Eye on Africa

UN Report Highlights Genocide Indicators in Sudan’s el-Fasher The United Nations has identified significant indicators of genocide following the RSF’s takeover of el-Fasher. Investigations reveal widespread atrocities, urging global responses. The UN's independent mission described the RSF's operation as deliberate and coordinated. Tens of thousands have died in Sudan’s ongoing conflict, with millions displaced. UN urges accountability for war crimes and pressure for humanitarian access. Violence and Human…

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya moved Wednesday to ease refinancing pressures, launching tender offers to buy back up to $500 million of outstanding Eurobonds and preparing a new dual-tranche dollar issue aimed at extending the country’s debt maturities. In a regulatory notice, the government said it would repurchase up to $350 million of its 8% bond due in 2032 and up to $150 million of its 7.25% bond maturing in 2028, amounts inclusive of accrued interest. The tender offer closes Feb. 25. To fund the buybacks, Kenya plans to issue…

Analysis: U.S.-backed airpower reshapes Somalia’s fight with al-Shabab — but can gains hold as peacekeepers depart? Somalia’s government says a combination of U.S.-supported airstrikes and newly expanded ground operations has shifted the momentum in its long war with al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab. Officials tout battlefield gains, especially the retaking of territory long held by the militants and strikes on leadership nodes and bomb-making networks. The turn comes as African Union peacekeepers draw down and Somali forces assume…

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday rejected Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia as an independent state, warning that the move risks escalating tensions in an already volatile Horn of Africa. “The Horn of Africa should not be the battlefield of foreign forces,” Erdogan said during a joint news conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa. “We believe that countries of the region should address their problems by themselves.” North Western State…

Somalia urges U.N. to block any forced changes to Palestinian territories, condemns Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia UNITED NATIONS — Somalia on Thursday called on the international community to prevent any attempt to forcibly alter the geographic status of the Palestinian territories, while condemning Israel’s December move to recognize North Western State of Somalia and denouncing reported plans to relocate Palestinians to Somali soil. Somalia warns the U.N. Security Council against unilateral…

Malawi has struck a landmark mineral marketing agreement with U.S.-based Traxys North America to sell graphite from the Kasiya rutile-graphite project in Lilongwe, officials said Friday, a deal that both countries view as strategically significant amid growing global demand for critical minerals. Malawian authorities hailed the arrangement as a potential boost to the country’s export earnings and industrial profile. The U.S. government classifies both rutile and graphite as essential minerals, and they are widely sought for…

MINNEAPOLIS — In a winter of raids, fear and strobe-lit confrontations, a fried, triangular pastry became an unlikely emblem of resistance. As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in masks flooded the Twin Cities over the past two months, Somali Minnesotans met them not only with phones, whistles and signs, but with sambusas — crisp, fragrant parcels of spiced meat and vegetables — pressed into the hands of neighbors and strangers alike. “Food brings people together in our culture,” said community organizer…

The World Health Organization announced that Libya has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, a milestone that clears the country of a disease long linked to poverty and limited access to hygiene and eye care. The validation makes Libya the 28th country worldwide and the eighth in its region to reach this specific target for trachoma, the WHO said. Trachoma is an infectious eye disease caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It spreads through contact with infected eye discharge on hands, clothing or by…

Tinubu Signs Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026, Sparking Mixed Reactions In a significant move to reform Nigeria's electoral framework, President Bola Tinubu has signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2026 into law. During the announcement, he emphasized that the primary goal of the amendments is to enhance the integrity of electoral processes, asserting that the revisions are not tailored to benefit specific political interests. "Lessons from past elections have guided our efforts to close procedural gaps and build…

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting at the Presidential Palace that formally opened a consultative conference with leaders of the Somali Future Council, launching talks aimed at resolving disputes over elections and constitutional reform. The government-opposition dialogue — expected to run several days — begins amid rising political tension and with fewer than three months left in the government’s term, a compressed timeline that has…