Eritrea, Ethiopia Trade Barbs as Tigray Rebels Retreat
Ethiopia and Eritrea each accused the other of starting a war of aggression on Friday as an internal Ethiopian conflict threatened to escalate into a regional war. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing rebels in its northern Tigray state, who launched attacks against federal forces last month. The two countries severed diplomatic relations, and over the past week, Eritrean troops have been seen in northern Tigray with Ethiopia launching drone strikes against their forces. A foreign security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP they estimated 5,000 to 8,000 Eritrean soldiers were present in Tigray. … Over the past week, the Ethiopian army has pushed back the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and seized their capital city, Mekelle, with Ethiopian Airlines saying flights to the city would resume from October 11. There are also signs that federal forces have pushed back the Eritrean troops with heavy drone strikes. AFP
Conflict-hit Tigray, Drought-stricken Hararghe Face IPC Phase 3 Food Insecurity as Harvest Falters
Conflict-related disruptions in Tigray and severe rainfall deficits in eastern Ethiopia are prolonging food insecurity, with crisis-level conditions classified as Phase 3 of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) expected to persist in parts of southern and eastern Tigray and East and West Hararghe, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). Conflict-related disruptions in Tigray and severe rainfall deficits in eastern Ethiopia are prolonging food insecurity, with crisis-level conditions classified as Phase 3 of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) expected to persist in parts of southern and eastern Tigray and East and West Hararghe, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). … The IPC Phase 3 classification, known as Crisis, indicates that households face significant food consumption gaps or are struggling to meet minimum food needs without resorting to harmful coping strategies. Addis Standard
UN Security Council Extends Sudan Sanctions for Two Months after US Drops Arms Embargo Push
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to extend sanctions on Sudan for two months, diplomats said, after the United States withdrew a proposal to broaden the scope of an arms embargo. Disputes had escalated within the 15-member council over Washington’s bid to expand the Darfur arms embargo to cover the entire country. Several members favored renewing the existing regime for a standard one-year term without changes, while veto-power Russia opposed the U.S. proposal. The council adopted a resolution extending the sanctions on a technical basis until Dec. 11, 2026. The United States proposed the short-term rollover after weeks of talks on an earlier draft aimed at expanding the embargo to all warring parties across Sudan and curbing the flow of drones and dual-use technology. Washington withdrew the draft after failing to secure broad support. The two-month technical extension is intended to give council members more time to negotiate. Sudan Tribune
Guinea-Bissau Moves Towards Postponement Of December General Election
Guinea-Bissau’s electoral commission announced Thursday that conditions had not been met to organise its December 6 presidential and legislative vote, which was meant to restore civilian rule after a coup last November. The perennially unstable west African nation has been gripped by significant political and security turmoil for several weeks, as the December deadline approaches. Junta leader General Horta N’Tam summoned the National Electoral Commission (CNE) for a meeting, its vice president Felisberta Moura Vaz told reporters. She said the body had informed him that the “conditions necessary to organise elections by December 6 will not be met”. … The army in Guinea-Bissau seized power last November just days after a presidential vote, overthrowing president Umaro Sissoco Embalo and suspending the electoral process. The junta established under N’Tam, a close associate of Embalo, had set December 6 as the date for presidential and legislative elections meant to restore civilian rule. Embalo had told AFP that he would return from exile in Morocco and stand in the elections, but the junta last week said that “security conditions” were not met for Embalo’s return. … Many observers suspected Embalo of orchestrating the November 26 coup to halt an election process he appeared to be losing. … However, the junta has more recently taken several steps suggesting it is distancing itself from the former president. AFP
Nigeria Looks to Ease Fuel Prices as Election Looms
Nigeria’s finance minister unveiled a raft of measures Thursday aimed at cushioning against energy shocks as the country prepares to go to the polls, including a petrol discount for public transport operators. Africa’s top oil producer hosts the continent’s largest refinery, owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote. But fuel prices have risen to about 1,400 naira ($1.00) per litre from the 830 naira seen before the war in the Middle East, with the government doing little to rein in prices and instead deferring to the market. … Tinubu, who is seeking a second term, pushed through sweeping economic reforms when he came into office in 2023, including scrapping a major fuel subsidy and floating the naira. While economists have broadly backed the measures, they have driven up living costs and deepened hardship in Africa’s most populous country. Cheap petrol — which in turn had driven down prices of food and goods throughout the country — had for some been the most important government benefit they received amid decades of poor services and graft. AFP
Nigeria: COAS Offers Bangladesh Counter-Terrorism, Drone Warfare Expertise
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, has offered to share the Nigerian Army’s experience in counter-terrorism, counter-insurgency and drone warfare technology with Bangladesh as both countries move to strengthen defence cooperation. … The COAS said the Nigerian Army was also prepared to share its expertise in the humanitarian management of internally displaced persons as part of efforts to deepen military collaboration between the two countries. He directed relevant departments at Army Headquarters to coordinate with defence authorities on joint training engagements and strategic frameworks aimed at strengthening the operational capabilities of the Nigerian Army. … In his remarks, the Bangladesh High Commissioner expressed condolences to the Nigerian Army over the recent military aircraft crash in Ondo State and commended Nigeria’s contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations. Mainul Kabir disclosed that 154 Nigerian officers had participated in courses at the Bangladesh National Defence College. He called for expanded institutional exchanges through foreign service and military training programmes to strengthen strategic leadership and bilateral cooperation. PR Nigeria
‘Ebola Takes the People Children Depend on’: UNICEF
The Ebola outbreak in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is robbing children of their loved ones – with some succumbing to the deadly disease themselves – the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Tuesday. … More than 1,900 boys and girls have either lost one or both parents, or their caregivers, since the outbreak was declared in May, or have been separated from them. Most of these children, 1,581, are in Ituri province, the epicentre of the crisis. A further 322 are in neighbouring North Kivu province. “And these are the children we know about because these figures cover only the area where UNICEF works with social affairs teams in the affected provinces,” she said. … As of 29 September, at least 2,017 children had been confirmed with Ebola in DRC. At least 1,062 have died. She noted that children make up just over one in four confirmed cases, but around one in three deaths. However, the situation is worse among under-fives where the death rate is seven in 10, up from six in 10 just a few weeks ago. UN News
Egyptian Journalists Plan Weekend Protest over Detention of Six Colleagues
Egyptian journalists are planning a new protest in Cairo this weekend after six colleagues were charged with terrorism offences amid allegations they had been tortured in police detention. Last week, Egyptian authorities arrested the journalists, from the independent factchecking and investigative platform Matsadaash, accusing them in a statement of being unlicensed and producing false news on behalf of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. The journalists – Abdallah Qadri, Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira, Mohamed Adel, Islam Barakat, Mohamed Mahmoud and Omar Helal – were arrested at their homes and in the street by plainclothes officers. One was charged on Sunday, the other five late on Wednesday. All six have told lawyers they had been tortured and forced to film false confessions, allegations that police deny. … For journalists, the arrests and alleged abuse form part of a broader escalation from the Egyptian authorities against independent media, amid poor pay and insecure employment across the profession. The Guardian
South Africa: Home Affairs Scraps Asylum Seeker Directive after Violence in Durban and Soweto
On Friday, 9 October 2026, the director-general of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) withdrew a directive instructing its offices to accept asylum applications so they could be judged on their merits rather than excluded on procedural grounds. The reversal follows protests this week by anti-immigrant groups and widespread misinformation suggesting the directive granted asylum seekers citizenship or voting rights. The Home Affairs directive was issued on 28 September following a Constitutional Court ruling in July that declared certain provisions of the Refugees Act unconstitutional and invalid. The court found that procedural hurdles could have prevented asylum seekers from accessing a merits-based assessment of their claim, particularly given the constitutional right to dignity and the principle of non-refoulement, which prevents states from returning people to countries where they face persecution or other serious harm. … Before scrapping its directive, Home Affairs announced it would report disinformation regarding the directive to the Electoral Commission for alleged breaches of the Electoral Code of Conduct. It did not disclose the political parties it planned to report. Daily Maverick
Morocco Aerospace Exports Could Rise to $5 Billion, Industry Group Says
Morocco’s aerospace industry could increase annual exports to about $5 billion within three years from $3 billion last year, as it attracts new suppliers manufacturing high-value parts, the head of industry association GIMAS said. The North African country’s aerospace sector employs about 25,000 people across around 160 companies, including suppliers to Airbus, Boeing and Safran. The sector aims to increase local value added by moving beyond producing individual components into manufacturing more complex aerospace systems, GIMAS head Mohammed Bellatig told Reuters on the sidelines of the Marrakech Airshow. He said that in the near future, Morocco would be assembling engines and landing gear “so that we provide much bigger added value than we have today”. French defence group Safran is currently expanding its footprint in the country by building plants to produce aircraft landing gear and Airbus jet engines. Morocco is also looking to gain a foothold in the drone industry, which officials view as a natural extension of capabilities already developed in aircraft manufacturing. Reuters