Sudan Paramilitaries Overrun Key Zone Bordering Egypt, Libya
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said Wednesday its fighters seized a strategic zone on the border with Egypt and Libya, as the regular army announced its withdrawal from the region. The announcements came a day after the army accused forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar of launching a cross-border attack alongside the RSF, the first allegation of direct Libyan involvement in the Sudanese war…A military source told AFP on condition of anonymity that clashes in the border triangle “started three days ago” when the RSF and Libyan forces loyal to Haftar attacked the army-aligned Joint Forces. The triangle area, a mountain range spanning about 1,500 square kilometres, has long been known for mining activity and cross-border trade. A former army officer told AFP on condition of anonymity that RSF control of the area gives it “leverage over supply routes” running across the Libyan-Sudanese border. He added that the nearest military presence of the Sudanese army to the northeast lies about 400 kilometres from the triangle…The area is also situated north of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where fighting between the army and the RSF has escalated in recent weeks. AFP
Sudan: Shelling on Darfur Camp Kills 8 as Residents Flee Besieged El Fasher
Shelling on a displacement camp in El Fasher, North Darfur, killed eight civilians on Wednesday, activists said, as residents continued to flee the besieged city where a blockade has led to critical food shortages. The Abu Shouk Camp Emergency Room, a local response group, said in a statement that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had shelled the camp’s market and residential areas, killing eight people and injuring others. The group said the final death toll was likely higher. The RSF has been besieging El Fasher, the last major city in the Darfur region outside its control, since April 2024. The fighting has choked off supplies of food, medicine, and humanitarian aid. The worsening conditions have forced many to eat “al-imbaz,” a peanut residue typically used for animal fodder, which residents now queue for at local oil presses. The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) said 307 families had fled the Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher town between June 4 and June 9 due to the escalating violence. Sudan Tribune
Mali Cabinet Backs Bill to Extend Junta Leader’s Term
Mali’s cabinet has adopted a bill that could pave the way for the ruling junta’s leader to remain in power for at least five more years without an election. The measure next heads to the National Transitional Council, which was established by the military government after it seized power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021. Last month, General Assimi Goita ordered the dissolution of all political parties in the west African country, despite having pledged last year to return power to civilians…In April, a national assembly called by the junta recommended proclaiming Goita president without a vote for the five-year renewable term, which would keep him in power until at least 2030. The same assembly had also recommended the liquidation of the political parties. The ongoing squeeze on Mali’s civic space comes against a backdrop of clamour by authorities for the country to unite behind the military. AFP
How Social Media Scams Lure West Africans into Burkina Faso’s Gold Mines
As pro-Russian media and pro-junta influencers praise [the Ibrahim] Traoré-led junta and other Sahelian military regimes for rejecting Western influence and championing a new era of pan-Africanism, traffickers in Burkinabe cities are using that same propaganda to lure Africans into a false promise of well-paying-job schemes and exploitation. While data on the scale of trafficking is unavailable, analysts say this cross-border manipulation in Burkina Faso did not begin during the rise of anti-western sentiment nor Traore’s pan-Africanist rhetoric. But as the junta leader cast himself and the country as self-reliant, like Thomas Sankara, eschewing France and the West, a new wave of exploitation emerged, using the same propaganda to lure desperate (African) migrants…The Africa Report spoke to 15 West Africans, including Nigerians, Togolese, Ghanaians, and Malians, lured by traffickers and trapped in cities like Bobo-Dioulasso and Ouagadougou after they discovered that the offers were scams. Most said they came seeking quick money to clear debts or escape hardship back home. The Africa Report
African Nations Unite against Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons
A number of African countries from the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region have committed to fighting the inflow of illicit small and light weapons, which are attributed to the rising insecurity in the region, thus affecting stability. In Nairobi, several policymakers, security experts, diplomats, and peace campaigners from the regions emphasized the need to curb illicit weapons and the proliferation of small arms, arguing that the increase has triggered instability. Convened by Kenya’s Ministry of Interior and National Administration and the Regional Center on Small Arms and Light Weapons (RECSA), a Nairobi-based intergovernmental organization, the five-day meeting seeks to recalibrate national and regional strategies aimed at eliminating the unregulated flow of small and light weapons, the Ministry said…[Dr. Raymond Omollo, the Principal Secretary in the Department of Internal Security and National Administration] said that enhanced intelligence sharing, public awareness, capacity building for law enforcement agencies, and the harmonization of policy and legislative frameworks are vital for containing the illicit movement of light weapons. Garowe Online
Burundi Officials ‘Threatened’ Voters to Secure Election: HRW
[Burundi] held elections on June 5 in which the incumbent CNDD-FDD party swept 96 percent of the vote and all 100 seats in parliament, according to provisional results released on Wednesday. The result was quickly condemned by opposition candidates, who alleged the vote was “rigged” through forced voting and restricted access. HRW said in a statement that it had interviewed activists, journalists, citizens and a member of the ruling party’s youth league. They “spoke of intimidation and irregularities in both the lead-up to the election and during the voting”, the rights group said. “Ruling party officials and youths intimidated, harassed and threatened the population and censored media coverage to secure a landslide victory,” it added…Members of the incumbent party’s youth group — the Imbonerakure — were stationed in front of polling stations “telling people to vote for the ruling party”, one voter told HRW, describing how all poll workers were party members. “The head of the polling station himself told me to vote for the ruling party,” they said. AFP
Togo Detains TV5 Monde Journalist, Forces Deletion of Protest Videos
[Flore] Monteau, a correspondent with the French public broadcaster TV5 Monde, told [the Committee to Protect Journalists] that gendarmes snatched her camera as she filmed their response to anti-government protests that had started the day before in Lomé, the Togolese capital. They then took her to a nearby gendarmerie station, where they deleted her footage and forced her to unlock her phone to check for images of the protest, she said. After holding her for several hours, the gendarmes released Monteau without charge and returned her camera and phone…In April, the police censored another journalist’s images in the same way. Officers in Lomé arrested Albert Agbeko, editor of the private online newspaper Togo Scoop, brought him to their office, and forced him to delete images from his phone taken during an operation to revise the country’s official list of people entitled to vote, according to Agbeko and news reports. Agbeko was also one of at least six journalists physically attacked in September 2024 as they covered an opposition party meeting. CPJ
Democracy Day: Foreign Envoys Call for Urgent Review of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act
In a joint message commemorating Nigeria’s 26 years of uninterrupted democratic governance, ambassadors of five Western countries have urged the Nigerian government to urgently reform its Cybercrimes Act to protect citizens’ right to free speech and boost investor confidence in the country’s digital economy. The envoys – representing the United States, Britain, Finland, Norway and Canada – issued the call in an op-ed shared with PREMIUM TIMES in commemoration of Nigeria’s 2025 Democracy Day. The ambassadors raised concerns that the 2015 Cybercrimes Act, particularly following its 2024 amendments, is being increasingly misused to silence journalists, activists and ordinary citizens expressing dissent or reporting alleged corruption. According to a tally by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 29 journalists and critics have been charged with the Act since it was enacted in May 2015…While acknowledging the Cybercrimes Act’s original purpose— combating fraud and cyberterrorism—the diplomats stressed that its vague definitions of terms like “false information,” “insult,” and “cyberstalking” leave room for abuse. Premium Times
Kenya Presents Budget A Year After Massive Demonstrations
Kenya’s government was set to present its budget to parliament on Thursday, carefully prepared to avoid a repeat of massive, deadly protests over tax hikes a year ago. A few dozen protesters clashed with police in the capital Nairobi, who fired tear gas at the scattered demos, but the unrest was more focused on police brutality following the killing of a man while in custody earlier this week. The east African nation is a regional economic powerhouse but tensions have simmered over the soaring cost of living, a stagnant job market and rights abuses. Last year’s finance bill triggered huge public anger by raising taxes on everyday items, culminating in thousands storming parliament on June 25, forcing President William Ruto to cancel the bill. At least 60 people were killed in weeks of youth-led protests in June and July 2024, and rights groups say dozens more were illegally detained by security forces in the aftermath…Analysts say the new budget is unlikely to provoke the public anger of last year but critics say it still includes backdoor price increases and will hurt small businesses. AFP
Ethiopia: IDPs from Western Tigray Protest at Interim President’s Office Demanding Return to Their Homes; Denounce Stalled Promises by Authorities
Hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Western Tigray staged a protest on Wednesday at the Office of the President of the Tigray Interim Administration, demanding immediate repatriation to their areas of origin, which they said remain under the control of forces from the neighboring Amhara region. The demonstrators, many of whom have lived in camps since the start of Tigray war in 2020, entered the compound after marching from various parts of Mekelle, accusing authorities of failing to act on earlier promises…Western Tigray, where most of the IDPs originate from, remains under the control of forces affiliated with the Amhara region and the federal government. It is also where some of the most severe atrocities were committed during the two-year conflict, prompting the U.S. State Department to designate the crimes as “crimes against humanity,” including acts of forcible transfer and ethnic cleansing. Addis Standard
At Least Eight Drown in Red Sea as Smugglers Force Migrants Overboard
Survivors of a people-smuggling operation in the Red Sea have recounted how they were forced off their boat far from the coast of Djibouti and left to swim for their lives. At least eight people are feared dead and 22 others are missing after smugglers stopped a boat carrying around 150 passengers likely bound for Yemen on 5 June…Search and rescue operations supported by the International Organization for Migration, IOM, have recovered five bodies from the sea near Moulhoulé in northern Djibouti. The confirmed death toll stands at eight but this is expected to rise as search efforts continue. IOM said that in the days following the incident, many of those rescued were found in the desert by the UN agency’s mobile patrols. They are now receiving urgent medical care at a local hospital and psychosocial support at the IOM-run Migrant Response Center in Obock, Djibouti. UN News