueif said she had been given “hope” after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer phoned Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi last week to press for her son’s release. Abdel Fattah was arrested in 2019 and later sentenced to five years in prison for “spreading false news” after sharing a Facebook post about alleged torture in Egyptian jails. Soueif launched her hunger strike in September last year, when her son’s sentence was meant to be completed. AFP
Nigeria, China Crack down on Chinese Nationals in Financial Crimes
Nigeria and China said this week they will cooperate in efforts to crack down on the increasing number of Chinese nationals taking part in financial crimes in the African country. The joint effort comes after Chinese Ambassador Yu Dunhai visited Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, or EFCC, in Abuja…At the same time, Dunhai urged authorities to protect the rights of Chinese citizens while investigations are conducted. Since November, Nigerian authorities have arrested at least 400 Chinese nationals suspected of cybercrime, telecom fraud and illegal mining. Many of them are facing trial. But Nigerian political analyst Chukwudi Odoeme warned that China’s influence over the process could undermine the rule of law…“The collaboration may be defeated in the sense that China will have undue influence, and it may even lead to political release of those persons instead of subjecting them through the criminal trial system in Nigeria.” China is Nigeria’s largest trading partner by value, with trade totaling $5 billion in 2023…Critics argue that Chinese nationals are exploiting trade routes and immigration loopholes to enter Nigeria illegally and engage in criminal activities…Nigeria’s debt to China exceeds $5 billion — more than the bilateral loans owed to all other countries combined. VOA
UN Report Reveals Brutal Attacks Targeting Muslims, Refugees in Central African Republic
Investigations by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) and the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, MINUSCA, found evidence of summary executions, sexual violence and torture. Other violations included cruel and degrading treatment, forced labour, and looting of homes and shops. CAR has been plagued by decades of instability and communal violence along religious and ethnic lines. UN assessments suggest that one in five people are displaced internally or outside the country’s borders due to the conflict. The fighting has also taken a terrible toll on vital infrastructure, including schools and hospitals. The civil war in Sudan and tensions in southern Chad, have led to an influx of refugees, asylum seekers and returnees to already overwhelmed areas of CAR. The report detailed two waves of attacks in the Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou prefectures, in October 2024 and January 2025, in which at least 24 people were killed, including victims who had been summarily executed. The attacks were directed and coordinated by elements of Wagner Ti Azandé (WTA), an armed group with ties to the national army…The report also highlighted the limited presence of State security forces in parts of the prefectures of Mbomou and Haut-Mbomou, fuelling the climate of impunity. UN News
UN Says 186 Missing and at Least 2 Dead after Migrant Boats Capsize off Yemen and Djibouti
At least two people have died and 186 others are missing after four boats carrying migrants from Africa capsized overnight in waters off Yemen and Djibouti, the U.N.’s migration agency said on Friday. Two vessels capsized off Yemen late Thursday, said Tamim Eleian, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration, or IOM. Two crewmembers were rescued, but 181 migrants and five Yemeni crewmembers remain missing, he told The Associated Press. Two other boats capsized off the tiny African nation of Djibouti around the same time, he said. Two bodies of migrants were recovered, and all others on board were rescued. Strong winds caused the two boats to capsize near the beach in Djibouti after they started sailing off, Abdusattor Esoev, head of the IOM mission in Yemen, told AP. The third boat, which capsized off Dhubab district in Taiz governorate, southwestern Yemen, was carrying 31 Ethiopian migrants and three Yemeni crew. The fourth boat, which capsized near the same area, was heading to Ahwar district in Abyan governorate and carried 150 Ethiopian migrants and four Yemeni crew. Yemen is a major route for migrants from East Africa and the Horn of Africa trying to reach Gulf countries for work, with hundreds of thousands attempting the route each year. AP
Ebola Cases in Uganda Rise to 14 as New Cluster Emerges, Posing a Challenge to Health Workers
Uganda’s Ebola caseload increased to 14 in the last week, Africa’s top public health agency said Thursday, with a new cluster emerging from a 4-year-old child who recently died of the infectious disease. Three of five new cases have been confirmed as Ebola, with two cited as probably Ebola, Dr. Ngashi Ngongo of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told reporters. The Africa CDC reported that there was no direct epidemiological link between the new cluster and another one accounting for nine previous Ebola cases, including the first victim of the outbreak. Ebola is now spreading in five of Uganda’s 146 districts, it said. That includes Kampala, the capital, where the outbreak was declared on Jan. 30. Two Ebola deaths have been confirmed. Local health officials have not been giving regular updates on the outbreak, raising concerns about a lack of transparency…Tracing contacts is key to stemming the spread of Ebola, and there are no approved vaccines for the Sudan strain of Ebola that’s infecting people in Uganda…Dr. Emmanuel Batiibwe, a hospital director who helped lead efforts to stop that outbreak, described the current one as “amorphous,” throwing up sporadic cases that require more serious surveillance to locate and isolate contacts. AP
Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Oppose Mnangagwa Term Extension
Catholic bishops in Zimbabwe have warned President Emmerson Mnangagwa that the debate over a campaign to extend his term in office is plunging the country into deeper economic and political problems. In a scathing pastoral letter, the influential Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) said the southern African country was “doomed” if the government failed to arrest rampant corruption and stopped talk about extending the President’s term of office. President Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu PF last year passed a resolution to extend his term by two years, beyond 2028, when it expires. The 82-year-old ruler has repeatedly said he does not want to extend his rule beyond the two five year-terms set in the Constitution, but his loyalists continue to publicly campaign for him to hang on to power…The bishops said rising poverty in the country was “not accidental” but a result of poor management of the country’s resources…Church leaders have become increasingly critical of President Mnangagwa’s regime, amid accusations that he has failed to deliver on promises of political and economic reform. The EastAfrican
Anger Flares in Comoros as Residents Endure Cost of Living and Energy Crises
At the end of February, the Comoros government announced a series of measures to counter the surge in prices ahead of the month-long Muslim fasting period of Ramadan, which this year falls in March. The population is 98 percent Sunni Muslim. These measures included tax breaks, a guarantee fund of 6 billion Comorian francs to secure the import of basic necessities, and reinforcing the electricity supply. The authorities also assured residents that these adjustments would not be limited to the month of Ramadan. However, the Consumer Federation of the Comoros says the measures have not been implemented quickly enough, and that the price of oil, sugar, flour and other basic necessities are not regulated enough for a population struggling to cope…RFI spoke to several residents who said they are relying on relatives in the diaspora to send them items from abroad – a trend reflected in the number of money transfers in the lead-up to the religious holiday…Added to these difficulties is the quality of fuel, the Consumer Federation said, which is causing cars to break down. RFI
Netherlands Discusses Extradition Request for Cocaine Kingpin Leijdekkers with Sierra Leone
Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel said on Thursday that he spoke over the phone with his Sierra Leone counterpart Alpha Sesay about the Dutch extradition request for European cocaine kingpin Jos Leijdekkers. “He is wanted internationally for serious crimes. And there are strong indications that he is currently in Sierra Leone”, Van Weel added in a post on X. One of Europe’s most wanted fugitives, Leijdekkers, has found refuge and high-level protection in Sierra Leone, Reuters reported earlier this year. Sierra Leone has previously said it is investigating the reports and would cooperate if there was an extradition request, even though the Netherlands does not have an extradition treaty with Sierra Leone. Reuters