WHO Urges DR Congo’s Neighbours to Act Immediately on Ebola Risk
States neighbouring the Democratic Republic of Congo are at great danger from Ebola and should act immediately to counter the deadly virus, the head of the World Health Organisation said on Monday. “Countries bordering DRC are at especially high risk and should take immediate action,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, adding that he would travel on Tuesday to the DRC, the vast, ceoff tntral African country at the epicentre of the current outbreak. “The outbreak is spreading rapidly,” Tedros told a virtual ministerial meeting on the viral haemorrhagic fever, which spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids. It can cause severe bleeding and organ failure. … One person is confirmed dead in neighbouring Uganda with a further six confirmed infected after Monday saw the health ministry confirm two new cases. Ten other African countries are “at risk” of infection, the African Union’s health agency, Africa CDC, warned on Saturday. These are Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. AFP
Ebola Patients Flee in Attacks on Congo Health Facilities, Hobbling Response
Doctors operating on the front lines of the fight against Ebola in Congo, already grappling with shortages of basic supplies, are now also having to deal with attacks on their facilities and fleeing patients as the virus spreads rapidly. At least three such incidents have occurred in the northeastern province of Ituri where the first Ebola cases were reported, including two at the weekend targeting the same hospital that permitted more than two dozen patients to run away. The attacks recall the widespread violence targeting health facilities during a 2018-2020 outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that killed more than 25 health workers. Some were perpetrated by civilians who were angry about not being able to bury their loved ones or were convinced that the outbreak was a hoax. … At the Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital, located in Mongbwalu town where many cases have been reported, 18 Ebola patients fled on Saturday after “unidentified individuals” burned tents, erected by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, where patients were being isolated. … On Sunday, the hospital came under four waves of attacks by young people mobilised by relatives of a Christian religious leader who died of Ebola, [Dr Richard Lokodu, medical director of the Mongbwalu General Referral Hospital,] said. Seven other patients escaped and Congolese police and soldiers had to mobilise to restore order, he said. A suspected Ebola patient who was in critical condition with hemorrhaging died in the second attack while trying to flee from his bed, Lokodu added. The perpetrators of the attacks wanted dead Ebola victims’ bodies released for burial, Lokodu said. The bodies of Ebola victims are highly infectious after death, and unsafe burials – in which family members handle the body without proper protective equipment – are a leading driver of transmission. Reuters
Benin’s Wadagni Takes Office, Vows Better Living Standards, Security
Benin’s new president, Romuald Wadagni, vowed at his inauguration on Sunday to confront rising security threats and to ensure economic growth translated into concrete improvements in people’s lives. … He succeeds Patrice Talon, who had led the West African nation since 2016 and stepped down after two terms, in line with constitutional limits. The 49-year-old former finance minister, who served in the role for a decade, is expected to continue Talon’s reform agenda, which helped deliver steady economic growth and improve Benin’s business climate. … He pledged to focus on job creation, access to basic services and social protection. … Wadagni also acknowledged mounting security challenges, as jihadist groups spilling over from the Sahel have stepped up attacks in northern Benin in recent years. “Benin will not yield to fear or complacency,” he said, pledging closer cooperation with neighbouring countries facing the same threat. Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, the Sahel states at the centre of that threat, were among several countries represented at the ceremony. In a region where some leaders have sought to extend their stay in power, Wadagni also stressed his commitment to democratic norms. “I will serve with the constant awareness that power is never a personal privilege.” he said. Reuters
Nigeria Deploys Troops to Benin Republic to Safeguard Democratic Process
The Nigerian Army has disclosed that it deployed a company of troops to the Republic of Benin in April to support regional stability and prevent breakdown of law and order during the country’s electioneering period. … According to a statement issued on Monday by army spokesperson Appolonia Anele, the deployment was carried out on the directive of President Bola Tinubu, as part of Nigeria’s commitment to regional peace and democratic stability. This newspaper reported how Nigeria foiled an attempted coup in Benin last year. … Ms Anele, a colonel, explained that the troops were not directly involved in election conduct duties. She said they were strategically positioned to provide “a stabilising presence before, during and after the electoral process.” … She added that the troops, operating under Operation ATILEHIN ALAFIYA II, maintained a high level of operational readiness throughout their stay in Benin by conducting patrols, monitoring key locations and sustaining a visible security presence across critical areas within the Cotonou metropolis and surrounding areas. Premium Times
Nigeria’s Military Says Troops Rescued 92 People Abducted by Jihadi Militants
Ninety-two people who were abducted by jihadi extremists have been rescued by troops in Nigeria’s conflict-battered northeast region, the country’s military said Sunday. The abductees — 52 males, 33 females, and seven children — were rescued along the Buratai–Kamuya road in the Biu area of Borno State, military spokesperson Sani Uba said in a statement. The militants were “forcibly herding” their victims off the road and into the bush before they were intercepted by the soldiers, Uba said. … The military did not specify how long those rescued had been in captivity. Militant groups operating in northern Nigeria include Boko Haram and a splinter organization that broke away to affiliate with the Islamic State group. They range across vast areas, in addition to numerous criminal groups specializing in kidnapping for ransom, generally called “bandits.” AP
Senegal’s President Sacks PM and Former Ally after Months-long Feud
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the nation’s government after months of tensions between the two men. A shock decree, read out on TV by a presidential aide, said Faye had “ended the duties” of his one-time political ally Sonko and “consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”. … Sonko’s dismissal followed a parliamentary session on Tuesday, during which the prime minister openly criticised Faye for his approach to the debt crisis. Faye was in the unusual situation of owing his position, in large part, to his prime minister’s popularity. Sonko would almost certainly have taken the top job had he not been barred from running in 2024’s elections due to a defamation conviction. … Tensions between Sonko and Faye have been on display for months. Faye had reportedly criticised Sonko’s “excessive personalisation” within the ruling party Pastef, while Sonko accused the president of a “failure of leadership” for not defending him against his critics. BBC
Senegal’s Sacked PM Sonko Elected Parliamentary Speaker in Challenge to President
Senegal’s former Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who was dramatically sacked on Friday by the president, has been elected Speaker of the national parliament setting up a possible source of conflict at the top of Senegalese politics. The West African nation’s current crisis follows months of tension between Sonko and his one-time ally President Bassirou Diomaye Faye. Parliament’s previous Speaker stepped down on Sunday to make way for the former prime minister, who is a popular figure and whose Pastef party has a majority of the seats in the National Assembly. On Monday, Faye appointed economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo to replace Sonko as prime minister. Relations between the president and his former prime minister had been deteriorating for months, with Sonko openly criticising Faye for his handling of Senegal’s debt problems. Sonko’s position as Speaker – the second highest political position in the country – could limit President Faye’s ability to manoeuvre if he fails to secure parliamentary support for his policies, analysts say. The president cannot dissolve parliament until at least two years after the last election – that means any move to prematurely end the mandates of lawmakers before November this year would be considered invalid. BBC
East Africa’s Democracy under Fire as Opposition Leaders Decry ‘Tyranny’
A coalition of African opposition leaders has demanded the release of three jailed politicians, accusing Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda of weaponising courts to crush dissent. The Platform for African Democrats (PAD) issued the call following a meeting in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on May 24, signed by former Botswana President Seretse Khama Ian Khama. Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, shared the statement. PAD singled out the cases of Tanzania’s Tundu Lissu, Uganda’s Kizza Besigye and Rwanda’s Victoire Ingabire, describing their trials as abuses of legal process designed to remove political opponents from public life. “The prosecution of opposition leaders who are fighting to democratise their countries has become a feature of African autocracies, intent on destroying democratic practices in favour of extending their rule through repression,” the statement read. … PAD called on the international community to demand the end of what it termed “farcical” legal proceedings and the provision of medical care for Lissu and Besigye. “The fight for democracy in Africa cannot be stopped by the actions of tyrants determined to hold onto power,” the statement noted. The Standard
UAE Accused of Training Colombian Mercenaries for Sudan’s War
The United Arab Emirates trained Colombian mercenaries before sending them to fight alongside a notorious paramilitary group in Sudan’s devastating war, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. Its new report is the latest by an international rights group accusing the wealthy Gulf monarchy of financially and militarily aiding the Rapid Support Forces that have been widely accused of committing atrocities amounting to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. … In the new report, Human Rights Watch said hundreds of Colombian mercenaries were trained by Emirati nationals at a military base in Al Dhafra region, about 250 kilometers west of the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, and at another facility in Abu Dhabi, before being deployed to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF. The rights group quoted an unnamed Colombian mercenary as saying he trained RSF recruits at camps around Nyala, the provincial capital of South Darfur, in April last year. Many recruits were “young children,” the mercenary was quoted as saying. The rights group said it interviewed another Colombian mercenary and other sources, including former Colombian military officers. AP
Sudanese Political Groups Approve Roadmap to End War in Nairobi Talks
A broad coalition of Sudanese political, civil, and armed movements opened talks in Nairobi on Friday aimed at finding a path to end the war and achieve peace and stability in Sudan. The opening session of the meeting of the “Sudanese Declaration of Principles Forces for Building a New Homeland” brought together political party leaders, civil society figures, armed movement commanders, and public personalities. Addresses were delivered by Sudham Alliance “Sumoud” chairman Abdalla Hamdok, Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) leader Abdelwahid Mohamed al-Nur, and other leaders including Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party-Original chairman Ali al-Rayah al-Sanhouri. The meeting’s agenda centres on the current political situation, the continuation of the war, and the further development of the declaration, according to SLA spokesman Mohamed Abdelrahman, who spoke to Sudan Tribune ahead of the session. … Participants stressed the importance of dialogue, coordination, and joint action among Sudanese across political divides, and reaffirmed the need to unify national efforts toward a comprehensive political solution that ends the war and fulfils the aspirations of the Sudanese people for peace, democracy, and stability. Sudan Tribune
IGAD Appoints Sudanese Diplomat as Chargé d’Affaires in Khartoum
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) appointed former Sudanese diplomat Rania Mustafa as chargé d’affaires of its mission to Sudan on Friday, as the regional body moves to reopen its Khartoum office. IGAD Secretary-General Workneh Gebeyehu said the appointment is part of the organisation’s continued re-engagement with Sudan and its efforts to restore a fully functioning presence in the Sudanese capital. … Sudan formally announced the resumption of its full participation in IGAD in February, ending a two-year suspension. IGAD is one of the members of the Expanded Mechanism — known as the Quintet — involved in international efforts to resolve the Sudanese conflict. Sudan Tribune
Morocco King Pardons Jailed Senegal Football Fans from AFCON Final
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has pardoned the Senegalese football supporters jailed after violence at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final in Rabat for “humanitarian reasons”, a royal court statement has confirmed. It said that in view “of the age-old fraternal ties” between the two countries “and on the occasion of the advent of Eid al-Adha”, the king has “granted, on humanitarian grounds, his royal pardon to the Senegalese supporters”. The Muslim holiday will be celebrated on Wednesday in Morocco. In February, Moroccan courts sentenced 18 Senegalese supporters held in Morocco since the final to prison terms ranging from three months to a year. Three were released from jail in mid-April after completing their three-month sentence. Following that release, another 15 Senegalese fans remained incarcerated after receiving sentences ranging from six months to one year. The royal pardon is expected to apply to those 15. … The 18 fans were jailed following a pitch invasion that followed the awarding of a penalty to Morocco in injury time of the final on January 18. The game stopped for 14 minutes while the Senegal players and staff left the field in protest at the decision. When play resumed, Morocco missed the penalty before Senegal sealed a 1-0 win in injury time. The Confederation of African Football (CAF), the continent’s governing body for football, overturned the decision on March 17, awarding the game as a 3-0 win to Morocco, which saw the North Africans crowned champions. Al Jazeera with AFP