Passengers missing as boat capsizes in Niger

#Congo and rebels have committed to ending war in the east. Here’s what to know.

The #African Union called Saturday’s signing, facilitated by Qatar, a “major milestone” in peace efforts. Qatari authorities said it paves the way for “a comprehensive peace that addresses the deep-rooted causes of the conflict.”

But the ink has barely dried on the document signed in Qatar before both sides appeared to contradict each other in interpreting a major highlight of the declaration.

Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said the declaration takes into account “the non-negotiable withdrawal” of the rebels from seized territories, including the biggest city of Goma. The M23 rebels denied this, with a spokesman telling The Associated Press: “We are in Goma with the population and we are not going to get out.”
The declaration is supposed to lead to a final peace deal

The declaration of principles was the first direct commitment by both sides since the rebels, supported by neighboring Rwanda, seized two key cities in eastern Congo in a major advance early this year.

In it, both parties committed to “building trust” through various measures, including an exchange of prisoners and detainees as well as restoring state authority in all parts of the country, including rebel-held areas. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been mentioned as a key party in facilitating such release, said after the signing that it “stands ready to help.”

The signing sets in motion negotiations for a final peace deal, to be signed no later than Aug. 18. It also reflects provisions of a U.S.-brokered peace deal signed between Congo and Rwanda on June 27.

Both the U.S.-facilitated and Qatar-led peace talks are aligned, and the Congolese and Rwandan presidents are soon expected in Washington to finalize negotiations for ending the conflict.
The conflict dates back to the Rwandan genocide

The conflict can be traced to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, when Hutu soldiers and militias killed between 500,000 and 1 million minority Tutsis as well as moderate Hutus and the Indigenous Twa. When Tutsi-led rebels stopped the genocide and ousted the Hutu government, nearly 2 million Hutus fled into neighboring Congo, fearing reprisals.

Rwandan authorities accused the authorities in Kinshasa of sheltering those responsible for the mass killings among the civilian refugees, most of whom had returned when Rwanda first invaded Congo in 1996. But Kigali said the remaining Hutu fighters in eastern Congo are still a threat to Rwanda’s Tutsi population, and wants them neutralized.

At least 6 million people have been killed in the conflict since then, mostly characterized by on-and-off fighting but also famines and unchecked disease outbreaks.
Minerals hold key to the conflict

Analysts have said a lot of interests in the conflict in Congo are tied to the mostly untapped minerals in the east, estimated to be worth as much as $24 trillion by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Trump administration has pushed to gain access to the minerals key to much of the world’s technology. It is also to counter China, a key player in the region where the U.S. presence and influence have eroded. That is already playing out with KoBold Metals, a U.S. mining company that on Friday announced it has signed an agreement with Congo for “large-scale minerals exploration program” in the east.

Rwanda’s interests are also tied to the conflict minerals, although it often says its involvement is to protect its territory and punish those connected to the 1994 genocide.

A team of U.N. experts said in a report in December that Rwanda was benefitting from minerals “fraudulently” exported from areas under the control of the M23. Rwanda has denied it.

Although the M23 has touted itself as a group independent of Rwanda and capable of governing territories under its control, it still relies heavily on Kigali. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan troops in eastern Congo.
Justice remains a major issue

The U.N. and rights groups have accused both sides of committing atrocities and possible war crimes since fighting escalated in January. It includes children being killed in summary executions, the rape and sexual abuse of thousands of children, attacks on hospitals, forced recruitments and disappearance of residents in rebel-held areas.

“We cannot build peace without justice and reparation,” Goma resident Amani Muisa said.

Chinedu Asadu, The Associated Press

Clashes break out in Togo’s capital as protesters call for the president’s resignation, LOME, Togo — Clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in several parts of Togo’s capital Lomé on Thursday, as President Faure Gnassingbé faced increasing pressure from critics over recent changes in the constitution that could effectively keep him in power indefinitely.

A heavy police presence could be seen throughout the capital, where many businesses remained closed. Hundreds of protesters set up concrete block barricades in several neighborhoods of Lomé, with some burning tires and throwing projectiles at security forces.

Military jeeps were deployed as reinforcements in some areas. Police dispersed dozens of protesters with tear gas and arrested around 10 people in the Bè neighborhood, a stronghold of the opposition.

Civil society groups and social media influencers had called for protests on June 26, 27, and 28, after the government’s clampdown on protests early this month.

A coalition of political groups known as “Hands Off My Constitution” said in a Facebook post on Wednesday it “strongly urges Faure Gnassingbé to immediately and unconditionally release all of the roughly one hundred political prisoners, and to take urgent measures to restore purchasing power to the population.

It called for an “unprecedented peaceful demonstration.”

Togo’s leader Faure Gnassingbé, who has ruled since 2005 after the death of his father, was in May sworn in as President of the Council of Ministers. The powerful role has not official term limits and he is eligible to be re-elected by parliament indefinitely.

Opposition politicians have denounced the move as a “constitutional coup.”

Demonstrations are rare in Togo because they have been banned in the country since 2022 following a deadly attack at Lome’s main market.

But the latest change in government structure has been widely criticized in a region threatened by rampant coups and other threats to democracy.

Congolese authorities once tolerated public criticism. Now, media restrictions are tightening.

Last week, authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo imposed a 90-day ban on media coverage of former President Joseph Kabila or his party.

Mali: le groupe paramilitaire russe Wagner annonce son départ et est remplacé par Africa Corps

Le groupe paramilitaire russe Wagner plie bagages du Mali avec ses mercenaires après trois ans et demi de présence. Il passe le relais à Africa Corps, un autre groupe paramilitaire plus fermement, sous la coupe du Kremlin.


À Bamako, dans les milieux officiels, aucune des sources contactées par nos soins ne confirme ou n'infirme le départ des mercenaires russes du groupe Wagner du pays. On le sait, la junte malienne a toujours nié la présence de ces mercenaires sur son territoire, préférant le terme « d’instructeurs russes ».

Côté Wagner, le départ du Mali de ces troupes est annoncé après un peu plus de trois ans de présence. La relève sera assurée par une autre structure : Africa Corps. C’est une organisation également paramilitaire russe assurant en Afrique la défense des intérêts extérieurs de la Russie. Composé d’ex-Wagner et surtout de nouvelles recrues, Africa Corps est plutôt étroitement contrôlé par le ministère russe de la Défense. C’est un peu un changement quand on se souvient que Wagner était fermement dirigé par Evgueni Prigojine certes proche du Kremlin, mais forte tête, avant sa mort dans un accident d’avion en juillet 2023.

En quittant le Mali, Wagner dresse un bilan très élogieux de sa présence. Autre son de cloche, si la présence de Wagner a permis de reprendre des mains des rebelles maliens la ville de Kidal, la sécurité n’est pas revenue sur une grande partie du territoire national. En plus Wagner a été accusé d’exactions sur les populations civiles par plusieurs organisations de défense des droits de l’homme.

It’s #UNSC elections day.

The UN General Assembly is voting to elect five new non-permanent members for the 2026–2027 term.

📘 SCR’s 2025 Elections Report has profiles, seat distribution, and potential Council dynamics.

A South African woman is sentenced to life in prison for selling her young daughter.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A South African woman was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for selling her 6-year-old daughter.

Kelly Smith was sentenced by a judge alongside two others, her boyfriend and another man, who also received life sentences. All three were convicted earlier this month on kidnapping and human trafficking charges.

Smith’s daughter, Joshlin, went missing in February 2024 when she was 6, sparking a nationwide hunt by police in South Africa. She has still not been found.

Smith, boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friend Steveno van Rhyn were sentenced to life terms for human trafficking and 10 years each for kidnapping.

Their sentences were read out by Judge Nathan Erasmus at a sports centre in the west coast town of Saldanha Bay. The trial was moved to the sports centre so members of the local community could attend.

Smith — whose full name is Racquel Chantel Smith — was initially a figure of sympathy when her daughter went missing. Community members rallied around her and volunteered to help police search for Joshlin in the sand dunes near their poor neighbourhood of shacks close to Saldanha Bay, around 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Cape Town.

A photograph of Joshlin smiling and with her hair tied in pigtails was broadcast by news stations across South Africa during the hunt for her.

Smith said she had left Joshlin with Appollis on the day she disappeared, but the case took a shocking twist when Smith was arrested.

A woman testified during the trial that Smith had told her she and the two men had sold Joshlin for around US$1,000 to a traditional healer who wanted the child for her body parts.

The judge’s verdict did not make any conclusions on who the child was sold to or exactly what happened to her, but said she had been sold for slavery or practices similar to slavery.

Several senior members of the #ANC want the party leadership to convene a meeting of the national executive committee so that they can discuss the Freedom Front Plus and the DA’s continued participation in the government of national unity.

A suspected #RSF strike hits a prison, killing at least 19 in Sudan, officials say. A suspected drone strike launched by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces hit a prison in the southern region of Kordofan on Saturday and killed at least 20 inmates, authorities said.

Fifty other detainees were wounded in the attack on the main prison in Obeid, the capital city of North Kordofan, Information Minister Khalid Aleiser said in a statement.

Aleiser, who is also the spokesman of the military-allied government, accused the Rapid Support Forces for the attack, which came as the militia escalates drone strikes on the military-held areas across the country.

Sudan plunged into civil war on April 15, 2023, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in the capital Khartoum and other parts of the country. Obeid is 363 kilometers (225 miles) south of Khartoum.

There was no immediate comment from the RSF, which earlier this month launched multi-day drone attack on Port Sudan, the Red Sea city serving as an interim seat for the Sudanese government. The strikes hit the city’s airports, maritime port and other facilities including fuel storages.

The military earlier struck Nyala airport in South Darfur, where the RSF receives foreign military assistance, including drones. Local media say dozens of RSF officers were killed in last week’s strike.

In the western region of Darfur, an artillery attack by the RSF on Friday on a camp for displaced people killed at least 14, according to the Emergency Room, an activist group tracking the war. The dead included two parents, their eight children and the children’s grandmother, the group said.

The RSF has launched nearly daily attacks on the camp and the nearby city of el-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur, which the paramilitaries have attempted to seize for more than a year.

Last month the RSF rampaged through Sudan’s largest camp for displaced, Zamzam, killing more than 400 people. The militia took control of the camp, pushing its population to flee.

The war has killed at least 24,000 people, though the number is likely far higher. It has driven about 13 million people from their homes, including 4 million who crossed into neighboring countries. Parts of the country have been pushed into famine.

The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in Darfur, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.

Osun Assembly proposes six months jail for skating on public roads. Lawmakers in the Osun House Assembly have resolved to impose a fine of six months imprisonment or N20,000 fine for skating on public roads or sidewalks in the state.