Red Cross Escorts More than 1,300 DR Congo Soldiers Out of Rebel City
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Thursday, May 15, it had evacuated more than 1,300 DR Congo soldiers and police out of the eastern city of Goma that is controlled by the M23 armed group. M23, which UN experts have said is aided by Rwanda, took over Goma in January in the latest surge in the decades-old conflict in eastern DR Congo. Thousands of people were killed in the fighting and about 2,000 police and government troops sought refuge in bases of the UN peacekeeping force MONUSCO, according to UN sources. The ICRC announced at the end of April that it was starting missions to escort the security forces out of Goma on a 2,000-kilometer (1,250-mile) trip to the capital Kinshasa…The ICRC said the operation had been “complex” and involved long negotiations with MONUSCO, the government and M23 which had refused to allow evacuations through Goma’s airport, closed since the takeover. Le Monde with AFP
Killings, Rapes, Disappearances Rise in Sudan’s Zamzam Camp, Official Says
Cases of killing, rape and enforced disappearance have increased in the Zamzam camp for displaced people in North Darfur, a camp official said on Thursday, citing data from an online monitoring platform. The administration of Zamzam camp, located 12 kilometres south of El Fasher in North Darfur state, launched the platform to track abuses within the camp by elements of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Mohamed Khamis Douda, a spokesman for the Zamzam camp administration, told Sudan Tribune that the latest update to the online platform on Thursday recorded 31 cases of rape, 52 enforced disappearances, and 173 deaths within the past week. He noted that the platform faces several challenges, including low registration rates because most displaced people lack internet access, particularly in El Fasher and nearby Tawila. Douda also said that many residents lost their phones during the attack on the camp or during displacement, and many were forced to sell their phones to fund their travel to safer areas, impacting the documentation of the abuses they suffered. Sudan Tribune
Chad’s Former Prime Minister ‘Abducted’ From Home: Party
Chad’s former prime minister Succes Masra, a critic of the ruling authorities of the central African nation, was taken by force from his home early Friday, his party said. “Succes Masra was just abducted by military force today, May 16 at 5:56 am” from his home, which also serves as headquarters for his party, Les Transformateurs (The Transformers), said a post on his official Facebook page…Masra, who served as prime minister of Chad from January to May 2024, faced off against President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in presidential elections last May…He has been one of Deby’s fiercest opponents. Deby had been proclaimed transitional president by fellow army generals in 2021 after his father, Idriss Deby Itno, who had ruled Chad for 30 years, was killed in a gun battle with rebels. Deby promised an 18-month transition to democracy but extended it by two years. Opposition figures have since fled, been silenced or joined with Deby. After a new constitution was approved in a referendum in December 2023, Deby, 40, was elected president in May 2024 in voting that international observers said was not credible. AFP
Fighting In Southwest Chad Kills 35: Government
A “violent clash” in southwest Chad has killed 35 people, the government said on Thursday, without giving details on who was involved. A dispute between ethnic Fulani nomadic herders and local Ngambaye farmers over the demarcation of grazing and farming areas in the village of Mandakao is believed to be at the heart of the conflict, according to a local source. Communication minister and government spokesman Gassim Cherif Mahamat said six people were also wounded in the clash on Wednesday in the region of Logone-Occidental. Clashes frequently break out in southern Chad, where Christian and animist communities complain of being marginalised by the mostly Muslim central government. The violence often involves nomadic Muslim herders and largely Christian or animist Indigenous sedentary farmers. AFP
MSF Warns of Spiraling Health Crisis in South Sudan amid Violence
Doctors Without Borders warned Thursday of a sharp increase in attacks on medical facilities in South Sudan, saying escalating conflict has forced mass displacement and overwhelmed the country’s fragile health system. The aid group, known by its French acronym MSF, said recent fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar has spread across multiple regions, including Jonglei, Unity, and Western and Central Equatoria states. While much international attention has focused on violence in Upper Nile state, clashes elsewhere have further strained scarce medical resources…Abubakr described the displacement as a “major crisis,” with about 60,000 people uprooted in Upper Nile state and another 50,000 in Jonglei. Entire villages have been abandoned, he said, and “hospitals, health facilities and community facilities have been left without staff.” Radio Tamazuj
Suspected Jihadists Raid Eastern Burkina Faso City
Scores of suspected jihadists raided a city in eastern Burkina Faso earlier this week, freeing prisoners, driving residents to cower indoors and causing major damage, local sources told AFP on Thursday. It was not immediately clear if anyone died in the attack on the eastern city of Diapaga, in the second major jihadist raid in as many days in Burkina…Riding on motorcycles, scores of suspected jihadists swooped in on Diapaga on Monday, the sources said…The attackers, “who arrived in large numbers on motorcycles”, also vandalised public monuments and set fire to businesses and shops, a resident told AFP. The attack came a day after another major raid attributed to jihadists…On Sunday, hundreds of jihadists simultaneously attacked a military detachment and police posts as well as the town of Djibo, killing “several dozen” soldiers and civilians, security and local sources told AFP. AFP
Mali Junta Tightens Screw as Fears of Long Army Rule Grow
Faced with the loudest calls yet for a return to civilian rule since the army took power in a coup, Mali’s junta has tightened its clampdown on criticism by dissolving political parties. After years of repression under the junta, the move has prompted fears that the unrest-plagued west African country’s military rulers wish to hold on to power for the long term, according to experts interviewed by AFP. The dissolution took place on Tuesday, after political parties held a rally on May 3 in the capital Bamako to protest and demand the army hands back power to civilians. The demonstration involving hundreds of people was “unprecedented” in the time since the military took power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, one analyst told AFP…The liquidation of the country’s political parties was recommended by a national assembly organised by the junta in late April, which was largely boycotted by the opposition…What happened in Mali mirrors events in neighbouring Niger and Burkina Faso, both run by juntas who have already dissolved their country’s political parties. AFP
Jihadists in Nigeria Turn to TikTok to Spread Propaganda
At least 100 people were killed in the new wave of jihadist attacks in April alone, as the governor of Borno, the epicentre of the violence which has raged since 2009, said the state is losing ground to armed groups. At the same time, apparent jihadists and their boosters on TikTok were flaunting rifles, grenades and stacks of cash, according to easily accessible videos reviewed by AFP that same month. They broadcast live in joint videos with accounts run by men preaching anti-Western ideologies in a style reminiscent of the videos released by deceased Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in the early days of the 15-year-old insurgency…While some of these accounts have been deleted, several others remain active…Among the 19 accounts reviewed by AFP were men dressed as clerics, their faces revealed to the camera even as they called for violence against the government and teamed up with accounts that showed off weapons hauls…These accounts frequently go live, interacting with followers, answering questions and receiving digital gifts that can be converted into cash…Saddiku Muhammad, a former jihadist who has since defected, told AFP that armed groups are turning to TikTok in part because security forces cracked down on the encrypted messaging app Telegram. They also know TikTok is popular with young people. “Jihadists realised that to capture the minds of young people, they need to speak to them in the language they understand — instead of the traditional didactic and demagogic styles that are boring and unattractive to them,” Muhammad said. AFP
Nigeria: Senate Constitutes Committee to Organise Security Summit
The Senate on Thursday constituted a 20-member committee to plan a national summit on security as part of the lawmakers’ efforts to address Nigeria’s persistent security challenges. The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the committee during the plenary after a majority of the senators supported it through voice votes. Mr Akpabio said the committee will be chaired by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, who represents Ekiti Central Senatorial District. Yahaya Abdullahi, representing Kebbi North Senatorial District, will serve as vice chairman…The committee’s primary objective is to design the framework for the proposed national summit, including setting the agenda, identifying key discussion points, and proposing actionable strategies to effectively tackle Nigeria’s security lapses. The senate president directed the committee to submit its report within two weeks. Premium Times
Guinean Troops Trigger Panic in Renewed Sierra Leone Border Standoff
A long-running border dispute between Sierra Leone and Guinea has flared again, after a military incident forced villagers to flee and reignited diplomatic tensions between the two West African neighbours. On 28 April, Guinean soldiers fired three shots in the air as they attempted to enter the village of Sokoma, near Yenga – a mineral-rich settlement that has been contested for more than two decades. The gunfire caused panic in nearby communities and sent residents fleeing south towards the town of Koindu…The dispute over Yenga dates back to the 1990s, during Sierra Leone’s civil war. At the time, the government in Freetown invited Guinean troops to help secure the eastern border. Guinean forces moved into the region but did not fully withdraw after the war ended. Their continued presence has triggered repeated standoffs and failed diplomatic efforts. RFI
Overthrown Gabon President Bongo and His Family Arrive in Angola, Officials Say
The former president of Gabon, who was ousted in a 2023 coup, has been allowed to leave the country and has flown to Angola with his family, the Angolan leader’s office said Friday. The Angolan presidency posted photos on its official Facebook page of Ali Bongo Ondimba arriving in the Angolan capital, Luanda. It said the release of Bongo, his wife and their son came after an agreement between Angolan President Joao Lourenco and new Gabon leader Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, who overthrew Bongo nearly two years ago and was declared the winner of an election last month…The African Union had called for the Bongo family’s release and Angola’s Lourenco was acting in his capacity as the chairperson of the AU when he facilitated the agreement, his office said. AP
Côte d’Ivoire Opposition Figure Reclaims Party Leadership Ahead of Court Ruling
Tidjane Thiam was re-elected as head of Côte d’Ivoire’s main opposition party on Wednesday, just days after resigning from the role – and despite being barred from running in the country’s presidential election. Thiam had quit as leader of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) on Sunday, but was the sole candidate when the party held an extraordinary congress on Wednesday to pick a new president…He received 99.77 percent of the vote. Political tensions remain high in Côte d’Ivoire as several opposition figures have been ruled ineligible to stand in the presidential election scheduled for 25 October. Thiam was removed from the electoral list in April. A court ruled that the 62-year-old lost his Ivorian nationality when he became a French citizen in 1987. Presidential candidates in Côte d’Ivoire are not allowed to hold dual citizenship. Thiam, who was born in the country, renounced his French citizenship in March to enable his run for the top job. He is also facing a legal challenge over his first election as party leader in December 2023. The case, brought by party activist Valérie Yapo, argues that Thiam was still a French citizen at the time and therefore ineligible to lead the PDCI. RFI
South Africa: It’s All Fake – Nano-influencers and Their Paid Campaigns to Stroke Political Egos
Daily Maverick has identified at least five different political campaigns running on X in April seemingly being driven by people paid to post. When Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced on 24 April that the VAT hike was being scrapped, almost all political parties scrambled to take credit. Although it seemed clear that the DA and EFF’s court action was really the death-knell for the tax increase, in the days that followed you might never have guessed that from social media. X was flooded with posts thanking ActionSA for having stopped the VAT increase…Of course, some of those posting would have been legitimate ActionSA voters expressing appreciation for their party. But when Daily Maverick took a closer look at the tweeting, certain features emerged – in particular, a relatively small number of accounts relentlessly tweeting on one subject on a certain day and interacting with each other’s tweets on the same topic to amplify them. These are the telltale signs of an orchestrated campaign…Digital consultancy Murmur Intelligence has been tracking the rise of paid-for political discourse on South African social media for some time. Researchers Kyle Findlay, Tabelo Timse and Aldu Cornelissen have written previously that the concern is that many users will not realise these posts are not organic expressions of political solidarity…The researchers have found that a client like a political party typically approaches an agency with a particular message to be spread. The agency then briefs “mega-influencers” (with more than a million followers), who then delegate the task to their own network of “nano-influencers” (with less than 1,000 followers) or “micro-influencers” (1,000-99,999 followers). Daily Maverick