UN ‘Gravely Alarmed’ by Military Mobilization in Libya’s Capital
The UN Support Mission in Libya said Tuesday that it was “gravely alarmed” over new military mobilizations by rival groups in the Libyan capital. In recent days, armed vehicles have reportedly moved into Tripoli from Misrata, around 200 kilometers (125 miles) away, and on Monday night, gunfire was heard in the capital, according to witnesses and videos circulated online. UNSMIL said the recent “rapidly escalating tensions and military mobilization” in Tripoli “could lead to armed confrontation.” … UNSMIL urged “all actors to cease any preparations for violence,” warning they could spiral into a “‘lose-lose’ war.” In May, Tripoli was rocked by days of deadly fighting between rival armed groups that left at least eight people dead, according to the UN. … Last month, UNSMIL chief Hanna Tetteh proposed a roadmap for “general elections and the unification of institutions” in the divided country. Defense Post with AFP
‘A Bullet Went Through My Skull’: Tanzania Abduction Survivor
In the wake of his abduction on a highway in Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam, social media activist Edgar Mwakabela, better known as Sativa, says he came close to death. He describes in an interview with the BBC how, after kidnapping him on 23 June last year, his captors interrogated him and then ferried him across the country to the remote Katavi region near the Congolese border, more than 1,000km (600 miles) away. Sativa says he was handcuffed, blindfolded and brutally beaten, including being struck repeatedly on his head, back and legs with the flat side of a machete. “It was extremely painful.” He tells the BBC that those who abducted him wanted to know who was facilitating his activism, and why he was criticising the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, in power since 1977. Sativa believes those who held him were police officers or other operatives linked to the authorities. … In June, UN experts reported that over 200 enforced disappearances have been recorded in the country since 2019. They expressed alarm over the “torture to silence opposition and critics” ahead of the elections, and called on the government to “immediately” stop it. BBC
Fears Over Divided Opposition and Instability, as Cameroon Heads to the Polls
The UN on Tuesday said that growing restrictions in Cameroon surrounding the upcoming election “raise fears” over whether voters will be able to freely choose their candidate. “A safe and enabling human rights environment is essential for peaceful, inclusive and credible elections. It regrettably appears that this is not the case in Cameroon,” said UN rights chief Volker Turk. His Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said restrictions were being imposed on opposition activities, with several gatherings banned. There have also been concerns regarding the exclusion of certain political figures from the race, as well as irregularities in voter registration, the OHCHR said in a statement. President Biya – who at 92 is the world’s oldest head of state – announced in July that he would run again for an eighth term. If he is successful, he will be running Cameroon until he is 99. He is currently running against at least 11 other candidates – with this division raising concern among the opposition that none will have a chance of winning. RFI
South Sudan Clash Kills 14 in Renewed Violence in North
At least four soldiers and 10 militia members were killed in fighting in an area of South Sudan where previous clashes led to the arrest of First Vice President Riek Machar, the military said on Tuesday. The arrest of Machar – a longtime rival of President Salva Kiir – in March prompted international calls for restraint and stirred fears of a return to civil war between Kiir’s Dinka forces and Nuer fighters loyal to Machar. Reuters
Sudan Appeals for Aid After Landslide Kills More Than 1,000 People
Sudan appealed for international aid on Tuesday after a landslide wiped out an entire village in western region of Darfur, killing an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country’s recent history. The village of Tarasin was “completely leveled to the ground,” the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army said as it appealed to the U.N. and international aid groups for help to recover the bodies. The tragedy happened Sunday in the village, located in Central Darfur’s Marrah Mountains, after days of heavy rainfall. AP
Western Balkans Smugglers Pushing West Africa Deeper Into Cocaine Trade, Report Says
Western Balkans criminal groups, who are among Europe’s top cocaine traffickers, are entrenching themselves in West Africa in a sign of the region’s growing significance on the smuggling route from Latin America to the EU, a report has found. Rising demand for cocaine in Europe, combined with increased enforcement along direct routes from Latin America and the significant expansion of maritime ports in West Africa, has for several years pushed smugglers to increase trade through Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. … These groups have leveraged alliances in the region with Dutch criminal groups and, notably, Brazil’s Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, to deepen their footprint across the supply chain. Reuters
Ghana Chief Justice Sacked Over Allegations of Misuse of Public Funds
Ghana’s President John Mahama has fired the country’s Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo following a recommendation by an inquiry. She had been on suspension since April after complaints were lodged against her in petitions by three individuals. A president-appointed commission then found that “grounds of stated misbehaviour… had been established and recommended her removal from office”, Mahama’s office said on Monday. Ms Torkornoo has dismissed the allegations as unfounded and politically motivated. The presidency said Mahama was required to act in accordance with the committee’s recommendations. But critics fear it sets a worrying precedent and undermines judicial independence. … The inquiry found evidence of unlawful expenditure of public funds linked to her private travel. Her spouse and daughter were reportedly paid allowances using public funds during a private trip with her husband to Tanzania in 2023 and another to the US with her daughter. She also faced allegations of interference in appointments by sidestepping procedures for appointing Supreme Court judges and abusing powers in the transfer of a judiciary employee. BBC
Nigeria: UPHOLDD Nigeria Initiative (UNI) Rallies 3,600 Monarchs on Inclusive Governance, Peace Building
Ahead of the 2027 poll, the UPHOLDD Nigeria Initiative (UNI) is rallying no fewer than 3,600 monarchs from across the country to bolster inclusive governance and peace building in the polity. This follows the launch in Abuja of the RHESHAPE Nigeria 360 Initiative, a transformative Citizen2Citizen Campaign designed to activate 36 million culture heritage advocates across Nigeria’s 360 Federal Constituencies. The initiative aims to mainstream culture diplomacy advocacy as a strategic tool for peacebuilding, inclusive democracy, and national development. It aims to integrate traditional rulers as cultural diplomats and co-pilots of development, mobilising 3.6 million special heritage advocates and 360,000 culture impact coordinators to strengthen democracy, peacebuilding, and national cohesion. … For Pastor Nature Dumale, National Coordinator, RHESHAPE Citizen2Citizen Network: “RHESHAPE Nigeria is a people’s campaign — citizen-to-citizen, ward-to-ward, and culture-to-culture. We are mobilising 36 million culture impact marshals not just to celebrate heritage but to use it as a foundation for good governance, democracy, and development impact. This is the largest grassroots culture diplomacy campaign Nigeria has ever witnessed.” Guardian
How Africa’s E-Commerce Giant Is Fighting Off Shein and Temu
Competition has been steep for Jumiai Africa’s largest e-commerce platform, especially from major Chinese companies like Temu and Sheini. Jumia is now using the same playbook its Chinese rivals have thrived on: adding Chinese merchants to the seller pool to stay competitive. … Dubbed the “Amazon of Africa,” Jumia has been cutting its losses since 2022. The company has exited underperforming businesses such as food delivery across several African markets, and sharpened its focus on physical goods in core markets like Nigeria. In early August, Jumia reported a revenue of $45.6 million — a 25% increase year on year. Rest of the World
The True Size of Africa
The Mercator map, first created in the 16th century, has long been the standard map used for navigation and education, but it stretches land masses farther from the equator. For example, Greenland often appears as big as Africa on a Mercator map, when in reality Africa is about 14 times larger. Many other northern nations look comparable in size to the continent of Africa when they are in fact smaller by land area. Africa is about three times larger than Canada and more than one and a half the size of Russia, yet the Mercator projection has long made students think those countries are comparable in size — or even larger — than Africa. The African Union, a political and economic organisation of 55 African countries, has endorsed the “Correct The Map” campaign, advocating for replacing the Mercator projection with the Equal Earth projection, a map that accurately represents the relative sizes of countries. … “It might seem to be just a map, but in reality, it is not,” AU Commission deputy chairperson Selma Malika Haddadi said, adding the Mercator fostered a false impression that Africa was “marginal”, despite being the world’s second-largest continent by area, with over a billion people. Reuters