Regional Leaders Back Sudan Peace Roadmap, Condemn El Fasher Siege
Leaders from countries party to a regional peace and security framework expressed solidarity with Sudan and affirmed support for its national peace roadmap in a communiqué issued Wednesday. The 12th High-Level Meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM) of the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the wider Great Lakes region was held on May 28, 2025, in Entebbe, Uganda. Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni chaired the meeting. Heads of State and Government or their representatives from Angola, Burundi, the Republic of Congo, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia participated. Representatives from the African Union (AU), the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), and the United Nations (UN) also took part, alongside observers from regional partners. Malik Agar, deputy head of the Sovereign Council, led the Sudanese government’s delegation. During the meeting, the ROM called on the “rebel militia of RSF” to fully comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2736. This includes immediately lifting the siege on El Fasher, ceasing all atrocities against civilians, and halting the destruction of infrastructure…The leaders also called for enhanced regional cooperation to prevent the flow of arms and mercenaries into Sudan, in accordance with the UN Security Council’s arms embargo, and to cut off external support to the RSF. Sudan Tribune
Sudan Paramilitaries Shell El-Obeid, Hospitals Hit: Army Source, Witnesses
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces shelled El-Obeid on Friday, hitting two hospitals and residential neighbourhoods of the key southern city, witnesses and an army source said…Witnesses close to the Social Insurance Hospital confirmed it had come under bombardment. El-Obeid, a strategic city 400 kilometres (250 miles) southwest of Khartoum which is the capital of North Kordofan state, was besieged by the RSF for nearly two years before the regular army broke the siege in February. It was one of a series of counteroffensives by the army that also saw the army recapture Khartoum earlier this year but the city has continued to come under RSF bombardment. El-Obeid is a key staging post on the army’s supply route to the west, where the besieged city of El-Fasher is the only state capital in the vast Darfur region still under its control. The RSF and the army have clashed repeatedly along the road between El-Obeid and El-Fasher in recent weeks. On Thursday, the paramilitaries said they retaken the town of Al-Khoei, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of El-Obeid, after the army recaptured it earlier this month. AFP
Sidi Ould Tah Elected President of the African Development Bank with Large Majority
It took just three rounds of voting to narrow down the field of five candidates. In the end, Sidi Ould Tah (76.18%) beat out Zambia’s Samuel Maimbo (20.26%) and Senegal’s Amadou Hott (3.55%). He thus becomes the 9th president of the African Development Bank (AfDB)…By the second round, Tah had already built strong momentum, winning more than two-thirds of the votes from African shareholders…Having entered the race last, the Mauritanian leveraged his country’s diplomatic networks, bolstered by Mohamed Ould Ghazouani’s chairmanship of the African Union in 2024. He also benefited from the influence of Saudi Arabia, whose backing helped secure votes from Arab League member states. His campaign messages — and his track record as someone who bridges Africa and the Arab world — appear to have hit home. Over the past decade, Tah led the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), which is owned by 18 member countries of the Arab League. Under his leadership, the Bank broke into the top tier of development finance institutions. The Africa Report
EAC Urged to Negotiate Trade as One Bloc
The East African Business Council (EABC) is urging EAC Partner States to adopt a unified approach in negotiating trade agreements with third parties. Instead of pursuing separate bilateral or multilateral trade deals, the EABC recommends that Partner States negotiate collectively as a bloc to strengthen regional integration and enhance bargaining power on the global stage, according to a statement shared yesterday. Acting Executive Director of the EABC, Mr Adrian Raphael Njau, emphasised that a coordinated EAC strategy in external trade would foster trust among Partner States, reinforce a common trade policy, and ensure the consistent implementation of the EAC Common External Tariff (CET)…“The EAC Customs Union Protocol mandates coordinated external trade relations to implement a unified external trade policy. The CET, a cornerstone of the EAC Customs Union, ensures uniform tariffs on goods entering the EAC region from outside,” he explained. However, there has been a growing trend of individual Partner States entering into bilateral agreements with third parties, raising concerns among the private sector over potential distortions to the CET and mistrust among members. The Citizen
How Egypt, Nigeria and Rwanda Project Soft Power through Their Armies
By strategically deploying military capabilities, Egypt, Nigeria and Rwanda aim to build diplomatic influence, secure economic partnerships and establish themselves as indispensable regional players…Egypt has become a major contributor to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa…and participates in joint exercises with neighbours. Its military academy and the Cairo International Centre for Conflict Resolution train personnel from 45 African states…With around 223,000 active personnel in its armed and paramilitary forces as of 2020, according to World Bank figures, Nigeria possesses West Africa’s largest military…Through its National Defence College, Nigeria trains senior officers from at least 20 countries including Cameroon, Chad, Benin and Ghana. These programmes enhance military cooperation, intelligence sharing and promote Nigeria’s regional interests. The Nigerian army has also played a quiet diplomatic role, notably in restoring dialogue with Niger’s post-coup authorities…The military is a key plank of President Kagame’s pan-African strategy. With 5,900 troops and police deployed, Rwanda is the UN’s second-largest peacekeeping contributor…and the largest in Africa. Its defence forces have become an export commodity, opening doors to economic cooperation..[T]he Rwandan military has positioned itself since 2020 as a preferred alternative to international forces in conflict zones…The model seems to be holding – even amid allegations of Rwandan support for M23 rebels in eastern DRC. The Africa Report
Ghana Opposition Boycotts Parliament Over Leader’s Arrest
Dozens of opposition lawmakers from Ghana’s main opposition boycotted parliamentary on Thursday and staged a march in protest at the detention of a senior leader facing a financial irregularities investigation. New Patriotic Party (NPP) chairman in the party’s political stronghold of Ashanti Region, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, has been in custody at the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in Accra since Tuesday. The attorney general said he is being investigated for fraud, causing financial loss to the state and money laundering. The lawmakers marched from parliament and staged a sit-in outside the heavily-guarded EOCO offices…Boasiako was arrested after responding to a police invitation…Boasiako’s company, Akonta Mining, has come under scrutiny in recent years for allegedly operating illegally in protected forest reserves. In April, the Lands Ministry revoked its mining licence, citing environmental breaches. AFP
Torrential Rains Kill 25 In Nigerian City: Rescuers
Torrential rains devastated the central Nigerian city of Mokwa and killed at least 25 people, emergency services said Thursday amid a search for more bodies. Flooding after a rainstorm late Wednesday washed away or submerged at least 50 homes in the city and 10 people remained missing on top of the confirmed dead, an emergency management official said…Nigeria is hit by flooding every rainy season, which runs between May and September. The floods are largely caused by inadequate drainage, the construction of homes on waterways, and the dumping of waste in drains and water channels. The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had warned of possible flash floods in 15 of Nigeria’s 36 states, including Niger state, between Wednesday and Friday. In 2024, more than 1,200 people were killed and 1.2 million displaced in one of the country’s worst floods in decades. AFP
Ouattara, Thiam, Gbagbo… How will Côte d’Ivoire Vote in October?
With just five months to go until Côte d’Ivoire’s next presidential election, the political outlook is strikingly murky, raising far more questions than it answers…Ouattara, in power since 2011, has yet to officially announce a bid for a fourth term. Nevertheless, the RHDP sees him as its ‘natural candidate’, a choice the party’s congress in late June is likely to confirm…While the ruling party presents a unified front around an undisputed leader with no clear successor, the opposition is fragmented, plagued with old rivalries, ideological divides, personal grudges and lacking strategic coordination…Amid this fragmentation, the Coalition for Peaceful Alternation in Côte d’Ivoire (CAP-CI), formed in March, has tried to unite 25 parties, including the PDCI, FPI, and MGC. This alliance aims at a single candidate and electoral reform, but [Laurent] Gbagbo’s party refuses to join, viewing the process as fundamentally flawed. Consequently, CAP-CI appears leaderless, its success dependent on uniting behind one credible candidate — a scenario currently improbable. Another major handicap is the judiciary’s sword of Damocles hanging over opposition figures. The Africa Report
A Migrant Boat Capsizes upon Arrival at Spain’s Canary Islands and 7 People Die
A boat carrying migrants capsized within reach of shore as it arrived at Spain’s Canary Islands on Wednesday and four women and three girls drowned, authorities said. In the chaotic scene at El Hierro’s port, survivors clung to ropes and life preservers tossed by rescuers. Spain’s maritime rescue service said the boat tipped over as rescuers started removing young people onto a rescue craft positioned between the migrant one and the quay. The movement of people on the boat caused it to turn over, the service said. Local media said the small boat appeared to be packed with over 100 people…The Spanish archipelago located off Africa’s western coast has for years been a main route for migrants who risk their lives in dinghies and rubber boats unfit for long journeys in the open sea. Thousands have been known to die on the way to European territory. AP
Ex-Radio Rwanda Journalist Detained in France Over 1994 Genocide
A journalist at the government Radio Rwanda during the 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsis was charged and detained in France at the end of April, a source close to the case told AFP on Thursday. The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office (PNAT) confirmed that Hyacinthe Bicamumpaka was indicted for genocide, complicity in crimes against humanity and conspiracy. His pre-trial detention was upheld on appeal on May 9, according to a judicial source. Alongside Radio Mille Collines, which was nicknamed “Radio Genocide” or “Hutu Power Radio”, Radio Rwanda was the official Hutu government radio station during the genocide. Bicamumpaka was a “prominent journalist” who was “very close to the main planners of the genocide”, the executive secretary of the genocide survivors’ group Ibuka, Naphtali Ahishakiye told AFP…Bicamumpaka arrived in France in June 1994, with Rwanda in the grip of the genocide, according to French authorities…His asylum claim was rejected, with the refugee commission stating that Radio Rwanda was a “vehicle of government propaganda at a time when the Rwandan government notoriously tolerated and encouraged a genocide against the Tutsi population”. AFP