Author: Sitrep Africa

Morocco has declared 31 October a national holiday to mark the day the UN Security Council voted in favour of a resolution backing its plan for the disputed Western Sahara region. Known as Unity Day, the holiday will celebrate Morocco’s “national unity and territorial integrity,” according to a statement from the royal palace. On Friday, the UN approved a resolution describing genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the “most feasible solution” to the 50-year-old conflict over the disputed territory. Morocco already controls much of Western Sahara, though part of it remains under the control of the Polisario Front, an armed…

Two separate boat accidents this week in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have killed at least 193 people and left dozens missing, authorities and state media said. The accidents happened on Wednesday and Thursday, about 150km (93 miles) apart in the Equateur province. One boat with nearly 500 passengers caught fire and capsized on Thursday evening along the Congo River in the province’s Lukolela territory, killing 107 people, DRC’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report. The report said 209 survivors were rescued following the accident, involving a whaleboat near the village of Malange in Lukolela territory.…

Today, Monday, numerous private depots in Nigeria, especially in Lagos, were notably empty as the Dangote Refinery began distributing petrol on a large scale to retail outlets across 12 Nigerian states. Marketers and retailers, who have traditionally relied on private depot supply chains, have now rerouted their trucks to Dangote’s facilities due to the significant price benefits they offer, which are hard to overlook. At the refinery’s loading area, petrol was priced at ₦820 per litre, which is a noticeable deviation from the existing depot prices in Lagos. On Friday, WOSBAB and AITEO set their prices at ₦836, while MENJ…

Jihadists have set up roadblocks in the south and west of landlocked Mali near the borders with Senegal and Mauritania, where vital goods are imported daily. Mali has battled a security crisis for over a decade, fuelled by violence by groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) as well as local criminal gangs, which is compounded by a severe economic downturn. Since early September, jihadists have imposed intermittent roadblocks on major routes leading to the capital, disrupting the movement of goods and people near Bamako and in the west. Several witnesses told AFP that traffic had been brought…

The British government has barred Israel Defense Forces officers from attending one of the kingdom’s most prestigious military academies, citing the Israeli government’s escalation of the conflict in the Gaza Strip. IDF officers will not be invited to attend the Royal College of Defense Studies, the British government confirmed to The Telegraph on Sunday. There “must be a diplomatic solution to end this war now, with an immediate ceasefire, the return of hostages, and a surge in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” it said. Founded in 1927 by Winston Churchill as the Imperial Defense College, the Royal College…

A new report suggests that Niger, Burkina Faso – and Europe can learn a lot from Wagner’s failure in Mali. Last month The Sentry, a United States (US) organisation that exposes ‘multinational predatory networks that benefit from violent conflict, repression, and kleptocracy’, issued a report asserting that Wagner had failed in Mali. The report’s conclusions made waves in Africa and beyond – especially Europe. The notorious Russian mercenary/private security company’s entry into Mali in 2022/23 was regarded with alarm, including by pro-Western African states. Wagner’s arrival was seen in the West as the spearhead of Russia’s determined strategy to displace…

A pilot and co-pilot have tested positive for alcohol after the plane they were operating veered off the runway when landing in Nigeria. The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) screened the pair after the accident in July, at the Port Harcourt International Airport. In addition, a crew member tested positive for cannabis. All 103 people on board the Boeing 737 at the time of the incident were unharmed. Air Peace, the company that operated the flight, said the 64-year-old pilot has been sacked for failing to adhere to safety regulations, while the co-pilot has since returned to his role. In…

Nepal’s former Chief Justice Sushila Karki has been named the country’s interim prime minister following deadly protests this week that killed at least 51 people, injured more than 1,300, and led to the escape of thousands of prisoners. On Friday, President Ramchandra Poudel’s office announced the appointment of Karki, the country’s first female head of government. The 73-year-old, the only woman to have served as chief justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court, was sworn in late Friday by Poudel at the presidential residence in a ceremony that aired on state-run television. Police spokesperson Binod Ghimire said on Friday that those killed…

Ghana has become the latest country to accept people deported from the US as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. President John Mahama said nationals from various West African countries would now be taken in following a bilateral agreement with the US. He said 14 had already arrived. He cited the regional bloc Ecowas’s free movement protocol that allows citizens of member states to enter and reside in other West African countries without a visa for up to 90 days. Last month, the US deported seven migrants to Rwanda while in July, five were sent to Eswatini…

South Africa’s highest court has ruled that husbands can take the surname of their wives, overturning a law that barred them from doing so. In a victory for two couples who brought the case, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law was a “colonial import” that amounted to gender-based discrimination. Henry van der Merwe was denied the right to take the surname of his wife Jana Jordaan, while Andreas Nicolas Bornman could not hyphenate his surname to include Donnelly, the surname of his wife, Jess Donnelly-Bornman, the public broadcaster, SABC, reports. Parliament will now have to amend the Births and…