IGAD Renews Call for Ceasefire in Sudan
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has renewed its call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Sudan, urging the warring parties to protect civilians and allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need. In a communiqué issued after a meeting of its Council of Ministers in Djibouti on Tuesday, the regional bloc said Sudan’s war had created a severe humanitarian crisis and called for a Sudanese-led political process to end the conflict. IGAD also said mediation efforts should be coordinated, arguing that fragmented initiatives could not replace a coherent peace process. The regional bloc called for coordinated diplomacy involving the African Union, IGAD, the United Nations, the League of Arab States and other key international partners. It also demanded the protection of civilian infrastructure and “safe, rapid and unimpeded” humanitarian access. Radio Tamazuj
Somalia: Puntland, US Confirm Operation Targeting Al-Shabaab Weapons Depot
Puntland and the United States have confirmed a counterterrorism operation targeting an Al-Shabaab weapons and ammunition storage facility in Markad, in the Al-Madow-Golis mountain range of northern Somalia. The operation, conducted in coordination with Puntland authorities, struck a site used by Al-Shabaab to store weapons and ammunition intended to support the group’s activities and threaten communities in Puntland and elsewhere in Somalia. Puntland authorities and the United States described the operation as part of an expanding campaign against Al-Shabaab in northern Somalia, aimed at disrupting the group’s logistical infrastructure and reducing its ability to plan and carry out attacks. They said targeting weapons storage facilities would increase pressure on Al-Shabaab by disrupting its operational capabilities and limiting its access to supplies. Garowe Online
Nigeria Begins Trial of Five Suspected Ansaru Members over School Kidnapping
Nigeria’s state security service on Thursday opened the trial of five suspected members of Islamist group Ansaru over the abduction of pupils and teachers from schools in southwestern Oyo state. The defendants — Mahmud Muhammad, Abubakar Abbas, Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa and Shamsu Sani — pleaded not guilty to seven terrorism-related counts before Federal High Court Judge Salim Ibrahim in Abuja. They face sentences ranging from 20 years to life imprisonment if convicted. If prosecutors prove that deaths resulted from the kidnapping, they could face the death penalty, under Nigeria’s 2022 anti-terrorism law. … Mass kidnappings for ransom have spread across Nigeria, though large school raids have been less common in the southwest. In July, the presidency said security forces had rescued 39 pupils and six teachers and arrested eight suspected kidnappers. In May, one teacher was killed in captivity and security personnel were wounded by explosives during an attempted rescue. Reuters
Nigeria Army, Indonesia Deepen Military Cooperation on Training, Technology
The Nigerian Army and the Indonesian military have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral defence cooperation, with emphasis on professional military training, operational effectiveness and institutional capacity. The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Waidi Shaibu, stated this on Thursday when he received the Defence Attaché of the Embassy of Indonesia to Nigeria, Col Aslam Setiawan, at the Army Headquarters in Abuja. Shaibu described the longstanding defence relationship between Nigeria and Indonesia as mutually beneficial, particularly in the areas of professional military education, exchange of operational experience and participation in multinational exercises. He said sustained military-to-military engagement was essential to developing a professional, adaptable and combat-ready force capable of responding effectively to emerging security threats. PR Nigeria
Militants Kill 15 in Overnight Cameroon Raid, Village Sources Say
Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 15 people in a pre-dawn attack on a village in northern Cameroon, a local vigilante and an administrative authority said on Thursday, in the latest violence to hit the area plagued by a long-running insurgency. Armed insurgents entered the village of Madegoua, near the town of Makary, at around 2 a.m. on Thursday, pulling out men and tying them up before executing them, said the local vigilante member, who requested anonymity to discuss the incident for security reasons. The initial death toll had been 13 though two other victims later died from injuries at a Makary hospital, according to the vigilante. … No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. A security analyst told Reuters it was likely carried out by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants who are active in the area. Reuters
DRC: Opposition Leaders Condemn Death of Politician during 15 September Protest
The C64 opposition platform said it “unequivocally condemns” the death of Manassé Lomboto Bomegola, a senior member of the ADD-Congo party, who died during clashes surrounding the demonstration. The march had been authorised by the authorities but was ultimately dispersed by police using tear gas after clashes broke out. … The demonstration comes amid continuing political tensions in the DRC, with opposition parties raising concerns over the treatment of political opponents and the country’s political future. … The C64 reiterated its opposition to any change to the Constitution that could allow a third presidential term and called for the constitutional transfer of power in 2028 to be respected. Africanews with AFP
Clashes Kill 26 People in Disputed Sudan-South Sudan Border
Ethnic clashes killed 26 people and wounded another 82 in the Abyei region disputed by Sudan and South Sudan, the UN agency there said Thursday, September 17. Clashes are frequent in Abyei and the region’s status has remained unresolved since South Sudan gained independence and became a nation in 2011. The violence broke out Tuesday at the Amiet Common Market, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) said. It followed the separate killings of a Ngok Dinka man and a Misseriya man earlier in the month “which heightened tensions between the two communities,” said UNISFA. … The UN force had stepped up its presence in and around the market, the statement added. The UNISFA force is composed of 3,000 police and soldiers whose mission is to protect civilians. Le Monde with AFP
Guinea Authorities Ban French Broadcaster
Guinea’s media regulator banned French media outlet France 24 from broadcasting in the country on Thursday, September 17, following comments it said were against the president. The West African nation is ruled with an iron fist by President Mamady Doumbouya, and dissenting voices have been reduced to a bare minimum. The country’s High Authority for Communication (HAC) has suspended outlets on numerous occasions in the past. … On Wednesday, the HAC issued a formal warning to France 24 for having “deliberately used an inappropriate term to refer to the head of state.” During a September 14 broadcast, a presenter had described Doumbouya as a “putschist president.” … France 24 has previously been banned in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, Guinea’s junta-run Sahel region neighbours that have cut ties with France, their former colonial ruler, and pivoted to an alliance with Russia. The station is also not broadcast in Togo, where it was suspended for three months in 2025 and has not been reinstated. Le Monde with AFP
‘We Demand the Truth’: Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee Lead Calls for Proof of Life of Disappeared Eritrean Writers
More than 180 writers have signed a letter to Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki calling for proof of life for 12 writers arrested in 2001. Nobel laureates Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee join prominent writers including Colm Tóibín, Elif Shafak, Isabel Allende, Ben Okri, Yann Martel, Kamila Shamsie and Tsitsi Dangarembga in signing the letter dated 18 September, marking 25 years since a government crackdown on the independent press. “Within days, Eritrea’s free press and the nation’s independent voices were systematically crushed,” opens the letter. It lists 12 writers who have been held incommunicado since 2001, including the poet Amanuel Asrat and playwright and journalist Dawit Isaak. … Eritrea operates as a repressive dictatorship under Afwerki, with no national elections held since independence in 1993. The Guardian
‘Like a Disney Movie’: Three Wild Dog Brothers Make Africa’s Longest Journey
[Last year, three endangered African wild dogs in Zambia] made the longest-ever recorded single journey of any mammal from the continent. The brothers travelled more than 2,500 miles over eight months in their “dispersal” – when a young dog comes of age and must establish new territory to find a mate and start a family of their own. From point to point, starting in Kafue national park in western Zambia to their final destination in the Luangwa valley in the east of the country, the brothers covered 340 miles, which is also a record. The epic single journey is almost equivalent to travelling the length of Chile by foot and farther than the famous wildebeest and zebra migration across the Serengeti in east Africa. … Habitat loss, declining numbers of natural prey, bushmeat hunters’ snares and human conflict are among the biggest threats to their survival. But researchers say the three brothers’ epic journey shows the wild dogs can still survive in a human-dominated landscape despite the enormous challenges they face. The Guardian