Abuja, Nigeria — The United Nations and Nigerian police Monday held a youth summit in the capital to commemorate International Youth Day and discuss the role of youths in national security intelligence.

The summit came days after Nigerian youths led nationwide protests calling for a reversal of government policies that they say cause severe hardships.

More than 400 delegates – including government officials, security agencies and youth representatives – cheered as the Nigerian police chief, Kayode Egbetokun, took the stage at the summit.

The one-day event with the theme “Enhancing the Nigerian Youth’s Value for National Security Intelligence” was a partnership between the police and UNESCO and was part of the International Youth Day commemoration.

Authorities said the summit was designed to examine the role of youths in national security matters and create room to enhance youth participation.

“Let us remain steadfast in our commitment to our youths,” Egbetokun told the gathering. “Together we must pledge to support, empower and create a brighter future for all. The task before us is indeed significant, but I am confident that with the collective strength, creativity and enthusiasm of our youth, coupled with the support of our partners, we’ll rise up to the challenge and make a meaningful impact.”

The summit featured interactive sessions between the police and youths on crime prevention, conflict resolution, social media and community engagement.

The summit followed recent protests in several cities, by mostly young people, over the spiraling cost of living.

The “Ten Days of Rage” protests began on August 1. Protesters blame Nigeria’s worsening economic situation on government policies, including the scrapping of fuel subsidies introduced last year.

At the summit, police authorities said that while the protesters might have had good intentions, the protests gave rise to criminal elements with ulterior motives.

Prince Abdulsalami Ladigbolu, president of UNESCO’s Read and Earn Federation, said Nigeria’s youth are a valuable asset.

“Our focus today is on youths recognizing themselves as change agents,” he said. “It is imperative that our young people understand their potential to influence and drive positive change. They are the ones who can bridge the gap between innovative approaches to national security because of their familiarity with technology, social media and contemporary communication tools. This will strategically lead to more effective community policing, improve intelligence gathering and enhance crisis response.”

The protests ebbed earlier than scheduled because of security crackdowns, but Amnesty International said at least 22 protesters were killed, mostly in northern Nigeria.

On Saturday, Nigeria’s minister of industry, trade and investment, Doris Nkiruka, said the country lost about $325 million per day during the protests.

Olanrewaju Fagbohun, a former professor and the co-founder of the RouQ and Company law firm, delivered a keynote address during the summit.

“There’s a trust gap in terms of security agencies and the youth,” he said. “When that protest was brewing and when it eventually happened, there were two forces at play — those with genuine grievances who wanted the nation to listen to them, and there where those who had mischievous purposes who wanted to use it for other agenda, and that is why this kind of conversation is very important.”

Authorities at the summit pledged to improve youth participation in national security matters.
…

Nairobi, Kenya — Scientists and conservationists in Kenya are sounding the alarm over the killing of elephants with large tusks. According to scientists, the elephants were killed by trophy hunters in Tanzania. They say other elephants in the group are in danger if they cross into Tanzania where hunting is allowed.

In a news briefing Monday, conservationists and scientists said five large-tusked elephants were targeted and killed in the last eight months by trophy hunters in Northern Tanzania.

They added that only 10 of the elephants, with tusks weighing 45 kilograms (100 pounds) each, remain in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park, which has the highest density of the animals.

Conservationist Paula Kahumbu is the chief executive officer at Wildlife Direct.

“This is bigger than Kenya, this is bigger than Tanzania. It’s actually a global issue because elephants cannot speak for themselves. We as the people of the world have to speak for these elephants. They cannot go to court; they cannot go to the east African court,” she said.

In March, Tanzanian authorities issued controversial hunting permits for the large-tusked elephants, known as “super tuskers,” in the greater Amboseli-West Kilimanjaro border area.

Festus Ihwagi, a research scientist for conservation group Save the Elephants, called on Kenya to raise the issue with Tanzania.

“They may not overhaul it immediately but for the interest of cross border conservation initiatives it would be very good if our president engaged [with] his counterpart in Tanzania and we come up with an arrangement whereby no more hunting blocks are allowed within the defined range,” said Ihwagi.

To mark the August 12 World Elephant Day, the group of scientists say they have handed the Tanzanian government a global petition with over 500,000 signatures, calling for an end to trophy hunting along the country’s border with Kenya in Tanzania’s portion of the park.

In a telephone interview, Conservation Commissioner Mabula Misungwi Nyanda of the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority said the hunters are required to follow protocol.

“Hunting depends on whether the procedure has been followed or not. If you found them, they would explain whether they follow the procedure or not, but the animals should be protected as required.” said Nyanda. 

Kenya is home to over 2,000 different species of elephants. About 600 of them, conservationists say, cross over to Tanzania regularly.

Kenya has banned elephant hunting for more than four decades. Authorities hope the campaign to stop hunting the “super tuskers” in Tanzania will help save the remaining elephant families.
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STATE DEPARTMENT — The United States will proceed with peace talks on Sudan in Geneva this week, even without confirmation of the Sudanese army’s attendance.

U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello said he has arrived in Geneva from Saudi Arabia to launch the “urgent international effort in Switzerland to end the crisis in Sudan.”

On Sunday, consultations between the Sudanese government and the U.S. in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, ended without an agreement on whether a delegation from the army or the government would participate in the Geneva peace talks, casting doubt on the cease-fire negotiations set to begin on Aug. 14.

The United States has invited leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, to discuss a potential cease-fire. The RSF has confirmed its participation in the talks.

A State Department spokesperson told VOA on Sunday that the U.S. will continue discussions with SAF on preparations for the cease-fire negotiations.

“In addition to consultations with the parties, we have heard from tens of thousands of civilians inside and outside of Sudan. Their message is clear: they want an end to the daily terror of shelling, starvation, and sieges, and the United States and our partners stand committed to answering that call,” Perriello wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In Washington, U.S. officials have said that there is no military solution to the crisis in Sudan. They stressed that convening national cease-fire talks—backed by unified pressure from key international stakeholders—is the only way to end the conflict, prevent the spread of famine, and create space to restore the civilian political process.

More than a year of fighting between SAF and paramilitary RSF troops has displaced nearly 10 million people across the Greater Horn of Africa country and left 26 million facing crisis-level hunger.

At the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep alarm over the evolving situation in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where fierce fighting between Sudan’s rival military factions, the SAF and RSF, has had devastating consequences for civilians.

“The fighting will further exacerbate humanitarian needs in and around El Fasher at a time when famine conditions have been confirmed in Zamzam camp south of El Fasher,” said U.N. deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq.

Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.
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Kigali — Rwanda’s all-powerful President Paul Kagame was sworn in on Sunday for a fourth term after sweeping to victory in elections last month with more than 99% of the vote.  

Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations joined the inauguration ceremony at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, where crowds had started gathering from the early morning.  

Kagame took the oath of office before Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, pledging to “preserve peace and national sovereignty, consolidate national unity.”  

The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for the iron-fisted Kagame, who has ruled the small African nation since the 1994 genocide, as de facto leader and then president.  

He won 99.18% of ballots cast to secure another five years in power, according to the National Electoral Commission.  

Rights activists said the 66-year-old’s overwhelming victory was a stark reminder of the lack of democracy in Rwanda.  

Only two candidates were authorized to run against him out of eight applicants, with several prominent Kagame critics barred.  

Democratic Green Party leader Frank Habineza scraped into second place with 0.5 percent of the vote against 0.32 percent for independent Philippe Mpayimana.   

DRC cease-fire talks

Kagame is credited with rebuilding a ruined nation after the genocide, when Hutu extremists unleashed 100 days of vicious bloodletting targeting the Tutsi minority, killing around 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis but also Hutu moderates.   

But rights activists and opponents say he rules in a climate of fear, crushing any dissent with intimidation, arbitrary detentions, killings and enforced disappearances.  

Kigali is also accused of stoking instability in the east of its much larger neighbor the Democratic Republic of Congo.  

Angola’s President Joao Lourenco, among those attending Sunday’s ceremony, was due to have private talks with Kagame on a DRC ceasefire deal, the Angolan presidency said.  

Luanda brokered the agreement last month after a meeting between the foreign ministers of DRC and Rwanda, which is accused of backing the M23 rebel group fighting Kinshasa’s armed forces.  

But on August 4, the day the deal was supposed to take effect, M23 rebels — who have seized territory in the east since launching a new offensive at the end of 2021 — captured a town on the border with Uganda.  

With 65 percent of the population aged under 30, Kagame is the only leader most Rwandans have ever known.  

“I proudly cast my vote for president Kagame and made it a priority to be here today to witness this historic inauguration,” said Tania Iriza, a 27-year-old trader, one of the tens of thousands who turned out for the ceremony.  

“His leadership has been transformative for our nation. Under his leadership, Rwanda has risen from our tragic past and forged a path towards prosperity, unity and innovation.”  

Kagame has won every presidential election he has contested, each time with more than 93 percent of the ballot.  

In 2015, he oversaw controversial constitutional amendments that shortened presidential terms to five years from seven but reset the clock for the Rwandan leader, allowing him to potentially rule until 2034. 
…

KANYARUCHINYA, Democratic Republic of Congo — Children sit on the dirt, their clothes ragged and torn, their shoes punctured with holes, but their eyes bright and fixed on what’s playing out in front of them.

In a corner of a refugee camp in conflict-wracked eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, about a dozen chess games are going, each one with its own fascinated audience.

The Soga Chess Club for children doesn’t have enough tables and chairs. The “boards” are squares of paper with green and white blocks marked on them and are lined with plastic to protect them from the wear and tear coming their way. Irritatingly, the pieces sometimes topple over if players haven’t found a flat enough stretch of ground to lay their game out on.

But the chess club founders say it’s good enough to try to take these kids’ minds away from what they’ve seen and experienced so far: fighting and killing, hunger and fear. They’ve all lost their homes. Some have lost fathers, mothers or siblings in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Chess is “a therapeutic escape from the stress and horrors these children have endured,” said Gabriel Nzaji, one of the club’s instructors. He said the game encourages the children to be quiet and to focus, a way of calming their minds.

More than 5 million people have been displaced by decades of conflict in eastern Congo, where dozens of armed groups fight each other over land and control of areas rich in sought-after minerals. An increase in fighting in recent months has led to a new surge of refugees, and there’s no end in sight for a displacement disaster that dwarfs many others that get more global attention.

Hundreds of thousands of people forced to escape the attacks that destroy their towns and villages have ended up in vast displacement camps like Kanyaruchinya, where the Soga Chess Club operates. The United Nations Children’s Fund says around a quarter million children live in the camps, ripped away from their homes and their schools, and sometimes their families.

Soga has around 100 children signed up to its club. One of them is 9-year-old Heritier, who is still learning the game but confident enough already to hand out his own lesson.

“Here,” he said, his fingers flicking across the board. “I’m doing everything to protect my king on the chessboard. I have to sacrifice this queen. You see that?

“I like this game,” Heritier said. “It relaxes me.”

The trauma suffered by children in eastern Congo is incalculable as aid agencies battle to provide food and shelter to as many of the millions that have been displaced as possible. Some of the children in the chess club have been living in the Kanyaruchinya camp for almost two years, their lives in limbo.

But in Heritier’s grin and his newfound delight in a game — a given for so many kids — the club organizers see a sign of hope.

“The perspective of these children has changed drastically,” said Nzaji. “[They] approach life with a different mindset.”

The organizers said they noticed that most of the children would spend their days engaged in rough, war-like games, sometimes involving sticks they’d swing at each other. They hope chess offers the children something other than a mimicking of the conflict they’ve grown up around.

Akili Bashige, president of the Soga Chess Club, said parts of the camp have been transformed into sites of optimism by children playing chess. “Despite their limited resources, their passion persists,” he said of his club’s recruits.

Soga has also taken the game to orphanages in the region, and Bashige said he wants to start clubs for children who live on the streets in nearby towns.

The club can also be uplifting to parents, who worry for their children and their future — which they see slipping away.

Arusi, a 13-year-old girl, recently won a tournament and with it a reputation for being a fierce competitor. Her mother beamed with pride as she recalled the feat.

“Before Soga chess, they were idle because of the war and a lack of schooling,” said Feza Twambaze, Arusi’s mom. “Seeing them engaged and thriving fills me with immense joy.”
…

…

Kampala, Uganda — Eight people, including two children, were killed when mountains of garbage collapsed at a landfill in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Saturday, city authorities said.

Local media said homes, people and livestock were engulfed in the landslide at the vast garbage dump in Kiteezi, a district in the north of Kampala, after heavy rainfall.

“On a very sad note, eight people have so far been found dead, six adults and two children,” the Kampala Capital City Authority, or KCCA, which operates the site, said in a statement.

The disaster comes eight months after the ceremonial head of the authority described the situation at the landfill as a “national crisis.”

The KCCA said in the statement posted on social media platform X that 14 people had been rescued and taken to hospital. It did not disclose their condition.

“The rescue operation is still ongoing, and we shall share updates as they come in,” it said.

Images from Kiteezi showed a Ugandan police excavator churning through huge mounds of rubbish as large crowds of residents looked on.

Some were gathered behind a yellow police tape, carrying pictures of their missing loved ones.

Structural failure

The KCCA said there was a “structural failure in waste mass this morning resulting in a collapsed section of the landfill.”

“Our teams, along with other government agencies, are on ground taking the necessary measures to ensure the area is secure and to prevent any further incidents,” it said.

“The level of damage is still being assessed.”

In January, KCCA ceremonial head Erias Lukwago, who carries the honorary title of Lord Mayor of Kampala, had warned that people working and living near the Kiteezi landfill were at risk of numerous health hazards due to overflowing waste.

He said the site was not maintained at all, describing the situation as a “national crisis” that needed the central government and Parliament to intervene.

The official in charge of the site, Vincent Mbaizireki, said it was full to capacity.

The Daily Monitor, an independent newspaper in Uganda, said the 14-hectare (36-acre) landfill was established in 1996 and was the dumpsite for all garbage collected across Kampala, receiving about 1,200 tons of waste a day.

Several parts of East Africa have been battered by heavy rains recently, including Ethiopia, the second-most-populous country on the continent.

Devastating landslides in a remote and mountainous area in southern Ethiopia last month killed around 250 people, with the U.N.’s humanitarian response agency OCHA saying several thousand people needed emergency evacuation.

In February 2010, mudslides in the Mount Elgon region of eastern Uganda killed more than 350 people.
…

SAVE VALLEY CONSERVANCY, Zimbabwe — On the impoverished edges of a conservancy that protects wildlife in southeastern Zimbabwe, 14-year-old Esther Bote wakes up at dawn to a practiced daily routine.

She cleans the house, lights the fire, cooks, bathes and gets into her neat grey and white school uniform. Then it’s time for what she considers the most perilous chore: the 5-kilometer walk to school through bush paths and forests where dangerous animals might lurk.

The teenager has been living with such threats for some time now but there is no getting used to it. Children as young as 5, some held by the hand by slightly older peers or siblings, briskly walk in thick forests to school and then back home.

“Sometimes we see animal footprints. We see their footprints and can tell that the elephants are still around,” she told The Associated Press from her home, where she stays with her elderly grandparents.

In this humid, densely forested area in a semi-arid Zimbabwean district, repeated droughts, juiced by the naturally occurring El Nino weather phenomenon and human-caused climate change, have led to food and water shortages, leaving people and animals to compete for resources. Wildlife is getting dangerously close to human populations, and children are having to learn how they can live in this new reality without putting themselves at too much risk. To adapt, schoolchildren are now taking basic lessons in animal behavior.

On a recent day in July, when Esther and her friends spotted elephant footprints on the way from school, they reported it to a wildlife ranger. The animals had cut across a farming field and bush path that they regularly use to and from school. A few days prior, a child was severely injured from a crocodile attack.

Although no fatalities have been reported, Esther and her friends are still cautious.

“We usually walk in groups to feel safer,” said Esther.

Since last year, the privately owned Save Valley Conservancy and the country’s parks agency have been running a program for school-age children on how to recognize danger signs and how to coexist with wildlife. Dozens of students such as Esther are now able to identify different wildlife footprints, animal sounds and can read wind direction by the blowing sand and know how and when to take cover.

“The person who is affected mostly is the kid. It’s the kid who goes to school, it’s the kid who goes to fetch water, it’s the kid who goes to fetch firewood,” said Dingani Masuku, community liaison manager for Save Valley Conservancy. “That’s why we are targeting schools so that they can know how animals behave, what to do with the animals.”

He said they are trying to teach “a sense of ownership in the kids” so that they “don’t see the animal as an adversary, but they see it as something beneficial to the community, something which should be respected.”

On a recent sunny day, over two dozen children sat outside on dusty ground in searing heat for one of the sessions at Chiyambiro Secondary School. An 18-year-old who recently left school and is now part of a new corps of young women rangers from the community was teaching them animal behavior and how to protect themselves.

“Don’t approach an animal. If it’s a lion, it’s looking for food. That’s why it’s in the community. It is looking for cheap, easy prey, and you could be the easy prey,” she said, wearing military-type green fatigues. Some of the children said they travel up to 15 kilometers to school, and are forced to walk before daybreak when animals such as hyenas would still be on the prowl.

An official from the national parks agency talked about the benefits of wildlife to the community such as tourism. He pointed to the recently recruited women rangers as an example of how wildlife can create employment for locals. He encouraged them to take the message home to their parents — many who view wild animals as either enemies or a source of food.

Alphonce Chimangaisu, the School Development Committee chairperson at Chiyambiro Secondary School, said parents hoped the initiative would make children safer.

“Some parents have stopped their children from going to school because they don’t know what might happen,” he said.

Although there is no concrete data yet on the effectiveness of the initiative, Chimangaisu said the school has been using it to convince some previously reluctant parents to change their attitudes. Many agree with the training but still ask for concessions, such as the school allowing their children to arrive later for class, he said.

School authorities in affected rural areas are often forced to delay the start of classes and end them early to allow affected children to walk to and from school during daylight when wild animals are unlikely to be roaming around communities, said Obert Masaraure, president of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe.

“We have reports of learners who have completely withdrawn from school fearing for their lives,” he said, adding that teachers who live far from schools are also increasingly not turning up for work. “These challenges are compounding other existing vulnerabilities for rural learners further denying them access to quality education.”

The country’s parks agency is now pushing to initiate animal behavior and conservation training at schools countrywide in areas where people are increasingly being forced to co-exist with wild animals that make regular forays into communities for food and water due to climate change-related droughts, said Tinashe Farawo, the spokesman for the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.

Aside from learning how to keep safe, schoolchildren can be a useful way to deliver the message home, he said.

“We have established environmental clubs at many schools where we raise awareness and education,” added Farawo. “When children are taught about these dangers and animal behavior, they also go home and teach their parents. We have found that it’s easier for parents to listen when their children speak.”

He said the conflict is likely to worsen due to increased frequencies of droughts, noting that the parks agency received between 3,000 and 4,000 distress calls from communities battling confrontations with wildlife in the last three years, compared to about 900 calls in 2018.

For Esther, although the training has not eliminated the risk, she said it could come in handy when danger arises.

“It helps, we now know a lot of things about animals that we didn’t know before,” she said, adding that as long as the animals are still there, she won’t be able to fully enjoy school.
…

GENEVA — United Nations aid agencies warn climate change is wreaking havoc throughout large parts of eastern and southern Africa, worsening the plight of millions of people struggling to survive conflict, poverty, hunger and disease.

Since mid-April, El Nino-related heavy rainfall has led to extreme weather events across East Africa, including flooding, landslides, violent winds and hail.

In Sudan

The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, reports climate-induced heavy rains and flooding have upended the lives of tens of thousands of people in war-torn Sudan this year, displacing, injuring and killing many.

The agency warns that heavy seasonal rains are creating further misery for thousands of displaced, including refugees in dire need of humanitarian aid.

UNHCR spokesperson Olga Sarrado told journalists in Geneva Friday that torrential rains and severe floods in the past two weeks are having a devastating effect on the lives of thousands of refugees and internally displaced, noting that more than 11,000 people in the eastern Kassala state are in desperate straits.

“They include many families who recently arrived after fleeing violence in Sennar state,” she said. “Some have been displaced three or four times already since the start of the conflict.

“They have lost their belongings, including food rations, and are facing significant challenges in accessing clean water and sanitation facilities, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases,” she said.

The International Organization for Migration reports that more than 10 million people have become displaced inside Sudan and 2 million have sought refuge in neighboring countries since mid-April 2023, when rival generals from Sudan’s Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces plunged Sudan into war.

The UNHCR reports Sudan continues to host about 1 million refugees and asylum seekers from other countries.

Sarrado said the UNHCR is prepositioning core relief items and shelter kits in the eastern and western parts of the country where more rainfall is expected. She added that flooding in the Darfur region is causing concern among aid agencies, as this will further limit their ability to reach thousands of destitute people.

“The humanitarian needs are reaching epic proportions in the region, as hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in harm’s way and famine has been recently confirmed in a displacement site, as you all know,” she said. “The conflict has already destroyed crops and disrupted livelihoods. The climate crisis is making those displaced even more vulnerable now.”

In Southern Africa

While the heavy rains continue to pound refugees and displaced communities in Sudan, the World Food Program reports that more than 27 million people across Southern Africa, devastated by an El-Nino-induced drought are going hungry.

“I have just returned from Zimbabwe and Lesotho, two of the worst-affected countries, where 50% and 34% of the countries’ respective populations are food insecure,” said Valerie Guarnieri, WFP assistant executive director, program operations.

Speaking from Rome, she said the drought sweeping across the region has decimated crops, causing food prices to spiral and triggering a hunger crisis at a time when their food stocks are at the lowest.

She noted that the onset of this year’s lean season, which is usually from October to March, has come early this year.

“People are facing an early and much deeper lean season,” she said, adding that the situation is likely to get worse, “given production shortfalls and dwindling supply.”

She said that 21 million children, 1 out of 3 in southern Africa, are stunted and 3.5 million children are struggling with acute malnutrition and require nutrition treatment.

“These numbers are not as stark as they are in other parts of the region. Countries that are facing famine — Sudan, for instance. However, we should not have these kind of numbers in Southern Africa,” she said.

“We know that to deal with stunting, to prevent wasting, we need to be ensuring that all children and all women of child-bearing age, in particular, have access to the nutrients that they require in order to grow and to thrive.”

To deal with this crisis, Guarnieri said WFP is scaling up its operation to provide emergency food and nutrition support to 5.9 million people in seven countries between now and March.

She said that WFP is facing a $320 million funding shortfall “that jeopardizes our ability to mount a response at the scale required.”

UNHCR’s Sarrado also expressed concern that her agency’s appeal for nearly $40 million to assist and protect 5.6 million refugees, returnees, internally displaced and local communities in Sudan and five countries of refuge “has so far received only $5 million in funds.”
…

WASHINGTON — Representatives from female-led Sudanese civil society groups are planning to take part in next week’s Sudan peace talks in Geneva, a significant gesture of inclusion in addressing widespread gender-based violence in the 15-month conflict.

The U.S.-mediated talks, set to begin August 14, aim to resolve the civil war between Sudan’s two rival military factions, alleviate a dire humanitarian crisis, and develop a monitoring and verification system to ensure implementation of any deal.

But these talks are not designed to address broader political issues, according to the State Department.

The United States has invited leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, to discuss a potential cease-fire. The RSF has confirmed its participation in the talks.

While SAF representatives have not yet confirmed their attendance, Sudan’s Sovereign Council said on Friday that it has sent a delegation to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for consultations with the U.S. regarding next week’s planned negotiations. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of SAF, also serves as the head of that council.

Entisar Abdelsadig, a senior adviser at the peacebuilding organization Search for Common Ground, said that 12 Sudanese women from various civil society sectors are expected to be in Geneva from August 14 to 24, with Abdelsadig leading the delegation.

She told VOA that the women-led delegation prioritizes protecting people against atrocities, particularly gender-based violence.

She said Sudanese women seek involvement in the monitoring mechanism, which is an anticipated outcome of these talks. If enacted, the mechanism would involve civilian-led confidential reporting to ensure safety, using physical and online channels.

Women also wish to actively participate in distributing humanitarian aid rather than merely receiving it, said Abdelsadig.

“There can be no military victory to this war,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters during Thursday’s briefing.

More than a year of fighting between SAF and paramilitary RSF troops has displaced nearly 10 million people across the Greater Horn of Africa country and left 26 million facing crisis-level hunger.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with General al-Burhan, reiterating the need for SAF participation in the upcoming cease-fire talks.

Co-hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, the Geneva talks — the first significant mediation attempt to resolve the conflict in months — include the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and United Nations as observers.
…

Harare — Zimbabwean President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa says he is not extending his presidency beyond the current two five-year terms allowed by the country’s constitution. There are some who have expressed skepticism about his stated commitment to the constitution.

Chants by members of the ruling ZANU-PF party echoed in the air as those gathered at party headquarters awaited the arrival of President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. They said Mnangagwa will still be in power in 2030 — two years after what the constitution allows him. The slogans were repeated as Mnangagwa arrived and addressed the crowd.

“Besides being a soldier, trained lawyer, I am a constitutionalist. I want our party, our leadership, our people to be constitutionalists. We must abide by the provisions of our constitution to the letter,” said Mnangagwa.

In his native language, Shona, Mnangagwa added, “When time comes to go home, I will go! Let’s follow the principles of the party,” gaining more cheers.

After ruling for nearly 40 years, the late Robert Mugabe was removed from power with help from the army and succeeded by Mnangagwa, who became interim president in November 2017. Mnangagwa won a disputed election in 2018.

Kudzai Mutisi, a pro-ZANU-PF political commentator, said he believes Mnangagwa will not be like Mugabe.

“What is important here is that he is addressing some of the people who have been lobbying him to stay beyond 2028. So whatever people have been saying or whatever people have been thinking has nothing really to do with him, it is what they, as lobbyists, they as commenters have been brewing their heads and voicing out, but what we heard is the president’s voice, the president’s position and that’s what we should respect and stick to as we go forward,” he said.

Some Zimbabweans fear Mnangagwa may change the constitution to seek a third term. This concern comes after the Constitutional Court in 2021 overturned the high court, allowing current Chief Justice Luke Malaba to remain on the job until age 75, instead of being forced to retire at age 70.

Brighton Mutebuka, a lawyer opposed to the views of the ruling party, said he still believes Mnangagwa — also known as ED from the initials of his first and middle names — will change the constitution so that he stands for a third term in 2028.

“By coming out publicly to claim otherwise, ED is trying to hoodwink the gullible in his party, the other faction and also SADC. … And mind you, he has previously himself come out publicly and corralled his Cabinet ministers into pledging loyalty to this 2030 slogan, in Chikomba district,” said Mutebuka.

SADC refers to the Southern African Development Community — a 13-nation bloc that looks at how members are abiding by their constitutions.

An SADC observer mission looking into Zimbabwe’s August 2023 elections said the polls failed to meet the bloc’s standards. Mnangagwa’s party criticized the team that compiled the report. Zimbabwe will take over the 12-month rotating chair of the SADC following a meeting next week.
…

WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday completed one of the last major troop departures from Niger ahead of the military junta-imposed September 15 deadline. About 1,000 troops were stationed in Niger before the ruling leadership’s order to leave.

A joint statement from the Nigerien Defense Ministry and the U.S. military said personnel and equipment from the base had been withdrawn and coordination would continue over the coming weeks to make sure the pullout is complete.

“The effective cooperation and communication between the U.S. and Nigerien armed forces ensured that this turnover was completed ahead of schedule and without complications.”

In an interview with VOA’s Anthony LaBruto, U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, details how the United States is reevaluating its military presence in light of the troop departures as well as recent challenges to its broader security initiatives on the continent.

The conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: What role does the United States Africa Command, or AFRICOM, play in the continent? In what capacity do AFRICOM’s teams serve in different countries in Africa and how is it helping to stabilize democracy?

U.S. Representative Michael McCaul: I just met with AFRICOM. I had a briefing from them. So, this is a very timely interview. They’re primarily military. That’s why in 2019, I introduced the Global Fragility Act. … And to your point, it forces [AFRICOM] to go beyond just being a military organization. It forces them to coordinate with states and with the United States Agency for International Development together on the African continent, and that’s very helpful if they’re working together rather than independently with their own missions. When I was at AFRICOM, they talked about it a lot, how that bill has really changed the way they operate.

VOA: I noticed that when the head of Africa Command testified before your committee, he mentioned that military presence in Africa should go alongside diplomatic and aid efforts on the continent. Can you elaborate on how these different elements are coordinated and their overall impact on the region?

McCaul: Look, the military is important. But that’s not going to win this alone, right? I mean, when you have economic ties, they strengthen our alliances and that’s where I think the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation can be helpful.

And then of course USAID, you know, we provide our humanitarian assistance. I passed the branding bill, which requires the American flag to be on this, so that they know where the aid is coming from, because prior to that, they didn’t know where it’s coming from. Now, if China brings in the [diplomatic] systems, their flags are everywhere and so now USAID has the American flag. They know where it’s coming from. That really helps in diplomacy.

I would also throw trade in there. If we could get back to having some trade agreements, which we haven’t done, quite frankly, under this administration. Of course, the military we need. They provide the security umbrella to provide the soft power — that being diplomatic and economic assistance.

VOA: What are the U.S. military’s strategies for countering threats in countries like Somalia and Kenya, and how do these efforts support and integrate with aid projects in the region?

McCaul: We have counterterrorism operations — that’s where AFRICOM comes in — but they’re overstretched and overburdened. Their role in coordinating with the State Department and USAID is to provide that security piece. … But when you have Niger kicking us out, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t operate within countries.

You look at Somalia, I mean our presence there is … quite frankly, that embassy is so dangerous you can’t even drive to it, you have to fly in. That’s probably the most dangerous embassy in the world right now. And now, with the events of the Houthi rebels joining forces with al-Shabab, it’s even worse. I really worry about that embassy. … They have a lot of security there, and it’s probably the most secure embassy in the world, but still. I mean, what good is that presence if you can’t really operate out of the country?

VOA: With the military or AFRICOM being challenged so much, is the U.S. rethinking any of its military or aid policies on the continent?

McCaul: They are [being challenged], and it’s a resource issue; it’s a big continent. There’s not much we can do if the country doesn’t want us there. They kicked the French out of Mali, in the Sahel regions, they’re gone.

They have this anti-colonialism attitude that goes back to the French, and I understand that, and they probably look at us [similarly] in some respects. We want them to look at us as a liberator, not an occupier, but they do have a sense of, ‘Oh, the colonials are coming back in,’ certainly with the French, probably less so with the Americans, but we still have that issue.

The AFRICOM General [Michael] Langley warned that the loss of U.S. bases in the Sahel will “degrade our ability to do active watching and warning, including for the homeland defense.” Right now, the terrorist organizations in Africa are more focused on Africa and not external operations, but we always have to be mindful of that, that any of these terror operations can go operational, external operations, if that’s the direction they want to go. Right now, I’m not sure they have that capacity to conduct external operations necessarily over here, but it’s something we have to continue to watch.

This Q&A originated in VOA’s English to Africa Service.
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