Secret Network Fueling Sudan’s War
The shadowy role of the United Arab Emirates in fueling the war in Sudan – once a well kept secret – is now acknowledged as a key driver of Sudan’s disastrous, yearslong civil war. Still, little is known about how the UAE co-opts regional governments to achieve its aims in Sudan. Lighthouse Reports, Evident and Sudan War Monitor travelled to eastern Libya to reveal how the UAE network works on the ground. Through a combination of open source and on-the-ground reporting, the investigation sheds new light on one of the UAE’s most entrenched operations in their vast network of support to the RSF. As the international community has failed to intervene in Emirati meddling, the UAE has meanwhile built a sprawling network of complex logistics, military bases, financing, and weapons trafficking routes to prop up the Rapid Support Forces and fuel their war efforts in Sudan. … [The] reporting, including interviews with LNA officers, RSF defectors, and Sudanese military sources, unveiled four previously unidentified RSF camps in Libya, contrary to claims by the RSF that they do not conduct troop training outside of Sudan and contrary to LNA insiders’ claims that the RSF operations in Libya were largely wound down by late 2025. Lighthouse Reports
Draft UN Human Rights Council Resolution on El Obeid, Sudan Condemns War Crimes, Starvation as Weapon of War
The UN Human Rights Council is considering an emergency draft resolution that would mandate the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan to carry out an urgent investigation into alleged human rights violations, crimes against humanity and war crimes in and around the city of El Obeid. The draft resolution, seen by Radio Dabanga, strongly condemns what it describes as escalating violence committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied forces in and around El Obeid. It also expresses what it describes as the Human Rights Council’s deep alarm over the use of starvation as a method of warfare. According to the text, the city has endured conditions resembling a siege for nearly 18 months, resulting in the near collapse of access to basic services and the tragic loss of civilian lives. The draft also condemns intensive aerial attacks targeting civilians and critical infrastructure across the Kordofan region, particularly in El Obeid. Radio Dabanga
Witchcraft and WhatsApp: The Fight to Contain Ebola Misinformation
While Julienne Anoko’s colleagues work in treatment wards and labs to stop the spread of Ebola, she takes on WhatsApp groups with tens of thousands of members, where distrust and rumours are rife. … “My role is essentially to act as a bridge between the communities and the response teams,” she said, “ensuring that interventions are not only technically sound but also socially accepted and trusted.” Getting that acceptance happens on doorsteps and in villages talking to people, but also in the wilds of the DRC’s social media landscape. One of the main conduits for information is huge WhatsApp groups, often formed around neighbourhoods, religious congregations or work associations. People share voice notes because many cannot read. … “My teams and I are part of several WhatsApp groups. We correct misinformation and we share the right information.” … Resistance from the local people is not necessarily born of ignorance, says Dr Githinji Gitahi, the group chief executive of Amref Health Africa, but a result of historical neglect. … “When people see extraordinary mobilisation for Ebola but continue to lose children to malaria, malnutrition, and maternal complications, the reasoning can feel disconnected. Telegraph
Uganda Finds Isolated Marburg Virus Case, Africa CDC Says
Ugandan health authorities have confirmed an isolated case of Marburg virus disease, a highly infectious hemorrhagic fever, while conducting surveillance for an Ebola outbreak, Africa’s top public health agency said on Wednesday. No contacts of the Marburg case have developed symptoms and there is currently no active case in the East African country, a spokesperson for the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention added, citing Ugandan authorities. Africa CDC said the Marburg case was detected in Kyegegwa district in the west of Uganda, in a 1-1/2-year-old child who had died. Uganda’s last Marburg outbreak was in 2017, and it has had three others, the WHO spokesperson said. Responding to Marburg requires the same steps as responding to Ebola, they added. Reuters
Nigeria: Troops Repel Twin ISWAP Attacks in Borno, Recover IEDs, Communication Device
Troops of Operation HADIN KAI have repelled separate attacks by suspected Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) militants in Borno State, successfully securing a humanitarian convoy, defending a community from insurgent assault and recovering weapons-related items abandoned by fleeing militants. … The recovered items have been taken into military custody for further investigation and intelligence exploitation. Military sources said the operations highlight the continued use of command-detonated IEDs and coordinated ambush tactics by ISWAP terrorists targeting both military formations and humanitarian supply routes in the North-East. They added that Operation HADIN KAI troops remain committed to protecting vulnerable communities, securing critical logistics corridors and sustaining offensive operations aimed at degrading the operational capabilities of militant groups across the theatre. PR Nigeria
Nigeria: 48 Killed in Farmers, Herders Clash in Niger State
At least 48 villagers have been killed in a clash between the Fulani and Kamuku ethnic groups in Tegina, a town in the Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State. Residents told PREMIUM TIMES that the violence erupted early Wednesday morning when machete-wielding herders invaded a Kamuku community, killing 42 people, mostly women, children, and the elderly. … Clashes between the two groups initially began in May, following a monetary donation made by Sani Musa, the senator representing the Niger East District. The money was intended for the community and was distributed through a Fulani leader, Muhammed Shehu. However, Mr Shehu was later found dead, and his remains were discovered near an office used by a local vigilante group dominated by the Kamuku people. The herders accused the vigilantes of murdering Mr Shehu over the money, and reportedly attacked individuals of Kamuku extraction on sight. Premium Times
New UN Report Links Joseph Kabila More Closely to AFC/M23
A new United Nations Group of Experts report paints the clearest picture yet of the AFC/M23’s military strength and political ambitions in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, while highlighting the movement’s increasingly close ties with former President Joseph Kabila. The report suggests that this evolving relationship could culminate in a major restructuring of the rebel alliance, even as fighting continues across North and South Kivu. Former President Joseph Kabila has become an increasingly prominent figure in the AFC/M23’s political trajectory, according to the UN Group of Experts. Investigators say Kabila has visited territories under the movement’s control since May 2025 and held meetings with its leadership, underscoring what the report describes as a growing political association. Africanews
Gold Smuggling from DRC’s Ituri Province to Uganda on the Rise, Says UN
Gold smuggling from DR Congo to Uganda is on the rise, according to a new United Nations report. Experts assessing the situation in the DRC for sanctions review pointed to discrepancies between Uganda’s stated gold production and its export levels in 2025. Last year, Uganda declared a record 62 tonnes of gold exports, valued at 6.4 billion dollars. But the country’s gold production fell far short of that amount. Authors of the UN report say the difference is made up by gold smuggled in from the DRC’s Ituri province. Gold exports from the conflict-affected region officially stood at just over half a tonne for 2025, despite a surge in production. Gold extracted in areas of Ituri controlled by rebel groups is subject to sanctions over concerns it is illegally mined and exploiting conflict in the region. Last week, the US sanctioned a Rwandan refinery accused of processing gold illegally extracted in eastern DRC. Africanews
How the Cocoa Price Crash Is Crushing West African Farmers
Cocoa prices have recently plunged after the historic surge to nearly $13,000 per metric ton in 2024. In early April 2026, the world market price temporarily fell to $3,000, a decline of more than 75% in just over a year. The low prices have had a massive impact on the approximately 2.5 million smallholder farmers who grow cocoa in West Africa. Farmers like Firmin Coulibaly from Cote d’Ivoire are forced to sell their cocoa beans at very low prices. “Producers are dying in poverty even though they have crops. They have no money for medicine or food,” he told DW. In Ghana, too, many farmers are suffering from delayed payments because middlemen are no longer buying their cocoa. … According to the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), the high prices in 2024 were initially driven by poor harvests in West Africa, resulting in a supply shortage. … Then came the crash. As better harvests were forecast, many traders sold their cocoa contracts early to lock in profits. At the same time, the World Bank reported that the very high prices had dampened demand from the chocolate industry, as companies used less cocoa and turned to substitute products. Combined with a stronger US dollar, this led to a significant drop in prices. DW
Algerians Vote in Parliamentary Elections while Facing Cost-of-living Strains and Candidate Bans
Voters in Alergia are casting ballots Thursday in parliamentary elections overshadowed by cost-of-living concerns and bans on candidates challenging the government. Nearly 25 million voters across Africa’s largest country by territory are choosing among 1,235 candidates for 407 seats with five-year terms in the lower house of Parliament. Turnout is a big concern after voters largely snubbed campaign events. The government declared Thursday a paid national holiday to encourage turnout. Rather than electoral politics, many people seem more concerned with everyday problems such as purchasing power and the decline of public services against a backdrop of shrinking political, media and union freedoms. The outgoing pro-government majority holds some 300 seats, while the Islamist MSP party is the second largest political force with 64 seats. Some MSP candidates were among 269 candidates barred from running, which notably included former leaders and activists of the Hirak pro-democracy movement that helped push out long-serving autocratic President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019. The government has increasingly squeezed freedoms under his successor, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who was reelected to a second term in 2024. AP
Rising Fuel Costs Boost African EV Sales
Overall vehicle sales in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to grow at a slower rate than previously forecast, mainly due to rising fuel costs triggered by the Iran war, but EV purchases on the continent should remain robust, according to a new report. In most African markets, Chinese EVs cost the same as their internal combustion engine alternatives, according to research firm BMI. Soaring fuel costs in import-reliant markets such as Kenya have further boosted the case for EVs, especially for high-usage consumers and fleet operators. But weak charging infrastructure, limited and unreliable electricity supply outside major cities, and high financing costs could constrain widespread adoption on the continent, even as investors race to build out infrastructure. Semafor
Nairobi, Kigali Sign Fuel Import Agreements
Nairobi and Kigali signed three agreements to expand landlocked Rwanda’s access to petroleum imports. They come as African nations attempt to boost energy security and diversify supplies while a fuel crisis bites across the continent. Rwanda imports all its petroleum products overland through two ports, one in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and the other in Mombasa, Kenya. The new deals mean more of Rwanda’s fuel will pass through the Mombasa route. Energy importers across Africa have been hard hit by the Iran war and the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of Africa’s fuel passed before the conflict. The crisis has spurred efforts to make the continent less dependent on energy imports: Nigeria’s Dangote Group said it was looking to expand its oil refining capacity in the coming years and open another refinery in East Africa. Semafor
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