Sudan’s War Has Left Thousands Missing. Many Are Buried in Unmarked Graves
[More than 8,000 people have gone missing during Sudan’s three years of war, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.] The conflict has torn families apart. People have been separated while fleeing, or gone missing during fighting. Others are quietly detained, leaving friends and relatives in agony trying to learn their fate. Many of those missing in Khartoum state are thought to be in unmarked graves where tens of thousands of bodies have been found since Sudan’s army retook the capital last year from paramilitary fighters. It was often too dangerous to bury bodies in cemeteries while fighting raged. People dug graves wherever they could. Driving through the city last month, Associated Press reporters saw soccer fields and cemeteries overflowing with the dead. … Finding people alive or dead is challenging in Sudan, especially as the war continues. Labs that could have been used for DNA testing have been destroyed, and few forensic specialists remain. In Khartoum state, authorities have moved nearly 30,000 bodies — of some 50,000 — that had been hastily buried near houses, in sports fields or by the road when the RSF controlled the area. Their work continues. About 10% of bodies that have been reburied are unidentified. AP
US Sanctions Tanzanian Police Official over ‘Torture’ of Rights Activists
The US has sanctioned a senior Tanzanian police official over allegations linked to the “torture and sexual assault” of East African rights activists Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire last year. In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department had designated Faustine Jackson Mafwele based on “credible information that he was involved in gross violations of human rights”. … The two activists had travelled to Tanzania to observe the trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu last May when they were detained and later released, with Kenyan Mwangi saying he was held for several days alongside Uganda’s Atuhaire. Mwangi alleged that he was stripped naked, hung upside down, beaten on his feet and sexually assaulted in detention, while Atuhaire also said she was raped during her detention in Tanzania. BBC
Chadian Former PM Succès Masra to Remain in Prison after Court Rejects Appeal
Chadian opposition leader Succes Masra will remain in jail after the supreme court rejected his appeal on Thursday, one of his lawyers told AFP. Masra, a former prime minister and a leading opponent of President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, was arrested in May 2025. In August 2025, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for inciting violence and complicity to murder in what Human Rights Watch called a politically motivated trial. “Despite all the legal arguments we presented before the higher court, it chose to reject the appeal,” his lawyer Francis Kadjilembaye said after the hearing. The ruling upholds the conviction handed down last August. HRW said last week that his continued detention on these charges showed the “government’s intolerance of dissent”. Security was tight around the Supreme Court in the capital, N’Djamena, with police deployed in large numbers and several journalists denied access to the hearing, according to an AFP reporter. The decision comes amid heightened political tensions in Chad, where eight opposition leaders were sentenced earlier this month to eight years on charges including insurrection. They belonged to the main opposition coalition, which was dissolved by authorities days earlier. Africanews
UN Sends Emergency Funds and Staff to Tackle Congo Ebola Crisis
The United Nations is releasing around $60 million from an emergency fund to help contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and deploying more staff, its aid chief said on Friday. “We need to get ahead of this Ebola outbreak,” said Tom Fletcher on X. “These are tough operating environments for lifesaving work. We face conflict and high population movement.” Experts believe the virus – for which there is no vaccine – circulated undetected for around two months in Congo’s Ituri province before being identified last week. The outbreak has so far resulted in 160 suspected deaths out of 670 suspected cases. Reuters
India, Africa Union Postpone New Delhi Summit amid Ebola Outbreak
India and the African Union (AU) have decided to postpone the India-Africa Forum Summit scheduled to be held next week in New Delhi, due to the “emerging public health situation” in Africa, India’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, in an apparent reference to the Ebola outbreak. The fourth India–Africa Forum Summit was scheduled to take place in New Delhi from May 28 to May 31. The summit of ministers and leaders aimed to deepen cooperation on trade, investment, innovation, development, digital technology, sustainability and global governance. After discussing the “evolving health situation in parts of Africa”, India and the AU agreed that it would be “advisable” to hold the summit at a later date, the foreign ministry said in a statement. It did not elaborate on the health concerns. … The Indian foreign ministry said new dates for the summit will be finalised in due course. Reuters
Inside an African Lab that Helped Crack the Hantavirus Outbreak
The call for help came in early May: a cruise ship off Cape Verde was stranded, with passengers suspected of infection by a deadly strain of hantavirus that kills about one in three of its victims. The vessel had stopped at several remote islands, and the World Health Organization needed answers. Could a biomedical research center in Senegal, an hour’s flight away, support a team collecting specimens from suspected cases on board? The plane landed in Senegal in the early hours of May 5. At the Institut Pasteur de Dakar, scientists worked through the night, using sophisticated lab equipment and powerful computers to deliver results awaited by health officials worldwide. Within 24 hours, they had produced a partial genome showing the illness affecting the passengers — cases five and six — was the Andes strain of hantavirus, known to spread through close human contact. Laboratories in South Africa and Switzerland reached the same conclusion that day. The WHO announced the findings at a press conference. The role of the West African lab has not previously been described in detail, and shows how global research networks can help contain outbreaks. Reuters
The Untold Mental Trauma of Living through the Malian War
Heavy fighting between the Malian army and Russian mercenaries against JNIM and the separatists has resulted in devastating consequences for civilians. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at least 120,000 Malians have been forced to flee from their homes to Mauritania since the violence intensified in late 2025. Most have settled in makeshift homes among Mauritanian locals in the border village of Fassala-Dounkara, where the population has tripled. From there, they recounted to Al Jazeera tales of entire villages being sacked, of civilians bombed by drones, of men beheaded or buried alive, and of women sexually assaulted. Survivors here accuse all sides of severe rights violations, particularly the Malian army and Russian fighters. They said they’re having to deal with mental anguish over what they witnessed. Some have reported deep anxiety, insomnia and recurring nightmares. Others say they’ve developed conditions like epilepsy. But psychosocial support is weak. … NGOs responding to the refugee crisis said official red tape and language barriers are obstacles to bringing in mental health experts from abroad. Al Jazeera
Mauritania’s Female Islamic Guides: Leading the Fight against ‘Extremism’
While the Sahel has become synonymous with instability, tucked between the region and the Atlantic coast sits Mauritania, a country that has somehow managed to douse the flame. … Mauritania’s mourchidates are female Islamic spiritual guides, trained, certified, and deployed by the state under the Ministry of Islamic Affairs since 2021. … More than social workers with a passing familiarity with Islamic texts, the mourchidates are trained in Quranic interpretation, Islamic jurisprudence, and the history of theological thought. … Prisons have long been recognised globally as sites of radicalisation, where recruitment networks operate. Mauritania, however, has pursued a different approach. Inside its prisons, mourchidates engage detainees linked to armed groups operating in the Sahel region, including those convicted of planning or participating in attacks across Mauritania, as well as those joining radicalised groups in neighbouring countries. … By patiently challenging these interpretations and offering alternative readings of Islamic texts, the mourchidates gradually open space for detainees to reconsider their choices. De-radicalisation, when it works, tends to be built on relationships. The mourchidates, through their close ties to communities, are often well-placed to build these relationships in ways that male guards, military officials, or even male religious scholars are not always able to. A significant portion of what mourchidates do is preventive, operating in community spaces to reach young people before they become vulnerable to recruitment. Al Jazeera
Nigeria: Court Voids INEC’S Timetable for Parties’ Primaries, Nomination of Candidates
The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified key aspects of the timetable issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for key pre-election activities, including the conduct of primary elections of political parties, ahead of the 2027 general elections, holding that the electoral body acted outside its statutory powers under the Electoral Act 2026. … Affected by the judgement are the schedules for the conduct of primary elections of political parties as well as timeframes for the nomination, withdrawal and replacement personal particulars of candidates by their political parties and the publication of the final list of candidates for the 2027 general elections by INEC. … The judgement came at the time when many political parties, acting based on INEC’s timetable and schedule of activities issued on 26 February, are at the verge of completing their primary elections for elective positions in the lead-up to the 2027 general elections. A party like the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has just the presidential primary election left to be conducted. The pre-election activities, as scheduled by INEC, were designed to culminate in the presidential and National Assembly elections on 16 January 2027 and the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections on 6 February. It is not yet clear how INEC would react to the judgement. Premium Times
Nigerian Army Acquires New Drones to Boost Surveillance, Precision Strikes — COAS
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, says the Nigerian Army has acquired additional drones and other advanced force multipliers to strengthen surveillance operations, improve target acquisition, and enhance precision strike and casualty evacuation capabilities. Shaibu disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja at the closing session of the First Bi-Annual Chief of Army Staff Conference 2026, where senior officers reviewed ongoing operations, reforms, and strategic priorities of the Service. He said the deployment of new platforms had already contributed to recent operational successes, particularly in the North-East, where troops continue counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations. … The Army Chief also underscored the ongoing transformation within the Service, noting that efforts were being made to build stronger institutions capable of sustaining long-term operational effectiveness and national security support. … Shaibu further stressed the importance of institutional accountability and professional standards, noting that the Army is strengthening its performance assessment and command evaluation mechanisms across formations. PR Nigeria
Kenyan Public Transport Operators Call off Strike after President Vows to Reduce Fuel Prices
Kenya’s public transport operators on Friday called off a nationwide strike that had been suspended for a week to allow talks over rising fuel prices. The strike on Monday and Tuesday triggered protests in which four people were killed and more than 30 others injured after police fired live ammunition at demonstrators. The operators met with President William Ruto on Friday and announced the strike would not resume after he pledged that diesel prices would be reduced in the upcoming monthly fuel price review in June. Ruto rejected proposals to lower fuel taxes, arguing that reducing VAT on fuel from 16% to 8% had already caused significant revenue losses and that any further cuts would undermine delivery of government services. … Kenya’s fuel prices remain among the highest in East Africa, despite the country serving as a key import hub for several landlocked nations that rely on the Port of Mombasa and road transport networks. AP
Fuel Crisis Threatens to Bring Malawi to a Standstill
Fuel shortages are increasingly disrupting daily life and business activity in Malawi, as global oil prices rise amid ongoing instability in the Middle East. In the capital Lilongwe, long queues of trucks and private vehicles have formed outside filling stations, with drivers often waiting for hours — sometimes days — to access diesel. Transport companies say the scarcity is already affecting their operations, slowing the movement of goods and threatening supply chains across the country. The Transport Association of Malawi says the crisis is linked in part to global market pressures and disruptions in key shipping routes in the Middle East, which have driven fuel prices sharply higher. With trucks unable to operate at full capacity, businesses warn of wider knock-on effects, including shortages in shops and delays in agricultural distribution during a critical season. … Agriculture accounts for more than a third of Malawi’s economy and the vast majority of its foreign exports. The fuel shortage is hitting farmers hard. Without reliable and affordable transportation, they can’t get the fertiliser they need for their crops and can’t get their crops to market. If the situation continues, businesses warn the pressure on prices and supply could worsen further in the coming weeks. With growing public debt and limited foreign reserves, the government’s options are limited. It’s now said it will sell off some $30 million in precious gold reserves to keep the petrol flowing. Africanews and AFP
CAR’s President Touadéra Appoints New Government
The president of Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadera has appointed a new government, one month after taking office for a third time. The latest line up of ministers is largely the same as before, with just 10 new faces joining the 29-person council. Prime Minister Felix Moloua has also been reappointed. Touadera was re-elected in December with close to 78 percent of the vote, according to official results. The opposition contested the outcome, with Touadera’s main rival Anicet-Georges Dologuele denouncing it as “massive fraud,” pointing to Touadera concentration of power within state institutions. The announcement of the new government follows the opening of parliament earlier this month. Of the 144 seats, only 90 members were sworn in. The remaining 54 are still waiting for the results of the second round of elections after poll workers went on strike over unpaid wages. Africanews