By Rédaction Africanews and Agencies The last contingent of Kenyan police officers has left Haiti, bringing an end to the UN-backed Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), that’s been in place since 2024. Haitian authorities expressed their gratitude to the Kenyan officers at a departure ceremony on in the capital Port-au-Prince on Monday. Kenya’s mission objective was to help the Haitian government drive out violent gangs that had taken control of Port-au-Prince and vital infrastructure. But the MSS faced enormous obstacles, including a lack of personnel and funding. Projected to have a budget of $600 million, only about two-thirds of that…
Author: Montage Africa
Mali’s military leader on Tuesday insisted the situation in his country was “under control” as he made his first public address since unprecedented large-scale attacks at the weekend destabilised his ruling junta. Jihadists and Tuareg separatists are still positioned in the vast Sahelian country’s north, three days after launching a stunning wave of attacks, in what junta chief Assimi Goita acknowledged was a situation “of extreme gravity.” Goita had made no public appearance or statement for three days, fuelling doubts about his ability to cling to power, but on Tuesday evening — hours after jihadists threatened to blockade the capital…
In a new Child Alert report titled Darfur: 20 Years On, Children Under Threat, UN children’s agency UNICEF warns that while the horrors of 2005 are repeating, the scale of need is now far greater, and international attention is dangerously constrained. A worsening crisis of violence The report draws a chilling parallel between the past and the present. Homes, schools, and hospitals are again under fire, but the modern nature of the fighting between rival militaries has become even more lethal. Since April 2024, more than 1,500 grave violations against children have been verified in the regional capital of El…
It is the most memorable moment of Sir David Attenborough’s broadcasting career. A short sequence of his encounter with a group of playful mountain gorillas in a forest clearing in Rwanda. “There is more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla than any other animal I know,” he tells the camera, as a female gorilla observes him from just a few feet away. The footage for his 1979 Life on Earth series was not just unexpected, it said something profound about our close relationship with the natural world. As Sir David approaches his 100th birthday on…
By Dominic Wabwireh with Agencies Almost two‑thirds of South Sudan’s population — around 7.9 million people — are now facing severe hunger, according to new figures released Tuesday, as renewed fighting between government and opposition forces accelerates the country’s slide toward catastrophe. Hunger surges amid escalating conflict The latest wave of violence is concentrated in Jonglei State, where forces loyal to President Salva Kiir have been battling militias aligned with his long‑time rival Riek Machar since December. The clashes have uprooted hundreds of thousands in a nation already struggling with extreme poverty and chronic instability. Officials warn of acute food…
African migrants in the South African capital, Pretoria, were urged to exercise “heightened vigilance” during an anti-illegal immigration march, amid fears of xenophobic attacks. Ghana’s high commission advised its nationals to close businesses and keep a “low profile”, while the head of the Nigerian Union of South Africa told its members to remain indoors. Another march is due on Wednesday in Johannesburg. Anti-migrant sentiment has gained political currency in recent years with some believing foreigners are taking jobs and unfairly benefiting from public services. But the president said citizens should not allow their concerns to “breed prejudices and hatred towards…
By Rédaction Africanews with Agencies The United States on Tuesday denied funding paramilitary units charged with securing mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a day after Kinshasa announced the creation of a mine guard. In a statement on Monday, the General Inspectorate of Mines (IGM) of the DRC said it would set up a “paramilitary special unit intended to secure the entire mineral exploitation chain” in the country. The IGM said the guard would receive $100 million in funding as part of “strategic partnerships” with the United States and United Arab Emirates. But the US embassy in the DRC…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP Tens of thousands of people have returned to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, since the army recaptured it from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in March last year, but unexploded ordnance and landmines left behind by years of conflict are posing a growing danger to residents. For the last eight months, a Sudanese demining group, Jasmar, has been working to clear the popular Al Mogran Park after two soldiers were injured in the area. “We have found 164 shells, explosives, and grenades and 1,200 small arms ammunition. We found shells, 22 anti-personnel mines and nine anti-tank…
Four mountain bongos, a rare type of antelope native to Kenya’s highland forests, have arrived in Kenya after being sent from a zoo in the Czech Republic. The male antelopes arrived in the country on Tuesday night and were welcomed at Nairobi’s main airport by Kenya’s foreign and tourism ministers, along with other officials. They have since been moved to a private wildlife reserve in central Kenya. The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) hailed the “historic homecoming” of the antelopes as a “meaningful step” to their recovery in the wild. From about 500 in the 1970s, less than 100 are estimated…
Two oil executives have denied paying bribes to former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, a court has been told. Statements made by Kevin Okyere and Igho Sanomi to UK investigators were read out in Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. The men are part of a group of industry insiders who are alleged to have bankrolled spending sprees and luxury home stays by Alison-Madueke, 65. None of them have been charged in this case and they have not appeared in person at court. Alison-Madueke denies five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery. She has said…