central Africa

The US has designated rebel groups in Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique as foreign terrorist organisations. It said the groups, Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and Al Ansar al-Sunna, locally known as al-Shabaab in Mozambique, were affiliated to the global jihadist group Islamic State (ISIS). Their leaders have been named …

Equatorial Guinea has begun three days of national mourning after the deaths of at least 105 people following explosions at a munitions depot on Sunday. Flags in Equatorial Guinea will fly at half-mast for the next three days. 105 are dead and more than 600 people are still in hospital …

Ali Bongo, Gabon’s president is said to be “very weak”. After a stay of more than five months shared between Saudi Arabia where he spent 34 days and the rest of the time in Morocco, the Gabonese president would be once again interned for health problems. Information circulating on the …

In a statement, Burundian Ministry of Commerce has banned maize grain and flour imports for the next six months starting 8 March. The statement said recently imported maize was found to be “not good” and could affect people’s health but didn’t specify which countries the imports were from. “While this …

In Congo-Brazzaville, opponent Guy-Brice Parfait Kolélas, presidential candidate was due to travel to Ouesso in the far north of the country on Saturday (March 6) to start his presidential campaign. But when he arrived at the airport, Kolélas learned that his flight, from Trans Air Congo (TAC), had simply been …

Election campaigns have begun in Congo-Brazzaville ahead of the presidential poll in just over two weeks’ time. Denis Sassou Nguesso, the incumbent who is seeking a fourth term will face six opposition candidates. The candidates’ names will now be sent to the constitutional court for validation, said Seraphin Ondele, interior …

Human Rights Watch has added its voice to calls for an urgent United Nations-backed inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Ethiopian region of Tigray. The lobby group accuses Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of indiscriminately shelling the city of Aksum in November. Echoing a report last …

By way of the COVAX initiative, more than 1.7 million doses of COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccines touched down at Kinshasa’s N’djili International Airport on Tuesday The vaccines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are part of the first wave of supplies that will continue over the next few weeks. Medical …

The US embassy in Cameroon has called for an investigation into a military raid of a village last year in which soldiers have been accused of raping at least 20 people. The details of the attack only came to light after Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on 26 …

Denouncing an “obvious militarization of the political climate” following the violent clashes at the home of candidate Yaya Dillo, opponent Saleh Kebzabo withdrew from the presidential race on April 11. While the latter still claims the Chadian government for its campaign costs during the previous election, he doubts the transparency …