Fears al Shabab will attempt to replicate in Somalia what Taliban militia did in Afghanistan
The Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan has raised concerns that it could encourage other Islamist militant groups around the world, such as al-Shabab in Somalia to attempt the same in countries where they have a foothold. Experts warn that when and if international forces there try to hand over security...
DRC and US counter-terror forces pursue Islamic militia that’s killed 6,000 in seven years
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Felix Tshisekedi has authorised US special forces to help the Congolese army battle the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group linked to ISIL (ISIS). The ADF, which the United States has deemed a “terrorist” group, is considered the deadliest of dozens of armed...
Election win by Zambian opposition Hichilema sets stage for Lusaka to resume lending talks with IMF
Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has defeated incumbent Edgar Lungu in Zambia’s presidential election, the electoral commission declared when releasing the final results from 156 constituencies, barring one. The election was keenly followed by investors, who had temporarily suspended engagement with Africa’s second biggest copper producer, which made the continent’s first...
Darfur crimes: Sudan agrees to surrender ousted leader Omar al Bashir to ICC
The Sudanese government will hand Omar al-Bashir over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) along with other officials wanted over the Darfur conflict, according to a Cabinet of Ministers in a statement to CNN. Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades before being deposed in 2019, faces charges of genocide,...
Walking the talk: New Malawi president pounces on thieving minister, government officials
Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested the energy minister and two other officials for alleged corruption involving a state oil contract. Political analysts said the arrests show Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera’s anti-corruption drive is targeting more than just the former ruling party. Malawi Energy Minister Newton Kambala has been arrested along...
Kenya, Nigeria in the eye of a gathering storm as violent nonstate actors resort to weaponised drones in wars
The risk of militarisation of drone technology in Africa represents a new asymmetric tool, which experts now fear nonstate groups may deploy to extend the reach of their coercion, reshaping the African battlefield. A study has listed Kenya in East Africa, Nigeria in West Africa, which have in recent years...
Sudan recalls ambassador to Ethiopia after mediation offer in Tigray conflict rejected
Sudan has recalled its ambassador to neighbouring Ethiopia, citing frustration by the stance of Addis Ababa whom it says have refused Khartoum’s offer to mediate in the ongoing conflict in Tigray. “Ethiopia will improve its position if it considered what Sudan could do…instead of completely rejecting all of its efforts,”...
Report: G7 Financial Action Task Force idea promotes intolerance in weak democracies
Maja Stojanovic, director of Serbian non-profit Civic Initiatives, which was named in the letter, told Reuters she believes the government is using the data for smear campaigns to undermine NGOs’ work. A report on Financial Action Task Force (FATF), established by the G7 group of advanced economies to protect the...
Director of Africa CDC tells of how Covid ‘mistreated’ him despite vaccination
Head of the African Union’s health watchdog John Nkengasong revealed Thursday that while he is leading the war against coronavirus on the continent, he had survived the worst thanks to his jabs, as he urged the continent to fight vaccine hesitancy. Experts worry that reluctance to take the vaccine, stemming...
Covid nationalism: Regions where cases soar are the places where next variant will emerge
As I write, mass fatalities from Covid-19 have begun in Africa. Overall, only 1.1 per cent of people in low-income countries have received at least one vaccine dose. In my own Liberia, the proportion of people who have had both doses is just 0.18 per cent. Recorded cases in the...
