First Independent Mena Newspaper
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling for an investigation into a brutal massacre in Burkina Faso, where dozens of civilians were reportedly killed by government-aligned militias. The attack occurred in the western city of Solenzo, with video footage circulating on social media showing bodies of ethnic Fulani civilians, including women, children and elderly, bound and […]
South Africa has expressed disappointment following the United States’ expulsion of its ambassador, Ebrahim Rasool, calling the decision “regrettable” but reaffirming its commitment to maintaining strong diplomatic ties with Washington. The expulsion, announced by U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio, comes amid escalating tensions over Rasool’s outspoken criticism of U.S. foreign policy, particularly regarding the […]
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has launched a 5,000-member counterterrorism force in response to the escalating security crisis in the Sahel and wider West Africa. Announced during the 43rd meeting of the ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staff in Abuja, this force is designed to confront the growing influence of jihadist […]
Russia significantly boosted its agricultural exports to Africa in 2024 by 19%, reflecting the country’s growing economic influence across the continent amid the continuing war in Ukraine. During the previous fiscal year, Russia’s agricultural exports to Africa surpassed $7 billion, according to a statement released by the Agricultural Export Center (Agroexport), with Egypt, Algeria, and […]
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has announced a phased withdrawal of its peacekeeping troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following a year of escalating conflict with M23 rebels. This decision, made during an extraordinary summit held on Thursday (13 March), reflects the regional bloc’s shift towards pursuing a political solution after […]
The head of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, has revealed on March 13 that 16 million children in Sudan are suffering immensely due to the ongoing civil war, facing daily threats of violence, starvation, disease, and sexual assault. Speaking at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, Russell described how the conflict is occurring right […]
Africa’s Sahel region has become the global epicenter of terrorism, with extremist groups now responsible for over half of all terror-related deaths worldwide in 2024, according to the latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI). This marks a significant shift from previous years, as the region’s death toll rose to 3,885, accounting for 51% of the global […]
Direct peace talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government and the M23 rebel group are scheduled to begin in Angola’s capital city Luanda on 18 March, as announced by Angola’s presidency. This marks a significant development after months of escalating conflict in the volatile eastern DRC, where the M23 rebels, widely believed to […]
The European Union has unveiled a controversial proposal, including a continent-wide deportation order, aimed at accelerating deportations of rejected asylum seekers and other undocumented migrants. The plan, formally announced by the European Commission on Wednesday (11 March), seeks to standardize deportation processes across all EU member states, enabling cross-border enforcement of deportation orders. A key […]
Chinese state-owned firms are playing a dominant role in port development across Africa, with a presence in 78 ports across 32 countries as builders, financiers, or operators, sparking concerns about China’s long-term geo-strategic aims. According to a new report by the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies, these Chinese firms are not only builders and […]