Ethiopia’s Military Says It Killed Hundreds of TPLF Rebels
Fighting between Ethiopian troops and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) escalated on Thursday, threatening to shatter a fragile 2022 peace deal. The renewed fighting first broke out in the Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia on Wednesday. “We are in the situation of full-blown war now,” TPLF vice president Amanuel Assefa told AFP news agency. On Thursday, Ethiopia’s military said it “launched a counter-offensive that inflicted heavy personnel and equipment losses on the TPLF.” The military said it killed 272 people among the Tigrayan rebels and wounded some 260 more. These figures could not be independently verified, and there was no breakdown given for soldiers and civilians. … Fighting was also reported in the Amhara region in the Ethiopian highlands. … The TPLF announced an alliance with Amhara’s Fano militia, a former foe that has been waging its own insurgency in the region since 2023. DW
Young Men Flee Tigray Amid Fears of Forced Recruitment
Human Rights Watch reported in July that Tigrayan authorities and forces had forcibly recruited civilians, including children as young as 15, since at least April. The organisation documented cases involving former combatants and other men and boys who it said were taken from streets, homes, workplaces and gold-mining areas. … Human Rights Watch says the recruitment allegations extend beyond former fighters to civilians and young people. “We found that both former fighters but also civilians – young men, sometimes boys – were being abducted, detained,” said Laetitia Bader, the organisation’s Horn of Africa director. “Sometimes in the streets, in marketplaces, also in mining areas which is an important form of livelihood in the region.” Al Jazeera
A (Permanent) Seat at the Table of Power: African Leaders Press UN for Security Council Reform
They want to help make the decisions — not just watch them unfold. As in years past, African leaders attending the U.N. General Assembly this year are demanding a reform of the powerful Security Council that would include permanent seats for countries from the continent in the global body’s highest decision-making structure. Many African heads of state who addressed the meeting since it began on Tuesday have decried the continent’s lack of permanent representation in the Security Council as it navigates global security issues that directly and indirectly affect their populations and governments. … “Every nation is sovereign and equal under the (U.N.) charter. Yet, on the gravest question of war and peace, five nations possess a permanent power that the other 188 do not. The equality proclaimed in this assembly ends at the doors of the security council,” Kenyan President William Ruto told delegates on Wednesday. AP
‘Peace Remains Only a Promise’ for Millions in Eastern DR Congo, General Assembly Hears
The Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) cautioned against growing global demand for “blood-stained minerals” in the rush to net-zero, in her speech to the UN General Assembly. Against a backdrop of decades of violent insecurity and mass displacement in the resource-rich eastern region of the vast country – where a deadly Ebola outbreak is also spreading – Judith Suminwa insisted on Wednesday that few other situations “illustrate so painfully the gap between international commitments and [people’s] lived reality.” UN News
Sao Tome and Principe Election Preview
São Tomé and Príncipe operates under a hybrid presidential and parliamentary model. The president serves as commander-in-chief, directs foreign policy, approves legislation passed by the National Assembly, and acts as an impartial arbiter to ensure the smooth functioning of state institutions. This role is currently held by Carlos Vila Nova who won re-election as an independent in July 2026, receiving 55.9 percent in the first round of the presidential elections. He represented the ruling party, Acção Democrática Independente (ADI), during his first term. The 55 members of the National Assembly are elected to 4-year terms. The National Assembly selects the prime minister, who serves as the head of government, implementing policy, and leading the country’s day-to-day functions. The ADI secured 30 seats in the 2022 parliamentary elections and selected Patrice Trovoada as prime minister. In January 2025, however, President Nova dismissed Trovoada and selected Américo dos Ramos, also from ADI, as the new prime minister. The moves triggered ongoing intraparty disagreements leading the ADI to nominate the 43-year-old Nito D’Abreu as their presidential candidate. Nevertheless, Nova was subsequently re-elected as an independent. These fissures will also be central to the September parliamentary elections. Ramos will lead the ADI party slate aiming to retain its majority. However, former Prime Minister Trovoada has urged party members to boycott the vote in protest. The election will thus be a test of ADI members’ loyalty to the current or former prime minister. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
A Year After Military Power Grab, Madagascar Awaits Change
One year on, young activists who spearheaded the demonstrations initially focused on chronic water and electricity cuts say there is little evidence of any “Refoundation” in the impoverished Indian Ocean island. “It’s very easy to pull that trigger… to crack down,” said Transparency International vice-chair Ketakandriana Rafitoson. “It’s a kind of mental terrorism.” “It’s a military regime; they have the advantage of repressive forces and weapons,” she told AFP. While maintaining ties with the former colonial ruler France, the new government has also forged relations with Russia, receiving several arms deliveries from Moscow in a highly publicised military partnership that includes training by Africa Corps, which succeeded the Wagner mercenary group. “They use the Russians right now as a kind of mercenary to protect them,” said researcher and author Adrien Ratsimbaharison. AFP
Party Close to King Leads in Morocco’s Election as Young Voters Stay Away
Early results from legislative elections in Morocco put a party close to the country’s monarchy in the lead on Thursday. But voter turnout was the lowest in nearly two decades as disillusioned young people stayed away from the polls. The elections, held on Wednesday, were the first since two major crises in Morocco: anti-government Gen Z protests in 2025 and the deadly mass crossing of migrants into Ceuta, an entry point to the European Union on the country’s northern coast, this summer. Twenty-seven parties were competing for 395 seats in the lower house of Parliament, and preliminary results showed that the political status quo appeared to be largely intact. The top three parties, according to the results, are part of the coalition that has governed Morocco since 2021. Morocco is a constitutional monarchy, and the king will appoint a prime minister from the party with the most seats. New York Times
South Sudan’s President Dissolves Government Ahead of Country’s First Elections
South Sudan President Salva Kiir has dissolved the transitional government, three months before the country’s first election since its independence in 2011. The country has previously postponed elections twice and extended the transitional period several times. Under the amended law, signed on Monday, Kiir removed the country’s five vice-presidents and dissolved parliament, as well as national and state governments. Kiir is the presidential candidate of his Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). No prominent figures have announced plans to challenge him in the December poll. The main opposition leader Riek Machar was sacked as vice-president last year and charged with treason. BBC
Senegal Lays First Criminal Charges Over Political Unrest Between 2021 and 2024
Four people have become the first to face charges related to the deadly political unrest in Senegal between 2021 and 2024, their lawyer said. … Senegal’s government has long pledged to deliver justice to the victims, despite the law passed in the final weeks of Sall’s presidency to ease political tensions. Head of security Ameth Tidiane Cisse and a security officer Djibril Gaye at the Dakar University Works Centre “are being prosecuted for criminal conspiracy, crimes against humanity, and torture”, their lawyer Taha Cisse said. At least 65 people were killed between March 2021 and February 2024 in Senegal during demonstrations called by the opposition, according to a tally compiled by a collective of journalists and scientists. Afrricanews with AFP
Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Dangote to Build $660m Petroleum Pipeline
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote said he is helping to fund a new $660 million refined petroleum product pipeline between Ethiopia and Djibouti. Under the deal announced by Ethiopian Investment Holdings on Thursday, the project will see a 120km link built to connect Damerjog port to a distribution facility in Dewele. Landlocked Ethiopia relies heavily on Djibouti’s port for imports, including petroleum products. The pipeline is expected to begin operations within 18 months with the project including storage facilities on both ends of the connection. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, said it “will reduce logistics costs and delays” and strengthen energy security along the corridor. Afrricanews with AFP