Africa

West Africa: dissidents detained, disappeared

Amnesty International urged Malian authorities to immediately release dissident Youssouf Daba Diawara and 11 other arbitrarily detained opposition politicians. According to the statement, Mali’s junta has been arbitrarily holding these political figures solely for exercising their civil rights. Diawara was forced from his car by armed men in Bamako and taken to the Gendarmerie’s Criminal Investigations Brigade. He was charged with “opposition to legitimate authority” for participating in a protest against power cuts and inflation. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has also expressed concern over the “disappearance” of activists in neighboring Guinea. Both Mali and Guinea have been led by military juntas since coups d’etat in 2020 and 2021, respectively. (Map: World Sites Atlas)

Africa

UN: over 10 million internally displaced in Sudan

The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 10 million Sudanese, over 20% of the population, have been displaced from their homes. An estimated 7,794,480 people have been internally displaced since the current Sudan conflict began in April 2023, while a further 2,238,671 have crossed borders into neighboring countries such as Chad, South Sudan and Egypt. Some half of the displaced are from the especially conflicted western region of Darfur. In a statement last month, the IOM warned of an extreme risk of famine in Sudan. (Photo: Roman Deckert via Wikimedia Commons)

Africa

ICC convicts Mali militant of war crimes

The International Criminal Court (ICC) convicted al-Qaeda-linked militant leader al-Hassan ag-Abdoul Aziz ag-Mohamed ag-Mahmoud of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in terrorizing the civilian population of the Malian city of Timbuktu. The charges against al-Hassan stem from his time as de facto leader of the Islamic Police, an unofficial enforcement body established by armed Islamist groups when they controlled the city between 2012 and 2013. The group patrolled the city day and night, imposing harsh new rules that severely restricted daily life. The force imposed extreme punishments, including flogging and amputation, for such perceived violations of Islamic law as extramarital relations, alcohol consumption, and smoking. The Court found that al-Hassan played a “key role” in the Islamic Police throughout the period of of control of Timbuktu by Ansar Dine and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). (Map: PCL)

Africa

Uranium at issue in Great Game for West Africa

The ruling junta in Niger revoked the operating license of French nuclear fuel producer Orano at one of the world’s largest uranium mines. Russian companies have meanwhile indicated interest in picking up the lease for the giant Imouraren mine. However, exports are stalled by closure of the border with Benin, the vital sea corridor for landlocked Niger, as tensions mount between the two countries. The uranium dispute comes as French and US troops have been forced to withdraw from Niger, and Russian forces have moved in. The Pentagon’s AFRICOM commander Gen. Michael Langley has acknowledged that the US is seeking to establish new bases in neighboring West African countries, including Benin. (Map: World Sites Atlas)

Africa

Niger: jihadis score deadly blow against junta

Authorities in Niger declared three days of national mourning after an ambush on security forces near the village of Tassia resulted in the deaths of at least 20 soldiers and one civilian. Tassia lies in the western Tillabéri region bordering Mali and Burkina Faso, long a stronghold of jihadist insurgents. The incident highlights the growing challenges facing the ruling junta one year after it came to power in a July 2023 coup, overthrowing the civilian government led by Mohamed Bazoum. (Map: PCL)

Africa

Kenya backtracks on tax bill after deadly protests

Kenyan President William Ruto backtracked on a contentious tax-hiking finance bill, after street protests left at least 13 people dead and 150 injured as police opened fire with live ammunition. The youth-led protests were triggered by a range of proposed new taxes that critics say will increase the financial burden on families already struggling with rising prices. Before capitulating to protester demands, the government declared a “security emergency” and deployed the military to support the police—a move that technically requires parliamentary approval. Ruto claimed the protests had been infiltrated by organized criminals whose actions were “treasonous.” (Photo: Anthony Langat/The New Humanitarian)

Africa

Ethiopian forces committed genocide in Tigray: report

There is “credible” evidence that Ethiopian forces committed genocide during the two-year war in northern Tigray region, a new report has concluded. Ethiopia’s National Defense Force and its allies—the paramilitary Amhara Special Forces and the Eritrean Defense Forces—are accused of committing “at least four acts” constituting genocide against Tigrayans, including: killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their destruction, and imposing measures intended to prevent childbirth. The report by the US-based New Lines Institute called for Ethiopia to be referred to the UN’s top court, the International Court of Justice. (Map: Political Geography Now)

Africa

Sudan: mass exodus from El Fasher

A mass exodus of civilians from El Fasher, capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, is underway as the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) battle for control of the city. The month-long RSF siege of El Fasher has resulted in hundreds of casualties and triggered the massive wave of displacement, with an estimated 28,000 people fleeing their homes over the past weeks. Those fleeing have recounted harrowing experiences of escalating violence and dire living conditions. (Photo: Sudan Tribune)

Africa

Sudan: RSF accused in village massacre

The local Resistance Committees in Madani, capital of Sudan’s al-Jazira state, reported that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out a massacre at the nearby village of Wad al-Noora, killing nearly 100 people. The Resistance Committees released a video showing the burial of dozens of bodies in a public square amid a large gathering of village residents. Other videos circulating online show RSF fighters firing with automatic rifles and from “technicals,” pick-up trucks mounted with machine-guns. The RSF acknowledged operations in the area, but said it only targeted army positions on the village outskirts. Since taking control of Madani late last year, the RSF has been raiding villages in al-Jazira, with widespread atrocities reported, including killings of unarmed residents, abductions, forced displacements, and looting of properties, including crops and homes. (Photo: Sudan Tribune)

Africa

Podcast: a cannabis coup in the Congo?

The attempted coup d’etat in the Democratic Republic of the Congo may or may not have been assisted by the CIA, but one of the Americans arrested in the affair is named as a “cannabis entrepreneur“—pointing to the possibility of legal cannabis playing the same destructive role in Central Africa that bananas have played in Central America. Yet while corporate power sees a lucrative new cash crop, lives (and especially Black lives) are still being ruined by cannabis prohibition in the United States. In Episode 228 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg argues that the old anarchist slogan “Neither your war nor your peace” can be updated as “Neither your prohibition nor your legalization!” Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. (Map: CIA)

Africa

Senegal PM broaches ejecting French military

The new prime minister of Senegal, Ousmane Sonko, announced the possibility of closing French military bases in the West African country in a national address. During his speech at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Sonko expressed his concerns about the French role throughout the West African region. He stated: “More than 60 years after our independence we must question the reasons why the French army still benefits from several military bases in our country, and the impact of this presence on our national sovereignty and our strategic autonomy.” (Map: PCL Map Collection)

Africa

Kenya court approves suit opposing Haiti deployment

The Kenya High Court ordered that a lawsuit seeking to prevent the deployment of police troops to Haiti be served on top government officials. Leaders of the civil organization Thirdway Alliance Kenya filed the complaint to block the deployment, which is part of a UN-backed mission to assist Haiti’s battle against gang violence. The plaintiffs argued that the government’s agreement with Haiti to deploy the troops is in contempt of a January court order that deemed the deployment unconstitutional. The plaintiffs emphasized the urgency of the matter, noting that the deployment is scheduled to begin this month. (Photo: Amnesty Kenya via PolicingInsight)