News Briefs 8 September 2023
Southern Africa Focus
Mozambique
The end of Cabo Delgado’s most wanted man
His parents named him Bonomade Machude Omar. His comrades called him Ibn Omar or Abu Sulayfa Muhammad. Many called him a terrorist — especially the Mozambican and American governments, and their allies in the Cabo Delgado conflict. Now, according to Mozambican authorities, he is dead.
A source in the Mozambican military said the insurgent leader’s last battle was fought in the dense Kathupa Forest in Macomia district. There, the insurgents launched a daring offensive in mid-August on government troops and soldiers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The offensive is believed to have been targeting the chief-of-staff of the Mozambican army, Joaquim Ribas Mangrasse.
Intelligence analysts concluded that only one rebel commander had the authority to go after such a major target: Bonomade Machude. An intense manhunt ensued, and about a week later the army said that he was dead.
Mail& Guardian 5 September 2023
Turkiye, Mozambique sign defence cooperation deal
Turkiye and Mozambique signed a defence cooperation agreement, the President of the Turkish Defence Industry Agency said Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.
“We are determined to fly the flag of our defence industry in Africa,” Haluk Gorgun wrote on X. The agreement was signed by Gorgun, and Mozambique’s Defence Minister, Cristovao Artur Chume, at the Agency in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
It covers the principles of cooperation activities between the two countries. Chume also visited Turkish defence companies and observed products.
Middle East Monitor 7 September 2023
Zimbabwe
New faces in Zimbabwe’s 10th Parliament as opposition urged to push for electoral reforms
On Thursday, 209 parliamentarians from the ruling Zanu-PF party and Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) were sworn into the 10th Parliament, as Zimbabwe moves on from the 23 August general election outcomes.
Eighty senators were also sworn in. Zanu-PF fell slightly short of a two-thirds majority, which would have given them leverage to change laws. With 176 members, it will face off with the CCC’s 103.
During the elections, Zanu-PF won 136 electable seats, while the CCC garnered 73.
Only one seat was deferred, and it will await the outcome of a by-election that is yet to be announced.
News24 8 September 2023
Ruling party leader stops academic’s lecture on Zimbabwe elections
A leadership school at South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has postponed a lecture by a top Zimbabwean academic that was scheduled for Thursday 7 September after coming under pressure from South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC).
The lecture was to be held at Wits university’s OR Tambo School of Leadership under the theme: “The state of democracy in the SADC region: A reflection on the national elections of Zimbabwe.”
Zimbabwean academic Dr Ibbo Mandaza is a visiting professor at the South African university.
The lecture follows the general elections held in Zimbabwe on 24 August that saw President Emmerson Mnangagwa re-elected.
The opposition claims that the election, which observers from regional block the Southern African Development Community (SADC) say violated some aspects of Zimbabwe’s constitution, was rigged.
University World News 7 September 2023
Eswatini
Eswatini turns 55 with Taiwan present… and democracy absent
Fresh from the Umhlanga Reed Dance, Eswatini will on Wednesday commemorate what it termed “55/55 double celebrations”, combining independence celebrations with the birthday of the last absolute monarch in Africa, King Mswati III.
The Reed Dance is a five-day event where young women and unmarried girls are assembled to cut reeds for the yearly repairs to the windbreaks of the queen mother’s village.
Some of the notable guests at the ceremony were former Botswana president Ian Khama and his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma, King Letsie III of Lesotho, and Zulu King Misuzulu.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in Eswatini on Tuesday. She will attend the king’s birthday celebrations and the country’s Independence Day commemorations.
Eswatini is Taiwan’s last declared ally in Africa, with the rest of the continent aligning itself with China, which claims Taiwan as a Chinese territory.
News24 8 September 2023
Thulani Maseko’s absence weakens Eswatini’s struggle for democracy
Seven months after his murder, it is evident how much the absence of political activist and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko has weakened Eswatini’s chances of a genuine transition to democracy.
Maseko, who headed the Multi-Stakeholder Forum (MSF), a coalition of opposition political parties and civil society activists, was shot dead in his home near Manzini in January. The murder remains unsolved, but it is now becoming clearer that absolute monarch King Mswati benefits most from it.
Maseko was a rare unifier amidst a fragmented political opposition. He convened the MSF as a voice of those Swazi democrats demanding that Mswati launch a real, independent and substantive national political dialogue to chart a path to democracy.
Mswati had grudgingly agreed to the dialogue under pressure from the Southern African Development Community (SADC). After years of neglect, SADC was forced to sit up and take note of what was happening in the kingdom. There were unprecedented levels of violent rioting in mid-2021, to which the Swazi security forces responded with excessive violence, killing scores of protesters.
ISS 18 August 2023
Democratic Republic of Congo
Congo charges military officers in killing of over 40 protesters
Six soldiers were charged on Tuesday for their involvement in the killing of more than 40 people during an army crackdown on violent anti-UN demonstrations in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo last week.
The group, which includes a colonel and a lieutenant-colonel from the republican guard, are being prosecuted for “crimes against humanity by murder, malicious destruction and inciting soldiers to commit acts contrary to duty or discipline”, according to a statement by the military court in Goma.
The charges were read out at the start of the trial on Tuesday, before it was suspended due to heavy rain. The soldiers were not yet asked to enter their plea.
The two officers, whose arrest was announced on Sunday, were in command of soldiers who opened fire on protesters, according to a source close to the presidency who asked not to be named.
News24 5 September 2023
East African leaders extend mandate of regional military force in DR Congo by 3 months
Leaders of the East African Community (EAC) unanimously voted Tuesday to extend the mandate of their regional military force which had been deployed to quell violence in the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The decision was announced in a communique released following the 22nd Extra-Ordinary Summit of the East African Community Heads of State held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
The leaders of Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Sudan and representatives from the DRC and Uganda convened to address the ongoing challenges in the eastern DRC region.
The communique stated that the leaders had collectively agreed to extend the mandate of the regional force in the DRC, which was set to expire on Sept. 8, by an additional three months to Dec. 8.
“The Heads of State took note of the operational milestones by the EAC regional force in restoring security in eastern DRC,” said the communique.
The East African 6 September 2023
East Africa and the Horn
Somalia
Casualties feared as al-Shabaab terrorists attack army base in Somalia
Multiple casualties are feared after al-Shabaab terrorists launched an attack targeting a Somali national army base in the country’s south-central province of the Middle Shabelle region on Thursday.
The attack took place in the newly liberated small town of Nur Dugle where Somali government forces and its allied clan militias are based.
The attack began with a car bomb blast followed by heavy gunfire between the attackers and the national army soldiers.
Somali Defense Ministry said the country’s national army (SNA) and local forces “successfully” repulsed the attack.
“We swiftly staged a robust defense at Nur Dugle in Middle Shabelle, neutralizing the threat. Our troops inflicted heavy casualties on the Khawarij (al-Shabaab terrorists), ensuring the area remains secure,” the ministry said in a short statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, after the attack.
Anadolu Ajansi 7 September 2023
Somalia Shifts Military Tactics in Fight Against Al-Shabab
The Somali government says it plans to shift military tactics against al-Shabab amid increased resistance and threats coming from the militants, senior officials confirmed to VOA Somali.
The tactic gives local community fighters the lead role in the fight against al-Shabab with federal government forces playing a supportive role, said two senior government officials who did not want to be identified.
The officials also confirmed that the federal government will register the local fighters and pay monthly stipends as an incentive for their participation, with a view to integrating them into the army in the longer term.
The national intelligence agency is tasked with leading the registration and vetting fighters to prevent infiltration of militants, officials said.
Voice of America 6 September 2023
Central African Republic
Central African Republic ex-strongman charged with crimes against humanity
A United Nations-backed court in the Central African Republic said it had charged ex-rebel leader Abdoulaye Hissene with crimes against humanity and war crimes on Thursday.
One of the poorest countries in the world, the CAR was plunged into a bloody sectarian conflict after Seleka rebels, a coalition of armed groups mainly composed of Muslims, removed President Francois Bozize in early 2013.
The Special Criminal Court (SCC) handles cases concerning war crimes and crimes against humanity dating back to 2003. Hissene, ex-military chief of the FPRC faction of the former Seleka rebellion, has been held in detention after he was arrested on Monday, an SCC source said on condition of anonymity.
In 2022, he announced his departure from the armed movement during reconciliation talks initiated by President Faustin-Archange Touadera.
Aljazeera 8 September 2023
Wagner woes and a rebel crackdown: A briefing on the Central African Republic’s shifting conflict
The conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) has changed significantly over the past two years as the government and its Russian mercenary allies have pushed rebel groups out of major towns and taken control of large parts of the country.
But armed groups are still active, especially in border areas, and political tensions are rising after the approval of a new constitution that removes presidential term limits, allowing President Faustin-Archange Touadéra to extend his stay in power.
“Everything is set for totalitarian drift that leads to the destitution of republican institutions,” Jean-Serge Bokassa, an opposition politician, told The New Humanitarian last month.
This year marks a decade since a full-scale civil war erupted in CAR. The conflict saw the Séléka – a mostly Muslim rebel alliance – oust then-president François Bozizé, who responded by mobilising mostly Christian self-defence groups known as anti-balaka.
The Séléka soon fractured and withdrew to fiefdoms outside Bangui, the capital city. By the time Touadéra won elections in 2016, his government controlled under a third of the country, which has a 5.4 million population.
New Humanitarian 7 September 2023 (By John Lechner and Vianney Ingasso)
Sudan
Darfur victims await justice at ICC as Sudan war rages on
Sudanese activists hope the International Criminal Court (ICC) will provide justice for the victims of crimes committed in Darfur two decades ago, even as fresh abuses are reported in a new war that has enveloped large parts of Sudan.
Many blamed a climate of impunity for emboldening old and new perpetrators to commit grave crimes, amid the nationwide conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Rights groups and the United Nations have accused the RSF of committing summary executions, burying victims in mass graves and using rape as a weapon of war. The United States responded to these reports by sanctioning two senior RSF commanders on September 6.
“The crimes committed under [former President] Omar al-Bashir in 2003 are the reason for the crimes being committed today. He’s the one that gave legitimacy and power to the Arab militias [that later become the RSF],” said Selma Ahmed,* a human rights lawyer from West Darfur who fled to Egypt in May.
Aljazeera 7 September 2023
Sudanese leader’s diplomatic tour renews hopes for a peace deal
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto ruler of Sudan, arrived in Qatar Thursday on an official visit to discuss the ongoing crisis in his country. The trip, which comes after similar visits to Egypt and South Sudan in recent days, has prompted speculation that he is willing to seek a negotiated solution to the war that has been raging since April 15 between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
By making three high-profile trips abroad in less than a week, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has fuelled rumours that negotiations may be underway to end the war between his troops and the RSF forces led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, a former ally – notably during the October 2021 coup that brought Burhan to power – turned political rival.
In late August, on his first official trip since the start of the conflict, Burhan was received by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.
Sisi has been Burhan’s main international ally since the coup d’état that brought him to power. As mediation attempts led by Saudi Arabia and the United States failed, Egypt offered to facilitate discussions between Sudanese belligerents and, in July, created a group of Sudan’s neighbours and six other countries to find solutions to the violent conflict.
France24 7 September 2023
South Sudan
Afwerki, Kiir reaffirm commitment to resolving Sudan’s conflict
Presidents Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea and Salva Kiir of South Sudan have reiterated their dedication to achieving a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Sudan through an inclusive dialogue.
South Sudan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, James Morgan Pitia, hailed President Kiir’s successful mission to Kenya, where he participated in the African Climate Week and Summit 2023.
Pitia stated, “The President’s attendance was a significant success for our country and the region. South Sudan was actively represented in all discussions and decisions.” He emphasized that the summit provided an opportunity for Kiir to meet with regional leaders and discuss various topics, including peace, security, economics, and political developments.
Sudan Tribune 7 September 2023
As more people flee conflict in Sudan, conditions at South Sudan border deteriorate
Every day, more people fleeing the vicious conflict in Sudan are crossing into neighboring South Sudan at the Joda border point in Upper Nile State. The rainy season and a lack of donor funding have hampered efforts to help people move away from the border, worsening the humanitarian situation at the increasingly overcrowded transit center in the border town of Renk.
The vast majority of the new arrivals are returning refugees who had been living in Sudan since fleeing South Sudan’s own brutal civil war. A smaller number are Sudanese like Aziza Harba Idriss and her family, who were living comfortable lives in Khartoum, the capital, before the conflict broke out in April. They hid under their beds for several days as the violence intensified.
“Every day we heard bombs falling,” said the mother of eight. “We heard about people we knew who died, including children; others were displaced. We lived in fear both day and night.”
After running out of food and water, Aziza and her husband fled to Al Jazirah State where they stayed with relatives for three months. But as the conflict dragged on, Aziza embarked on a dangerous three-day journey to South Sudan with her children.
UNHCR 7 September 2023
North Africa and the Sahara
Western Sahara
UN envoy in Western Sahara for talks on disputed territory
The United Nations envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, arrived in Laayoune on Monday for talks on the disputed territory, the UN said.
A statement said he was “looking forward to conducting visits in the region and meetings, engaging all concerned ahead of the issuance of the report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council in October.”
The conflict dates back to 1975, when colonial occupier Spain withdrew from Western Sahara, sparking a 15-year war between the Algeria-backed Polisario Front and Morocco for control over the territory.
That ended in a 1991 cease-fire deal with the North African kingdom in control of 80 percent of the resource-rich desert region and the Polisario clinging to hopes of a UN-supervised referendum on independence provided for in the deal.
The referendum has never taken place.
Arab News 5 September 2023
The United States has again shown its strong support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara as the most “serious, credible and realistic”, with a potential approach to meeting the aspirations of the Sahrawi people, in order to resolve a conflict that has lasted more than four decades since Spain’s departure that ended the colonial era in the area.
This is the message that emerged from the visit of Joshua Harris, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for North Africa, to Rabat, where he met with the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, Nasser Bourita.
“The United States continues to view Morocco’s autonomy plan as serious, credible and realistic,” an official statement from the US Embassy in Rabat said after Joshua Harris’ meeting with Nasser Bourita.
Atalaya 8 September 2023