At least 140 people killed in Togo's jihadist 'war'

Lomé, Togo

Around 40 soldiers and 100 civilians have been killed in a jihadist "war" in northern Togo, President Faure Gnassingbe has said, in a ground-breaking interview.

The small West African nation, along with neighbouring Benin, Ghana and Ivory Coast, is increasingly facing threats of a jihadist spillover from Burkina Faso and Mali.

"We have paid a heavy price, especially our defence and security forces, who have lost around 40 men unfortunately, and then we add civilian victims, a hundred or so civilian victims in the country," Faure Gnassingbe said in an interview with local private station New World TV broadcast on Thursday. The president's family has ruled Togo since 1967.

The interview -- his first since taking over from his father in 2005 -- marked mark the 63rd anniversary of the country's independence from France.

"What is happening to us is a form of aggression by two groups... one is called the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara and the other, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims," he said, referring to a group linked to al-Qaeda. This campaign by "two terrorist organisations... is a form of war," said Gnassingbe.

The president said a three-tiered strategy had been put in place to confront the threat, including launching a military operation known as Koundjoare in September 2018.

"It was a preventive operation at first, which then became defensive, and now occasionally we are also on the offensive," he said.

The 56-year-old, reelected three times in polls contested by the opposition, addressed concerns over the government and military's choice to stay mum over the more frequent attacks when questioned by the media including AFP.

"There is something indecent about proclaiming someone's death," he said.

"It is not because we don't issue statements that we don't have successes. We do have successes."

Members of the political opposition and civil society have often criticised the authorities' silence over the situation in the north.

An official asking to remain anonymous recently told AFP that this was "a choice, because we have to protect our defence and security forces."

Gnassingbe warned the Togolese people "should expect a long fight with dramatic moments, which is is inevitable in times of war."

"But I want to assure my countrymen that in the end, we will win," he said.

In addition to military operations, he said the government had set up "an interministerial committee for the prevention and fight against violent extremism."

The aim, he said, was "to try and deradicalise or prevent radicalisation, because it is men, young people, who are being used to conduct these attacks."

The president said that nearly 12,000 people had been from their homes by the government in order to "better protect the border."

The region is also hosting people displaced from Burkina Faso, and the president said that about half of the 100 civilians killed in the jihadist "war" in the north were not Togolese citizens.

Earlier this month, the country's parliament voted to extend a state of emergency in the north, a measure that allows security forces and local authorities more flexibility to take urgent measures to combat threats from militant groups.

Over 400 civilians dead as rival forces continue to fight over control of Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Gunfire and heavy artillery fire persisted Saturday in parts of Sudan’s capital Khartoum, residents said, despite the extension of a cease-fire between the country’s two top generals, whose battle for power has killed hundreds and sent thousands fleeing for their lives.

The civilian death toll jumped Saturday to 411 people, according to the Sudan Doctors' Syndicate, which monitors casualties. The fighting has wounded another 2,023 civilians so far, the group added, although the true toll is expected to be much higher. In the city of Genena, the provincial capital of war-ravaged West Darfur, intensified violence has killed 89 people. Fighters have moved into homes and taken over stores and hospitals as they battle in the densely populated streets, the syndicate said. 

Khartoum, a city of some 5 million people, has been transformed into a front line in the grinding conflict between Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, the commander of Sudan’s military, and Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. 

The outbreak of violence has dashed once-euphoric hopes for a democratic transition in Sudan after a popular uprising helped oust former dictator Omar al-Bashir.

Foreign countries continued to evacuate their citizens while thousands of Sudanese fled across borders. Britain said it was ending its evacuation flights Saturday, after demand for spots on the planes had declined. The United Arab Emirates announced Saturday it had started evacuating its citizens along with nationals of 16 other countries.

Over 50,000 refugees — mostly women and children — have crossed over to Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, the United Nations said, raising fears of wider instability in the region. Ethnic fighting and turmoil has scarred South Sudan and the Central African Republic for years while a 2021 coup has derailed Chad's own democratic transition. 

Those who escape Khartoum face more obstacles on their route to safety. The overland journey to Port Sudan, where ships then evacuate people via the Red Sea, has proven long and risky. Hatim el-Madani, a former journalist, said that paramilitary fighters were stopping refugees at roadblocks outside Khartoum, demanding they hand over their phones and valuables. 

“There's an outlaw, bandit-like nature to the RSF,” he said, referring to Dagalo's Rapid Support Forces. “They don't have a supply line in place. That could get worse in the coming days.” 

Airlifts from the country have also posed challenges, with a Turkish evacuation plane even hit by gunfire outside Khartoum on Friday. 

On Saturday — despite a cease-fire extended under heavy international pressure early Friday — clashes continued around the presidential palace, headquarters of the state broadcaster and a military base in Khartoum, residents said. 

The battles sent thick columns of black smoke billowing over the city skyline. 

In a few areas near the capital, including in Omdurman, some reported that shops were reopening as the scale of fighting dwindled

But in other areas, terrified residents hunkered down reported explosions thundering around them and fighters ransacking houses. 

Now in its third week, the fighting has left swaths of Khartoum without electricity and running water. The Sudanese Health Ministry put the latest overall death toll at 528, with 4,500 wounded.

Those sheltering at home are running out of food and basic supplies. Residents in the city of Omdurman, west of Khartoum, have been waiting at least three days to get fuel — complicating their escape plans.

The U.N. relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, said that U.N. offices in Khartoum, as well as the cities of Genena and Nyala in Darfur had been attacked and looted. Genena's main hospital was also leveled in the fighting, Sudan’s health ministry said.

“This is unacceptable — and prohibited under international law,” Griffiths said. 

Over the past 15 days, the generals have failed to deal a decisive blow to the other in their struggle for control of Africa’s third largest nation. 

The military has appeared to have the upper hand in the fighting, with its monopoly on air power, but it has been impossible to confirm its claims of advances.

"Soon, the Sudanese state with its well-grounded institutions will rise as victorious, and attempts to hijack our country will be aborted forever,” the Sudanese military said Saturday.

Both sides in the conflict have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan’s western Darfur region in the early 2000s.

A unit of Sudan's armed forces, known as the Central Reserve Police, have been sanctioned by the United Staets for grave human rights violations against Sudan’s pro-democracy protesters. 

Accusations of rape, torture and other abuses against demonstrators carried out by the unit first surfaced in 2021, after Burhan and Dagalo joined forces in a military coup that ousted a civilian government. 

The Sudanese Interior Ministry confirmed the deployment of the Central Reserve Police in Khartoum on Saturday, posting photos of the fighters riding with heavy machine guns mounted on pickup trucks. 

Former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was ousted in the 2021 coup, appealed to the international community from a conference in Nairobi, Kenya, to push for an immediate halt to the conflict. He warned that a full-blown civil war in the strategically located country would have consequences not just for Sudan but for the world. 

“God forbid if Sudan is to reach a proper civil war ... it is a huge country and very diverse ... it would be a nightmare for the world,” he said.

Burkina Faso 'massacre' death toll is at least 136

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso

A Burkinabe human rights organization counted 136 civilians, including 50 women and 21 children, killed on April 20 in the village of Karma in northern Burkina Faso by men wearing army fatigues.

"Our teams have documented and recorded 136 lifeless bodies in Karma, including 50 women and 21 children, among them babies under 30 days old killed on their mothers' backs," the Collective Against Impunity and Stigmatization of Communities (CISC) said in a statement sent to AFP on Friday.

The official death toll, announced on Sunday by the public prosecutor in Ouahigouya, capital of the northern region, was around sixty, while survivors and residents of Karma put it at "more than a hundred".

Other nearby villages were also targeted on April 20 by these men in military garb, killing six in Dinguiri, two in Ménè, and three on the road between Ouahigouya and Barga, according to CISC.

In Karma, "they grouped civilians by the dozens and by neighborhoods, taking care to assign armed men to each grouping, with the slogan: 'Kill everyone,'" said CISC President Daouda Diallo, winner of the 2022 Martin Ennals Prize, the "Nobel Prize" for human rights.

The CISC recalls that these massacres came after a jihadist attack on April 15, during which six soldiers and at least 34 army auxiliaries were killed near a village in the same region.

"Survivors' testimonies indicate that the attackers accused the inhabitants of the village of Karma of harboring members of terrorist groups," Diallo said.

The CISC "strongly and vehemently condemns this latest massacre," recalling a series of deaths attributed to soldiers and auxiliaries in the fight against armed jihadist groups.

It demands a "full and impartial judicial inquiry into these horrific crimes against civilians, in order to bring all those responsible and the instigators to justice", considering that "impunity opens the way to all possible abuses, ranging from settling of scores to large-scale massacres".

On Thursday, the government "strongly" condemned "these despicable and barbaric acts" and said it was "following very closely the progress of the investigation", opened by the Ouahigouya prosecutor in order to "clarify" the facts and "question all those involved".

Burkina Faso, the scene of two military coups in 2022, has been caught since 2015 in a spiral of jihadist violence that began in Mali and Niger a few years earlier and has spread beyond their borders.

The violence has left more than 10,000 civilians and soldiers dead over the past seven years, according to NGOs, and some two million people internally displaced.

Ethiopia Prime Minister talks with Sudan's warring generals

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed Friday held a phone discussion with Sudan’s rivals General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo over the conflict in the country.

The phone conversation focused on the need to settle differences amicably and bring stability in Sudan.

"I have held phone discussions with both General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo on the need to settle differences amicably and bring stability to Sudan,” Prime Minister Abiy tweeted after his discussion with both sides.

"The great people of Sudan deserve peace," Abiy added.

General Dagalo, the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), similarly tweeted, confirming his phone discussions with the Ethiopian leader.

"I held a productive conversation with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed Ali, during which we addressed various aspects of the ongoing crisis in Sudan and exchanged views on the current crisis" Daglo said.

According to the Sudanese general, the Ethiopian prime minister emphasised the importance of finding a solution to the Sudanese issue.

"He also expressed his support for the Sudanese people and their choices, emphasising on Ethiopia’s readiness to provide assistance to help Sudan get through this crisis" Daglo added.

This is the first time for Abiy to hold phone talks with the rival military leaders since Sudan slid into a sudden conflict on April 15.

The phone conversations came as Addis Ababa is reportedly seeking to mediate between the conflicting parties in collaboration with regional and bloc Igad and the African Union.

Sudan has been embroiled in a serious conflict due to a power struggle between its two most powerful generals who lead different military forces.

Since the outbreak of the Sudanese conflict, more than 500 people have been killed and over 4,000 injured.

The Ethiopian Embassy in Sudan also said that at least eight Ethiopians have died and four have been injured.

Kenya opposition leader rallies supporters in Nairobi ahead of resumption of protests

NAIROBI, Kenya

Veteran Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga, led a cavalcade of cars through the streets of Nairobi on Friday, shortly after his return from a trip to Dubai.

In a festive atmosphere, the large crowd of supporters followed his convoy through the streets of the city as it made its way to a rally in the district of Kibera.

It was the second gathering of his coalition Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya party since Odinga and President William Ruto agreed to bipartisan talks to iron out their differences.

Odinga has accused Ruto of stealing last year's election and of failing to control surging cost of living that is hitting Kenyans hard.

They have been struggling to make ends meet in the face of high prices for basic goods and a plunging local currency. A record drought has left millions hungry.

Friday’s rally comes before mass action was set to resume in Nairobi on Tuesday, three weeks after the party called off weekly demonstrations against Ruto while the two men held discussions.

It is not clear why the opposition has called for the protests to resume, but they had warned this would happen if insufficient progress was made in the talks

Wydad survive Simba penalties to reach CAF Champions League semis

CASABLANCA, Morocco 

Goalkeeper Youssef El Motie carried the hero’s tag of the night, saving two penalties as defending champions Wydad Athletic Club beat Tanzania’s Simba SC 4-3 on post-match penalties to make the semi-final of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.

The game had to be decided from 12 yards out after Wydad won the return fixture 1-0 in Casablanca, to tie the aggregate score at 1-1.

It was the reserve keeper El Motie who ensured they remained in course to defend their crown.

El Motie started in place of the usual starter Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti who missed with injury and he proved himself, saving Shomari Kapombe and Clatous Chama’s penalties as Wydad progressed.

Erasto Nyoni, Saidi Ntibazonkiza and Moses Phiri scored for Wekundu wa Msimbazi.

Wydad did not miss any of their efforts as they expertly slotted home four spotkicks and didn’t need to go into the fifth after Chama’s miss.

Skipper Yahya Jebrane, Ayoub El Amloud, Amine Abdoulfath and Abdellah Haimoud all tucked home their efforts with military precision.

Burly forward Bouly Sambou’s seventh goal of the campaign ensured the game went into penalties. The striker, who joined the Moroccan champions at the start of the season headed home in the 24th minute after Kapombe’s clearance of Yahya Attiat Allah’s cross fell kindly into his path.

He could have scored a second in the 32nd minute but another header off a Hicham Boussefiane cross was well saved by the Simba keeper.

In the second half, Simba kept their defensive shape, allowing Wydad to keep the ball, but they never created much danger, the game being forced to roll into penalties.

For the semis, the Red Castle will take on the winner between Mamelodi Sundowns and CR Belouizdad who play in Pretoria on Saturday.

15 killed, 5 abducted in Nigeria's Benue State

ABUJA, Nigeria

Gunmen killed 15 villagers and abducted five aid workers in separate attacks in Nigeria's troubled northern region, authorities said Thursday.

The assailants arrived in Benue state's Apa area and opened fire on villagers in their homes, according to David Olofu, a senior state government official. He said military personnel were among those shot in the attack and many houses were razed as villagers fled to safety.

The incident in Benue is the latest in a spiral of violent attacks in which armed groups are targeting remote communities across Nigeria's northwest and central regions, often defying government and security measures.

More than 80 people have been killed in Benue in the past month in such attacks. No group has claimed responsibility for the killings, though authorities have blamed Fulani herdsmen, a group of mostly young pastoralists from the Fulani tribe caught up in Nigeria's conflict between host communities and herdsmen over limited access to water and land.

In northeastern Nigeria, meanwhile, Islamic extremists abducted five aid workers in Ngala, Borno state, where an insurgency against the government has raged on for more than a decade.

The aid workers included three staff members and two contractors of the international non-government organization FHI 360, all "working to provide lifesaving medical care to the people of Nigeria," the organization said Thursday, without further details on the incident.

FHI 360 condemned the abduction of the workers and called for their "unconditional, immediate and safe return," according to a statement from Iorwakwagh Apera, the NGO's director in Nigeria. "Our priority at this time is to support our team and their families," said Apera.

The Boko Haram extremist group has been waging a bitter war against Nigeria since 2009, and the insurgency has spread over the years to the neighboring countries of Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

A breakaway faction of the group formed in 2016 and became known as the Islamic State in West Africa Province and is notorious for targeting security forces and aid workers. 

Extremists kill 33 soldiers in latest Burkina Faso attack

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso

A large number of Islamic extremists launched an attack on Burkina Faso’s military in the country’s east, killing 33 soldiers and wounding a dozen others, the army said Friday.

The assault took place Thursday in the Gourma province town of Ouagarou, according to an army statement.

“During particularly intense combat, the soldiers of the detachment showed remarkable determination when faced with an enemy that came in very large numbers,” the statement said, adding that 40 jihadis also were killed.

Fighters linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have waged a violent insurgency in Burkina Faso for seven years. The violence has killed thousands of people and displaced around 2 million.

It also has divided a once peaceful nation and fueled frustration that led to two coups last year. The new junta leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traore, has promised to secure the country. But some civilians say they also fear Burkina Faso’s security forces, which they accuse of extrajudicial killings and the disappearance of untold numbers of others accused of supporting the militants.

Meanwhile, attacks are intensifying and spreading as jihadis blockade villages, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from moving freely.

Earlier this month, gunmen killed at least 40 members of Burkina Faso’s security forces in the northern part of the country, and dozens of others were wounded.

Local residents have accused the security forces of brutally killing civilians in the north. The United Nations has called for a thorough and independent investigation into what it called the “horrific killing of civilians.”

Fighters rampage in Darfur as Sudan extends fragile truce

GENENA, Darfur

Armed fighters rampaged through a city in Sudan’s war-ravaged region of Darfur on Thursday, battling each other and looting shops and homes, residents said. The violence came despite the extension of a fragile truce between Sudan’s two top generals, whose power struggle has killed hundreds.

The mayhem in the Darfur city of Genena pointed to how the rival generals’ fight for control in the capital, Khartoum, was spiraling into violence in other parts of Sudan.

The two sides accepted a 72-hour extension of the truce late Thursday. The cease-fire has not stopped the fighting but created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate thousands of their citizens by land, air and sea.

The cease-fire has brought a significant easing of fighting in Khartoum and its neighboring city Omdurman for the first time since the military and a rival paramilitary force began clashing on April 15, turning residential neighborhoods into battlegrounds.

Both the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, said that they accepted the extension of the truce. But explosions and heavy gunfire could be heard in at least one Khartoum neighborhood late Thursday.

UK parliamentarians bar Zimbabwe president from Charles coronation

LONDON, UK

British parliamentarians are pushing the country’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government to withdraw an invitation to Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa to attend the coronation of King Charles III, citing alleged human rights violations in the Southern African country.

President Mnangagwa last week said he was "excited" to receive an invite to attend the royal event on May 6.

He will be the first Zimbabwean leader to visit London in over two decades after the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Harare over alleged human rights violations and electoral fraud during the rule of the late Robert Mugabe.

But a letter written to British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly that was signed by the chairperson of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Zimbabwe (APPG) in the House of Commons, Navendu Mishra, urged the UK government to advise Buckingham Palace to reconsider the invitation of the Zimbabwean leader.  

“To summarise, political violence and human rights abuses are widespread with opposition members of parliament and party members [being] harassed, beaten, imprisoned and murdered,” the APPG said.

“Corruption is rife, extending to the highest levels of government, destroying the economy and impoverishing the Zimbabwe people and the judiciary as well as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and all institutions of the state have been suborned to the ruling party,” it added.

"The main opposition party leader Nelson Chamisa is habitually denied permission to hold rallies and his political activities are frequently disrupted by violent Zanu-PF supporters and the police,” the legislators added.

“The ZEC appointees are overwhelmingly Zanu-PF supporters, including the sons and daughters of key Zanu-PF officials,” they added.

They also raised the issue of opposition legislator Job Sikhala, who was arrested nearly a year ago for speaking on behalf of the family of a slain opposition activist.

“It is more than 300 days since Zimbabwe’s Citizens Coalition for Change Deputy Chairperson Job Sikhala was detained after providing legal representation to the family of murdered opposition campaigner Moreblessing Ali,” the APPG said.

“Since then, he has been held without trial at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison and denied his constitutional right to bail,” they added.

The legislators said inviting Mnangagwa, who took over from Mugabe in 2017 following a military coup, will send the wrong signal that the UK condones bad governance.

“The coronation invitation will inevitably be used by Mnangagwa as tacit acceptance by the UK of publicly evidenced political violence and repression in the run up to the forthcoming election and will be deeply demoralising to ordinary Zimbabweans in their struggle for democracy,” the MPs said.

“We, therefore, urge the government to withdraw President Mnangagwa’s invitation until Sikhala and other political prisoners are granted their constitutional right to bail and concrete actions are taken to address human rights abuses and guarantee free and fair elections,” the MPs said.

The UK was still part of the EU when Brussels first imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe in 2002 following a disputed presidential election.

After Brexit, London imposed a set of targeted sanctions against Zimbabwean security chiefs for their alleged involvement in human rights violations. - Africa

Inside the arrest, release of Uganda female opposition legislators

KAMPALA, Uganda

At least 11-woman Members of Parliament were on Thursday morning arrested by police for protesting the continued harassment of colleagues by security agencies but their detention lasted a few hours.

The arrested legislators included Joyce Bagala(Mityana woman MP) Kaaya Christine Nakimwero (Kiboga District), Florence Kabugho (Kasese district ), Betty Ethel Naluyima (Wakiso), Joan Acom Alobo (Soroti City) and Asinansi Nyakato (Hoima City) and Suzan Mugabi(Buvuma).

Others were Hellen Nakimuli(Kalangala), Joan Kakande, Manjeri Kyebakutika(Jinja City), Hanifa Nabukeera(Mukono) and Joan Namutaawe(Masaka).

They were later detained at the Central Police Station pending either release on bond or being taken to court after police accused them of obstructing traffic at the entrance of parliament and holding an unlawful assembly.

A few minutes after 3pm, Speaker Anita Among’s convoy arrived at the Central Police Station in Kampala amid heavy security at the headquarters of Kampala Metropolitan Police.

The speaker’s security detail would later take over everything at the Central Police Station.

The usual general duty police officers who are usually in charge of security at CPS were relegated to only watching as things unfolded at the own premises.

On arrival, the speaker was received by the KMP commander, Stephen Tanui ,Bugiri Municipality MP Asuman Basaalirwa and opposition Chief Whip John Nambeshe among other MPs.

She was later ushered into the office of senior commissioner of police Stephen Tanui, the Kampala Metropolitan Commander for a brief meeting.

The two would later meet the detained female MPs in one of the boardrooms but details of the meeting are still scanty.

Meanwhile, a few minutes later, the legislators were released and left in the speaker’s convoy.

Whereas three detectives had been sent by police at parliament to record statements from the detained MPs, these left empty-handed.

Meanwhile, Speaker Among’s visit changed everything as police had finalized plans to have the MPs separated and spend the night at Kira road, Wandegeya and the Central Police Station.

Surprisingly, it emerged that the protesting MPs had not been booked yet as suspects at CPS , alien to the police standard procedure.

Should DCI also probe Kenya President's over religious indoctrination?

NAIROBI, Kenya

Renowned Kenya communication expert and media strategist, Pauline Njoroge, has weighed in on the ongoing arrest of cult pastors led by Pastor Paul Mackenzie of Good News International Church and Pastor Ezekiel Odero of New Life Prayer Centre and Church.

Pastor Ezekiel and Mackenzie are already in police custody for running cult-like churches, where they urged their supporters to even starve to death to see Jesus Christ.

Commenting on social media on Thursday after Pastor Ezekiel was arrested, Pauline wondered why First Lady Rachael Ruto is forcing State House employees to fast every Wednesday.

According to Pauline, Rachael Ruto ordered all employees to fast every Wednesday and many go without food on that day.

Pauline Njoroge

“I will ask again, why are staff members forced to fast on Wednesday in State House?” Pauline wrote.

Now Kenyans are asking the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to probe Rachael Ruto since she is using Paul Mackenzie‘s ideology of telling his followers to fast to death to see Jesus Christ.

Pastor Mackenzie is already in police custody for killing hundreds of his followers in the name of fasting. - The Kenyan DAILY POST.

Sudan: Renewed air strikes rock Khartoum

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Sudanese army on Thursday pounded paramilitaries in the capital Khartoum with air strikes while deadly fighting flared in Darfur as the conflict entered a 13th day despite a US-brokered ceasefire.

Late Wednesday, the army said it had agreed to talks in Juba, the capital of neighbouring South Sudan, on extending the three-day truce which expires on Friday at the initiative of the East African regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad).

There have been multiple truce efforts since fighting broke out on April 15 between Sudan's regular army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his deputy turned rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. All have failed.

The fighting has continued despite the US-brokered ceasefire that took effect on Tuesday, with warplanes patrolling the skies over the capital's northern suburbs as fighters on the ground have exchanged artillery and heavy machine gun fire, witnesses said. 

Burhan agreed on Wednesday to the Igad proposal for talks on extending the truce by a further 72 hours, the army added.

At least 512 people have been killed and 4,193 wounded in the fighting, according to health ministry figures, although the real death toll is likely to be much higher.

Beyond the capital, fighting has flared in the provinces, particularly in the war-torn western region of Darfur.

Witnesses said clashes between the army and the RSF raged for a second straight day in the West Darfur capital Geneina, adding that civilians were seen fleeing to the nearby border with Chad.

On Wednesday, the UN humanitarian agency had reported killings, looting and arson in Geneina.

"An estimated 50,000 acutely malnourished children have had nutrition support disrupted due to the fighting," it added in a statement. 

The heavy fighting has trapped many civilians in their homes, where they have endured severe shortages of food, water and electricity. Communications have been sporadically disrupted. 

The UN has warned that as many as 270,000 people could flee into Sudan's poorer neighbours South Sudan and Chad.

Other Sudanese have sought refuge in Egypt to the north and Ethiopia to the east, but both entail long and potentially dangerous journeys overland.

The UN said it had received reports of tens of thousands of people arriving in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.

Cambridge University academic Sharath Srinivasan warned that the mass movement of people across Sudan's borders threatened to destabilise already fragile regimes in neighbouring countries.

"If the armed confrontation between these two forces protracts or worse draws in other armed rebel groups across the country, this could quickly become one of the worst humanitarian crises in the region and risk spilling over," he told US news outlet Politico.

Foreign governments have taken advantage of the fragile truce to organise road convoys, aircraft and ships to get thousands of their citizens out, but some have warned their evacuation efforts are dependent on the lull in fighting holding.

“China has deployed warships on Thursday to evacuate its citizens,” the defence ministry said.

As lawlessness has gripped Sudan, there have been several jailbreaks, including from the high security Kober prison where top aides of ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir were held.

Among those who have escaped is Ahmed Haroun, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Darfur conflict that erupted two decades ago.

Haroun's escape sparked fears of the involvement of Bashir loyalists in the ongoing fighting.

The army said the ousted dictator was not among those who escaped but had been moved to a military hospital before the fighting erupted.

Daglo's RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia, accused of carrying out atrocities against civilians during Bashir's brutal suppression of ethnic minority rebels in Darfur in the mid-2000s.

Bashir was toppled by the military in a palace coup in April 2019 following civilian mass protests that raised hopes for a transition to democracy.

The two generals had together seized power in a 2021 coup, but later fell out, most recently over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.

Reaction as Burundi bans Rwandan songs

By Emmanuel Gatera, KIGALI Rwanda

On April 24, National Communication Council of Burundi (CNC) announced the banning of 33 songs, including seven that featured Rwandan artistes.

Head of CNC Vestine Nahimana

The decision to ban the songs was announced by the head of CNC Vestine Nahimana, who listed down all the 33 banned songs including those that featured Rwandan artistes like 'Ikinyafu' by Bruce Melodie and Kenny Sol, 'My Boo' by Afrique, ‘Mpamagara' by Pizzo John and Davis D, Yvan Muziki’s 'Nyash' featuring DJ Pius, among others.

The move to ban the songs received heavy backlash from Rwandan music lovers who described the act as a way of putting down Rwandan music which is currently the most streamed and played on airwaves of Burundi.

Speaking to The New Times, Rwandan Afrobeats star Davis D, said that the move to ban the songs, including ‘Mpamagara,’ in which he features, might have been sparked by the way Rwandan music is steadily taking over in Burundi and the whole East African region.

He said that most Rwandan artistes whose songs were banned in the country have either had a sold-out show in Bujumbura, or have a featuring with one of the top Burundian artistes that turned out to be a hit.

“It’s CNC’s right to ban our songs but if it's a way to turn down our music, they will never succeed. Our music is now streamed on all major platforms and can’t be easily stopped by such acts,” Davis D said, adding that Rwandan and Burundian artistes built strong ties that can’t be washed away by this saga.

Asked if banning his song in Burundi discouraged him, Davis D said, “It’s a big motivation to know that my songs are played in other countries to the extent of being a national issue. I’m going to produce many more songs so that they choose what to play and what not to.”

For Afrique, whose track ‘My Boo’ was among the banned songs, the ban is a step in the right direction to make artistes repair and produce music that contains good messages as opposed to promoting immorality.

“Banning our songs might not affect us immediately, but we risk losing a large number of our fans in Burundi. For me, this is a wake-up call that will help me be careful while composing my songs. I promise my fans to produce better songs,” Afrique added.

Alex Muyoboke, a renowned Rwandan music manager and investor, believes the ban is restricting freedom of expression.

He argued that while there are some entertainers who may be glorifying different activities, there are others who are merely singing about what is happening in the society.

“Banning songs isn’t the right thing to do. Engaging artistes and having sessions with them, educating them on the right content to create, could help a lot more. That’s how things are done in Rwanda,” Muyoboke noted

The ban is not practical since people can still access the recorded material on other platforms, including YouTube or live shows where they can watch the artiste perform, Muyoboke added.

According to Anita Pendo, one of the few female DJs in Rwanda with over 10 years’ experience in the music industry, the ban can never affect Rwandan music and will not stop it from growing in Burundi.

She said that Burundi has all the rights to ban songs but putting down Rwandan music is far from existence, given how far it has come and the direction it’s heading to.

“Not all Rwandan songs were banned so, yeah, our music is still growing as usual. Let’s keep pushing it as far as possible,” said Anita Pendo.

The last time a Rwandan song got banned was in 2018 when Oda Paccy released ‘Ibyatsi’. The single track received backlash for peddling nudity, leading the singer’s status as ‘Intore’ being scrapped by the former National Commission of Itorero Chairperson Edouard Bamporiki who accused her for undermining Rwandan culture values.

Burundi remains one of the biggest markets of Rwandan music with millions of supporters that consume Rwandan music on a daily basis. At least 30 Rwandan artistes have staged in Burundi, with the majority being upcoming ones. The likes of Ish Kevin, Bushali, Davis D, Bruce Melodie, Shemi among many others have performed in sold out concerts held in Bujumbura, Burundi.

President of Rwanda arrives in Tanzania on state visit

By Alice Kagina, DAR ES SALAAM Tanzania

President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame on Thursday, April 27, arrived in Tanzania for a two-day visit as both countries seek to strengthen bilateral relations.

Upon arrival, he was received by Stergomena Lawrence Tax, the Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation.

Kagame is expected to hold a tête-à-tête discussion with President Samia Hassan before joining members of both delegations for a bilateral meeting. From there, the two Heads of State will address members of the press.

According to a statement from the Office of the President, Kagame will also attend a dinner hosted in his honour.

Kagame’s visit to Tanzania comes at a time when both countries share cordial relations in various sectors of cooperation. The ties are strongest in trade and investment with potential in multiple other avenues.

For instance, Tanzania’s exports to Rwanda increased to $277.8 million in 2021, up from $60.1 million, while Rwanda’s exports to Tanzania $2.2 million up from $1.3 million in the same period.

In August 2021, President Suluhu visited Rwanda, in a move that aimed at strengthening ties between the two neighboring countries where she witnessed the signing of different agreements in various sectors for the social and economic growth of both nations.

Rwanda uses the port of Dar es Salaam for much of her inbound and outbound cargo, (over 80 per cent) through what is commonly known as the Central Corridor.

Ahead of the visit, Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation in July led a delegation of public and private sector to Tanzania to engage in cooperation in the sector.

Some of Rwanda’s submarine sea cables IT infrastructure are through the port of Dar es Salaam.

The Rwanda Defence Force Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Jean-Bosco Kazura and Inspector General of Police CGP Dan Munyuza in the same year visited Tanzania where they held talks with their counterparts.

The meeting ended with a commitment by both countries to cooperate closely on border control and crime prevention, information and intelligence sharing on terrorism and other transnational crimes.

In 2018, the two countries agreed on joint construction of a Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Isaka (northwestern Tanzania) to Kigali, a move which will facilitate movement of goods between the two countries.

Studies conducted by the East African Community (EAC) had shown that the Tanzanian railway route would cost Rwanda between $800 and $900 million.

Popular Tanzanian businesses operating in Rwanda include Azam Group, Bakhresa, Matelas Dodoma, among others, while Rwandan companies like Sulfo Rwanda, and Pharmalab, have set foot in Tanzania.

Why China is trying to mediate in Russia’s war with Ukraine

By Joe McDonald, BEIJING China

Chinese leader Xi Jinping said Wednesday that Beijing will send an envoy to Ukraine to discuss a possible “political settlement” to Russia’s war with the country.

Beijing has previously avoided involvement in conflicts between other countries but appears to be trying to assert itself as a global diplomatic force after arranging talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March that led them to restore diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.

Xi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call that a Chinese envoy, a former Chinese ambassador to Russia, would visit Ukraine and “other countries” to discuss a possible political settlement, according to a government statement.

It made no mention of Russia or last year’s invasion of Ukraine and didn’t indicate whether the Chinese envoy might visit Moscow.

The Xi-Zelenskyy phone call was long anticipated after Beijing said it wanted to serve as a mediator in the war.

China is the only major government that has friendly relations with Moscow as well as economic leverage as the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas after the United States and its allies cut off most purchases.

Beijing, which sees Moscow as a diplomatic partner in opposing U.S. domination of global affairs, has refused to criticize the invasion and used its status as one of five permanent U.N. Security Council members to deflect diplomatic attacks on Russia.

Zelenskyy earlier said he welcomed a Chinese offer to mediate.

Xi’s government has pursued a bigger role in global diplomacy as part of a campaign to restore China to what the ruling Communist Party sees as its rightful status as a political and economic leader and to build an international order that favors Beijing’s interests.

That is a sharp reversal after decades of avoiding involvement in other countries’ conflicts and most international affairs while it focused on economic development at home.

In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran issued a surprise announcement, following talks in Beijing, that they would reopen embassies in each other’s capitals following a seven-year break. China has good relations with both as a big oil buyer.

Last week, Foreign Minister Qin Gang told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks.

Wednesday’s statement warned against the dangers of nuclear war, suggesting Beijing might also have been motivated by what it sees as the growing danger of a more destructive conflict.

Mediating between Ukraine and Russia would increase China’s presence in Eastern Europe, where Beijing has tried to build ties with other governments. That has prompted complaints by some European officials that China is trying to gain leverage over the European Union.

Political science professor Kimberly Marten of Barnard College at Columbia University in New York doubted China would succeed in a peacemaker role.

“I have a hard time believing that China can act as peacemaker,” she said, adding that Beijing has been “too close to Russia.”

China is the closest thing President Vladimir Putin’s isolated government has to a major ally.

Xi and Putin issued a joint statement ahead of the February 2022 invasion that said their governments had a “no limits friendship.”

Beijing has tried to appear neutral but has repeated Russian justifications for the invasion.

Xi received a warm welcome from Putin during a visit to Moscow in March. The Chinese defense minister visited Russia this month.

China has stepped up purchases of Russian oil and gas for its energy-hungry economy, helping to offset lost revenue resulting from Western sanctions. In exchange, China gets lower prices, though details haven’t been disclosed.

Marten said the Xi-Zelenskyy call was “kind of a slap at Russia, because Russia has been very keen to portray China as its ally.” She said the direct China-Ukraine contact “indicates China is taking at least a step away from Russia.”

China was Ukraine’s biggest trading partner before the invasion, though on a smaller scale than Chinese-Russian trade.

In 2021, Ukraine announced plans for Chinese companies to build trade-related infrastructure.

Zelenskyy’s government was more ambivalent toward Beijing after it was clear Xi wouldn’t try to stop Putin’s war, but the two sides have remained amicable.

“Before the full-scale Russian invasion, China was Ukraine’s number one trading partner. I believe that our conversation today will give a powerful impetus to the return, preservation and development of this dynamic at all levels,” an official Ukrainian readout of the call reported.

Qin, the foreign minister, promised this month China wouldn’t provide arms to either side, a pledge that benefits Ukraine, which has received tanks, rockets and other armaments from the United States and European governments.

The Chinese ambassador to France set off an uproar in Europe when he suggested former Soviet republics — a group that includes Ukraine — might not be sovereign nations. That was in line with Putin’s comments denying Ukrainian sovereignty.

Beijing then reassured former Soviet states it respected their sovereignty and said the ambassador’s comments were a personal opinion, not official policy.

Elizabeth Wishnick, of the U.S.-based think tank CNA and Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute, said in an email: “I wonder if Xi’s call was set up quickly to deflect attention” from the uproar over the Chinese ambassador’s remarks.