While on a quest to solicit support for millions of Sudanese whose lives have been upended by war, a senior U.N. official Thursday warned that the people of Sudan are living on a knife’s edge and are at risk of falling off the cliff if the world does not step up to help them.

United Nations statistics show Sudan has become the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis since two rival generals plunged the country into war nearly six months ago. Some 5.4 million people are either displaced within Sudan or in neighboring countries as refugees.

“That is an average of more than 30,000 a day, many fleeing with nothing but the clothes on their back,” said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan.

The U.N. official finished a weeklong visit in Geneva, where she met with donor countries as she seeks support for the U.N.’s severely underfunded humanitarian operation in Sudan. To date, the effort has received one-third of the $2.6 billion needed to provide lifesaving assistance for more than 18 million people.

“I have met mothers in Sudan who have told me they do not know where to find the next meal for their children,” Nkweta-Salami said. “I have met families sleeping in makeshift shelters, struggling to find food and water, unable to access health care, their children out of school and the family breadwinners out of work.”

She noted that half of Sudan’s 24.7 million people need humanitarian aid and protection, warning that “conflict, displacement and disease outbreaks threaten to consume the entire country.”

She said people were unable to get health care because 70% of hospitals are not functioning. That, she said, was happening at a time when heavy flooding in the country could “lead to more outbreaks of water-borne diseases” and when a cholera outbreak has been declared in parts of the country.

“Battling a cholera outbreak in a war zone is difficult at the best of times,” she said. “With fighting escalating, it may be near-impossible to control.”

She said she was afraid that the conflict could reach areas like Jazirah State, Sudan’s breadbasket.

“This would have grave consequences for food security,” she said.

The Food and Agriculture Organization said the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report found that “20.3 million people in Sudan face a high level of acute food insecurity, making this one of the most food-insecure countries on the planet.”

To make matters worse, Nkweta-Salami said, the warring parties do not keep their promises.

“Four months ago, the parties meeting in Jeddah committed to de-escalate the fighting, minimize civilian harm and refrain from any disproportionate attacks,” she said. “But since then, the killing of civilians has continued in Khartoum, in Nyala, in al-Fasher, and other areas.”

The Sudan Ministry of Health says 1,265 people have been killed and 8,396 injured since fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in mid-April. U.N. agencies believe the actual number of casualties is likely much higher.

The clash between the armed forces also has ignited intercommunal violence in West Darfur, resulting in many casualties, displacements and widespread looting.

Nkweta-Salami said U.N. agencies so far have been able to deliver aid to at least 3.6 million people through two main access points — Port Sudan and from Chad to Darfur.

She said more people could be reached if the efforts were not hampered by bureaucratic obstacles, forced checks of humanitarian trucks and criminal activities, such as the looting of trucks by armed groups.

In both Port Sudan and Darfur, she said, the U.N. must negotiate with various militia for “convoys to move in a safe, unimpeded manner.”

Without a cessation of hostilities and a permanent cease-fire, she said, the conflict in Sudan risks becoming a protracted crisis.

She warned, “There is also a risk that if the conflict is not brought to an end, that it will have a spillover effect in the region. And that is something we must and should avoid.”
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Niger’s junta said late on Thursday that 400 French soldiers based in the southwestern town of Ouallam would be the first to pack up in a withdrawal that is dealing a further blow to France’s influence in the conflict-hit Sahel region. 

The departure of French forces from Niger has been a key demand of the military officers who seized power in July — one of a series of recent coups in West Africa’s Sahel that has drastically reshaped its decade-long battle with insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State. 

France initially resisted, refusing to accept the legitimacy of the junta. But last month, French President Emmanuel Macron decided to end military cooperation with Niger and pull out all 1,500 French troops, leaving a gaping hole in Western efforts to counter the insurgency. 

The town of Ouallam is on the front line of Niger’s security crisis and holds thousands of people displaced from surrounding villages after years of attacks by armed groups. 

“The 400 French soldiers based in Ouallam will be the first to pack up and go,” the junta said in a statement read out on national radio. 

The junta also said an aerial base in the capital, Niamey, where the majority of French soldiers are stationed, would be dismantled by the end of the year. 

There was no immediate comment from France, whose influence over its former African colonies has diminished in the last three years as coup leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have severed ties amid a wave of anti-French sentiment. 

Paris said on Thursday that the withdrawal from Niger would begin this week and be completed by the end of the year but did not provide further details.  

Since the coup, crowds of junta supporters have camped outside the Niamey base demanding the troops’ departure. 

They accuse France of exerting excessive influence and failing to resolve the security crisis that has killed thousands and displaced millions across the region.  

Some analysts say the military juntas in the Sahel are using France as a scapegoat for hard-to-solve problems. 

Violence has soared in Burkina Faso and Mali since they booted out French troops in the wake of their coups in 2020-2022, conflict data shows. 

 
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Kenya’s president, William Ruto, has made his first cabinet reshuffle, a change affecting eight ministries, including foreign affairs.

The change in cabinet ministers takes place just over a year since Ruto took power, with the country having a lot of hope in his government.

But the nation has struggled to deal with the high cost of living and unemployment after promising to improve people’s lives and provide better opportunities.

Political commentator Martin Andati said the government is making the cabinet changes to improve the delivery of its promises.

“People have lost confidence. The economy is in tatters. Things are not moving,” said Andati. “The expectations were very high. He gave a lot of hope. He has barely fulfilled 20, 30% of what he fulfilled. So, he’s trying to rejigger his government to see if the performance can be better in the second year. But it’s not going to be easy.”

The reshuffle also affected several other ministries, including those that deal with water, land, trade, public service, sports, public works and the East Africa community.

As part of the cabinet changes, the president appointed Musalia Mudavadi as head of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, replacing Alfred Mutua, who was moved to the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife.

Nasong’o Muliro, an international relations lecturer at the Technical University in Kenya, said Mudavadi had been doing relevant work in the area.

“It’s part of that system of entrenching relations,” said Muliro. “It’s part of that system of introducing the president to other leaders in the region and he has been using Musalia Mudavadi more than even the deputy president and Dr. Mutua because Musalia Mudavadi is more senior in terms of political optics than the other members of his cabinet.”

The change in the Foreign Affairs Ministry follows the United Nations Security Council’s approval for Kenya to deploy a police force to Haiti to help provide peace and security to the Caribbean nation.

Some observers blame the inexperience of Mutua for his apparent demotion and said Kenya needs a strong voice in the international system.

But commentator Andati said the president demoted Mutua before the reshuffling of the cabinet and the change is unrelated to the deployment of forces to Haiti.

“The decision is being pushed by the president. So Mutua’s input on that was minimal, but generally he was lost,” said Andati. “You remember there was a circular the president issued saying that the foreign countries can deal with the departments directly. They don’t need to deal through the Minister of Foreign Affairs. That was a major sign that he had lost faith in the performance of CS [Cabinet Secretary] Mutua.”

The Kenyan parliament is expected to debate and vote for the deployment of police to Haiti.

International lecturer Muliro said Mudavadi is key to explaining the need for Kenya to contribute on the international stage.

“There will be a lot of convincing in parliament, first even to just make it understandable to Kenyans that police who were designed by the constitution to be deployed internally as arbiters, we are now using them in the external perspectives,” said Muliro. “And therefore, remember, Musalia Mudavadi is also a leader of a very strong political party. He has goodwill within parliament and therefore, he will be doing a lot of explaining and answering in parliament.”

The president has yet to dismiss any minister, despite expressing dissatisfaction with some of them.
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The Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad have the military presence along their shared border due to allegations both nations are attempting to disrupt the other by using rebel factions. Tensions between CAR and Chad have been strained since April, when each accused the other of being involved in violence on the border.

This week, the Central African Republic (CAR) army and Wagner Group mercenaries carried out a military exercise in Ouham-Fafa Prefecture near the border with Chad.

In response to growing security concerns along its shared border, Chad has increased its troop presence and patrols, collaborating with French forces in the region, amid allegations that CAR is planning to use anti-government armed groups and mercenaries. 

Chadian rebel leader Baba Ladde is reported to have been recruiting fighters from Lim-Pende in northern CAR to launch an attack against Chad.

Relations between CAR and Chad have often been tense. The two countries have accused each other of harboring armed rebels.

Charles Bouessel, a senior consultant for the International Crisis Group, said CAR is not cooperating with its neighbor in dealing with rebels trying to destabilize Chad. 

“We heard about two more Chadian groups, which tried to settle bases in the Vakaga prefecture in CAR not far from the Chadian border,” said Bouessel. “And we have seen at the beginning no response or no reaction from the Central African authority concerning these armed groups and so it raises some questions about at least the passivity of the central African authorities to arm these armed groups or even some kind of complicity.”  

Some Western countries have expressed concern about the stability of Chad.

According to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which tracks political violence and protest around the world, there have been 437 attacks recorded in the past 12 months in CAR and Chad, killing at least 1,000 people.

Bouessel says increased security activities along the border by CAR authorities are to pressure Chad not to work with armed groups.

“Testimony has flagged that Wagner have been providing some weapons and some equipment to arm these armed groups but from what we can assess now I doubt that the equipment delivered will be a game changer but it must be seen as a way for the Central African authority to put more pressure on Chad so that Chad accept[s] to cooperate a little bit more about all Central African rebels who are hosted in N’djamena and elsewhere,” said Bouessel. 

Professor Chacha Nyaigoti Chacha, an expert in diplomacy and international relations, says there is a pressing need for the African Union to confront the border instability between Chad and CAR.

“Central African Republic and Chad, the natives who live around the border, they are the same people, and they are made now to fight and there is conflict between two African countries, which should by now have united and made a more powerful entity that supports the livelihood of the Africans,” said Chacha. “So that’s our tragedy as African people. And our tragedy is going to continue until our leaders wake up and say enough is enough.”

The Wagner Group has been in the Central African Republic since 2018. The Russian group protects the national government and fights rebel groups, in return the group has access to the country’s mineral resources.

 
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A string of coups and heightened anti-French sentiment sweeping across West and Central Africa hold important political and military lessons for African governments and their international partners, analysts tell VOA.

French influence has loomed large over its former colonies in West and Central Africa, well after the era of independence from foreign rule. But now Paris appears to be facing a reckoning in the region, triggered by military takeovers in several of its former colonies.

Ruling juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have expelled French troops and ambassadors, drastically reducing Paris’ role in a regionwide fight against insurgents linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

Following the July 26 military mutiny in Niger, tens of thousands of coup supporters rallied in the capital, Niamey, denouncing France and burning French flags. Some demonstrators brandished Russian flags and expressed support for Moscow. Similar scenes have played out in Burkina Faso and Mali.

Gnaka Lagoke, a professor of history and Africana studies at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, said the end of the Françafrique era had been a long time coming.

“There is a sense in some African countries that economic and political life is still being controlled by the French. The reality is that we are now in an age of revolt against the French establishment, and these African countries are seeking ‘a second independence,'” he told VOA.

“People want their political and economic freedom, and they feel France is an obstacle to them achieving that.”

Lagoke added that the heightened political tensions in the region give world powers such as China and Russia an opportunity to expand their footprint in Africa.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin, for example, has succeeded in positioning himself as the one who appears to be fighting against the hegemony of the West,” he said, adding that “people in Francophone Africa look at Russia as a potential partner that shares their ideals and supports them in their struggle.”

The coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum in Niger alarmed many in West Africa, Europe and the United States. Niger had been a key security partner for the Western governments that used the landlocked West African country as a base in the fight against Islamic insurgents in the Sahel.

Observers say there are concerns that a new — and potentially dangerous — dynamic in the Sahel could hurt counterterrorism efforts there and boost Russian influence in the region.

With the entire central Sahel region now under the control of military regimes, the coups have also put West African leaders at a critical juncture. The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, has slapped sanctions on Niger, demanded that Bazoum be reinstated, and threatened military action as a last resort.

The Nigerien junta ignored ECOWAS’ ultimatum, saying any military action would be “a declaration of war.” In September, the military rulers of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso signed a mutual defense pact, promising to help one another militarily against outside aggression and internal rebellion.

Babacar Ndiaye, a senior fellow at the Timbuktu Institute in Senegal, says a Pandora’s box may have been opened that threatens ECOWAS’ ability to address regional security challenges and keep the alliance of its 15 member states intact.

“ECOWAS was marginalized in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel because of its lack of military resources, but at least it set the framework for coordinating international efforts, both militarily, politically and from an organizational point of view,” he told VOA’s Straight Talk Africa.

“With Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger appearing to be breaking away, so to speak, there is a new dynamic around lack of trust among ECOWAS member states.”

Ndiaye said the regional bloc is facing a test for its credibility and survival.

“This is a serious blow to ECOWAS’ 30-year-long efforts to establish legal frameworks and architecture that would put good governance, constitutional rule and human rights at the heart of its conflict prevention mechanisms in West Africa,” Ndiaye said.

“Those provisions also allowed for the regional bloc to intervene, for example, and avoid anti-constitutional changes in government. But with the recent military coups, there is now a new wave of authoritarianism that is taking place in West Africa, backsliding democratic efforts that were slowly and patiently built over the years.”

Ndiaye added that there is another major factor driving change in the Sahel: young people who are “disenchanted with democracy” as they experience it in their countries.

“The hope was that, with democracy, there would be free and fair elections, good governance, transparency, and the rule of law. But what many young people see is a dysfunctional democracy with rigged elections, lack of accountability and, worst of all, no economic progress,” he said.

The youth are “upset, impatient and mobilized,” he said, adding that “people see other models like Russia, China as illiberal democracies that provide development, and they think those countries could be used as a model versus models from the West.”

Lagoke predicted there would be coups in the region in the coming months but could not say where or when the next one would be. He told VOA that African governments must urgently address the root causes of the current diplomatic and domestic headwinds.

“They need to provide basic services, they need to elevate the standard of living in their countries, and they need to respect their people. You cannot expect people who are being oppressed to stay quiet,” he said.

This story originated in VOA’s English to Africa Service.  
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Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga received the Africa Freedom Prize in Johannesburg on Thursday, which is awarded to individuals who “have shown remarkable courage and dedication to advancing the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights on the African continent.”

Tsitsi Dangarembga has long been one of Zimbabwe’s most highly regarded and beloved fiction writers — from her lauded first novel “Nervous Conditions” in 1988 to “This Mournable Body,” which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020. 

Tinashe Mushakavanhu, a research fellow at the University of Oxford who specializes in Zimbabwean literature, said Dangarembga has a place in the modern canon.

“Her most important contribution is being the first Black, Zimbabwean woman writer to publish a novel in English. In that sense, she is a pioneer and a leading light, so much that her book, “Nervous Conditions,” is considered one of the best African books of the 20th century,” said Mushakavanhu.

That’s one of the reasons the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, which promotes liberal politics and democracy around the world, is awarding Dangarembga their greatest honor today. She is also the recipient of the 2021 PEN International Award for Freedom of Expression. 

Aside from her writing, Dangarembga has made headlines for her political activism. The 64-year-old was convicted by a Zimbabwean court last year of “inciting violence” after staging a peaceful protest with a friend during which the two women stood quietly on a roadside holding placards calling for political reform. That conviction was overturned earlier this year by a higher court.  

So, would Dangarembga consider herself a political writer?

“I don’t conceive of myself as an activist writer. I conceive of myself as a person who has a story to tell, and my story has an intention. My intention is to tell stories in which Zimbabweans can see themselves reflected. And I think that is important for the well-being of the individual — to understand the complexities of the lives they are living and the challenges, and to possibly point to possible solutions. And I think when individuals are able to engage in that process, it leads to the health of the nation,” she said.

After independence in 1980, the former British colony was ruled by one man, Robert Mugabe, for almost four decades until he was overthrown in a bloodless coup in 2017. His successor from the same party, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has failed to fix the country’s broken economy and has cracked down on dissent.

The political opposition called the last elections, held in August, a fraud, and the Southern African Development Community, which sent a mission to observe polls, expressed concerns over the fairness of the vote.

Among the previous winners of the Africa Freedom Prize are Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Danai Mupotsa, a senior lecturer in African literature at Johannesburg’s Witwatersrand University, notes that female writers from the continent have been receiving more attention and accolades lately.

“There’s definitely a particular kind of moment for African writers and African women writers, I think, in particularly the last 10 years,” said Mupotsa.

Asked about this, Dangarembga said what it indicates is the publishing world has “’shifted to open up” and is publishing more work by African woman writers.
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Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby is touring the nation, touting his efforts to maintain peace and restore civilian rule, in accordance with resolutions set forth in October 2022 at the Inclusive and Sovereign National Dialogue. But Chad’s political opposition says the central African state remains plagued by hunger, poverty and armed conflict since the military leader took power in April 2021. 

This week’s visit to Abeche, capital of the Ouaddai region and the country’s fourth-largest city, was the 21st stop since Deby launched his tour to explain progress made in developing the central African state and ending what officials call endemic poverty.

Deby’s message to civilians in Abeche was broadcast by Chad’s national TV.

Deby said drinkable water has been extended to several villages and towns, including Abeche. Many hospitals have either been constructed or equipped to respond to civilian health needs, and primary education is free to enable all Chadian children to have an education, he said, adding that his government is funding many agriculture and livestock projects to make youths and women economically independent. 

Deby said political parties and civilians should prepare for free elections by November 2024. He said despite difficult living conditions caused by humanitarian crises, including floods and intercommunal conflicts, Chad is still home to about 400,000 civilians fleeing conflicts in neighboring Sudan. 

Deby was named head of an 18-month transitional council on April 21, 2021, following the death of his 68-year-old father from injuries sustained while visiting troops on the front line. 

The junta’s transition to democracy expired in October 2022. However, the Inclusive and Sovereign National Dialogue, initiated by military leaders and held August 2022 to October 2022 in N’djamena, extended that transition by 24 months. The dialogue also determined Deby will be eligible to run for the presidency when elections are held in November 2024.

Timan Erdimi leads the Union of Resistance Forces, or UFR, a Chadian Rebel Group. He returned to Chad in August 2022, after 10 years in exile in Qatar, to participate in the national dialogue to pave the way for a return to democratic rule.

Erdimi told reporters Monday in Keoura, his hometown, that Deby has failed to put in place a committee to follow up on resolutions of the Doha peace talks and is not implementing resolutions of the national dialogue. 

He said he wants the international community to be witnesses that Chad’s military government is not fully implementing a peace deal signed by more than 40 opposition groups in the Qatari capital, Doha, in August 2022. Erdimi said the military leader’s interest is to maintain a strong grip on power.

Erdimi said the central African state has been afflicted by hunger, poverty and armed conflict since Deby gained power as president of the Transitional Military Council in April 2021.

Chad’s government says it will respect its promise to return to civilian rule by November 2024.

Tama Ahamat, a political affairs lecturer at the University of N’djamena, said Chad’s fragmented opposition, which is made up of over 200 political parties and about 500 civil society groups, will find it difficult to beat Deby in an election. If Chad’s opposition and rights groups were united, Ahamat added, they could have made it clear during the national dialogue that Deby should not be eligible to run for the presidency.

Chad’s government says more than 1,400 representatives of rebel groups, civil society, trade unions, political parties and government officials attended the 2022 national dialogue in N’Djamena.

France, the European Union and the African Union have asked Deby to meet the November 2024 election deadline. 
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Founded in 1886 following the discovery of gold, Johannesburg, South Africa, eventually became the biggest gold producer throughout the 20th century, thanks to its Witwatersrand Basin goldfields. But many of the old gold mines have closed, replaced by small-scale illegal miners and an array of social problems. Jan Bornman reports. (Camera: Zaheer Cassim; Produced by  Jan Bornman)
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Dr. Denis Mukwege, a renowned Congolese gynecologist and human rights activist, announced plans Monday to run for president of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the December elections. His commitment to ending sexual violence in conflict zones earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2018. Mukwege was interviewed virtually Monday by Eddy Isango of VOA’s French to Africa Service.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

VOA: Dr. Mukwege, what motivated you to announce a run for the presidency of the DRC?

Mukwege: I think the first motivation is that for several years, members of the Congolese societies have always asked me if I could run for president of the republic. … But up until then, I’d found it difficult to leave my comfort zone and simply launch myself into this new way of seeing the Congolese people, of helping them. But over the past year, I’ve seen that the situation in our country — in terms of security, politics and society — has deteriorated to the point where we’re now in a situation where we fear on an existential level for the unity of our country. In light of this, I found myself in a situation where I have considered this call. And today, I have answered “yes” to the call of Congolese society. 

The second reason is that our people live in a situation of unacceptable humiliation. … I have honors and red carpets everywhere I go. And what happiness can I have … when my people are humiliated? As an outraged citizen, I think it’s time to speak out.

VOA: What do you hope to contribute to the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Mukwege: On a local level, by taking care of the sick. We have developed a holistic model of care, which in fact enables us to organize a problem-free health service. We know the country’s health problems better than anyone. We’ve been to almost every province, providing care for the poor and vulnerable. We’ve set up schools to train nurses … and so, I believe that this experience can enable us to build a health system in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

As part of our holistic approach, we have developed a socioeconomic approach, and I can tell you that the model we have created at Panzi [a hospital for survivors of sexual violence in Bukavu] enables women victims of sexual violence to set up their own businesses. … It has to do with the economy of our country.

We had also developed a mechanism for legal representation. And so today, we have tried to take the mapping report, which is in fact a United Nations report that inventories war crimes, crimes against humanity and even crimes of genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Based on our claims in relation to this report, we wrote and proposed a document for transitional justice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This holistic model of transitional justice quite simply enables us to rebuild our society, which has been destroyed by war for over three decades now.

On the international level, we’re on boards of directors, where decisions are made, for example, on global health, health in Africa. We have good contacts with the Bretton Woods institutions [the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank], so I think that on the political level, we have the experience we need to manage the country.

VOA: In your announcement, you warned that the electoral process is already flawed, but you still plan to run.

Mukwege: I believe that with what is happening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo … when the regulatory texts, including our fundamental law, these texts are not respected; when we are in a situation where human rights are not respected, where there are crimes that are akin to state crimes; when our natural resources are plundered and our raw material exports have no impact on the population … that not going to the elections would simply mean to leave the way clear for this system of oppression, of slavery, to continue.

And I believe that we’re going to go all the way, because we believe that our people are not naïve and … they won’t vote for their oppressors. They’ll vote for the people who are for change. … And today, we are calling on these people not only to go out and vote, but also to defend their vote. To be present at the polling stations, to ensure that the truth of the ballot box is respected this time. And we are training the population to take charge of this election.

 
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A charity group in Zimbabwe is raising funds for a basic product that can be critical for people living with albinism – sunscreen. The group, called “The Noble Hands of Zimbabwe,” released a report in September saying 1 in 3 people with albinism in Zimbabwe die of skin cancer before the age of 40, including children as young as 8. Columbus Mavhunga has more from Harare, Zimbabwe. VOA footage by Blessing Chigwenhembe.
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At least 29 Nigerien soldiers have been killed by jihadis near the country’s border with Mali, Niger’s junta said, as they struggle to end a spate of attacks.

More than 100 extremists used homemade explosives to target the West African nation’s security forces who were deployed at the border area on a clearance operation, Niger Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Salifou Mody said in a statement late Monday. It’s the second such attack against Nigerien soldiers in a week.

During the month after Niger’s military seized power, violence primarily linked to extremists soared by more than 40%, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. Jihadi attacks targeting civilians quadrupled in August compared with the month before, and attacks against security forces spiked in the Tillaberi region, killing at least 40 soldiers, the project reported.

“This attack unfortunately caused the loss of several of our valiant soldiers,” Mody said Monday. “The provisional assessment of this attack is as follows: on the friendly side, 29 soldiers fell. … On the enemy side, several dozen terrorists were neutralized, fifteen motorcycles destroyed, a large quantity of weapons and ammunition seized.”

The junta, which took over after a July coup against Niger’s democratically elected government, declared a three-day national mourning period for the dead.

It repeated claims made in the past that “destabilization operations” were being carried out by “certain foreign powers with the complicity of Nigerien traitors,” without further details or proof.

Under growing pressure since the coup against Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum, which the military said was carried out because of Niger’s security challenges, the junta promised that “all efforts will be made to guarantee the security of people and their property throughout the national territory.”

Niger has battled a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group for years. And the junta’s capacity to improve Niger’s security has increasingly been questioned recently as attacks have increased since mutinous soldiers toppled in July.

Niger was seen as one of the last democratic countries in Africa’s Sahel region that Western nations could partner with to beat back the jihadi insurgency in the vast expanse below the Sahara Desert. The United States, France and other European countries poured hundreds of millions of dollars into shoring up the Nigerien military.
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The World Health Organization on Monday announced the recommendation of a second malaria vaccine, with the aim of giving countries a cheaper and more readily available option to tackle the deadly disease.

Developed by Oxford University with the help of the Serum Institute of India, the new vaccine, known as R-21, will be rolled out in some African countries early next year, and expand into other countries later in 2024, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Research that has not yet undergone the usual process of scientific review suggests the three-dose vaccine to be around 75% effective. Boosters would be available for continued protection.

“Almost exactly two years ago, WHO recommended the broad use of the world’s first malaria vaccine called RTS,S” also known as Mosquirix, Tedros told a briefing in Geneva.

Developed by British pharmaceutical GSK, Mosquirix requires four doses, is only about 30% effective, and fades within months. The WHO says there is not enough data available to confirm whether the newly developed Oxford vaccine will be more effective.

The Serum Institute has said it could produce 200 million doses of the R-21 vaccine per year, while GSK is able to produce only 15 million doses of Mosquirix annually.

The aim of widespread rollout of the vaccine would be to significantly curb infection rates and spread of the disease. However, experts have urged the public not to see vaccines as a replacement for other preventative measures, such as bed nets and the spraying of insecticides.

The WHO also issued a recommendation on a Takeda Pharmaceuticals-produced vaccine against dengue, a disease prevalent in subtropical climates which, like malaria, is spread by mosquitoes.

Takeda Pharmaceuticals’ vaccine was shown to be effective in all four stereotypes of the virus in previously infected individuals, but it showed a lower performance in some stereotypes of people not previously infected.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters. 
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