What Next Following Tanzania’s “National Catastrophe”?
The unprecedented use of violence against opposition supporters and ordinary citizens has ruptured Tanzania’s image as an island of stability and an upholder of the rule of law—a crisis that will require active high-level mediation to resolve. Amid an atmosphere of ongoing intimidation and extremely limited access to information, Tanzania continues to pick up the pieces following the government of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s precedent-shattering violent crackdown against protestors and ordinary citizens surrounding the country’s October 29 elections. The violence was accompanied by a government-imposed curfew and a shutdown of transport, markets, the internet, and newspapers—a first since independence. … Rather than legitimating, the government’s heavy-handed electoral process has set the country on highly unstable footing. … Tanzania faces an unprecedented crisis that will require extraordinary measures to resolve. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Sahel Nations Must Unite to Contain Raging Violence: UN Chief
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Tuesday for Sahel nations to put aside their differences to tackle mounting attacks by armed groups in an African region beset by humanitarian crisis. Attacks by Islamist militants and other armed groups are raging across the politically divided Sahel region, which has seen a number of coups in recent years, with juntas withdrawing from the regional ECOWAS bloc. “I’m aware of the serious political differences that exist in the region,” Guterres told the UN Security Council in a video message. “But it is absolutely essential that, despite these differences, we build a platform of cooperation among intelligence and security services of the countries of ECOWAS, the AES (Alliance of Sahel States), Mauritania, Chad and Algeria, to allow for coordinated action against terrorism.” … Omar Alieu Touray, ECOWAS Commission president, told the council that trust-building was vital in order for regional countries facing mounting security threats to effectively share intelligence. … Sierra Leone’s President Julius Bio, the current chairman of ECOWAS, called for a UN, ECOWAS and African Union “compact for peace and resilience in the Sahel.” AFP
UN Estimates over 2,000 Sudanese Pregnant Women Have Fled El-Fasher to Escape Conflict
More than 140 pregnant women arrived at al-Dabbah camps since el-Fasher’s fall last month, said Tasneem Al-Amin from the Sudan Doctors Network, a group of medical professionals tracking the war. Many of these women arrive suffering severe complications, especially hemorrhaging, which sometimes culminate in a miscarriage, she told The Associated Press. … Last week, Anna Mutavati, the U.N. women’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, told reporters that Sudanese women are forced to give birth on the streets. Earlier this year, Doctors Without Borders, known for its French acronym MSF, said Darfur pregnant women undertake “a harrowing journey” trekking on foot across unsafe roads to seek medical care at the few remaining health care facilities, which results in delivery complications, miscarriage or death. … The RSF also stormed the Saudi Maternity Hospital, the last functioning health facility in el-Fasher, reportedly killing 460 patients and their companions. The attack left more than 6,000 pregnant women with no access to life-saving maternal care, according to the U.N. AP
AU Insists on Leading Sudan Peace Process, Coordinates with UN
The African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye, stressed that the African Union must be the locomotive leading the peace process in Sudan, affirming that sustainable solutions to the crisis must stem from the principle of “African solutions to African problems.” In the context of bolstering the legitimacy of its moves, the Commissioner revealed high-level and continuous coordination between the African Union and the United Nations, represented by the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, to unify platforms and initiatives and avoid a multiplicity of tracks. … These moves are based on decisions issued by the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC), which drew a roadmap for ending the conflict, including the formation of high-level mechanisms to engage with the warring parties and civilian forces to ensure a comprehensive political process. Sudan Tribune
Nigerian President Confirms General Killed by Jihadists
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu confirmed on Tuesday that jihadist forces had killed an army brigadier general, the highest-ranking military official to die in the long-running conflict since 2021. The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) had claimed on Monday its fighters ambushed and killed a senior officer in the northern Chad region days earlier, in a post alongside a picture of Brigadier General Musa Uba. The jihadist group said the general was wounded in the leg and was attempting to flee when he was abducted. “I am depressed with the tragic death of our soldiers and officers on active duty. May God comfort the families of Brigadier General Musa Uba and other fallen heroes,” Tinubu said in a statement. The Nigerian army initially dismissed reports that Uba had been captured in the ambush. … Uba is the second senior officer killed in a jihadist ambush in four years, after General Dzarma Zirkusu, who died in November 2021. AFP
INTERPOL Operation Targets Terror and Crime in West Africa, Dozens Arrested
A major INTERPOL operation in West Africa has resulted in 62 arrests and the seizure of weapons, explosives, drugs, counterfeit medicines, and stolen vehicles. Operation Screen West Africa 2025, which ran from July to October, involved law enforcement from 12 countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire. Officers used INTERPOL’s global databases to carry out 1.7 million real-time checks at land, air, and sea borders. Nine people were arrested for suspected links to terrorism, including three in Burkina Faso connected to the JNIM group, responsible for a 2020 attack in Côte d’Ivoire that killed more than ten security personnel. Six others were arrested in Mauritania over suspected terrorist activities. The operation also rescued 21 victims of human trafficking in Ghana who had been held in Nigeria and exploited in fraudulent schemes. Authorities seized explosives, dynamite, 136 stolen vehicles, 731 kg of cannabis, counterfeit medicines, fake currency, and fraudulent documents. Some of these items could have been used to fund terrorism or organized crime. Maritime checks uncovered vessels using deceptive practices, such as switching off identification systems and frequent “flag hopping.” Africanews
South Sudan: Kiir Reappoints Igga as Vice President
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir on Monday night reinstated Dr. James Wani Igga as vice president in charge of the Economic Cluster, ending days of speculation over the position, according to state-run media. The move is part of a sweeping political reshuffle that replaced four national ministers and senior government officials. South Sudan has five vice presidents under a 2018 peace deal that ended the country’s civil war. Igga, a veteran politician and general, was dismissed in February after serving as vice president since 2013. A longtime liberation-era ally of Kiir, he was also reinstated as first deputy chair of the ruling SPLM after being removed from that role in May. Igga’s return follows the removal last week of Dr. Benjamin Bol Mel, who had briefly occupied the vice presidency and the deputy SPLM chairmanship. Radio Tamazuj
Zambia: Rocks, Rage Rain on Hichilema’s Surprise Parade
Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema came under attack on Saturday when angry residents of Chingola pelted his podium with stones. The president was in the mining town in the Copperbelt Province for what was meant to be a surprise solidarity visit. He had travelled to the area to offer sympathies to local traders whose market had been destroyed by fire. The crowd accused Hichilema of failing to deliver on campaign promises to tackle youth unemployment and expand economic opportunities. … Opposition leaders said the unrest reflected deeper discontent. National Renewal Movement leader John Sangwa said the riots exposed a deeper national crisis marked by the erosion of public trust, the collapse of civic order, and weakened state institutions. … Zambia heads to elections next year amid fading optimism about Hichilema’s leadership. Once seen as a reformist, he now faces criticism for authoritarian practices. These include what UN rapporteurs have described as “arbitrary arrests and detentions” of opposition leaders, activists, and journalists. The Continent
Chinese Premier’s Visit to Zambia Focuses on Reviving a Cold War-era Railway to Help Mineral Access
Chinese Premier Li Qiang will start a two-day visit to the southern African nation of Zambia on Wednesday that will focus on the $1.4 billion refurbishment of a Cold War-era railway line to further improve China’s access to critical minerals. China is heavily invested in mining in Zambia, which is one of the world’s top producers of copper that is integral to the production of electronic devices. Li, who holds China’s No. 2 leadership position after President Xi Jinping, will meet with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema on Thursday, Hichilema said in a statement. The two countries will sign documents to start the upgrade of the Tazara railway line linking Zambia’s mines to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam on Africa’s east coast. … The railway has taken on renewed significance for China after a United States-backed project to build a railway from Zambia and neighboring Congo out to Africa’s Atlantic Ocean coast in Angola gained momentum last year when then-U.S. President Joe Biden visited part of that project. AP
British-Egyptian Activist Stopped from Flying to UK, Says Family
Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British-Egyptian writer and human rights campaigner who was freed from jail in September, was stopped from flying to the UK by Egyptian passport control, his family has said. Abd el-Fattah was pardoned after more than 10 years in jail but his status, including his right to travel back and forth between Britain and Egypt, was left unclear and subject to discussion between the family and authorities. He had been due to travel to the UK on Tuesday in part to attend two conferences, including the Magnitsky human rights awards in London. … Abd el-Fattah and his mother, Laila Soueif, were on Thursday awarded the Courage Under Fire award at the Magnitsky awards. … Soueif conducted a 287-day hunger strike to press for the release of her son, which she started on 29 September 2024 after Egyptian authorities failed to release him at the end of his latest five-year sentence. Abd el-Fattah had been imprisoned for “spreading fake news” after sharing a Facebook post about torture in Egypt. The Guardian