Rights Group Accuses Sudan’s RSF of Atrocities in Darfur’s Zamzam Camp
Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have taken full control of the Zamzam camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in North Darfur, perpetrating a campaign of atrocities including abductions, rape, and killings, a women rights group said on Monday. The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network) said in a statement dated May 26 that the RSF launched an attack on the camp on April 12 and has since imposed a complete communications blackout and severe restrictions on movement, trapping civilians…SIHA said it was verifying reports of 64 abductions and enforced disappearances of women and girls…The group reported it had documented and verified 14 rape cases out of 27 received. These included a 22-year-old woman allegedly gang-raped by RSF soldiers on April 23, and a 19-year-old girl reportedly raped in front of her family the following day. A 12-year-old girl was among those raped after being accused of having family in the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), SIHA said… [On May 16, approximately 30 women and girls in a group of fleeing civilians] were reportedly beaten and sexually harassed by the soldiers. SIHA also reported an alleged sexual assault on three men by RSF soldiers, who reportedly amputated their genitalia, leading to two deaths. Sudan Tribune
UN Warns of Deepening Humanitarian Crisis in Sudan as Fighting Intensifies
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is deepening due to sustained fighting, ongoing displacement, and rising health emergencies, a United Nations spokesperson warned on Tuesday, citing escalating needs across the country. Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, told reporters that artillery shelling continues to hit residential areas of El Fasher in North Darfur state and the Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced people…Further north, authorities in Northern State reported that about 6,000 people fleeing insecurity in North Darfur, Khartoum, and West Kordofan states arrived in Dabbah locality between May 12 and 22. Dujarric also highlighted a worsening cholera outbreak in Khartoum state, reporting an 80% increase in suspected cases over the past two weeks, bringing the total to more than 8,500…With the rainy season approaching from June to September, the U.N. and its partners are rushing to preposition aid. Storage facilities with a combined capacity of 30,000 metric tonnes have been established in Geneina, Nyala, and Tawila in Darfur to support operations in the Kordofan and Darfur regions. West and Central Darfur states will receive aid via cross-border operations from Chad. Sudan Tribune
Congo’s Former President Returns Home, Accused of Treason
A former president of the Democratic Republic of Congo has returned to the Central African country after years in self-imposed exile, according to one of his advisers, days after the country’s Senate accused him of treason. The Senate said the former president, Joseph Kabila, had supported a militia that has captured swaths of Congolese territory this year — an allegation that could lead to his prosecution. Yet he remains beyond the government’s reach, even after returning to his country…For his re-entry into Congo, Mr. Kabila chose Goma, a city 1,000 miles to the east, where the government is powerless…On his arrival in Goma, Mr. Kabila was given an effusive welcome by M23’s political leader, Corneille Nangaa. Mr. Nangaa, a politician turned rebel who lately dresses in military fatigues and regularly excoriates Mr. Tshisekedi, is the same man who, in a previous political life, was president of Congo’s Independent National Electoral Commission when it first declared Mr. Tshisekedi president. The New York Times
Nigeria Landmine Explosion Kills Eight Anti-jihadist Militants
Eight members of an anti-jihadist militia assisting the Nigerian military were killed on Tuesday when their vehicle hit a landmine in northeastern Borno state, sources from the group told AFP. Members of the militia were returning to the regional capital Maiduguri from the town of Marte in the Lake Chad area, where they had helped to repel a jihadist attack on a military base, the two sources said…In mid-May, fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) attacked a military base in Marte, a town in Borno state, killing four soldiers and seizing weapons before torching the facility. The victims of Tuesday’s attack were among a contingent of anti-jihadist militia who remained in Marte to help troops guard the town, said Ibrahim Liman, another militia leader…ISWAP and rival Boko Haram have escalated attacks on communities in Borno and neighbouring Adamawa and Yobe states in recent months. They have also have intensified attacks on military bases, overrunning more than a dozen in two months, according to an AFP tally. AFP
ECOWAS at 50: Celebrating Unity as the Region Fragments
Exactly 50 years ago, on May 28, 1975, fifteen West African countries agreed to establish the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The first leadership was handed to the former Liberian president, William Tubman. Thanks to the profound work and call for unity by both the Togolese president Gnassingbé Eyadéma and Nigerian former leader Yakubu Gowon, the union came into effect in West Africa. Both traversed the region, leading to the signing of the ECOWAS treaty in 1975 in Lagos by 15 nations. The Lagos treaty was meant to enable the free movement of goods and people within the region. It was in 1990 that they abolished the use of personal identification cards while moving across the border…Despite all its achievements, the journey has not been smooth. The three-nation block of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced last year that they were leaving the regional bloc known as ECOWAS. They then created their own security partnership, known as the Alliance of Sahel States, severed military ties with longstanding Western partners such as the U.S. and France, and turned to Russia for military support. In response, the bloc outlined transitional guidelines, maintaining policies like free trade and visa-free movement, at least temporarily…As discussions continue in Accra, ECOWAS faces the challenge of redefining its ties with the breakaway nations, while preserving stability and cooperation across West Africa. Africanews
Kenya Halts Somaliland Office Opening in Nairobi, Reaffirms Support for Somalia’s Unity
In a diplomatic move aimed at strengthening ties with Mogadishu, Kenya has blocked the planned inauguration of Somaliland’s liaison office in Nairobi, signaling a renewed commitment to Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Somaliland, a self-declared independent region of Somalia, has long sought international recognition and maintains warm relations with Kenya. However, in a calculated effort to avoid straining bilateral relations with Somalia, Nairobi has opted to step back from the engagement. In a statement released Monday — the second of the day — Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the May 27 event to open Somaliland’s liaison office had not received official approval and would not be permitted to proceed…Earlier, Kenya had reaffirmed its respect for Somalia’s territorial integrity, while justifying its engagement with Somalia’s federal member states, including Somaliland, which operates an autonomous government. Garowe Online
Somalia: Opposition Forum in Mogadishu Seeks Electoral Clarity Ahead of 2026 Vote
A major political gathering of Somali opposition leaders opened on Wednesday in Mogadishu, with participants calling for a clear roadmap toward timely, inclusive, and transparent elections as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term nears its end in May 2026. Organised by senior opposition figures, the forum brings together former presidents, ex-prime ministers, parliamentary leaders, and current lawmakers. The meeting is seen as a coordinated effort to apply political pressure on the current administration to avoid delays and disputes that have marred previous electoral cycles. Sources close to the organisers say the talks will focus heavily on ensuring the next elections are held as scheduled and that all stakeholders are consulted in shaping the electoral process. Garowe Online
Illegal Gold Mining Poses ‘Global Threat’: UN Report
Organized crime groups in Africa have embedded themselves in gold supply chains to such a degree that they now present “a serious global threat,” a new UN report warned. Some are using profits from illegal gold mining to fund armed activity, strengthen territorial control, and fuel conflict. “Their presence heightens violence, corruption and environmental degradation, while exposing vulnerable populations to exploitation and human rights abuses,” it said. The continent — where the precious metal is mined before being transferred to refining hubs in Europe and North America — plays a major role in global gold production. Criminal groups are taking advantage of “weak oversight, inconsistencies in documentation and regulatory loopholes along the trade routes to add illegally sourced gold to supply chains,” the report said. Semafor
Searching for a Better Life, Young Ethiopians Risk All to Reach Saudi Arabia
Last year, nearly 235,000 people left Ethiopia and headed towards the Red Sea coastline, according to the International Organization for Migration, the UN’s migration agency. The country is Africa’s second largest by population, but it has been wracked in recent years by successive crises, including various ethnic armed conflicts and related economic instability. Much of this Ethiopian exodus has been directed along the so-called “Eastern migration route”, which crosses the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden into Yemen, and ultimately Saudi Arabia…The journey takes [migrants] into a dark, transnational economy fuelled by human suffering. Along the route, people smugglers and violent militias prey on their desperation for profit. Many die along the way. And for those lucky enough to reach Saudi Arabia itself, further dangers lurk – including…the terrors of the country’s prison system…Saudi Arabia has been heavily criticised by human rights groups for its treatment of migrants, both legal and irregular. Legal migrants face various forms of exploitation, including forced labour, excessive working hours, and wage theft, according to Amnesty International. Irregular migrants face even more severe treatment. In 2023, a report by Human Rights Watch documented numerous “mass killings” of Ethiopian migrants by Saudi border guards. The New Humanitarian
Namibia Marks Colonial Genocide for First Time with Memorial Day
Dubbed “Germany’s forgotten genocide”, and described by historians as the first genocide of the 20th Century, the systematic murder of more than 70,000 Africans is being marked with a national day of remembrance for the first time in Namibia. Almost 40 years before their use in the Holocaust, concentration camps and pseudoscientific experiments were used by German officials to torture and kill people in what was then called South West Africa. The victims, primarily from the Ovaherero and Nama communities, were targeted because they refused to let the colonisers take their land and cattle. Genocide Remembrance Day in Namibia on Wednesday follows years of pressure on Germany to pay reparations. The new, national holiday will be marked each year as part of Namibia’s “journey of healing” including a minute’s silence and candlelight vigil outside parliament in Windhoek, according to the government. It said it chose the date of 28 May, because it was on that day in 1907 that German officials announced the closure of the concentration camps following international criticism. BBC
Senegal and SUEZ Win UN Prize for Model Water Partnership
A pioneering partnership between the Senegalese government and global water utility company SUEZ has earned top honours at the 9th International Forum on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Belgrade from May 14 to 16. The award, presented to SEN’EAU, a joint venture between SUEZ and the Senegalese government, recognizes the project’s impact in delivering sustainable and high-quality water services, and its contribution toward achieving the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. It was the only African project selected among 60 international initiatives…Through this collaboration, water distribution and production systems have been digitized and optimized, leading to significant improvements in service delivery. In Dakar, the capital, residents now benefit from an additional 200,000 cubic meters of water per day, made possible through infrastructure upgrades and increased plant availability…As countries across Africa continue to grapple with water security challenges, SEN’EAU is now being seen as a blueprint for how public-private cooperation can deliver real, scalable solutions tailored to the continent’s unique needs. Africanews
When the Elders Fall Silent — How the Loss of Elephant Matriarchs Fractures a Society
Because of poaching, habitat destruction and human interventions, a crisis is unfolding: the social transmission that binds elephant societies is breaking down…A new study led by a team of top elephant scientists and published by the Royal Society…warns that when experienced elephants are lost, the very fabric of elephant society unravels…At the heart of these networks are the matriarchs: older females who lead herds, guide migrations, remember watering holes and alert younger elephants to dangers. Their role is not symbolic – it is practical, essential and learnt over decades…The study also calls attention to the intertwined fates of elephants and humans. As elephants share landscapes with growing human populations, conflicts are inevitable…In some regions, says the report, decades of poaching have hollowed out elephant populations, leaving behind orphaned generations that lack guidance. These elephants may grow up more aggressive, more fearful or simply less competent in navigating a landscape increasingly shaped by human activities. The study warns that such behavioural shifts can have cascading ecological effects, from altered seed dispersal patterns to increased human-wildlife conflict. Daily Maverick