Mass Displacement, Trafficking Fears Deepen Crisis in Sudan’s El Fasher
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s El Fasher remains dire as mass displacement accelerates and aid access stays restricted, amid warnings of widespread trafficking, sexual violence and the recruitment of children. UN agencies say conditions are deteriorating further across North Darfur and neighbouring Kordofan, while independent human rights experts on Thursday warned that the collapse of protection following the city’s fall has sharply increased the risks facing women and children. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of El Fasher – the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state – on 26 October after an 18-month siege that cut residents off from food, medicine and other critical supplies. The city had been the government’s last major stronghold in the Darfur region. According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), families who fled the fighting are now scattered across five locations surrounding El Fasher, including Tawila, while others have reached more distant areas such as Dabbah in Northern State and even the national capital, Khartoum. … Against this backdrop, independent human rights experts expressed alarm on Thursday at reports of trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and sexual slavery, and the recruitment of children as fighters, particularly since the RSF takeover of El Fasher. UN News
Sudan Journalists say 32 Reporters Killed, Courts Used to Muzzle Press
Sudan’s journalists’ syndicate said on Thursday that 32 reporters have been killed and 556 media violations recorded in the past two years, while a press rights group warned that courts were being used to charge reporters with capital offences. The syndicate’s Gender Secretariat released the figures to mark the start of the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.” The report highlighted that female journalists face particularly harsh conditions, with authorities employing repressive tactics including arbitrary detention and work bans. The syndicate said “malicious complaints” were being used as a weapon to intimidate reporters. It cited the case of a female journalist banned from travel due to her anti-war views and warned of rising digital violence targeting women. … Separately, the Sudan Media Forum (SMF) warned that the judiciary was being used to prosecute journalists under laws carrying the death penalty. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the forum condemned a “fierce and systematic campaign” by justice institutions, warning that legal statutes were being exploited to frame unarmed journalists as combatants to criminalise free speech. Sudan Tribune
Kenya: Vote Counting Underway in 22 Electoral Areas After Day Marked By Violence
Vote counting is underway across all 22 areas that participated in Thursday’s by-elections, following a day that was marked by pockets of violence and heightened political tension. Polling officially closed at 5:00 PM, and tallying has commenced in constituency and ward tallying centres under the supervision of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), party agents, observers and security personnel. Despite largely peaceful voting in several regions, isolated clashes were reported throughout the day—including confrontations between rival supporters, attacks on party agents and disruption attempts near polling stations. Incidents were particularly highlighted in Kasipul, Malava and Kabuchai, where security teams were forced to intervene to restore order. Seventeen youths were arrested in Kasipul after being found patrolling with crude weapons, including machetes. Police also continue to track a separate group believed to be in possession of a firearm reported stolen during violence earlier in the day. Capital FM
EU Parliament Urges Halt to Tanzania Funding over Violence
The European Parliament has urged the European Commission to immediately suspend direct financial support to Tanzanian authorities, citing widespread violence following the country’s disputed October 2025 elections and the arbitrary detention of opposition leader Tundu Lissu. In a resolution adopted Thursday with 539 votes in favour and 27 abstentions, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) condemned the excessive use of force by Tanzanian security forces against protesters, which left thousands dead or injured amid reports of mass graves. MEPs also denounced curfews, internet shutdowns and restrictions on media imposed during the crackdown. … The resolution highlighted “Parliament’s demand to the commission to halt direct support to the Tanzanian authorities.” It urged European Union assistance to Tanzania to prioritise civil society organisations, human rights defenders and journalists, and called on the commission “to consider sanctions against those responsible for violations.” Tanzania’s October polls were sharply criticised by African Union and Southern African Development Community observers who cited irregularities and the exclusion of key opposition figures. APA
General Sworn in as Interim Leader of Guinea-Bissau after Coup
Military officials in Guinea-Bissau on Thursday named a general as the country’s transitional president. Horta Inta-A’s inauguration came a day after soldiers toppled the civilian leadership in a swift power grab ahead of the announcement of the weekend’s election results. In a statement, he justified taking control of the country saying it faced threats to its stability from politicians and drug barons, without providing any details. The military government will oversee a one-year transition period starting from Thursday, it said in a declaration broadcast on state television. “Created in response to the events of November 26, this new military entity immediately assumed supreme power in the state of Guinea-Bissau,” said the general at his swearing-in ceremony. Guinea-Bissau is a notorious cocaine transport hub with a long history of military interventions in politics. The coup came after incumbent President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and opposition candidate Fernando Dias both declared victory in the Sunday polls. AfricaNews/AP
ECOWAS Expels Guinea-Bissau after Army General Seizes Power
West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS suspended Guinea-Bissau’s membership hours after an army general was sworn in as the country’s president. The decision was reached at a virtual session of ECOWAS’ Mediation and Security Council (MSC) chaired by Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio on Thursday night. The meeting included leaders from Cabo Verde, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Benin among others. It condemned the army takeover as an ‘illegal abortion of the democratic process’ seeking to subvert popular will. … The African Union has condemned the coup and was expected to suspend the country soon. West Africa has been rattled by army officers seizing power, with at least six coups since 2020. AfricaNews
Nigeria Declares ‘Nationwide Security Emergency’
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, November 26, declared a “nationwide security emergency” as the country scrambled to respond to a wave of mass kidnappings that have seen hundreds of people, mostly schoolchildren, captured in a week. “This is a national emergency, and we are responding by deploying more boots on the ground, especially in security-challenged areas,” Tinubu said in a statement. … In addition to a 16-year jihadist insurgency raging in the northeast, Nigeria is plagued by persistent insecurity, with frequent kidnappings for ransom. The first mass abduction to shock Nigeria was in 2014 when the jihadist group Boko Haram kidnapped 276 teenage girls in Chibok, in the northeast, sparking an international outcry. Since then thousands of kidnappings have occurred. Some go unreported. For years, heavily armed criminal gangs have been intensifying attacks in rural areas of northwest and central Nigeria, where there is little state presence, killing thousands and conducting kidnappings for ransom. The gangs have camps in a vast forest straddling several states including Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger from where they launch attacks. Le Monde
Somalia Declares Drought Emergency as Millions Face Hunger after Failed Rains
On 10 November, the Federal Government of Somalia formally declared a drought emergency and appealed for urgent international assistance as conditions continued to deteriorate across northern, central and southern regions, according to the UN relief coordination office, OCHA. Puntland is among the worst affected areas, where authorities estimate that nearly one million people need support, including 130,000 in immediate life-threatening need. A UN assessment mission to Bari and Nugaal regions earlier this month found communities grappling with acute water and food shortages, with residents warning that catastrophe could unfold in the coming months. “We have not received rain since last year; this is the worst drought in years,” said Abdiqani Osman Omar, the mayor of Shaxda village in Bari region. “Hundreds of displaced families moved here three months ago, and more are coming. The new arrivals are mostly women and children as the men have moved to nearby Ethiopia in search of pasture and water.” UN News
Tunisian Court Sentences Nearly 40 Opposition Figures to up to 45 Years
Dozens of Tunisian political figures were sentenced on appeal to up to 45 years in prison for plotting against the state, local media reported Friday, in a trial rights groups have condemned as politically motivated. “The Court of Appeal in Tunis issued a final ruling early Friday against the defendants in what is known as the conspiracy against the state case,” said radio station Mosaique FM, citing an official source, adding the terms ranged from five to 45 years. Nearly 40 defendants, many of whom are critics of President Kais Saied, were sentenced to up to 66 years in April for “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group”. … Saied was elected in 2019 after Tunisia emerged as the only democracy to come out of the Arab Spring. In 2021, he staged a sweeping power grab, and human rights groups have since warned of a rollback on freedoms. France24
Tunisia Frees Prominent Lawyer Sonia Dahmani, a Critic of the President
Tunisia freed prominent lawyer Sonia Dahmani, a vocal critic of President Kais Saied, on Thursday after a year and a half in prison and she said she hoped her release would pave the way for dozens of other critics to walk free. Dahmani, who is also a media commentator, is widely seen as a leading dissenting voice in Tunisia, and her arrest last year prompted local protests demanding her release and international criticism. She was convicted for comments during a television appearance that questioned the government’s stance on undocumented African migrants in Tunisia. The court said the comments had insulted her country and spread false information intended to harm it. … Her lawyer Sami Ben Ghazi said the justice minister had issued a release order under a system that enables prisoners to apply for release after serving half their sentences. … Most opposition leaders, some journalists, and critics of Saied have been imprisoned since Saied seized control of most powers in 2021, dissolved the elected parliament, and began ruling by decree, moves the opposition has described as a coup. Reuters
Jacob Zuma’s Daughter Accused of Tricking Men into Fighting for Russia in Ukraine
South African police are investigating allegations that a daughter of the former president Jacob Zuma tricked men into fighting for Russia in Ukraine by telling them they were travelling to Russia for a paramilitary training course. Another of Zuma’s daughters, Nkosazana Zuma-Mncube, filed a police report on Saturday alleging that her sister Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla and two others, Siphokazi Xuma and Blessing Khoza, had recruited 17 men who are now trapped on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine. A copy of Zuma-Mncube’s statement shared by South Africa media outlets read: “These men were lured to Russia under false pretences and handed to a Russian mercenary group to fight in the Ukraine war without their knowledge or consent. Among these 17 men, who are requesting the South African government for assistance, are eight of my family members.” … The South African news outlet News24 said it had received videos from three of the South African men trapped in Ukraine, in which the men alleged Zuma-Sambudla had persuaded them to sign contracts in Russian that they did not understand and said she would spend a year in Russia training with them. The Guardian
South Sudan’s ‘Ghost’ Gold Trade Worth Millions, Study Reveals
A new report by the Swiss NGO SWISSAID has described South Sudan’s gold sector as highly informal and illegal, with production entirely dominated by unregulated artisanal mining and all exports believed to be smuggled out of the country. The report, titled “African Gold Report: South Sudan,” states that a lack of official statistics and effective governance makes it impossible to know the true scale of the trade. However, based on estimates from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, SWISSAID suggests that approximately five tonnes of gold, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, may be produced and smuggled out annually. … The report also highlights that South Sudan has become a transit hub for gold smuggled from other conflict-affected countries. Since the outbreak of civil war in Sudan in April 2023, gold from that country has been entering South Sudan before being flown to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Radio Tamazuj