By Dominic Wabwireh with AFP Mali’s security crisis intensified this week as jihadist group JNIM announced a blockade on all roads leading to Bamako, even as junta leader Assimi Goita appeared publicly for the first time in days to claim the situation was “under control.” In a video released Tuesday, JNIM spokesperson Bina Diarra declared that all routes into Bamako were now blocked, allowing only those already inside the capital to leave. He warned that anyone attempting to enter would face consequences, “including the risk of death,” and adding that the same restrictions applied to the nearby garrison town of…
Author: Montage Africa
The youngest son of Zimbabwe’s late former leader Robert Mugabe is to deported from South Africa immediately, a court in Johannesburg has ordered. Bellarmine Mugabe pleaded guilty to pointing a firearm and illegally being in the country earlier this month after he was arrested following the shooting of a 23-year-old man at his home. The 28-year-old has also been ordered to pay a fine of $36,000 (£26,700). His co-accused, and cousin, Tobias Matonhodze – who pleaded guilty to attempted murder, illegal immigration, possession of ammunition and defeating the ends of justice – was sentenced to three years in prison. Both…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Hundreds of members of Mali’s diaspora gathered in Montreuil, near Paris, on Monday in a show of support for the country’s ruling junta. Mali was hit by coordinated nationwide attacks over the weekend after jihadist militants joined forces with separatist rebels. “We can’t stay indifferent [to the current unrest in Mali]. We have brothers, sisters, mothers, and relatives over there,” said Dalla Drame, President of the High Council of Malians in France. “So we felt that, while it’s true that we’re on the other side of the Mediterranean, the best way for us to show…
By Dominic Wabwireh with AP As Sudan’s healthcare system teeters on the brink of collapse, doctors like Dr. Jamal Eltaeb and Dr. Osman Ismail Osman are battling against impossible odds to keep hospitals operational and save lives. For Dr. Jamal Eltaeb, an orthopedic surgeon at Al Nao Hospital in Omdurman, the war in Sudan has forced him to make heart-wrenching decisions daily. With dwindling medical supplies, frequent bombings, and a flood of patients, Eltaeb has become a symbol of resilience in a country where healthcare is on the verge of collapse. “You choose… as if you can decide who will…
By Rédaction Africanews with Agencies The court martial of three dozen Nigerian officers charged with planning to overthrow the government will resume next month, local officials said on Monday. The court martial opened on Friday when the defendants appeared before newly sworn-in judges at a military installation in the country’s capital, Abuja. The next sitting, on 8 May, will also be held behind closed doors, with no media access, a military spokesperson said. The alleged coup was reportedly due to take place on 1 October 2025, during the country’s Independence Day celebrations. Instead, a parade, which the president was expected…
The controversial anti-colonial pan-African activist Kemi Seba is currently in detention in South Africa, days after his arrest while allegedly attempting to flee to Europe via Zimbabwe. The 45-year-old is currently wanted in Benin for “inciting rebellion” after allegedly supporting the country’s foiled coup in December 2025. Known for his staunch opposition to French influence in Africa, backing of West African military leaders and pro-Russian propaganda, Seba has had multiple skirmishes with the law in several different countries. Born in the French city of Strasbourg to Beninese parents in 1981, Seba – whose real name is Stellio Gilles Robert Capo…
Zambia likes to pride itself as being at the forefront of African nationalism and the fight against colonial rule, however several Zambians have told the BBC that racism remains a problem in the country more than 60 years after independence from the UK. Although it is rarely overt, they say that subtle everyday discrimination can make it feel like they are second-class citizens in their own country. They give accounts of black people being passed over for certain jobs, snubbed at restaurants and disregarded by landlords. But there was also an element of optimism, with some Zambians pleased that conversations…
Gunmen have killed at least 29 people in an attack on a village in Nigeria’s north-eastern Adamawa state, local officials say. The Islamic State group (IS) has claimed responsibility for the attack, without specifying its motive. Authorities and local residents say the militants raided a football pitch where people had been gathering and opened fire at random, before burning houses, places of worship and motorcycles. State governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri shared photos of himself arriving at the scene, describing the attack as an “affront to our humanity”. The governor’s media office said the attack lasted several hours in Guyaku, a…
The Democratic Republic of Congo announced on Monday the creation of a paramilitary guard backed by US and Emirati investments to secure its vast mining operations. The General Inspectorate of Mines (IGM) said the guard was a “paramilitary special unit intended to secure the entire mineral exploitation chain” in the DRC. The new unit will be deployed gradually, with an initial 2,500 to 3,000 personnel expected to be operational by December following six months of training in military collaboration, the IGM said in a statement. The paramilitary force is projected to have more than 20,000 personnel across all of Congo’s…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP Mali’s Prime Minister urged the pubic to remain calm as he visited some of the injured in Saturday’s nationwide attacks by jihadi and rebel forces. Days after a massive coordinated attack that killed the country’s defence minister, life in Mali is returning to a relative calm. The offensive saw jihadist fighters join forces with separatist rebels. The near-simultaneous attacks on Saturday struck across the country — including the airport of the country’s capital, Bamako, the nearby garrison town of Kati, and several northern and central cities such as Kidal and Sevare. During a visit to…