A delegation of religious leaders from Nigeria arrived Saturday in Niger and met with members of the military junta who took control of the country last month. 

Coup leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani and junta-appointed Prime Minister Ali Maham Lamine Zeine both met with the delegation of Muslim religious leaders led by Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, leader of the Izala Salafist movement in Nigeria, according to Nigerien media. 

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu gave his approval to the mediation delegation. Tinubu currently serves as the president of the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS), which has threatened to intervene militarily if the leaders of the military coup in Niger do not reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum, 63, who was deposed by members of his guard on July 26. 

The clerical delegation hopes to ease tensions between Nigeria and the junta leaders, a source close to the delegation told AFP. 

“The clerics are in Niamey to explain to the junta leaders that Nigeria is not fighting Niger and that the decisions taken on Niger are not Nigeria’s but those of ECOWAS as a regional bloc,” the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said. 

ECOWAS has approved the deployment of a “standby force to restore constitutional order” in Niger, but still hopes to find a peaceful resolution to the situation. The ECOWAS parliament met Saturday to discuss further action, but no decision was made. 

A crisis meeting set for Saturday was called off for technical reasons, the chiefs of staff of ECOWAS said. The meeting was to discuss the best options for deploying the standby force. 

“The military option seriously envisaged by ECOWAS is not a war against Niger and its people but a police operation against hostage takers and their accomplices,” Hassoumi Massaoudou, foreign minister in the ousted civilian government, said Saturday. 

Coup leaders defiant

So far, the coup leaders remain defiant and refuse to restore constitutional order in Niger.  

The threat of a military intervention has proved divisive among the 15-member ECOWAS bloc, but it remains determined to restore Bazoum to his elected position while other African nations fear sparking a conflict with an unpredictable outcome. 

Niger, an impoverished country of about 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in quelling a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that’s ravaged the region.  

France and the United States together have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military. 

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Tchiani, has maintained it could be more effective at protecting the nation from jihadi violence and has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support. 

Nigeriens in the capital of Niamey said on Friday that ECOWAS has been out of touch with the political realities in Niger and that it shouldn’t interfere.  

“It is our business, not theirs. They don’t even know the reason why the coup happened in Niger,” said Achirou Harouna Albassi, a resident. Bazoum was not abiding by the will of the people, he said.  

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. appreciated “the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis” and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the U.S. supported the deployment of troops.  

Western powers fear Russian influence increasing if Niger follows neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, both of which expelled troops of former colonial power France after coups in those countries. 

Mali has since teamed up with mercenaries from the Russian-led Wagner Group and kicked out a United Nations peacekeeping force there, something security analysts say could lead to further conflict. 

In Niamey, thousands demonstrated Friday outside a French military base. 

“Long live Russia,” one protester’s sign read. “Down with France … Down with ECOWAS.” Another said: “Wagner will protect our children from terrorism.” 

Doctor visits Bazoum 

Meanwhile, Niger’s military junta remains in power, appears closed to dialogue, and refuses to release the constitutionally elected president.  

Bazoum, who had complained recently of the treatment he, his wife and son were receiving and the conditions they were held in, was seen by a doctor Saturday.  

Bazoum “had a visit by his doctor today,” a member of the doctor’s team told AFP, adding the physician had also brought food for Bazoum, his wife, and son.  

“He’s fine, given the situation,” the source added. 

Representatives of the junta told U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland during her visit to the country this week that they would kill Bazoum if ECOWAS intervened militarily, a Western military official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.  

“The threat to kill Bazoum is grim,” said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.  

Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn’t had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn’t allowed to see family, friends or bring food supplies into the house.  

Blinken said he was “dismayed” by the military’s refusal to release Bazoum’s family as a “demonstration of goodwill.” 

Some information in this report came from Reuters, The Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse.  
…

The only way to avoid conflict between mutinous soldiers that ousted the president in Niger and regional countries threatening an invasion to reinstate him is to recognize the new regime, a rights defender with ties to the junta told The Associated Press on Friday.

In his first interview with Western media, Insa Garba Saidou, a local activist who supports Niger’s new military rulers in its communications and says he is in direct contact with them, said there will be no dialogue with regional countries until they acknowledge the new head of state.

Nearly three weeks ago, mutinous soldiers led by the head of the presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, overthrew the West African country’s democratically elected president, claiming they could do a better job of securing the nation from growing jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Tchiani was declared in charge of the country.

The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened to use military force if President Mohamed Bazoum, who took office two years ago, is not released and reinstated. The junta has dismissed its warnings and refused most attempts at dialogue.

“There is only one option, accepting the regime or war,” said Saidou. “It is finished for Bazoum. You must forget about him. … It is a waste of time trying to restore him. It is not possible,” he said.

On Thursday, ECOWAS said it had directed the deployment of a “standby force” to restore democracy in Niger after its deadline to reinstate Bazoum expired. It’s unclear when or where the force will be deployed, but analysts say it could include up to 5,000 troops from countries including Nigeria, Benin, Ivory Coast and Senegal.

While the bloc says it wants mediation to prevail, multiple attempts by ECOWAS, as well as others, have yielded little.

Last week a proposed visit by ECOWAS, the United Nations and the African Union was rejected. A day earlier, a top U.S. diplomat met some members of the junta but was unable to speak with Tchiani or see Bazoum.

Many Western nations saw Niger as one of the last democratic countries in the Sahel region, the vast expanse south of the Sahara Desert, that they could partner with to beat back the growing jihadi threat. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into providing equipment and training for Niger’s military by specialized French and U.S. forces, all of which could now be used by the junta to tighten its grip on power.

The military regime is already entrenching itself, appointing a new government and stoking anti-French sentiment toward its former colonial ruler, to shore up its support.

Mercenaries from the Russian-linked Wagner Group already operate in a handful of other African countries and are accused of committing human rights abuses. Earlier this month during a trip to neighboring Mali, which is also run by a military regime and cooperates with Wagner, the junta reportedly asked the mercenaries for help.

Days after ECOWAS’ order for the standby force to deploy, it’s still unclear what that entails or if they’ll invade. The African Union Peace and Security Council could overrule the decision if it felt that wider peace and security on the continent was threatened by an intervention, say analysts. The African Union is expected to meet Monday to discuss Niger’s crisis.

Some Sahel experts say the insistence on force is a cover to spare ECOWAS from the embarrassment of having made a threat with no real capacity or notion of how to execute it. “The bloc is acting like a poker player who tried [to] bluff and, when called on it, raised the stakes to buy time,” said Peter Pham, former U.S. special envoy for West Africa’s Sahel region and a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council.

The most battle-experienced and best-equipped militaries in West Africa either belong to Niger or are sympathetic to it, such as Mali and Burkina Faso. Both countries have opposed the intervention and sent delegations to Niger to discuss joint defense efforts.

Aid workers who remained during the start of the coup are evacuating on U.N. flights to Burkina Faso. Several flights left on Friday, and more are scheduled for Saturday, according to a foreigner who’s leaving on one of the flights and did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation.

In anticipation of a possible invasion, some Nigeriens have moved their families out of the capital. Others say they’re not going anywhere and want ECOWAS to negotiate a peaceful transition of power with the junta.

“[What] we want to do now is to put things in order and move on. … We’re not expecting ECOWAS as an African society to come and attack us in this manner. It’s not the best, we are not really happy about it,” said Moussa Ahmed, a food seller in Niamey.

Saidou, the activist who supports the junta, said no matter how ECOWAS plans to invade, be it by land through neighboring Benin or Nigeria or by air, any attack on the palace will result in Bazoum’s death. While he didn’t confirm a deliberate plan to murder the now-ousted president, he said that if an invasion began, soldiers would kill him.

“There is no one among the soldiers still loyal to Bazoum,” he said.

He dismissed reports that Bazoum’s conditions under house arrest in his presidential compound were dire and said he had access to medical care if needed and still had his phone, a sign that no one wanted to harm him. He did not say how he had knowledge of the president’s condition. Saidou said Bazoum was being kept for his own security and the only way for him to be released was for ECOWAS to accept that his time in office was finished.

Those close to the president, however, paint a much starker picture.

Since the July 26 coup, Bazoum has been confined with his wife and son to the basement of his presidential compound, which is surrounded by guards and is now cut off from resupplies of food, electricity, water and cooking gas. Niger’s ambassador to the United States, Mamadou Kiari Liman-Tinguiri, told the AP that the junta is trying to starve Bazoum to death.

On Friday, United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk said he was extremely concerned about Bazoum’s rapidly deteriorating condition, calling the family’s treatment “inhuman and degrading” and in violation of international human rights law.
…

Education skills and employability are the pathway to a better life — that is the key takeaway expressed by 40% of young people across all age groups who participated in a survey to identify the hopes and aspirations of youth and learn what they need to enhance their prospects for a good, sustainable future.

In a bid to make their voices heard by decision-makers around the world, more than 700,000 children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 24 participated in the project that coincides with this year’s observance of International Youth Day.

The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, or PMNCH, is a global alliance for the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents, hosted by the World Health Organization. In an effort to work toward improvements, PMNCH shared the preliminary findings of the largest survey into what young people want for their well-being.

The project aims to collect the voices of at least 1 million young people by October, when PMNCH will convene a global forum for adolescents at which the results of this mammoth undertaking will be unveiled.

“To date, there has not been enough knowledge, there has not been enough accountability and evidence around adolescent well-being,” said Helga Fogstad, PMNCH executive director. “This is our effort, together with this 1 million young people, intended to rectify.”

Young people were asked to express their views on a multitude of issues, including climate change, good health, optimum nutrition, connectedness, positive values, contributions to society, safety and a supportive environment.

“Adolescents and young people are responding to a fragile world of high living costs, pandemic disruptions, climate crises” and the rising complexities of the world “in which they live,” said David Imbago, a board member of PMNCH.

“Young people in low- and middle-income countries have been among the most affected of our increasingly fragile world, and there is no way to deny that,” he said. “For example, there are still consequences from the pandemic to school education, household food insecurity and income scarcity.”

UNICEF reports that more than 616 million students remain affected by full or partial school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. In low- and middle-income countries, it says, school closures “have left up to 70% of 10-year-olds unable to read or understand a simple text.”

More than two-thirds of respondents, 68.8%, are from the Africa region, followed by the Southeast Asia region at 27.5%, and a small minority from Latin America. Most respondents come from India. Uganda is the second-largest contributing country, followed by Indonesia and Zambia.

The survey uses digital technology and face-to-face outreach through teams of trained youth mobilizers.

“I was excited to be a part of this campaign that was asking what we young people want for our well-being and try to be heard by policymakers and government and taking action on them,” said Deep Shikha, a young mobilizer from India.

Shikha said she and her mobilizing team gathered information from chatbots online, visited schools and colleges, and interviewed people in local communities.

“We discussed with young people about what they want, what challenges they face and what they felt was ignored by officers and policymakers,” she said.

Shikha said most of the young people wanted the opportunity to get a higher education but were frustrated by a lack of resources. She said girls were discouraged from getting an education.

“Their parents do not want to send their child to another city for their higher education because they are concerned about their safety,” she said. “And, of course, there are girls who do not get an education because of lack of financial support.”

The survey indicated that addressing the concerns of adolescent girls worldwide was more challenging than addressing adolescent boys’ concerns about health, education, safety, security and well-being.

“It is not a matter of perception,” board member Imbago said. “It is reality.”

PMNCH expects the upcoming Global Forum for Adolescents to energize the 1.8 Billion Young People for Change campaign. The campaign was launched last year to help young people reach their full potential by influencing governments to change current policies and investments that fail to meet their needs.

“The voices of young people and adolescents need to be amplified, and the governments’ budgets and plans need to be more explicit about what young people want,” said Fogstad, the PMNCH executive director.

“This is a population and a generation that has not got enough attention because the evidence was missing,” she said, adding that the evidence produced by the survey results puts an end to that argument.

She said the movement of young people has been converted into a global movement “where young people are now increasingly taking the lead. And that is how it should be.”
…

Tensions are escalating between Niger’s new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger’s flailing democracy.

The ECOWAS bloc said Thursday it had decided to deploy a “standby force” aimed at restoring constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.

Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Niger’s junta had told a top U.S. diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.

It’s unclear when or where the ECOWAS force would deploy, and how reports of the threats against Bazoum would affect a decision by the 15-member bloc to intervene. Conflict experts say it the force would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.

After the ECOWAS meeting, neighboring Ivory Coast’s president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.

“Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements … We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region,” Ouattara said on state television.

Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that’s ravaged the region. France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, has claimed it could do a better job than Bazoum’s government of protecting the nation from jihadi violence, and has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

Nigeriens in the capital, Niamey, on Friday said ECOWAS isn’t in touch with the reality on the ground and shouldn’t intervene.

“It is our business, not theirs. They don’t even know the reason why the coup happened in Niger,” said Achirou Harouna Albassi, a resident. Bazoum was not abiding by the will of the people, he said.

Hundreds of people marched toward the French military base in Niamey on Friday waving Russian flags and screaming “Down with France.” Many were young, including children, all chanting that the French should go.

Also Friday, the African Union expressed strong support for ECOWAS’ decision and called on the junta to “urgently halt the escalation with the regional organization.” It also called for the immediate release of Bazoum. An African Union meeting to discuss the situation in Niger is expected to take place Monday.

On Thursday night after the summit, France’s foreign ministry said it supported “all conclusions adopted.” U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated “the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis” and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the U.S. supported the deployment of troops.

The mutinous soldiers that ousted Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue and have refused to release the president. Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum’s life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. A U.S. official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because the official was not authorized to speak to the media.

“The threat to kill Bazoum is grim,” said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.

Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn’t had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn’t allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.

It’s unclear if the threat on Bazoum’s life would change ECOWAS’ decision to intervene military. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.

“An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Niger’s size and population would be unprecedented,” said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.

While the region oscillates between mediation and preparing for war, Nigeriens are suffering the impact of harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.

Before the coup, more than 4 million Nigeriens were reliant on humanitarian assistance and the situation could become more dire, said Louise Aubin, the U.N. resident coordinator in Niger.

“The situation is alarming. … We’ll see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance,” she said, adding that the closure of land and air borders makes it hard to bring aid into the country and it’s unclear how long the current stock will last.

Aid groups are battling restrictions on multiple fronts.

ECOWAS sanctions have banned the movement of goods between Niger and member countries, making it hard to bring in materials. The World Food Program has some 30 trucks stuck at the Benin border unable to cross. Humanitarians are also trying to navigate restrictions within the country as the junta has closed the airspace, making it hard to get clearance to fly the humanitarian planes that transport goods and personnel to hard-hit areas.

Flights are cleared on a case-by-case basis and there’s irregular access to fuel, which disrupts aid operations, Aubin said.

The U.N. has asked ECOWAS to make exceptions to the sanctions and is speaking to Niger’s foreign ministry about doing the same within the country.
…

Tuareg former rebels in northern Mali said their forces were attacked Friday by the army and Russian mercenary group Wagner.

The Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) said in a Facebook post that their forces “repulsed a complex attack by the Fama (Malian army) and Wagner” in the town of Ber, in the northern Timbuktu region.

“We call the international community to witness these serious acts,” said CMA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, denouncing the attack as a “violation of all security commitments and arrangements.”

Mali’s army said it had “vigorously retaliated” against an “attempted incursion” into their position on Friday, blaming “terrorists” for the incident.

On Thursday, the Tuareg former rebels announced the departure of all their representatives from Bamako for “security” reasons, further widening the gap with the junta, which has been in power since 2020.

The CMA is an alliance of Tuareg-dominated groups seeking autonomy or independence from the Malian state.

It is one of the parties to a 2015 peace agreement with the Malian government.

Mali’s military government has fallen out with former colonial power France and turned to Russia for political and military support.

Wagner is openly active in Mali and at least three other African countries, typically shoring up fragile regimes in exchange for minerals and other natural wealth.

In Mali, Wagner paramilitaries protect the regime, conduct military operations and training, and advise on the revision of mining laws and even the constitution.

The regime in Bamako says the foreign military instructors in Mali are not from Wagner but from the regular Russian army.  
…

Burkina Faso’s junta-led government has suspended one of the country’s most popular radio stations after it broadcast an interview deemed “insulting” to Niger’s new military leaders.

Radio Omega was immediately suspended on Thursday “until further notice,” Communications Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo said in a statement.

He said the measure was “in the higher interests of the nation.”

The station, part of the Omega media group owned by journalist and former Foreign Minister Alpha Barry, ceased broadcasting after the statement was issued late Thursday.

The channel had run an interview with Ousmane Abdoul Moumouni, the spokesperson of a newly established Nigerien group campaigning to return President Mohamed Bazoum to power.

The country’s elected leader was overthrown on July 26 by members of the Presidential Guard.

Moumouni made “insulting comments with regard to the new Nigerien authorities,” said Ouedraogo, who is also a government spokesperson.

His organization “is clearly campaigning for violence and war against the sovereign people of Niger” and seeks to restore Bazoum “by every means,” he charged.

Radio Omega on Friday said it would turn to “every means of recourse” to fight the suspension.

The decision is a “blatant violation of current laws and an unacceptable attack on freedom of expression and freedom of the press,” it said.

The order, it added, came after “numerous death threats” had been made against the station’s managers and journalists “from people describing themselves as supporters of the government.”

The country’s leading journalists’ association, OPM, said it “strongly” condemned the station’s suspension and demanded its “immediate” lifting.

Burkina Faso underwent two military coups last year, each triggered in part — as in Mali and Niger — by discontent at failures to stem a raging jihadist insurgency.

It swiftly declared solidarity with Niger’s new leaders and joined Mali in warning that any military intervention to restore Bazoum would be considered a “declaration of war” against them.

The Burkinabe authorities in recent months have suspended the French TV outlets LCI and France24 as well as Radio France Internationale and expelled the correspondents of the French newspapers Liberation and Le Monde. 
…

Thousands of people gathered in Niger’s capital Friday to demonstrate in favor of last month’s coup as regional leaders were considering military intervention to restore civilian rule.

Since the July 26 military ouster of elected President Mohamed Bazoum, many Nigeriens have joined junta-organized rallies to show support for the generals, criticize Western powers and laud Russia, which is vying for influence with the West in the region.

The peaceful crowd on Friday numbered in the thousands, according to a Reuters witness. The rally began at a French military base in the capital, Niamey, then protesters with signs and flags spread onto surrounding streets.

“Long live Russia,” one protester’s sign read. “Down with France … Down with ECOWAS,” referring to the Economic Community of West African States. At a summit on Thursday, the body ordered the activation of a standby force that could intervene to reinstate Bazoum.

The military takeover was the seventh coup in West and Central Africa in three years, and demonstrations in Niger have mirrored street scenes in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso after coups between 2020 and 2022.

Popular anger is targeted at former colonial power France, whose forces were kicked out of Mali and Burkina Faso after the coups there and whose presence in Niger is under threat. Protesters in Niger attacked the French Embassy.

“I am here to request the departure of the French forces,” said protester Salamatou Hima on Friday. “We are free and we have the right to demand what is beneficial for our country.”

The military coup was triggered by internal politics but has repercussions far beyond Niger’s borders, raising the specter of deepening conflict in a strategically important region. Uranium-rich Niger, one of the world’s poorest countries, has been an ally for the West in the fight against Islamist militants in the Sahel region.

U.S., French, German and Italian troops are stationed in Niger to repel local affiliates of al-Qaida and Islamic State that have killed thousands and displaced millions across the Sahel.

Standby force

Regional army chiefs were expected to meet in coming days. It was not yet clear how long the ECOWAS standby force would take to assemble, how big it would be and if it would actually invade. The organization stressed that all options were on the table and said it still hoped for a peaceful resolution.

Security analysts said the force could take weeks to set up, potentially leaving room for negotiations.

Ivory Coast is the only country so far to specify how many troops it would send, promising on Thursday to contribute a battalion of 850.

Benin and Sierra Leone said on Friday they would contribute troops but did not say how many. Senegal said last week it would contribute troops if there were an intervention.

Most other countries in the 15-nation ECOWAS have so far either declined to comment or not yet taken a decision.

At Friday’s rally, protester Ali Hassane vowed to defend his country. If the ECOWAS force invades, “it’s us civilians who are going to fight,” he said.

Russia’s foreign ministry said it supported ECOWAS efforts to mediate but warned against any military intervention in Niger, saying it could destabilize the country and region.

France said it fully backed conclusions of the ECOWAS summit but did not outline any concrete support it would give to a potential intervention.

Niger’s junta has yet to react to the prospect of a forceful intervention by ECOWAS. But it has rebuffed repeated calls for dialog from the international community and named a new government hours before the summit.

Military governments in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso have said they will defend the junta in Niger.

Worry about Bazoum

Meanwhile, the African Union, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations all said they were increasingly worried about Bazoum’s detention conditions.

The U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Friday said the conditions were “rapidly deteriorating” and could amount to a violation of international human rights law.

Human Rights Watch said it had spoken to Bazoum this week and that he had told them that his family’s treatment in custody was “inhuman and cruel.”

“My son is sick, has a serious heart condition, and needs to see a doctor,” HRW quoted Bazoum as telling the group.

Bazoum’s daughter Zazia Bazoum, who is in France, told Britain’s Guardian newspaper the junta was keeping her father in deplorable conditions to pressure him to sign a resignation letter. Reuters could not independently confirm the conditions of his detention.  
…

The attempted coup in Niger, the war in Sudan, aid for Syrians. VOA correspondent Margaret Besheer has more on the top stories this week at the United Nations.
…

Tensions are escalating between Niger’s new military regime and the West African regional bloc that has ordered the deployment of troops to restore Niger’s flailing democracy.

The ECOWAS bloc said on Thursday it had decided to deploy a “standby force” aimed at restoring constitutional order in Niger after its Sunday deadline to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum expired.

Hours earlier, two Western officials told The Associated Press that Niger’s junta had told a top U.S. diplomat they would kill Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule.

It’s unclear when or where the ECOWAS force would deploy, and how reports of the threats against Bazoum would affect a decision by the 15-member bloc to intervene. Conflict experts say it the force would likely comprise some 5,000 troops led by Nigeria and could be ready within weeks.

After the ECOWAS meeting, neighboring Ivory Coast’s president, Alassane Ouattara, said his country would take part in the military operation, along with Nigeria and Benin.

“Ivory Coast will provide a battalion and has made all the financial arrangements. … We are determined to install Bazoum in his position. Our objective is peace and stability in the sub-region,” Ouattara said on state television.

‘It is our business’

Niger, an impoverished country of some 25 million people, was seen as one of the last hopes for Western nations to partner with in beating back a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that’s ravaged the region. France and the United States have more than 2,500 military personnel in Niger and together with other European partners had poured hundreds of millions of dollars into propping up its military.

The junta responsible for spearheading the coup, led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, has claimed it could do a better job than Bazoum’s government of protecting the nation from jihadi violence, and has exploited anti-French sentiment among the population to shore up its support.

Nigeriens in the capital, Niamey, on Friday said ECOWAS isn’t in touch with the reality on the ground and shouldn’t intervene.

“It is our business, not theirs. They don’t even know the reason why the coup happened in Niger,” said Achirou Harouna Albassi, a resident. Bazoum was not abiding by the will of the people, he said.

‘Down with France’

Hundreds of people marched toward the French military base in Niamey on Friday waving Russian flags and screaming “Down with France.” Many were young, including children, all chanting that the French should go.

Also Friday, the African Union expressed strong support for ECOWAS’ decision and called on the junta to “urgently halt the escalation with the regional organization.” It also called for the immediate release of Bazoum. An African Union meeting to discuss the situation in Niger is expected to take place on Monday.

On Thursday night after the summit, France’s foreign ministry said it supported “all conclusions adopted.” U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said his country appreciated “the determination of ECOWAS to explore all options for the peaceful resolution of the crisis” and would hold the junta accountable for the safety and security of President Bazoum. However, he did not specify whether the U.S. supported the deployment of troops.

The mutinous soldiers who ousted Bazoum more than two weeks ago have entrenched themselves in power, appear closed to dialogue, and have refused to release the president.

Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum’s life during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. A U.S. official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because the official was not authorized to speak to the media.

“The threat to kill Bazoum is grim,” said Alexander Thurston, assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati. There have been unwritten rules until now about how overthrown presidents will be treated and violence against Bazoum would evoke some of the worst coups of the past, he said.

Bazoum’s son sick

Human Rights Watch said Friday that it had spoken to Bazoum, who said that his 20-year-old son was sick with a serious heart condition and has been refused access to a doctor. The president said he hasn’t had electricity for nearly 10 days and isn’t allowed to see family, friends or bring supplies into the house.

It’s unclear if the threat on Bazoum’s life would change ECOWAS’ decision to intervene militarily. It might give them pause, or push the parties closer to dialogue, but the situation has entered uncharted territory, analysts say.

“An ECOWAS invasion to restore constitutional order into a country of Niger’s size and population would be unprecedented,” said Nate Allen, an associate professor at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Niger has a fairly large and well-trained army that, if it actively resisted an invasion, could pose significant problems for ECOWAS. This would be a very large and significant undertaking, he said.

While the region oscillates between mediation and preparing for war, Nigeriens are suffering the impact of harsh economic and travel sanctions imposed by ECOWAS.

Before the coup, more than 4 million Nigeriens were reliant on humanitarian assistance and the situation could become more dire, said Louise Aubin, the U.N. resident coordinator in Niger.

“The situation is alarming. … We’ll see an exponential rise and more people needing more humanitarian assistance,” she said, adding that the closure of land and air borders makes it hard to bring aid into the country and it’s unclear how long the current stock will last.

Aid groups are battling restrictions on multiple fronts.

ECOWAS sanctions have banned the movement of goods between Niger and member countries, making it hard to bring in materials. The World Food Program has some 30 trucks stuck at the Benin border unable to cross. Humanitarians are also trying to navigate restrictions within the country as the junta has closed the airspace, making it hard to get clearance to fly the humanitarian planes that transport goods and personnel to hard-hit areas.

Flights are cleared on a case-by-case basis and there’s irregular access to fuel, which disrupts aid operations, Aubin said.

The U.N. has asked ECOWAS to make exceptions to the sanctions and is speaking to Niger’s foreign ministry about doing the same within the country.
…

Aid groups and the government of Cameroon say they distributed rice, millet and beans to at least 30,000 people this week along the central African state’s northern border with Chad and Nigeria.

Refugee populations and host communities are among the recipients.

The government and relief agencies now aim to reach a total of 4 million people over the next six weeks. 

Distribution is complicated by torn-up roads and ongoing clashes between government troops and separatist groups in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions.

Aid agencies have also reported sporadic Boko Haram attacks but the government has said it will protect all aid workers.

Ayissi Nouma is coordinator of the Emergency Food Project at the Cameroon Red Cross, one of the agencies distributing food aid.

Nouma said undernourishment, famine and movement of people out of their communities in search of food in Cameroon’s northern border with Chad and Nigeria are the direct consequences of severe floods and attacks by elephants and migratory birds on plantations. Nouma said Boko Haram terrorism and clashes between herders and fishers that displaced more than a 100,000 people, including farmers to Chad, are among the causes of current food shortages.

Nouma spoke on Cameroon state broadcaster CRTV on Friday.

The separatist crisis in the west and Boko Haram attacks in the north have disrupted food production and left millions of Cameroonians facing hunger in recent years. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made the situation worse. Before Russia’s Black Sea blockade, Cameroon imported 60% of its wheat from Ukraine. The cutoff led to a nearly 50% increase in the price of bread. 

More recently, floods that swept through towns also rendered several hundred homeless and hungry, the government said. Those affected include the economic hub, Douala, and Buea and Limbe, both English-speaking western towns.

Gabriel Mbairobe, Cameroon’s agriculture minister, said climate shocks added to the present food shortage Cameroon is witnessing. 

“Agropastoral production has been disrupted due to climate hazards, high rainfall in the northern part of the country, sudden cessation of rains in the southern part which did not allow crops to complete their cycle,” Mbairobe said.

Crop pests as well as the destruction of fields by elephants and sociopolitical and intercommunity conflicts are affecting 27,000 producers, he added.

Mbairobe said Cameroon’s government and its partners are ready to provide emergency food and nutritional supplies to people threatened by hunger and disease. 

He said besides distributing food aid, Cameroon is providing hybrid seeds and fertilizers to farmers who agree to return to their farms. 

The government said it has also distributed drought-tolerant crops to several thousand farmers on Cameroon’s northern border with Chad and Nigeria.

Meanwhile Cameroon’s livestock ministry reports that several hundred heifers, which quickly adapt to harsh climatic conditions and produce more milk than the local breed of cattle, have been distributed to herders in the area.
…

Former South African president Jacob Zuma was released under a remission process Friday after he surrendered himself to a correctional facility in his home province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Zuma had received a 15-month prison sentence in 2021 on corruption charges, but only served two months.  He was released on a medical parole.  

Friday’s appearance could have sent him back to prison to finish his term but instead he was granted a remission, which relieves him of completing the rest of his sentence.  

The remission program, approved by current South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, is designed to reduce South Africa’s low-risk prison population.  

Zuma’s imprisonment in 2021 sparked weeks of violent protests in which 300 people were killed.  

A court found his release from imprisonment in 2021 unlawful.  

However, the 81-year-old former president was freed from custody Friday after about two hours.   

The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s main opposition party, says it will challenge the remission of the former president. 
…

Human Rights Watch has called on the military coup leaders of Niger to ensure the safety and well-being of ousted “President Mohamed Bazoum, his family, and others arbitrarily detained.”

The human rights group also urged the military to show that they respect fundamental human rights by releasing the “arbitrarily detained” and “bring about a swift transition to civilian democratic rule.”

Niger’s ousted leader has been in detention at his residence since members of the presidential guard took power on July 26. Human Rights Watch said it talked with Bazoum, his doctor, his lawyer, a former communications adviser and a family friend on Wednesday and Thursday. 

“Nigerien coup leaders are subjecting Bazoum and his family and undisclosed others to abusive treatment in violation of international human rights law,” Carine Kaneza Nantulya, the group’s deputy Africa director, said in a statement Friday.  “All those arbitrarily detained should be immediately released and provided with adequate food, basic services, and access to doctors, lawyers, and family members.”

Bazoum told Human Rights Watch that his treatment has been “inhuman and cruel” and that he has been without electricity since August 2 and without human contact since Aug 4.  

He also said that he has not been able to talk with family and friends who bring him food and supplies. 

In addition, Bazoum said his son, who suffers from a heart condition, has not been allowed to see a doctor. 

“Nigerien military leaders should recognize that they are accountable for any human rights violations against those in custody, including Bazoum, his family, and others they have detained,” Nantulya said. “Niger’s regional and international partners should press the Nigerien authorities to fully respect everyone’s human rights and bring about a prompt transition to democratic rule.”

 
…

Four months into a battle both believed they would win, Sudan’s army has lost its grip on Khartoum to paramilitaries, who are unable to declare victory and instead are accused of waging war on civilians.

When fighting began on April 15, Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan was certain it would be over “within two weeks.”

His former deputy, turned enemy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has sworn his Rapid Support Forces will achieve “victory.”

Yet neither has been able to gain a decisive advantage, while fighting has killed at least 3,900 people, uprooted more than 4 million, worsened food shortages and sparked war crimes allegations.

“The army thought it knew the exact military capacity of the RSF,” said military expert Mohammed Abdelkarim.

But the RSF realized “they could be in for a long war” and immediately “seized the entry points to Khartoum and secured their supply lines,” a former army officer said, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

The army in July announced the closure of the highway linking Khartoum and Darfur – a paramilitary stronghold – but that did little to stem their flow of troops and weaponry, residents and analysts said.

Sanctions by the United States and Britain on companies linked to both sides also seem to have done little to slow the fighting.

While the armed forces try to hold key Khartoum bases, they dominate the skies, raining regular air strikes on the capital.

But they lack the RSF’s infantry power, which is “essential given the urban nature of the war,” Abdelkarim told AFP.

Sudan’s army has all but ceded the streets to the RSF.

‘Appalling abuses’

“The army has for years neglected its infantry,” the former officer said, choosing to instead contract out its many wars — including, ironically, to the RSF, which previously fought in the Darfur region and South Kordofan state.

Sudan’s army long relied on the Popular Defense Forces Islamist militia, and in Darfur, where a rebellion began in 2003, then-president Omar al-Bashir unleashed the Janjaweed militia, which later evolved into the RSF.

Their campaign led to war crimes charges against Bashir and others by the International Criminal Court.

Bashir’s overthrow in 2019 ushered in a transition to civilian rule but that was derailed when Burhan, the country’s de facto leader, carried out a coup with Daglo in 2021.

Through its inability to control Khartoum, the army’s “claim to represent the government was in question,” said Sudan expert Alex de Waal.

But “what it gained on the battlefield, the RSF lost in the political arena,” he said, decisively eliminating any sympathies among city dwellers “through the appalling abuses” its fighters committed.

The U.S.-supported Sudan Conflict Observatory said the RSF’s positions in civilian-occupied neighborhoods and buildings are “a potential violation of the Geneva Conventions.”

A separate Observatory report issued Aug. 2 found that, in Darfur, RSF and “aligned forces” had destroyed at least 27 towns.

And on Aug. 4, Britain, Norway and the United States condemned “reports of killings based on ethnicity and widespread sexual violence” in Darfur by the RSF and allied militias.

The army has also been accused of abuses, including a July 8 air strike that killed around two dozen civilians.

Burhan retains “the political upper hand” but only “by default,” de Waal said.

De Waal said Burhan had “shown neither political profile nor leadership, and it is unclear if he can manage his cabal of quarrelsome lieutenants.”

Diplomatic impasse

What initially appeared as a fight between two generals has since threatened to broaden into “full-scale civil war,” the United Nations has warned.

On the army side, “it has opened the door to the Islamists, because they’re the most prepared, but that would prolong the war and complicate Sudan’s diplomatic relations,” the former officer said.

The RSF “has mobilized Arab tribes from Darfur in addition to our traditional forces,” said a paramilitary source speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

“Some fight to support their brothers,” the RSF source said, “while others fight for money,” a resource Daglo appears to have in abundance through his reputed ties to the country’s gold mines.

Before the war, Washington sanctioned companies that it said served as a cover for Russian mercenary force Wagner and were also linked to Sudan’s gold.

The United Arab Emirates is the largest buyer of Sudanese gold and, “according to some reports, is still supplying him with weapons,” de Waal said of Daglo.

Backing the army are Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayipp Erdogan.

These allies, according to de Waal, “are talking peace even while they are arming their favored clients.”

In July, Cairo hosted a summit of Sudan’s neighbors but this had “the aim of blocking IGAD,” the East African bloc whose mediation efforts Burhan accused of bias, the analyst said.

That adds a diplomatic impasse to political stalemate and military quagmire.

“It could last for years,” one Western diplomat warned, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. 
…

A British man was killed amid violent protests in the South African city of Cape Town after the vehicle he was riding in drove into the midst of some of the unrest. 

The 40-year-old man was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle when he was shot in the head, South African police said. Two other passengers and an infant were also in the vehicle. The passengers were taken to a hospital for medical treatment, police said. 

South African police said they opened a murder case over the shooting, which happened last week in the Nyanga township near the Cape Town International Airport and was confirmed by police on Thursday. 

At least five people have been killed in a week of protests in South Africa’s second-largest city and most popular tourist destination. The protests were sparked by a dispute between minibus taxi drivers and city authorities. 

At least 120 people have been arrested, Police Minister Bheki Cele said, after several shootings, armed robberies and the looting and torching of vehicles, including city buses. 

Some protesters dropped large rocks off bridges onto cars driving on Cape Town’s main highway below. 

Protests part of strike

The protests began last Thursday after minibus taxi drivers called a weeklong strike in response to what they said were heavy-handed tactics by police and city authorities in impounding some of their vehicles. The national union that oversees the minibus taxi industry says their drivers are being unfairly targeted by authorities for minor offenses, such as drivers not wearing safety belts. 

City officials say many of the minibus taxis are not roadworthy and are a danger to other motorists. Minibus taxis have a reputation in South Africa for sometimes ignoring road rules amid pressure to quickly deliver passengers and maximize their profits, but they are critical in getting millions to work and school. 

Officials from the minibus taxi union deny their members are instigating the violence. 

Effects on community

The strike has had a negative impact on Cape Town and underlines how South Africa relies on minibus taxis as its primary mode of public transport. 

Nearly half a million children missed school this week in Cape Town and the larger Western Cape province because of the strike, and tens of thousands of teachers and others have been unable to get to work, causing many businesses to close or reduce their services because of a lack of staff. 

Critical services such as hospitals have been affected and there are concerns over diminishing food supplies in grocery stores because of the impact of the violence, which is hampering the movement of delivery trucks. 

Studies estimate that nearly 70% of South African households rely on minibus taxis to get to school or work, a statistic that is also testament to the poor state of traditional modes of public transport like rail and city buses in Africa’s most developed economy. 

The strike was due to end on Thursday but continued after negotiations between Cape Town and the national minibus taxi union SANTACO broke off as the violence flared. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said the protests had abated on Thursday morning and invited SANTACO officials to restart negotiations. 

“The major conflict here is between the taxi association and the city,” Police Minister Cele said. “If those two don’t come to the table, we are not going to be resolving this matter.”
…

At least eight people have been killed and six others injured in two separate explosions in Somalia, residents say.

At least five people were killed, and four others were injured in the town of Jalalaqsi in the Hiran region after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest at a public place.

The al-Shabab military group claimed responsibility for the two attacks.

Two sources in Jalalaqsi, a medical worker and a resident, confirmed the casualties to VOA Somali.

According to the resident, the bomber went to a tea shop but was approached by the security guards of District Commissioner Nur Mohamed Absuge, who was in the area. 

The man then detonated the bomb, killing two security guards and three civilians, the resident said.

That witness account was later confirmed by the deputy district commissioner of Jalalaqsi, Abdisalam Hassan Abukar, who told VOA in a telephone interview, “The target was the district commissioner.” 

Abukar said one of the commissioner’s bodyguards fired a shot at the attacker before the bomb was detonated. The bodyguard is among the dead, he said.

Jalalaqsi is about 200 kilometers north of Mogadishu.

Meanwhile, three soldiers were killed when a roadside explosion hit their vehicle in the Yaqshid district of north Mogadishu.

A security official, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media, told VOA Somali that two civilian bystanders were also injured in the explosion.

Thursday’s attacks come a day after a roadside explosion killed six people and injured 12 others in Lower Shabelle region.

Hussein Hassan Dhaqane contributed to this report.
…

China’s “friendship without limits” with Russia may be tested in Africa, where Beijing’s long-established economic interests are at risk of clashing with the growing footprint of Moscow’s paramilitary Wagner Group.

The most recent point of potential friction is Niger, where leaders of a July 26 military coup are reported by The Associated Press to have reached out to Wagner for help in cementing their hold on power.

That news is unlikely to have been welcomed in Beijing, where a foreign ministry spokesman last week described the deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, as “a friend of China” and said the country hoped for a political solution to the crisis.

The diverging interests extend far beyond Niger as the Wagner Group expands its reach across the Sahel, often exchanging its security services for access to the region’s rich mineral deposits and other resources.

Niger, for example, is among the world’s largest producers of Uranium.

China also has massive investments in the region, and analysts are divided on how the Chinese see the mercenaries. While Wagner might shore up security allowing for the Chinese to do business in dangerous countries, Beijing also values stability and is competing for some of the same resources.

Pros and Cons

“Chinese projects may have benefited from its presence. But in some other cases, China has also suffered from it,” Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, said of Wagner in Africa.

She noted that it has been widely speculated that Wagner was responsible for the deaths of nine Chinese nationals at a mine in the Central African Republic, or CAR, earlier this year. CAR rebel groups and several Western officials told the New York Times after the incident that they believed Wagner or Wagner-backed locals were behind the armed attack.

But last month, Wagner posted on its Telegram channel saying that it had rescued a group of Chinese miners in CAR at the behest of the Chinese Embassy.

Alessandro Arduino, an affiliate lecturer at the Lau China Institute and King’s College London, noted that security is essential to China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative in Africa.

“Wagner’s involvement might provide a brief spell of stability enforced by military means — an inherently delicate and transitory fix for China. In fact, it could potentially transform into a threat, particularly if conflicts arise over mining rights,” he told VOA.

“Within this context, Chinese enterprises engaged in mining could strike interim deals to safeguard their workforce and assets, but the agreements with mercenaries could face a sudden U-turn, and even [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has learned that lesson,” he said.

Darren Olivier, director at conflict research consultancy African Defense Review, told VOA: “It’s difficult to be entirely certain how China feels about Wagner.”

In the long term, he said, it is likely Beijing sees Wagner “as a hindrance to its own ambitions while at the same time preferring that it stays in place in certain high-risk countries for now, so as to keep protecting foreign interests, including China’s, until alternative approaches can be implemented.”

Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, said there’s no risk of China setting up its own version of Wagner.

“China wants to show that its activities are aboveboard, that its activities respect local laws and regulations,” he said. “China is much more sensitive about its reputation in Africa than Russia.”

Nantuyla noted that Chinese security firms operating on the continent offer advisory services, sell equipment and train local security forces but are not as operational as groups like Wagner that are involved in heavy fighting.

“It’s only in a few cases, in Sudan for instance, when they were involved in hostage rescue and stuff like that,” he continued, adding there are some that do anti-piracy maritime escorts.

Analysts see no indications that Wagner mercenaries are pulling out of Africa any time soon. Despite his apparent exile to Belarus, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin — whose aborted mutiny in late June challenged Russia’s military command, rattling the Kremlin — was seen in attendance at Putin’s Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg last month hobnobbing with African officials.
…

Amid the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, aid donors have provided some $1.5 billion in assistance. Nonprofit groups working in the conflict areas say that funding is inadequate, and the shortfall is causing major challenges. Meanwhile, those fleeing Sudan say the humanitarian response in neighboring countries is so bad they are returning home. Reporter Henry Wilkins looks at why this is happening.
…

The Kenyan government is creating shelters for survivors of human trafficking. Authorities say the goal is to help victims recover from their traumatic experiences, rebuild their lives and prosecute human traffickers. For VOA, Victoria Amunga reports from Nairobi. Camera: Jimmy Makhulo
…

Russia’s exit from the Black Sea grain deal is affecting Nigeria’s effort to become self-reliant in wheat production. The country was already facing production challenges because of climate change and insecurity. Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja.
…

A senior United Nations official for Africa called Wednesday for a negotiated solution to the conflict in Sudan, saying there is no alternative. 

“Calls by some to continue the war in order to achieve a military victory will only contribute to destroying the country,” U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, Martha Pobee, told the U.N. Security Council. “The longer this war continues, the greater the risk of fragmentation, and foreign interference, and erosion of sovereignty, and the loss of Sudan’s future, particularly its youth.” 

Pobee expressed particular concern about the ethnic nature of fighting in the Darfur region, especially West Darfur, which has seen brutal ethnically-based violence.   

“This is deeply worrying and could quickly engulf the country in a prolonged ethnic conflict with regional spillover,” she warned. 

Darfur saw wide-scale ethnic violence and crimes against humanity in the early 2000s. The International Criminal Court opened an investigation into the situation in 2005 and charged then-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with genocide. He remains beyond the court’s custody despite having been ousted from power in a military coup in April 2019. 

Pobee said Khartoum State remains the epicenter of the current conflict, with fighting concentrated around key Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) installations, including its headquarters. Other areas of concern include the Kordofan and Blue Nile States. 

Staggering humanitarian needs 

The United Nations says 24 million people in Sudan are in need of humanitarian assistance. It aims to reach about 18 million. So far, aid agencies have provided some form of humanitarian help to nearly 3 million people since fighting broke out between rival military factions in mid-April. 

“Humanitarian organizations are ready and willing to do everything it takes to provide the assistance that the people of Sudan so desperately need,” said Edem Wosornu, director of the Operations and Advocacy Division in the U.N. Office of Humanitarian Affairs. “But they cannot do so without the regular facilitation of access by the parties, and the easing of bureaucratic and administrative impediments.” 

She said the limited aid deliveries are the product of intensive and complex negotiations with the parties. 

A serious lack of funding could also compromise assistance efforts. Of the $2.6 billion the U.N. has appealed to donors for, only about $680 million has been received. Wosornu traveled to Sudan two weeks ago. 

“Everyone had a story of parents, children, colleagues and friends who had perished in this devastating conflict, with fears of more to come as the conflicting parties push on regardless of the consequences,” she said. 

She called for better aid access, noting that the U.N. has been unable to guarantee safe passage for a humanitarian convoy to Khartoum to replenish supplies since late June. The first delivery of food aid to West Darfur was only last week; it entered through Chad. 

Wosornu also appealed to the parties to allow safe passage for fleeing civilians. The United Nations says many people trapped by the violence have been unable — and in some cases actively prevented — from seeking safety elsewhere, exposing them to abuse, theft and harassment. 

Diplomatic drama 

Originally, the Security Council expected to be briefed by the head of the U.N. mission in Sudan, Volker Perthes. But in late May, the Sudanese government declared him persona non grata while he was outside the country. Sudan’s ambassador told reporters it was because of statements Perthes made on news channel Al Jazeera about the government’s inability to maintain the country’s unity and its having lost trust with regional countries. 

Perthes continues to lead the mission, known as UNITAMS, but he has been based elsewhere in the region. 

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters that Khartoum threatened to end the U.N. mission in Sudan if Perthes participated in Wednesday’s meeting. 

“And that was really outrageous, and I did make that point in the Council,” she said. “No country should be able to bully a briefer into silence, let alone the United Nations.” 

Sudan’s ambassador disputed the accusation, saying his government did not bully anyone. 

“When you continuously say that this state has told you they lost confidence in a specific person and he cannot be an honest broker for mediation in Sudan, where all possible success and elements of it were available, but the end was full war again,” Ambassador Al-Harith Mohamed said while explaining his government’s rationale. 

Mohamed added that Sudan is still positively engaging with the U.N. and is glad it is staying in the country.  
…

A former rebel leader and politician in Niger has launched a movement opposing the military junta that seized power two weeks ago — the first sign of organized resistance to army rule in the West African country.

In a statement released Wednesday, Rhissa Ag Boula said his group, the Council of the Resistance for the Republic (CRR), will aim to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who has been in detention at his residence since members of the presidential guard took power on July 26.

Boula is a former minister of tourism and a leader in two Tuareg ethnic insurgencies in Niger, one in the 1990s, the other from 2007 to 2009.

Meanwhile, Bazoum’s party said Wednesday that the president and his family are running out of food and have been living without electricity and running water for a week. An adviser told the Associated Press that the family has only rice and canned goods left to eat.

Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are scheduled to hold a summit Thursday in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, to discuss the Niger crisis.

On Tuesday, Niger’s military junta rejected a proposed diplomatic mission from West African states, the African Union and the United Nations. The junta leaders said a “climate of threatened aggression” made it impossible to hold talks on ending the constitutional crisis in Niger.

Late on Tuesday, ECOWAS said in a statement that it would “continue to deploy all measures in order to restore constitutional order in Niger.” The 15-member bloc, along with Western allies of Niger, have placed a series of financial sanctions against the country since the coup. The financial sanctions could lead to a default on Niger’s debt repayments, Reuters reported.

ECOWAS has threatened to use force to reinstate Bazoum but a deadline on Sunday for Niger’s military to stand down passed without any military intervention.

The U.S. embassy, meanwhile, has warned Americans to avoid the presidential palace and downtown parts of the capital, Niamey, warning of an increased security presence to monitor demonstrations.

The embassy said Wednesday it is aware of reports that cash and some goods are becoming scarce.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson on Tuesday said the United States still has hope for reversing Niger’s coup but was “realistic.”

“We do still have hope, but we are also very realistic,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. “We do have hope that the situation will be reversed, but at the same time, we are making clear, including in direct conversations with junta leaders themselves, what the consequences are for failing to return to constitutional order.”

Late Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that he had spoken to Bazoum “to express our continued efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the current constitutional crisis.”

“The United States reiterates our call for the immediate release of him and his family,” Blinken wrote on his official page.

On Monday, neighboring Mali said it and Burkina Faso would send a delegation of officials to Niger to show support for the military rulers.

Both countries — which have fallen to military coups in recent years — have said military intervention in Niger would be tantamount to a declaration of war.

Meanwhile, Blinken warned against Russia’s Wagner mercenaries taking advantage of instability in Niger, whose neighbor Mali has become a partner of Moscow.

Blinken said in an interview with the BBC released Tuesday that he doubted the Wagner Group plotted the Nigerien military’s July 26 ouster of Bazoum, a Western ally.

“I think what happened and what continues to happen in Niger was not instigated by Russia or by Wagner,” Blinken said, according to a transcript released by the State Department.

“But to the extent that they try to take advantage of it — and we see a repeat of what’s happened in other countries, where they’ve brought nothing but bad things in their wake — that wouldn’t be good,” he said. “Every single place that this group, Wagner Group, has gone, death, destruction and exploitation have followed.”

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
…

At least six people were killed and 12 others were injured when a roadside explosion hit a minibus in southern Somalia on Wednesday morning, the local governor says.

Mohamed Ibrahim Barre, the governor of the Lower Shabelle region, told VOA Somali that the minibus was travelling between Marka and Qoryoley towns. All the victims were civilians, including women and children, Barre said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but Barre blamed the al-Shabab militant group.

Al-Shabab frequently carries out attacks against Somali government and African Union forces in the region. Roadside explosions are some of al-Shabab’s deadliest weapons in the country.

Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia Kiki Gbeho told the U.N. Security Council earlier this year that al-Shabaab continues to pose a serious threat to peace and security in Somalia.

“The year 2022 was the deadliest for civilians since 2017, with 60 percent increase in civilian casualties as compared to 2021,” she said in her statement during a briefing about Somalia.

Between January 2020 to 31 December 2021, the U.N. recorded 109 improvised explosive device attacks by al-Shabab that resulted in 865 civilian casualties (309 killed and 556 injured) according to the report.

The IED attacks include using vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED), suicide attacks using both vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIED) and person-borne improvised explosive devices (PBIED), and victim-operated improvised explosive devices (VOIED), the report said.

Mukhtar Mohamed Atosh contributed to this report.

 
…

U.N. agencies warn health conditions are deteriorating in Sudan and neighboring countries as growing numbers of people flee escalating fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Before the conflict erupted on April 15, 4.5 million Sudanese already were displaced — more than 3.7 million inside Sudan and another 800,000 as refugees in Chad, South Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia.

Since the rival generals went to war, the U.N. refugee agency says nearly an equal number — more than four million people — have become newly displaced.

“The situation inside Sudan, where UNHCR teams are present, is untenable as needs far outweigh what is humanly possible to deliver with available resources,” said William Spindler, UNHCR spokesman.

He said a lack of medicine and a shortage of staff to care for the sick and wounded in White Nile State severely hampered health and nutrition services in all 10 refugee camps, “where over 144,000 newly displaced refugees from Khartoum have arrived since the conflict started.”

He said many families that have been on the move for weeks, with very little food and medicine, were arriving at border entry points and transit centers in neighboring countries in desperate condition.

As a result, he said malnutrition rates have been rising, as have disease outbreaks and related deaths.

“Between 15 May and 17 July, over 300 deaths, mainly among children under five years, were reported due to measles and malnutrition,” he said.

“In addition, severe cholera and malaria cases are expected in the coming months due to flooding from the continuing rains and inadequate sanitation facilities.”

Now in its fourth month of conflict, the World Health Organization says insecurity, as well as limited access to medicine, medical supplies, electricity and water pose a challenge to the delivery of health care.

WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said attacks on health facilities were increasing, preventing the sick and wounded from accessing medical treatment. He said the WHO has verified 53 attacks on health care, causing 11 deaths and 38 injuries, between April 15 and July 31.

“Attacks on health care are a gross violation of international humanitarian law and the right to health. They must stop. Humanitarian workers need assurances of safety and security in order to continue delivering critical humanitarian and health response,” he said.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warns Sudan is facing a deepening food crisis, noting that “20.3 million individuals in Sudan face severe hunger, a figure that has nearly doubled since last year.”

Maximo Torero, FAO chief economist, said a recent U.N. food assessment shows “the level of acute food insecurity in Sudan has increased substantially to more than 11 million people because of the conflict. So, the situation is deteriorating.”

Meanwhile, in a bit of welcome news, the U.N. Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, confirmed Tuesday that the first humanitarian convoy since the start of the conflict had arrived in the East Darfur state after nine days on the road and that “those supplies have been distributed to more than 15,000 people in remote villages in the state.”

Additionally, OCHA said that the FAO had provided 430 tons of agricultural seeds “to be distributed to farmers across the state by the Ministry of Agriculture.”

U.N. agencies agree that the competing generals’ power grab has deepened Sudan’s humanitarian crisis. They warn the lives of many people are hanging by a thread, lives that will be lost without more donor support.

The Federal Ministry of Health says 12,200 people have been injured and 1,205 killed since April 15, figures U.N. agencies believe are greatly underestimated.
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At least 160 medical students who fled their homes and abandoned their studies due to the war in Sudan have found hope and a second chance to complete their education in Rwanda.

With the help of the Rwandan government, the students from the University of Medical Sciences and Technology in Khartoum will complete their studies at the University of Rwanda.

They said their campus in Khartoum has been overrun and turned into a military barracks.

“After the war, we thought about relocating students to different places where they can continue their education and finish their degrees. Fortunately enough, Rwanda was very receptive for the idea of relocating these students,” Dr. Suzan Homeida, a university deputy chairperson told VOA Central Africa Service’s reporters in Kigali.

“We are very thankful and grateful for the government of Rwanda, who opened the door for us and accepted our medical students,” she said.

The 27-year-old university had around 7,000 students across all faculties — 3,000 of them were medical students — before the war broke out in April. One hundred and sixty of the medical students relocated to Rwanda. Homeida said she’s thankful to those who made the relocation to Rwanda possible.

“During war, people flee looking for food and water. But Rwanda has provided a lot more, which is education,” said Homeida. “After the war is over, we’ll expect people to rebuild the country, and I think these medical students will be graduated, and they will go back to Sudan, and they will shoulder the responsibility of building Sudan and building the nation.”

Homeida said students have shown remarkable resilience and determination to overcome the obstacles they have faced. But she also expects a lot from them while in Rwanda.

“My message to the students is that this is a golden opportunity. They must work hard. They must learn the local culture. They must eat the local food. They must speak the language. They must be part of the community to get the most out of that experience,” she said.

Power of education

Despite the challenges, the Sudanese medical students have not lost sight of their goal. They say they are grateful for the opportunity to continue their studies and are working hard to become doctors. Some of them hope to return to Sudan to help rebuild their country’s health care system.

Yaseen Khalfalla is a fourth-year medical student. He said he is grateful for the opportunity to continue pursuing his medical degree, but still devastated by events taking place at home.

“I’d like to take a moment and say rest in peace to those who have lost their lives in our war. And hopefully, God willing, our country has peace again,” Khalfalla told VOA, adding that the relocation is something historic that the Sudanese medical community will never forget.

“It has a greater good message that Africa is one and will always be one.”

But Khalfalla also said the opportunity to relocate carries a unique weight for the small number of students selected to continue their studies abroad, as they’ll be expected to build the future of medicine in Sudan.

“I feel very grateful, but I feel there’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders. There’s a lot of responsibility, because we are the only batch in our country that’s been given an opportunity to resume their studies.”

Khalfalla’s feelings are echoed by fellow fourth-year student Azan Abdel Rahman Giammaa, who has been in Rwanda for only three weeks and had mixed feelings about going.

“At the beginning, I was afraid because I’m coming to a whole new country, I don’t know much about this country,” she said, adding that she expects to adapt. “I do expect to increase my clinical skills … including communication, surgical skills, and hopefully to learn how to expand my knowledge here in this country,” she said.

With only a year of studies remaining, Giammaa had begun to visualize her life after graduation — until war broke out.

“My dreams crashed literally in two hours,” she said. “I was devastated because of the war, and I had to leave the country.”

She, too, is thankful for Rwanda opening its doors.

“I really want to expand my knowledge. I want to really help this country, and hopefully after the war, I can take my knowledge that I gained here and take it back to Sudan to help them too,” she said. “Rwanda could give me this hope.”

Officials said the 160 Sudanese students will be in Rwanda for eight months.

“They have four months to finish their fourth year, and then we will conduct the exam here and straight away they will start their final year,” Homeida said. “The final year is all about practicing in the hospitals, seeing patients and helping in the management of patients with the supervision.”

This story originated in VOA’s Central Africa Service.
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