Africa

The campaign for the presidential election on April 11 started on Friday in Benin. In the face of outgoing President Patrice Talon, no strong opponent. Major opposition figures have been disqualified by the National Autonomous Election Commission (Cena) and the Constitutional Court. A vote for which Patrice Talon is leading, after all a very active campaign on the ground. The posters have flourished, but the offer is small, there are only three candidates and their running mates. Today's poster is the result of…

In Rwanda, observers close to Paul Kagame's government welcome progress on the conclusions of the Duclert report on the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. But they emphasize that this is not necessarily enough. Jean-Paul Kimonyo is a researcher and former adviser to President Paul Kagame. He believes that the Duclert report clarifies the dynamics between the French decision-makers at the time and what happened in Rwanda. However, he emphasizes a gap between the content of the report and its conclusion, which excludes the idea of…

In northeastern Nigeria, the large city of Maiduguri is once again deprived of electricity after sabotage of electrical infrastructure on Saturday, March 27, by the jihadists. This is the second time in a few months that the electricity grid supplying the capital of Borno State has been cut by the men of the Boko Haram group, who are active in the region. The jihadists blew up two power transmission towers on the high-voltage line connecting the city of Maiduguri with Damaturu, one of their strongholds. This attack,…

The leader of the Somali jihadist group for the Shebabs released a second message in a month on Saturday night. In a speech to his supporters, Ahmed Diriye attacks Djibouti in particular this time, targeting "American and French interests" in the country. And he also accuses the Djibouti president. This is not the first time the Shebabs have attacked Djibouti. Their targets are the many foreign military bases - French and American, but also Italian, Japanese, Turkish and Chinese - which the country hosts. Their latest…

The city of Palma in northeastern Mozambique is being evacuated following the terrorist attack that began on Wednesday, March 24. The jihadists from the Al-Shabab group, affiliated with the Islamic State group, had taken control of this city with 75,000 inhabitants in the province of Cabo Delgado. Mozambican security forces are now there, facing "terrorist pockets", according to a national television bulletin. According to the Mozambican government, dozens of people have been killed since Wednesday in Palma. Dozens of…

It is another step towards peace in Sudan. This Sunday, March 28, in southern Sudan, the Transitional Authorities signed a declaration of principles with the People's Movement for Liberation in North Sudan (SPLM-N), one of the last rebel groups in the country. The text will serve as a basis for future peace negotiations. The SPLM-N, led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, had refused in October to join the agreements signed in Juba with various rebel groups until Khartoum agreed to separate the state from the religion. It was an…

The World Food Program (WFP) is sounding the alarm in Angola. Southwest of the country is experiencing a severe drought - the worst in 40 years - and famine is threatening thousands of families whose farms no longer produce anything. The drought that is raging in Kwanza-Sul, Benguela, Huambo or Huila has begun to be felt. In these provinces of southwestern Angola, the difficulties are such that families have begun to leave these regions. "We are seeing a phenomenon of drought in the middle of the rainy season," warns…

In Chad, dozens of party leaders and members of civil society were arrested this Saturday, March 27, while protesting against a sixth term by the head of state, Idriss Deby Itno, before being released at the end of the day. This eighth week of demonstration responded to the call for general dissatisfaction launched by the opposition and civil society associations. Some districts in N'Djamena were upset this Saturday morning and then in the late afternoon by protesters with clear slogans: "No to the sixth term!" No to the…

In a video broadcast this Saturday night, March 27, the leader of Somali radical Islamists called on the Shebabs to strike "American and French interests" in Djibouti. The appeal was lodged within two weeks the presidential election in Djibouti. In a video released on Saturday night, Somali Sheba's chief Abu Obaida Ahmad Omar attacks President Ismaël Omar Guelleh, in power since 1999, seeking a fifth term, which he is likely to win, in the April 9 vote. Ismaël Omar Guelleh "transformed Djibouti into a military base…

No involvement but "heavy and overwhelming responsibility" in the genocide of the Tutsis. This is the conclusion of the Duclert report on France's role in Rwanda between 1990 and 1994. A document delivered on Friday 26 March to Emmanuel Macron. This report, written by a commission of historians led by Vincent Duclert, points to Paris' "blindness" to the genocide of the "racist, corrupt and violent" regime of Hutu President Juvénal…