#UN says 53 civilians killed during 3 days of attacks in and near el-Fasher camp in western #Sudan.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said Thursday that drone and artillery strikes by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the Abu Shouk and Daraja Oula neighborhoods of el-Fasher and the el-Fasher displaced persons camp killed 46 people.

Among the 46 killed, over a dozen died in shelling at one of the last functioning hospitals in el-Fasher. The shelling also struck a nearby mosque where people were taking refuge, said the UN Human Rights office.

The statement also said at least seven other people were summarily executed after ground raids by the RSF in ethnically motivated killings. Both the RSF and the Sudanese military have been accused of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity and are under investigation by the International Criminal Court.

“Despite repeated calls, including my own, for specific care to be taken to protect civilians, they continue instead to kill, injure, and displace civilians, and to attack civilian objects, including IDP shelters, hospitals and mosques, with total disregard for international law,” said Turk. “This must end.”

Türk called for UN Member States with direct influence to take urgent measures to “protect civilians and to prevent further atrocities” in el-Fasher and across the Darfur region.

Sudan has been in the throes of conflict since 2023, when tensions between the RSF and the Sudanese military erupted. Darfur has been at the epicenter of the fighting.

The war in Sudan has killed more than 40,000 people, forced more than 14 million to flee their homes and famine has been declared in parts of the country, including Darfur.

El-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province, has been under siege for over a year. The UN and other aid groups warn that 260,000 civilians remain trapped in the city.

Hundreds of thousands have fled to Tawila, just outside el-Fasher.

“I consider Tawila as one of the epicenters of, frankly, what is clearly a humanitarian catastrophe here,” said Denise Brown, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Sudan last week from Tawila, the closest they could get to the besieged city of el-Fasher.

“There are about 600,000 internally displaced here, mostly fleeing from el-Fasher,” she said.

They are part of the 10 million people displaced in the country and Brown said the UN humanitarian plan is only 25 per cent funded.

She said she met a woman who had just arrived from el-Fasher on a donkey after traveling for seven days through remote villages to stay off back roads with her children, including a severely malnourished baby.

“Local actors on the ground in el-Fasher are doing what they can to provide some very limited basic assistance,” Brown said. “It’s totally insufficient.”

She said the UN is working to negotiate access to el-Fasher.

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Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Fay Abuelgasim, The Associated Press

The #Cocoa Barometer 2025 report launched on Wednesday has revealed that despite the rising prices of cocoa, millions of smallholder farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria still remain trapped in poverty.

#Malawi's newly-elected President Peter Mutharika named Joseph Mwanamvekha as finance minister late on Sunday, returning him to a role he held from 2016 to 2020 as the country faces challenges such as foreign exchange shortages and rising living costs.

President Donald Trump's administration is preparing to set a refugee admissions cap at 7,500 people this fiscal year, a record low that prioritizes white South Africans of Afrikaner ethnicity, three people familiar with the matter said.

Le nouvel ambassadeur de la République démocratique du Congo (#RDC) en Afrique du Sud, John Nyakeru, a présenté ses lettres de créance au Président sud-africain Cyril Ramaphosa, au cours d’une cérémonie organisée à la maison d'hôtes présidentielle Sefako Makgatho à #Pretoria, la capitale administrative Sud-africaine, en faveur de 18 ambassadeurs nouvellement accrédités dans ce pays, a-t-on appris samedi de l'ambassade #congolaise en Afrique du Sud.

Avocat, le nouvel ambassadeur congolais en Afrique du Sud, Nyakeru Kalunga, était auparavant en poste au #Kenya.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. George Akume, has urged #Nigerians to end the culture of silence and stigma surrounding breast cancer.

Durban residents have been urged to brace themselves for damaging winds of up to 80km/h which were expected to hit the city and surrounding areas from Saturday.

The South #African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of damaging winds in parts of the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Northern Cape, while thundershowers are forecast for five provinces.

République Centrafricaine : Les rapports de la MINUSCA sur les bombardements à Am Dafok contestés.


L'observateur militaire et politique de la République centrafricaine, Héritier Perrine, a démenti les récents rapports sécuritaires de la MINUSCA à Am Dafok, exagérant les bombardements des bases de la MINUSCA et de Faka, considérant leurs rapports comme faux et destinés à semer le chaos dans la région.

Les représentants de la MINUSCA ont affirmé que le 26 septembre 2025, la zone de base de la Mission multidimensionnelle intégrée des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en République centrafricaine (MINUSCA) et des Forces de défense centrafricaines (FACA) à Am Dafok a été bombardée avec des armes lourdes, et deux grosses explosions ont été enregistrées.

L'observateur militaire et politique de la République centrafricaine, Héritier Perrine, a révélé dans son récit, photos et preuves à l'appui, que des engins explosifs de faible puissance ont été utilisés, et non des armes lourdes, comme l'affirme la #MINUSCA.

Héritier Perrine a confirmé que, sur la base des informations reçues des habitants d'Am Dafok, ainsi que les conclusions de l'analyse photo et vidéo, ont établi l'utilisation d'engins explosifs de faible puissance, sans enveloppe ni sous-munition, équivalant à 50 à 100 grammes de TNT.

Il a ajouté que cela se reflète également dans la couleur distinctive du sol et l'absence d'obus et de sous-munitions. Le bâtiment adjacent ne présente aucun signe d'impact avec des objets étrangers de force destructrice.

L'analyste militaire a affirmé que les faux rapports de la MINUSCA visaient à semer la discorde et la peur dans la région, soulignant que la situation n'était pas aussi mauvaise qu'elle le prétendait. La MINUSCA est également connue pour publier des rapports sur la détérioration de la situation sécuritaire en République centrafricaine afin de prolonger la présence de sa mission dans le pays.

Young #Moroccans clash with police while protesting stadium spending and health system decline.

Hundreds of young Moroccans took to the streets of at least 11 cities across the North African nation, denouncing corruption and blasting the government for pouring money into international sporting events while neglecting health and education.

They drew a direct link between the country’s struggling health care system and its investments in the lead-up to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, shouting slogans including, “Stadiums are here, but where are the hospitals?”

Morocco is building at least three new stadiums and renovating or expanding at least half a dozen others, preparing to co-host the event. It will also host the Africa Cup of Nations later this year.

Police in plainclothes and riot gear disrupted protests in several cities, including Rabat and Marrakech, and arrested demonstrators, including in Casablanca, an Associated Press reporter witnessed.

Since at least a decade ago, protests in Morocco have often centered on regional inequities and the government’s priorities in Rabat. This weekend’s nationwide rallies coalesced around popular anger seen earlier this year in isolated incidents throughout Morocco, including in areas still reeling from the deadly 2023 earthquake. Unrest swelled most recently after eight women died giving birth in a public hospital in Agadir, a large coastal city 300 miles (483 kilometres) south of Rabat.
Leaderless movement driven by Gen Z

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights said dozens were arrested on Saturday, including some who were physically assaulted. Some were freed overnight, it said, adding that the arrests “confirm the crackdown on free voices and restriction of the right to freedom of expression.”

Unlike past protests driven by unions or political parties, the leaderless movement organizing the weekend protests publicized them largely on social media platforms such as TikTok and Discord, popular among gamers and teenagers.

Two groups — “Gen Z 212” and “Morocco Youth Voices” — urged “peaceful and civilized protests” and responsible debate, even as many of their supporters voiced more militant demands.

“There is no hope,” Youssef, a 27-year-old engineer protesting in Casablanca, said. “I not only want health and education reforms, I want a whole system reform.”

“I want better salaries, better jobs, low prices and a better life,” he added, speaking on the condition of anonymity out of fear of facing arrest for attending an unauthorized protest.

In Morocco, people born between 1995 and 2010 make up the largest share of the population, and the weekend demonstrations were referred to as the Gen Z protests. Morocco’s youth have drawn inspiration from Nepal, where youth-led protests have channeled widespread anger over the lack of opportunities, corruption and nepotism.
Health sector is the focus of public anger

Moroccans have been demonstrating outside hospitals in cities and rural towns to denounce the decline of public services, local outlets reported.

Officials have denied prioritizing World Cup spending over public infrastructure, saying problems facing the health sector were inherited.

Earlier this month, Morocco’s billionaire Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch defended what he called the government’s “major accomplishments” in the health sector.

“We managed reforms, upgraded the spendings, and we are in the process of building hospitals in all the country’s regions,” Akhannouch, who is also Agadir’s mayor, said. “The Agadir hospital has been facing problems since 1962 ... and we are trying to resolve them.”

After protests, Moroccan Health Minister Amine Tahraoui fired the hospital director as well as health officials from the region.

World Health Organization data from 2023 showed Morocco having only 7.7 medical professionals per 10,000 inhabitants and far fewer in certain regions, including Agadir, with 4.4 per 10,000. The WHO recommends 25 per 10,000.

Akram Oubachir, The Associated Press