Ex-Ambazonian separatist: I fought to close schools in Cameroon; now I teach to open people’s minds
The Ambazonian rebel group believed that destroying schools would weaken the government’s control over the region, a strategy that left a deep scar on the educational landscape. Armed groups enforced boycotts, burned classrooms and killed teachers who defied their orders. Nearly 488,000 children in the affected regions were out of school in 2024, according to UNICEF.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels kill least 14 foreign peacekeepers as they advance towards Goma city in eastern Congo
On Saturday, Congo’s army said it fended off an M23 offensive towards Goma with the help of its allied forces, including UN troops and soldiers from the Southern African Development Community Mission, also known as SAMIDRC.
WHO chief accuses rebel Rapid Support Forces of killing 70, injuring 19 people in attack on hospital in Sudan’s Darfur region
Officials and others in the capital of North Darfur province had cited a similar figure on Saturday, but Ghebreyesus is the first international source to provide a casualty number. Reporting on Sudan is incredibly difficult given communication challenges, the indiscriminate violence faced by civilians and exaggerations by both the RSF and the Sudanese military.
How and why Benin’s Voodoo Festival is gaining popularity as Africa’s mecca of divine spirits, attracting foreigners and adherents
The festival gained popularity over the years from within and outside Africa, organisers say, and attracts thousands of locals and foreigners who flock to the Atlantic coast town to experience one of the world’s oldest religions.
Eastern Congo capital, Goma, braces for M23 militia assault as UN warns of imminent biting humanitarian emergency
Since the UN peacekeeping Mission, MONUSCO, withdrew from South Kivu in June 2024, peacekeepers have defended key positions in North Kivu, including Goma and Sake, where clashes between the M23, the Congolese Armed Forces and many other armed groups have continued.
Nigerian soldiers kill 79 militants, suspected kidnappers as army ramps up war against rebels
The 2014 kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls by Boko Haram extremists in the village of Chibok in the north-eastern state of Borno – the epicentre of the conflict between armed groups and the military – captured the attention of the world.
Beatification of Congolese civil servant murdered for fighting corruption picks up, inspires generation
The Rev Francesco Tedeschi, an Italian priest who is spearheading the beatification cause as the postulator, said the Vatican decree of martyrdom indeed recognizes Kositi died out of hatred for the faith, because his decision to not accept the spoiled food was profoundly inspired by the Gospel.
Fresh fears of regional war as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels push into eastern Congo’s capital Goma
On Friday, the governor of eastern Congo’s North Kivu province, where Goma is the provincial capital, died of wounds sustained on the frontline. The circumstances of Maj-Gen Peter Cirimwami’s death were not immediately known – he was visiting troops fighting the rebels when he was wounded.
Satellite images show Sudan’s largest oil refinery burning after being torched by civil war fighters
Al-Jaili Refinery sits some 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Khartoum, the capital. The refinery has been subject to previous attacks as the RSF has claimed control of the facility since April 2023, as their forces had been guarding it. Local Sudanese media report the RSF also surrounded the refinery with fields of landmines to slow any advance.
Africa to bear brunt of US’ broad freeze on foreign aid as Trump orders review
A USAID official, who requested anonymity, said officers responsible for projects in Ukraine have been told to stop all work. Among the projects that have been frozen are support to schools and health assistance like emergency maternal care and childhood vaccinations, the official said.
