Central Africa

Squeezed by budget shortfalls, shifting battlefields, and emerging security risks, the United Nations peacekeeping mission is buckling under intensifying pressure, with mounting struggles to shield civilians and uphold stability. Yet UN official Jean-Pierre Lacroix emphasized that these deployments remain essential instruments for helping nations transition from war to durable peace. Over the past year, peacekeeping missions have confronted "significant financial challenges," Lacroix said, triggering contingency steps that…

On a visit to Cameroon's troubled northwest, Pope Leo XIV delivered a forceful rebuke to foreign profiteers, accusing them of siphoning Africa’s wealth and deepening the continent’s hardships. Speaking in Bamenda, the epicentre of the country’s long-running Anglophone separatist crisis, he urged Cameroon’s government to confront corruption so that peace can take root. The pontiff said domestic failings are being compounded by outside actors who, “in the name of profit,” continue to seize Africa’s resources to “exploit and…

In a renewed bid to halt a grinding conflict that has ravaged eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, government representatives and delegates from the M23 rebel movement convened in Geneva, even as clashes drift into hard-to-reach highlands where danger grows and past ceasefire attempts have repeatedly unraveled. This ninth round of talks seeks to chart a path out of the fighting in the east, now focused on North Kivu and South Kivu. There, M23 has captured swaths of territory while the Congolese army, backed by its…

Pope Leo XIV will soon undertake a sweeping 18,000-kilometre journey through Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, a packed itinerary that includes 11 speeches and seven masses before his return on 23 April. The trip is designed to spotlight some of the world’s most urgent concerns — from conflict and migration to corruption and human rights — against a backdrop of uncertainty tied to the Middle East war. Leo will make history as the first pope to visit Algeria, where Islam is the state religion. His programme…

The aspirations of former Senegalese President Macky Sall to ascend to the role of UN Secretary-General have hit an impasse following the African Union's (AU) decision to withhold formal endorsement. On March 27, the AU announced that 20 out of its 55 member nations either opposed Sall's candidacy or sought an extension on the tightly constrained 24-hour deadline. Djiby Sow, a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), emphasized that this outcome does not reflect discord among African nations. Instead,…

President Paul Kagame issued a stark warning against genocide denial and the rewriting of history, insisting that the record of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi is incontrovertible and not open to erasure. He dismissed narratives portraying the killings as a spontaneous eruption. Kagame noted that the historical record has been firmly established by international tribunals and Rwanda’s Gacaca court process, which generated millions of case files nationwide. He also underscored that clear warnings were available before…

Relentless downpours have left a deadly mark on Angola, with at least 29 people killed in Luanda and Benguela provinces, the Civil Protection and Firefighters (SPCB) said. The severe storms tore through communities, toppling 114 houses in Benguela and damaging several others, while floodwaters swept away four vehicles. In Luanda, authorities reported six deaths, one person missing, and more than 33,000 residents affected as neighborhoods struggled with rising waters. The flooding inundated thousands of homes and battered…

After more than 40 years in power, President Paul Biya is poised to install a vice-president for the first time in his rule, following parliament’s approval of contentious constitutional changes. The move revives a position that was abolished in 1972. The amendment hands the aging leader sweeping control over the vice president’s office: Biya can appoint and dismiss the deputy at his discretion, and the vice president may exercise only those authorities the president delegates. In the event of the president’s death,…

Rwanda has taken a significant step to widen access to surgery with the overhaul of the surgical department at Kibungo Level Two Teaching Hospital, a project delivered through a collaboration involving the Ministry of Health, the University of Rwanda, and the medical nonprofit Operation Smile. The revamped facility includes modern operating theatres, an intensive care unit, a high-dependency unit, and dedicated training areas. Built on a hub-and-spoke model to bring services closer to communities, the approach upgrades…

Chad has started moving refugees away from its volatile frontier with Sudan after a deadly cross-border raid that killed 17 people, including mourners at a funeral, escalating tensions and prompting vows of retaliation from President Mahamat Idriss Déby. In a formal announcement, the government said it had reinforced security along the border and signaled it may pursue operations inside Sudan if necessary. Local officials added that investigators have yet to determine which group carried out the attack. The eastern border…