Burkina Faso Junta Suspends Biggest Student Union and Arrests Leader
Burkina Faso’s military leaders have suspended the country’s largest student union and arrested its leader. A decree from the Minister for Territorial Administration said the General Union of Students of Burkina (Ugeb) will be barred from operating for three months for “advocating terrorism”. It is the latest salvo in the ongoing crackdown on independent organisations by the junta which seized power in a 2022 coup. The military authorities have pursued a hardline policy against dissenting voices, dissolving or suspending nearly 1,000 civil society groups in recent weeks. This latest move comes after Ugeb last week denounced “violations of democratic, trade union, and political freedoms” and complained about people being abducted, detained, and held in secret. It also criticised the junta for its “obvious inability to restore security” in a country still undermined by jihadist violence across most of its territory. The union said around 10 students, including its president Wilfried Bazo, were arrested overnight on Monday to Tuesday by a group of armed, unidentified individuals who stormed their headquarters in Ouagadougou. Africanews with AFP
Women Pay the Price of Surging Banditry in Northwest Nigeria
For more than a decade, criminal gangs – known locally as bandits – have preyed on rural communities across northwestern Nigeria. Well-armed, they sweep into villages on motorbikes, seizing anything of value. The village men they encounter are presumed to belong to self-defence vigilante groups and are killed with little compunction. Women run the risk of sexual assault and kidnapping. The violence has caused mass displacement, destroyed livelihoods, and left thousands dead. By February 2025, more than 580,000 people – the majority women – had been forced to flee their homes across the three northwestern states of Katsina, Sokoto, and Zamfara due to the insecurity. Some women suffer a double burden when displaced, pushed into begging or survival sex to care for their families. … Many women suffer from severe mental health disorders after witnessing the murder of their spouses and children, or being kidnapped and repeatedly raped themselves, but go without any specialised care. … For widows, it is not just the immediate emotional loss of a loved one that can be so destabilising, but also the aftermath – the social and economic exclusion. The New Humanitarian
Terrorist Turf War over Lake Chad Plunges Thousands into Hunger
[The conflict between Boko Haram and ISWAP, which are both vying to establish Islamic states in the Lake Chad Basin], has exploded in recent months, with each seeking to dominate the region’s lucrative trade. The groups are behaving less like jihadists and more like warring mafias, unleashing a wave of kidnappings and extortion as they attempt to fill their coffers. This turf war has plunged an already inhospitable region into humanitarian catastrophe, collapsing the regional economy and fuelling a worsening hunger crisis, with women and children being hit hardest. Propaganda videos produced by both sides show all out warfare over the islands of Lake Chad. … It is difficult to overstate how heavily the explosion of terrorist activity has hurt the local economy. … There should really be enough food to go around. The lake supports about 120 species of fish and is surrounded by tracts of rich, fertile soil. Reeds grow in abundance and are used as a versatile building material. But what was once a hub of agricultural activity and trade has deteriorated into deep poverty, and over 10 million people are now heavily dependent on humanitarian aid, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The Telegraph
Ethiopia Shows Few Signs of Upcoming Election
In Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, it is hard to tell an election will happen on Monday that will decide the next five years of Africa’s second most populous country. A few people can be spotted wearing T-shirts with the wheat symbol of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party (PP), but there are no election posters anywhere. The party held its only major campaign rally in the capital on Tuesday. It was over by 8:00 am and Abiy, who has ruled since 2018, did not appear. Few doubt he will cruise back to power with a landslide victory for the PP — no doubt why it is not wasting time and money on campaigning. … Abiy emerged from the ranks of the previous ruling party to take control in 2018, and initially showed signs of a liberal streak — freeing jailed opposition members and journalists. He even won the Nobel Peace Prize for resolving tensions with neighbouring Eritrea. … But that gave way to mounting repression, particularly of the media. Several international media groups have been refused entry for the election, and Ethiopia has slipped to 148th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index. The irony is that the PP has a positive story to tell: under Abiy, Ethiopia’s economy has grown by more than seven percent per year, even if this is mostly the consequences of earlier reforms. It could even top 10 percent this year — among the highest rates in the world. Abiy has taken steps to reduce state control of the economy, modernise the capital, and inaugurated Africa’s largest dam, which is expected to double electricity production. AFP
In Congo Displacement Camp, Fighting Ebola with Sand, Oatmeal and One Thermometer but No Water
There is one handwashing station and one infrared thermometer to fight the Ebola epidemic in a camp for 10,000 displaced people in Bunia, a city at the heart of the outbreak in eastern Congo. Camp leaders say they tell residents to wash their hands before eating — with soap for the lucky ones who have it. For the rest, the advice is to use oatmeal or sand. … Supplies are being rushed to Ituri province as aid groups and healthcare workers try to stem an outbreak of the infectious disease that has been declared a global health emergency. But front-line responders are concerned the disease might spread to the large displacement camps located near Bunia, where thousands of people are crammed into limited space, without access to basic hygiene. … Almost a million people have been displaced from their homes by conflict in Ituri, according to the U.N. That means this Ebola outbreak is “unfolding in communities already facing insecurity, displacement and fragile healthcare systems,” said Gabriela Arenas, a regional coordinator at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. AP
UNDP Study: ‘$3 Billion Damage to Electrical Grid since Sudan War Broke Out’
A new study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says Sudan’s electricity grid has suffered up to US$3 billion in damage since war broke out in 2023, forcing millions of households, farms and clinics to rely on solar power as diesel prices soar and fuel supplies disappear. The report says growing demand for solar energy is being held back by rising local costs, limited financing and supply shortages. Imports of solar panels surged across safer parts of Sudan, with new businesses offering installations and repairs. But the report warns that rising costs, currency collapse and disrupted supply chains now threaten the sector’s growth. A 550-watt solar panel that cost around SDG75,000 before the war now sells for roughly SDG330,000, while batteries have more than tripled in price. Despite the challenges, solar energy is keeping key services running. Telecom companies depend on hybrid solar systems to maintain mobile networks, while hospitals use solar power to preserve vaccines and provide emergency care. In farming areas, solar-powered irrigation is helping farmers continue producing crops despite soaring diesel costs. The UNDP says it has installed hundreds of solar-powered water systems and supported more than 110 health facilities across Sudan over the past five years. Dabanga
Survivors of al-Fashir Attack Describe Brutal Escape from Sudan
They could do nothing but watch as paramilitary fighters shot and killed their loved ones. They were held captive and endured beatings. Their phones, shoes and life savings were stolen. Survivors of a three-day paramilitary assault in western Sudan began showing up in the desert town of Tine, on the Chad-Sudan border, in early November 2025. There, a team of Reuters journalists spoke with some of them about the horrors they say they faced fleeing the Rapid Support Forces takeover of al-Fashir, a large city in Sudan’s Darfur region. The famine-stricken city, once home to some 1 million people, had been under siege for 18 months before the final RSF offensive, which began on October 25. …Tens of thousands of civilians fled through the desert. Many arrived at a refugee transit centre in Tine starving, some with bullet wounds and deep scarring on their feet from walking barefoot for days. Some were so traumatized they could not describe much of what they had seen. But the stories they did tell, part of a Reuters documentary about the RSF’s attack on the city, paint a harrowing picture of desperation and violence. Reuters
India’s Drug Lifeline to Africa Disrupted by Iran War
India has often been called the “pharmacy of the Global South,” and, for African countries, public health and Indian pharmaceuticals are deeply entwined. … According to data from the UN Economic Commission for Africa and Nigeria’s pharmaceutical regulatory agency, NAFDAC, India supplies roughly 40% of Africa’s imported medicines, making it the continent’s largest pharmaceutical trade partner. From Nigeria to Kenya and South Africa, Indian generic drugs form the backbone of public healthcare systems. Across the continent, they provide low-cost antibiotics, HIV antiretrovirals, malaria and tuberculosis drugs, insulin, blood pressure medicines and common painkillers used daily by millions. … The drugs pass through Gulf hubs for state-of-the-art logistics needed for temperature- and climate-sensitive drugs like certain vaccines. Logistics hubs in the Gulf also have more capacity to organize large shipments originating in India and heading to African markets. The system depends on predictable shipping schedules, relatively cheap freight and stable Gulf transit routes. But with the Iran war choking off the Strait of Hormuz, commercial shipping from the Gulf has been disrupted, while war-risk premiums have risen, freight costs have climbed and airlines have rerouted or reduced cargo capacity through Gulf airspace. DW
First Ghanaians Evacuated from South Africa over Immigration Protests Land in Accra
A flight carrying nearly 300 Ghanaians, repatriated from South Africa amid fears there could be a resurgence of xenophobic violence there, has landed in Ghana’s capital city, Accra. Ghana’s government chartered a flight from Johannesburg following a wave of protests against illegal immigration in South Africa. Further departures are expected in the coming days – roughly 800 Ghanaians registered for repatriation. The country’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, joined other officials at the airport in Accra on Wednesday in order to welcome the first set of arrivals. A total of 297 Ghanaian citizens arrived on Wednesday, Ghana’s High Commissioner in South Africa, Benjamin Quashie told the BBC. … There are an estimated 25,000 Ghanaians living in South Africa. … Quashie told the BBC his government had a duty to ensure the safety of its citizen. “The Ghanaian government listened to the plight of its citizens in South Africa, who felt that their lives were in danger, who felt like the economic activity that they were engaging in had come to a standstill, who felt unwelcome in this country,” he said. “It is the responsibility of every government to ensure that its citizens are taken care of both home and abroad.” BBC
Morocco Tops Africa’s Industrialisation Index for First Time
Morocco has ranked first in Africa’s industrialisation index for the first time, overtaking South Africa, which had held the top position since 2010, according to a new report by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The bank’s 2025 Africa Industrialisation Index ranked Morocco at 0.8415 points, narrowly ahead of South Africa’s 0.8396 points, reflecting what the AfDB described as sustained industrial upgrading, export diversification and the effective implementation of strategic industrial policies. South Africa remains one of the continent’s leading industrial economies, the report said, but has experienced a gradual long-term decline in industrial competitiveness. Its score fell from 0.8819 points in 2010 to 0.8396 points in 2024. The index measures industrialisation across three main dimensions: industrial performance; direct drivers such as investment, infrastructure, education and access to finance; and indirect factors, including the business environment, the rule of law, public debt and inflation. Al Jazeera