Number of People Fleeing Ethiopia into Kenya Rises to 36,000 as Local Leaders Appeal for Support
The number of people fleeing violence in Ethiopia into neighboring Kenya has risen to 36,000, the United Nations said Tuesday, as fighting near the border town of Moyale continues to displace civilians, mostly women and children. The Kenya Red Cross said the displaced people were sheltering in six camps and villages within host communities. … The fighting on the Ethiopian side of the border stems from a territorial dispute between the Oromia and Somali regional administrations, aggravated by the killing of a 13-year-old girl in an area administered by the Somali regional administration. … Local leaders in Kenya’s Marsabit County expressed concern that the influx could overwhelm communities hosting thousands of those fleeing and appealed for support. The violence has raised security concerns on the Kenyan side of the border, with police reporting three incidents involving stray bullets in Moyale last week. AP
‘Now Or Never’: Ethiopia Influencers Push for Eritrea Invasion
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has repeatedly said that securing a base on the Red Sea is a vital national objective for Ethiopia, which lost its coastline when Eritrea gained independence in 1993. Some popular online influencers say the opportunity has arrived. … Eliyas Kebede, 25, from Addis Ababa, spends hours every day online, posting and creating AI-generated content to support the idea of invading Eritrea, including altered maps that show the Eritrean port of Assab as part of Ethiopia. “I see myself as someone who tries to defend his country’s narrative,” he told AFP. … Not everyone agrees with his approach. “You are a warmonger, recklessly paving the way for mass deaths,” said one Facebook commenter under an image Eliyas created of a large crowd of Eritreans warmly welcoming the Ethiopian army to Assab. … Ethiopia has one of the harshest media climates in the world — ranked 148th out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders — so many young Ethiopians rely heavily on social media for news. AFP
More than 100 People Killed in Sudanese Army Drone Attack on Market Says Sudanese Rights Group
More than 100 people were killed in a Sudanese military drone strike on a busy market in Nyala, the capital city of the South Darfur province in southwestern Sudan, said Emergency Lawyers, a rights group tracking violence in the country, in a statement Tuesday. The strike, which it says happened Monday evening, also injured 113 people. The group said many of those killed and injured were women and children. The group blamed the Sudanese military for the strike on the market, condemning the attack. … Both warring parties have increasingly launched explosive-laden drones that, in multiple cases, targeted civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, dams, schools, markets and displacement camps. Drone strikes have become the deadliest threat to civilians in this conflict, according to the U.N. AP
Rights Groups Reject Emirati Diplomat For UN Top Job
Several human rights groups on Tuesday urged countries to reject Emirati official Lana Nusseibeh for the UN’s top job, over United Arab Emirates’ alleged financing of paramilitary forces in Sudan. The 48-year-old Nusseibeh is vying to become the first woman and only the second Arab to become the United Nations secretary-general. Since her official nomination last week, she has garnered the backing of Gulf states but also faced scrutiny over her country’s normalization with Israel and Abu Dhabi’s alleged role in Sudan’s war. … “I think that Lana Nusseibeh is utterly inappropriate as a candidate for UN Secretary General,” Ken Roth, head of Human Rights Watch, told journalists. “Not just once, but repeatedly she has been asked about the UAE’s role in arming and supporting the RSF and she just blatantly denies it without regard to the facts,” he added. AFP
UN Commission Warns of ‘Constitutional Coup’ in South Sudan
The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan called on member states and regional and international partners to take urgent action to prevent renewed conflict and secure lasting peace, irrespective of the electoral timetable. The commission warned that the political settlement established in 2018 to prevent another war is being undermined, putting civilians and the country’s fragile transition at grave risk. “A negotiated settlement has been displaced under cover of elections. This amounts to a constitutional coup through legislative reforms: the unilateral dismantling of the inclusive power-sharing settlement and concentration of all authority in the President,” Yasmin Sooka, chair of the commission, told the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee. Radio Tamazuj
UN Ends Three Decades of Political Missions in Somalia
The United Nations will end more than three decades of political missions in Somalia when its transitional mission closes on 31 October, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday. The UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) has transferred its responsibilities to Somali institutions and UN agencies under a jointly agreed roadmap. The federal government requested the two-year handover. “The United Nations will continue to support Somalia through its resident agencies, funds and programmes,” said a statement issued by Guterres’s spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric. Those organisations will work with Somali authorities, the African Union and other international partners to advance peace, stability, human rights and development, the statement said. … The mission’s work has included support for state institutions, human rights, the rule of law and security sector reform. It has also helped coordinate international assistance and efforts to counter violent extremism. Somalia Today
Nigeria 2027 Elections: CCC, Security Chiefs Warn of Deepfakes, Disinformation, Cyber Threats
The Centre for Crisis Communication (CCC) and senior security and government officials have raised the alarm over the potential weaponisation of deepfakes, disinformation, impersonation and other cyber threats ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, warning that the country’s security battle is increasingly shifting from the physical battlefield to the information space. Speaking at the Second National Symposium on Crisis Communication in Kaduna, organised by the CCC under the theme “Inter-Agency Collaboration, Public Trust and Cyber Threat Management in Crisis Communication,” the stakeholders called for stronger inter-agency coordination, rapid fact-checking, AI-enabled detection tools and credible public communication to protect national security and public confidence in democratic institutions. PR Nigeria
Nigerian Army, Tanzania Seek Stronger Military Training, Intelligence-Sharing Ties
The Nigerian Army and the Tanzania People’s Defence Force have agreed to explore expanded military training, professional exchanges and intelligence-sharing initiatives to strengthen operational capabilities and address Africa’s evolving security challenges. The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, made the call on Monday, October 26, 2026, during bilateral talks with the Chief of Land Forces of the Tanzania People’s Defence Force, Major General Fadhil Omary Nondo, on the sidelines of the African International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX) 2026 in Lagos. Shaibu emphasised the need to deepen cooperation in professional military education, joint training, intelligence sharing and personnel exchange programmes across military institutions, including national defence colleges. PR Nigeria
Tanzania’s Jailed Opposition Leader Tundu Lissu Ends Brief Hunger Strike
Tanzania’s jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu has ended a brief hunger strike after prison authorities allowed him to meet privately with his lawyers, his lawyer has said. Lissu, who leads the opposition’s Party for Democracy and Progress (CHADEMA) and came second in the 2020 presidential election, began refusing food on Monday after his lawyers were denied entry to the prison where he is being held, party spokesperson Brenda Rupia wrote on X. … His detention, along with the alleged abductions of government critics, has led to scrutiny of the human rights record of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who won a 2025 election. Al Jazeera/AP/Reuters
Congo Opposition Rejects Armed Rebellion, Calls for Inclusive Dialogue
Democratic Republic of Congo’s main opposition coalition on Tuesday refused to back an armed rebellion led by former President Joseph Kabila and renewed its criticism of proposed reforms that would extend President Felix Tshisekedi’s time in power, calling instead for all sides to hold dialogue.The C64 coalition, which brings together five opposition leaders including former presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued its first joint statement since former President Joseph Kabila took over the Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebellion, now known as FRN, earlier this month. The coalition said there was no military solution to the conflict and called for talks involving all parties, in a statement issued after a two-day meeting in Rome. Tshisekedi announced a national dialogue in August but excluded armed groups from the process. Reuters
Egyptian Court Orders News Site Closed as Critics Warn of a Crackdown
An Egyptian court ordered the closure on Tuesday of a prominent independent news website, Mada Masr, and detained its editor in chief, the outlet said, sparking an outcry from rights groups of an intensifying media crackdown. The editor, Lina Attalah, who is also a co-founder of Mada Masr, was fined 3 million Egyptian pounds, around $53,400 dollars, on charges of managing an unlicensed website, the outlet said in a statement. It added that Ms. Attalah was then carried out of the courthouse by security personnel. … Mada Masr, founded in 2013, two years after the Arab Spring protests that toppled the then-president Hosni Mubarak, has received international acclaim as one of the few outlets to publish politically independent journalism from Egypt, where most media is closely affiliated with or owned by the state. Based in Cairo, Mada Masr’s website has been blocked in Egypt since 2017. The New York Times
South Africa Deploys 500 Soldiers to Quell Anti-Immigration Violence
Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, deployed more than 500 soldiers to the port city of Durban on Tuesday, a week after a foreign national was brutally beaten to death there during an anti-immigrant protest. Durban has been plagued by months of anti-immigrant violence, with protesters setting cars ablaze, looting foreign-owned shops and terrorizing refugees seeking help at immigration offices. The latest wave of violence was sparked by the nation’s top court striking down a procedural barrier that had kept undocumented migrants from claiming asylum if certain conditions are not met. In a statement on Monday, Mr. Ramaphosa attributed the violence in Durban to misinformation about the court ruling. … The soldiers are scheduled to support the South African police under “Operation Prosper,” a joint security initiative announced by the president earlier this year. The operation is aimed at combating serious crime, restoring law and order and stabilizing volatile areas in South Africa. The New York Times