Ethiopia’s Government Retakes Mekelle after Opposition Fighters Withdraw from Tigray Capital
Government-allied fighters entered Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, a witness said Sunday, after the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front announced its withdrawal following renewed fighting. The TPLF last month seized the Mekelle airport and the city, one of Ethiopia’s largest. In a statement Saturday, it said its forces had pulled out. They had done so in the previous two-year war, which ended with a peace agreement in 2022, apparently to spare the city from destruction. … Severe disruptions to internet and cellphone networks have made gathering and verifying information from Tigray difficult, although some connectivity was reported Sunday. Residents of Mekelle told The Associated Press on Saturday that federal forces had retaken the airport, although details were scanty. AP
Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan Converge as Tensions with Ethiopia Deepen
Leaders of Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Somalia have reaffirmed their opposition to unilateral actions and interference in the affairs of states, while asserting the role of Red Sea littoral countries in governing the strategic waterway, in a declaration that comes amid sharply deteriorating relations between the four countries and Ethiopia. The El Alamein Joint Declaration was issued on Sunday following a quadrilateral summit in Egypt attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council chairman Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. According to IANS, the leaders stressed international law as the basis for regional stability and cooperation and called for respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity. The declaration also addressed transboundary water resources, including the Nile, stressing the principles of “no harm” and cooperation through prior notification, consultation and consensus. The four leaders rejected unilateral measures that could affect the existing water uses of Egypt and Sudan, Ethiopia’s downstream neighbours. The summit comes as Ethiopia’s relations with all four countries face significant strains. Addis Standard
Yemen Military Announces Broad Strikes Against Houthis
The Yemeni military announced a broad set of strikes against Houthi targets on Monday, after the government declared a new campaign to retake all territory even as the Iran-backed group made fresh gains on the ground. The declared offensive sets a lofty goal for the beleaguered Saudi-backed government a month after losing swathes of the country’s Red Sea coastline and territory around the Bab al-Mandab Strait — a key chokepoint for international shipping. The Houthis, at war against the internationally-recognised government, launched a lightning offensive in September that has killed hundreds of combatants on both sides and, according to UN figures, forced more than 145,000 people to flee their homes. While the war in Yemen predates the Middle East war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, the fighting there has in recent weeks become the most active front in the wider conflict. AFP
WFP Driver Killed in Air Strike on Aid Trucks in Sudan’s South Kordofan
An air strike on two contracted trucks carrying humanitarian food aid killed a driver in Sudan’s South Kordofan state early on Saturday, the United Nations World Food Programme said, in the latest attack against relief operations in the war-torn country. The U.N. agency condemned the attack, stating that the contracted vehicles were clearly marked as humanitarian transport and were travelling along a key supply route between Dilling and the state capital of Kadugli when they were struck. WFP said it was still gathering details regarding the circumstances of the incident and assessing the extent of damage to the food cargo. The strike represents the ninth documented attack against WFP operations in Sudan since the start of the year. The previous incident occurred on August 30 near Dilling, where shelling destroyed 50 metric tonnes of emergency food assistance. … Saturday’s air strike occurred just a day after another WFP vehicle struck an explosive device near Dilling shortly after delivering emergency food rations to displaced communities. Sudan Tribune
Nigeria: Army, DSS, Amotekun Eliminate Top ISWAP Commander in Ondo Operation
A joint operation involving troops of the Nigerian Army, operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and personnel of the Western Nigeria Security Network, codenamed Amotekun, has eliminated a senior commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Abdussamad Ohida, in Owo, Ondo State. Security sources disclosed that Ohida, also known as Anwar, was killed alongside several other suspected members of the jihadist group during an intelligence-led operation on their hideout in Owo forest at the weekend. … Ohida reportedly became a key figure in ISWAP’s activities across parts of the North-Central and southern regions following the arrest of his former superior, Abu Ikrimah, also known as Abu Uwais, by the DSS in 2023. … Intelligence obtained during the interrogation of Abu Ikrimah reportedly helped security agencies establish Ohida’s operational network and plans to attack civilians during the festive period. … “The plan was to attack civilians during the festive period and ultimately disrupt the 2027 general elections. This intelligence was corroborated by intelligence partners from the United Kingdom, who supported the elimination operation,” the source said. PR Nigeria
Sahel Juntas Launch TV Channel with Russian Backing
Three embattled Russian-backed military governments in Africa’s Sahel region have launched a TV channel to bolster their popularity as they fight rampant Islamist insurgencies. Tafouk TV, which has support from Russia and has been broadcasting out of the Malian capital Bamako since last month, has been serving its viewers with high-octane patriotic celebrations, sterile interviews with officers and officials, and optimistic frontline reportage. … The three countries have all been run by their militaries since a string of putsches vaulted ambitious officers into power with promises to stabilise security crises. … But their situation has since gone from bad to worse as their foes, which include the powerful Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State, have gained ground. … Russia Today, a state-owned broadcaster, signed a co-operation and content-sharing agreement with Tafouk TV months before its formal launch in September. “Russia has been offering political and security support, but one of their most effective and widespread offers across all three countries has been the extensive use of propaganda and disinformation networks to boost the legitimacy of the governments,” said Luca Raineri, an expert at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa. … All three countries have similarly invested heavily in savvy digital disinformation networks that have flooded social media platforms across west Africa. … [A]s the security situation has deteriorated, the three regimes’ authoritarian screws have begun to tighten on the few voices that are brave enough to criticise them or even report on military setbacks. Financial Times
Guinea Opposition Leader Aliou Bah Freed after Presidential Pardon
Guinean opposition politician Aliou Bah, who was jailed for insulting junta leader General Mamadi Doumbouya, was granted a presidential pardon Friday after nearly two years behind bars. The move frees one of the west African nation’s key opposition figures at a time when rights groups and political opponents have accused Guinea’s military rulers of tightening their grip on dissent since seizing power in 2021. … Bah, head of the Liberal Democratic Movement (Model), had been detained since December 2024. He was sentenced in January last year. … Bah was convicted over remarks in which he called on Guinean religious leaders to “break their silence” about the country’s political situation and described the ruling National Committee of Rally for Development (CNRD) as “incompetent”. His case had also reached the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In a letter dated September 25, the regional court asked Guinea’s Supreme Court to order Bah’s immediate and unconditional release. … Opposition parties have accused the military authorities of systematically restricting political freedoms. Several major political parties have been dissolved, demonstrations have been banned or dispersed by security forces, and a number of government critics have been arrested, convicted, forced into exile or have disappeared. Africanews
Egyptian Journalist Faces Terrorism Charges after Entire Newsroom Detained
An Egyptian journalist has been charged with joining a terrorist group, days after an entire newsroom was detained in what rights groups have said is a crackdown on press freedoms. Last week, authorities arrested six journalists from the independent fact-checking and investigative platform Matsadaash – literally meaning “don’t believe” – accusing them in a statement of being unlicensed and publishing false news on behalf of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. … On Sunday, Egyptian authorities charged [Mohamed Ashraf] with joining a terrorist group and spreading false news, according to a statement by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a NGO. The charges came after an interrogation that lasted from 10pm to 8am and focused exclusively on material published by Matsadaash, the rights group said. … Abdelrahman Mansour, the co-founder of the platform, denied having any association with the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational movement that was designated a terrorist organisation by Egypt in 2013 after the former president Mohamed Morsi, a senior Brotherhood figure, was ousted in a coup. … Dozens of journalists staged a sit-in outside the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate (EJS) in Cairo on Saturday, demanding the release of the Matsadaash staff. The Guardian
Ebola Death Toll in DRC Passes 4,000, as Health Workers Are Fighting to Get Paid
Congo’s Ebola outbreak has killed more than 4,000 people, authorities said, as they struggle to contain what has become the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history. The latest figures released by the Health Ministry on Thursday showed that 4,018 people have died among 8,300 cases recorded since the outbreak was declared in eastern Congo on May 15. The aid group Médecins Sans Frontières, known in English as Doctors Without Borders, said Friday, October 2, the outbreak has particularly worsened in the North Kivu province, accounting for 40% of new confirmed cases since the end of August. “It is like fighting a wildfire,” Stephanie Hoffman, MSF coordinator in Butembo, said. “Multiple outbreaks are developing at the same time, with varying intensity and in different locations.” Some health workers, meanwhile, gathered at the epicenter in Ituri Province to demand payment for wages owed to them. … Some of the workers haven’t been paid for August and September, said Biongi Beiza, one of the protesters in Bunia, Ituri’s capital. Le Monde with AFP
Zambia Presses Gulf Investors on Local Mine Rules
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema used his first trip abroad since his re-election last month to tell Gulf investors to fully comply with the country’s local procurement rules, he said. Zambia is Africa’s second-largest producer of copper, whose prices have soared as demand rises for metals used in electric vehicles and power grids. Hichilema’s stance matches that of regional rivals who are trying to use the scramble for critical minerals to drive economic development. Regulations introduced a year ago require mines to source a higher share of core goods and services locally. During his trip, Hichilema met Ali Rashed Alrashdi, CEO of an Abu Dhabi-based owner of Mopani mine, one of Zambia’s oldest copper mines. In a Facebook post, he urged Mopani to raise output as Zambia pushes to more than triple copper output to 3 million tonnes by 2030. Critics say the drive to buy local goods can inflate costs where domestic suppliers lack capacity, opening the door to middlemen who resell imports. During the visit, Zambia signed six non-binding agreements worth $2.14 billion with UAE investors, covering healthcare, renewable energy, logistics, and technology. Semafor