Army, Paramilitaries Clash Near Sudan Capital
Clashes erupted on Tuesday between the Sudanese regular army and rival paramilitaries in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city, with the army calling the fighting part of a “large-scale” offensive…The army said its operation which began on Monday was aimed at driving the paramilitaries from their last positions in Khartoum state…Omdurman, which is situated just across the River Nile from Khartoum, has been a focal point of fighting in recent days. This week, a days-long electricity blackout hit the whole Khartoum state, following drone strikes blamed on the RSF on three power stations in Omdurman. Medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) said on Sunday that the power outages had disrupted health services at the city’s major hospitals. AFP
Sudan’s Army Chief Appoints the First Prime Minister since War Began in 2023
Sudan’s army chief on Monday appointed the country’s first prime minister since it plunged into civil war two years ago and following months of steady advances by the military against its paramilitary rival. Kamil al-Taib Idris will be tasked with forming the country’s transitional government, a move long touted by military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, particularly after the army regained control of Khartoum in March and ousted the Rapid Support Forces from the capital…The last prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, resigned in 2022 during a political deadlock and widespread pro-democracy protests. Journalist and political analyst Osman Mirghani said that appointing Idris marks an important step toward restoring civilian-led rule and addressing Sudan’s political crisis. “His chances of being accepted by various communities of the Sudanese society seems higher, even among those who support the RSF, because he has no political affiliations,” he said…Idris had previously worked as Sudan’s legal adviser at its U.N. mission and is a member of the U.N. International Law Commission, according to his social media profile. AP
UN Agency Calls for Urgent Humanitarian Response in DR Congo
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has raised concerns about the worsening security and humanitarian conditions in Lubero territory in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. A recent report from UNOCHA reveals that armed individuals perpetrated at least 32 instances of rape in the village of Vuhato, located in the Kayna health zone. The report from recent months indicates that on April 9 and 10, violent confrontations erupted in the areas of Kanune, Luhanga, and Mbwavinywa. These clashes resulted in the deaths of two civilians and prompted more than 4,000 individuals to evacuate from the villages of Bunyatenge and Musika…Despite relative calm in the Lubero territory, UNOCHA is concerned about the strengthening of armed groups in the Kitsombiro and Kamandi regions, which have become new hotbeds of violence. In Kamandi Gite, clashes have led to further displacements, with people moving towards Lunyasenge and Kiribata. HumAngle
Somalia: Puntland Announces Death of Senior ISIS Facilitator in Cal-Miskaad Mountains
Authorities in Somalia’s northeastern Federal State of Puntland have announced the killing of a senior ISIS operative, identified as Ahmed Muse Said, in an operation carried out in the Cal-Miskaad mountains. In an official statement released Monday, Puntland security officials confirmed that Ahmed Muse Said, a key figure responsible for coordinating the movement of foreign fighters for the Islamic State (ISIS) in Somalia, was killed during a targeted security operation in the rugged terrain of Cal-Miskaad…The operation is part of ongoing counter-terror efforts by Puntland authorities to dismantle ISIS cells operating in the remote mountainous areas of Cal-Miskaad, where the group has maintained a presence in recent years despite sustained pressure. Security analysts say the elimination of such high-ranking operatives disrupts ISIS’s recruitment and logistical chains, particularly their connections with foreign jihadist networks. Garowe Online
Not in My Country: Samia Terse Warning to Kenyan Activists
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu has said that she will not allow activists from the neighbouring Kenya to “destabilise” her country. She made the statement hours after several Kenyans, including Martha Karua, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Hussein Khalid and Hanifa Adan, were denied entry into Tanzania. In a terse address, the head of State expressed her distaste with the “flocking” of activists from around the region to Dar es Salaam to “meddle” with the affairs of Tanzania. The activists had travelled to Tanzania separately on Sunday and Monday to follow court proceedings against opposition chief Tundu Lissu, whose treason trial began on Monday…Critics accuse her regime of tightening its grip on civil liberties, and view the deportations as part of a broader crackdown on freedoms in Tanzania. The EastAfrican
Libya Government Says Pursuing Permanent Truce After Clashes
Libya’s UN-recognised government said Monday it was pressing efforts to reach a permanent ceasefire after days of deadly clashes in the capital and protests demanding the prime minister’s resignation. The fighting last week pitted an armed group aligned with the Tripoli-based government against factions it has sought to dismantle, resulting in at least eight dead, according to the United Nations. The Libyan defence ministry said in a statement that “the efforts towards a ceasefire remain ongoing” and that it was “directly” overseeing the process “to ensure stability”. The fighting had largely ended by late Thursday, according to an interior ministry official and the UN mission in Libya, but without any formal ceasefire agreement. The UN mission, UNSMIL, welcomed on Sunday the creation of a “truce committee building on the fragile peace reached last week” after the violence that saw heavy artillery used in central Tripoli. AFP
UAE-Morocco Consortium Sign $14 Billion Worth of Energy, Water Deals
Morocco on Monday signed deals with an Emirati-Moroccan consortium for energy and water infrastructure projects, which according to one of the companies involved were worth more than $14 billion. The country and state-owned National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water signed three agreements with the Mohammed VI Public Investment Fund and energy groups Taqa Morocco, a subsidiary of the Emirati energy giant Taqa, and Nareva, the energy wing of the royal holding company Al Mada. These projects aim to “strengthen both water security and energy independence” in Morocco, the signatories said in a joint statement…The signed agreements include the construction of a 1,400 kilometre high-voltage line transporting green electricity from the disputed territory of Western Sahara to Casablanca, as well as seawater desalination plants. AFP
Young Cameroonians Face Prospect of New Bid By 92-year-old Leader
[President Paul Biya], who took the reins in 1982, has remained tight-lipped on whether he plans to stand again in October…Younger voters who have never known another leader in their lifetimes are skeptical about another mandate for the man who is already the world’s oldest head of state. “It would be one candidacy too many,” said Ange Ngandjo, 35, a banking consultant. “He’s given what he could. Our generation, trained and competent, also wants to build this country.” …After highly contested elections in 2018, Biya tightened his grip on power, cracking down on dissenting opinions with arrests and prison terms, rights activists say. But even within his Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC), of which he is national party president, support is no longer unanimous. While some members have called for continuity, others complain that the party has not held a congress to choose its candidate since 2011…In a country where 60 percent of the population is aged under 25 and youth unemployment is close to 74 percent, the vote will likely be decisive for a generation looking for opportunities and change. AFP
Kodal Expects Mali Permit Soon to Export 27,000 Tons of Stockpiled Lithium
Kodal Minerals expects to receive an export permit soon for 27,000 metric tons of lithium concentrate stockpiled at its Bougouni project in Mali, it said on Monday, having previously reported export delays because of regulatory hurdles. The delays have come against a backdrop of declines in global lithium production – potentially by 228,000 tons this year – as miners curtail operations in the face of falling prices for the metal used in electric vehicle batteries…Kodal, which launched production in February, has agreed to sell its entire output to China’s Hainan Mining…Mali, better known as a gold producer, is seeking to develop its significant lithium reserves at a time when its military-led government is asserting more control over the mining sector…Military authorities have arrested foreign executives of other multinational miners and seized minerals stocks while conducting negotiations with the companies. Reuters
Equatorial Guinea Prevails in Dispute with Neighboring Gabon over Oil-rich Islands
Judges at the top U.N. court sided with the West African country of Equatorial Guinea in a fight with neighboring Gabon over which treaty settled the ownership of three largely uninhabited oil-rich islands. The decision effectively hands the islands to Equatorial Guinea. The countries brought their dispute to The International Court of Justice in 2021, asking judges to determine what legal agreement settles the possession of the oil-rich islands. The 15-judge panel found a 1900 treaty between Spain and France, which divided up colonial holdings, to be the ultimate authority. A later agreement, known as the 1974 Bata Convention, which gives the islands to Gabon, was dismissed as “not a treaty having the force of law,” Judge Julia Sebutinde said. The document was contested by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon did not produce an original copy for the court. Equatorial Guinea had control of the territory until 1972, when Gabon took over the largest island, Mbanie, in a military skirmish. When oil was discovered in coastal waters, the dispute reignited. AP
Mother of Jailed British-Egyptian Activist Resumes Full Hunger Strike
The mother of the imprisoned British-Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah has announced she has resumed a near-total hunger strike, stopping taking the 300-calorie supplements she had been consuming on her partial hunger strike for the past three months…She is taking the life-endangering step in protest at the continued detention of her son in Cairo beyond his five-year sentence…Soueif, a mathematics professor, has resumed her daily one-hour vigil outside Downing Street to press Starmer to make her son’s release a priority in Britain’s relations with Egypt…Soueif returned to London on Saturday after a visit to Egypt where she was able to visit her son on three occasions in Wadi el-Natrun prison. He is also on hunger strike, reaching his 81st day on Tuesday without consuming any calories. The Guardian
France Drops Genocide Probe against Widow of Former Rwandan President Habyarimana
Agathe Habyarimana, 82, who has been living in France since 1998 and whose extradition has been repeatedly requested by Kigali, will not face trial by a French court at this stage…The former first lady fled Rwanda with French help just days after her husband’s plane was shot down in April 1994, triggering the genocide which saw around 800,000 people slaughtered in one of the 20th century’s worst atrocities. The investigation has been under way since 2008, when a French-based victims’ association filed a legal complaint against Habyarimana who was questioned over suspicions that she was part of the Hutu inner circle of power that planned and orchestrated the killings of mainly ethnic Tutsis…The investigating magistrates in charge of the case said in a ruling delivered on Friday that “at this stage, there is no serious and consistent evidence that she could have been an accomplice in an act of genocide” or could have “participated in an agreement to commit genocide”…But French anti-terror prosecutors, who wanted her to be charged, in September already filed a case with the Paris court of appeal, with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday. RFI
Former Senegal Minister Charged Over Covid Fund Fraud
A special court in Senegal on Monday formally charged a former government minister with embezzling Covid funds, a source close to the case told AFP. Salimata Diop, who was the minister for women under ex-president Macky Sall, is one of five former ministers facing allegation of corruption including the misuse of funds intended to fight the pandemic. Diop was charged with complicity in embezzlement and released after paying bail of about $97,750, the source said, confirming local media reports. Her parliamentary immunity from prosecution had been lifted on May 2 to allow the proceedings to go ahead. Diop is under investigation alongside the former ministers for community development, mines, industrial development and justice…Senegal’s national assembly had earlier this month voted to order a special court to investigate the five former ministers. AFP