Sustained heavy gunfire and loud explosions have been heard in Niger near the international airport outside the capital, Niamey. Multiple eyewitness accounts and videos showed air defence systems apparently engaging unidentified projectiles in the early hours of Thursday. The situation later calmed down, reports say, with an official reportedly saying the situation was now under control, without elaborating. It is not clear what caused the blasts, or if there were any casualties. There has been no official statement from the military government. The gunfire and blasts began shortly after midnight, according to residents of a neighbourhood near the Diori Hamani…
Author: Montage Africa
Passenger flights between Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, and cities in the northern Tigray region have been cancelled amid fears of a return to conflict, with reports of clashes in one area. Ethiopia Airlines, which operates all routes in the country, sent passengers a text message about the cancellations citing “unplanned circumstances”. Neither the airline nor the government has commented further. Airport staff in Tigray’s main city of Mekelle have reportedly been told not to go to work. A 2022 peace deal to end a brutal civil war in Tigray has been unravelling as tensions grow over disputed territory and ahead…
By Rédaction Africanews A court in Uganda has granted bail to Sarah Bireete, a leading human rights activist detained ahead of the country’s general election. Bireete, head of the Kampala-based Centre for Constitutional Governance (CCG), was arrested on December 30 after questioning the accuracy of the voter register. Authorities later charged her with offences linked to the alleged unlawful disclosure of voter information. On Wednesday, Magistrate Winnie Nankya Jatiko ordered her release, saying she had met all the conditions required for bail. Her arrest drew criticism from rights groups, who said it was part of a broader crackdown on dissent…
By Rédaction Africanews and Agencies Rwanda has filed an arbitration case against the United Kingdom saying it’s owed more than 130 million dollars as part of a cancelled asylum scheme. In a submission to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the East African nation says Britain has breached the terms of the “migration partnership” agreed in 2022. Under the controversial deal, London would pay Kigali to accept asylum seekers and immigrants who arrived in Britain illegally. Introduced by the Conservative government, current Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped the plan when he took office in 2024. Kigali says it…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Ethiopian police have arrested 22 people accused of smuggling nearly 2,000 migrants, in a network that reportedly caused at least two deaths and earned millions for those involved. Ethiopia is a key departure point for migrants heading to the Gulf and Europe and is known for human trafficking and scams. Authorities said the suspects ran “criminal gangs” and gave migrants false promises of a better life in Europe after crossing through Libya. Instead, migrants were held in warehouses, forced to contact their families for ransom, and effectively kept hostage until payment. The gang is believed…
By Rédaction Africanews with agencies A Kenyan court has dismissed a compensation claim by the families and victims of the August 1998 bombing of the United States embassy in Nairobi. Over 200 people, including 12 Americans, died in the attack and thousands of others were wounded, most of them locals. A nearly simultaneous blast took place in front of the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Dismissing the petition on Wednesday, the court said there was not sufficient evidence to support the petitioners’ claim that the government had failed to act on prior intelligence about the attack. Judge…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Algeria will close schools in most of its provinces for the next two days as the country braces for a severe storm. Winds of up to 120 km/h are expected on Wednesday across much of the country, including the capital, Algiers. The Education Ministry said classes will be suspended in 52 of Algeria’s 69 provinces following an urgent storm warning. The Civil Defense urged people to stay safe, avoid unnecessary travel, keep away from windows and power lines, and have alternative lighting in case of power outages. Last week’s bad weather in Algeria killed two…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP A partial collapse at a gold mine in South Sudan has killed 13 people and injured six, the state mining company said Wednesday. The accident happened last Friday at five abandoned shafts in the Umm Fakroun mine in South Kordofan, according to the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company (SMRC). Since fighting began in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, both sides have relied heavily on the country’s gold industry, alongside foreign support, to fund the war. “The shafts were abandoned and officially closed, but some miners entered them illegally,” the SMRC…
By Rédaction Africanews and Agencies Senegal-born content creator Khaby Lame signs one of the largest-ever creator economy deals. When the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, Khaby Lame had just lost his job in a factory. Today, he’s the world’s most-followed TikToker and he’s just signed a deal worth almost a billion dollars. Under the agreement with Rich Sparkle Holdings, the Senegal-born Italian content creator keeps 49 percent of his company and long-term control. But the firm has exclusive commercial rights to his brand – including an AI-powered digital twin. The twin will host virtual livestreams and multilingual content and will…
By Rédaction Africanews Police fired teargas on Wednesday to disperse protesters demanding compensation following mass evictions carried out by the Lagos State government. The protesters, made up of displaced residents from waterfront and informal settlements, gathered near a major road in Lagos to accuse authorities of demolishing their homes without adequate notice, compensation or resettlement plans. Chanting slogans and carrying placards, they called on the state government to take responsibility for families left homeless by the demolitions. Some said the evictions had destroyed their livelihoods. Akintimeyin Iyadily, a displaced person, says she and her husband have lost everything. “My house…