Peace Talks Between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda Break Down

No Quarter Democratic Republic of the Congo / Rwanda Peace talks between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) collapsed this week, further derailing efforts to end the protracted conflict in the eastern DRC, and leaving the region’s escalating humanitarian crisis unresolved, Al Jazeera reported. On Sunday, Angola – which mediated the talks – announced that the summit between DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame would not take place in the Angolan capital Luanda. While Angolan officials did not elaborate on why the meeting was canceled, the DRC presidency blamed Rwanda’s refusal to participate in the meeting as the reason for the breakdown. The government in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, reportedly demanded direct talks between the DRC government and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, a largely ethnic Tutsi group that has seized sizeable territory in resource-rich eastern Congo since 2021. However, the DRC maintains that the M23 is a proxy for Rwandan military forces and has refused direct negotiations without Rwanda’s withdrawal. Sunday’s talks, mediated by Angolan President João Lourenço under the African Union’s auspices, had been seen as a critical opportunity to broker peace after years of conflict. Their collapse comes after months of fragile ceasefires and renewed fighting. A truce brokered by Angola in August briefly stabilized the frontline, but clashes reignited in October. Last week, the DRC military accused M23 rebels of killing 12 civilians in North Kivu province. The armed group denied the allegation, calling it government propaganda. M23 is one of about 100 other armed factions that have contributed to decades of violence in the eastern DRC, displacing over seven million people, according to Africanews. Rwanda has long denied supporting M23 but admitted in February to deploying troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, citing security threats from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – a militia formed by ethnic Hutus involved in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Recent negotiations outlined plans for a phased withdrawal of Rwandan forces and neutralization of the FDLR, but no significant progress has been made, according to Agence France-Presse. Meanwhile, international observers, including the United States, continue to express grave concern over the ceasefire violations. Share this story

Three Countries Withdraw From West Africa Trade Bloc

A Tale of Two Blocs West Africa West African leaders approved the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) next month, but offered a six-month grace period until July 2025 in a final bid to prevent the bloc’s fragmentation and preserve regional unity, the BBC reported. During a Sunday meeting in Nigeria, ECOWAS leaders described the decision as “disheartening” but emphasized ongoing mediation efforts led by Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Togo’s Faure Gnassingbé. However, the three countries’ military juntas have shown little inclination to reverse course, with Niger’s leaders calling their decision “irreversible.” The withdrawal will be effective on Jan. 29, but ECOWAS officials noted that the trio can be readmitted should they decide to rejoin the community by July 29. The decision follows the announcement by the three junta-led Sahel nations earlier this year to leave the 49-year-old bloc after refusing ECOWAS demands to restore civilian rule following coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger between 2020 and 2023. The bloc suspended their memberships, imposed sanctions and even threatened military intervention following Niger’s coup last year. In response, the three Sahel nations announced their withdrawal and recently formed their own bloc, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Observers described the departure as a major blow to ECOWAS, which will lose 76 million people and over half its geographical area, undermining efforts to boost regional economic and security cooperation, Bloomberg added. The Sahel states have also pivoted toward alliances with Russia, Iran, and Turkey, accusing ECOWAS of being overly aligned with Western powers. Established in 1975, the regional bloc promotes free movement of goods and people among its members. Analysts cautioned that the withdrawal of the three landlocked Sahel nations will be a challenge for trade and integration because they are heavily reliant on coastal ports in countries such as Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Senegal. Even so, the AES bloc noted that the rights of ECOWAS citizens to “enter, circulate, reside, establish and leave the territory” of the new bloc would be maintained, which signals a willingness to maintain good relations despite their withdrawal.

Cape Town Steak House Named One Of The Top Ten In THe World

Cape Town restaurant makes global list of the 10 best steaks Cape Town has once again earned international acclaim in the food and drink scene, this time for its outstanding steak. By Nick Pawson 11-12-24 15:43 in Featured Cape Town steak While Cape Town is often celebrated for its seafood offerings, its steakhouses are equally impressive. Image: Pixabay Renowned for its natural beauty and diverse cuisine, the Mother City has added another feather to its cap, earning recognition for serving one of the world’s finest steaks. Interestingly, it wasn’t one of the city’s red-meat institutions like Nelson’s Eye, Hussar Grill, Belthazar nor Butcher Shop & Grill. Coming in at sixth place on Time Out’s list of the world’s best steaks is none other than IRON Steak and Bar. The Bree Street restaurant is known for its use of the Spanish Vulcano Grez grill—which delivers a perfectly charred and smoky flavour to its steaks. “IRON Steak and Bar has stood out for its unique blend of modern décor and a traditional approach to cooking exceptional cuts of meat,” writes a review. An affordable steakhouse experience The restaurant’s flat iron steak is its signature. For budget-conscious eaters, IRON’s Summer Special includes beef-dripping popcorn to start, a 200g grass-fed steak & salad rounded off with salted caramel ice cream—all for just R185. For those willing to fork out a bit more, the Tomahawk is a showstopper (a bone-in rib-eye steak). IRON also offers standout sides, including truffled leek mac-and-cheese and Wagyu dripping fries. Time Out’s prestigious list of the Top 10 steaks in the world is as follows: (1) El Toro, Agadir, Morocco (2) Klaw, Miami (3) Adega Solar Minhoto, Lisbon (4) La Cabrera, Buenos Aires (5) Clover Grill, Paris (6) IRON, Cape Town (7) Alfie’s, Sydney (8) Fireside, Hong Kong (9) Lana, Madrid (10) Le Relais de Venise l’Entrecôte, London Time Out is known for its curated city guides and rankings, offering recommendations on food, entertainment, culture, and travel. It provides trusted insights for locals and tourists, highlighting the best experiences in cities worldwide. |

Major Social Unrest In Mocambique

Singing the Ballot Blues Mozambique More than 30 people have been killed in Mozambique in one week, raising the death toll to 110 in the government’s bloody crackdown on protestors following a disputed election in October, the Associated Press reported. Over the past two months, thousands of people in the southern African nation have taken to the streets of the capital Maputo, and elsewhere in protests against the governing Frelimo party, which has run the country since independence from Portugal in 1975. Initially peaceful, the protests turned violent after police fired into the crowds. As a result, angry demonstrators have attacked police stations, courthouses, and Frelimo party offices, and even blocked the main border crossing with South Africa. The protestors believe that the elections were rigged. However, following the vote on Oct. 9, the electoral commission said the Frelimo party candidate, Daniel Chapo, won 71 percent of the vote. International observers disagree, saying the ballot was marred by irregularities, according to the Economist. The independent candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, who won only 20 percent of the vote, has claimed that he is the true winner and has called for a revolution. Mondlane, a leaning populist part-time pastor, has garnered support from young people in cities, influencing protests from exile abroad through Facebook broadcasts. Now, countries around the world are concerned about the ongoing unrest and violence: Amnesty International reported that police have shot at least 329 people since the eruption of the protests, killing 110, including children and bystanders, and arrested more than 3,500 people arbitrarily. Tensions rose when two prominent opposition officials were fatally shot in their car by unknown gunmen on Oct. 18, escalating the protests. Meanwhile, Chapo is due to be inaugurated on Jan.15, but the election results have not been validated by the Constitutional Council due to legal challenges from the opposition. The protests are expected to escalate later this month.

Kenya: Stop Violence Against Women

The Right to Live Kenya Police in Kenya scuffled with protesters in demonstrations across the country against gender-based violence and femicide Tuesday, following national outrage over a string of brutal killings of women in recent months, the Associated Press reported. In Nairobi, thousands of angry protestors chanting, “Stop femicide” and “Women have rights, too,” flooded the streets, demanding that the Kenyan government take action to stop the killings as police threw tear gas canisters at them and tried to disperse the protests. At least three activists, including the executive director of Amnesty International in Kenya, were detained by police, while dozens reported injuries. The protests are a result of outrage over a spate of killings of women, with police reporting the murders of 97 women from August to October this year, most of them by their male partners. Although gender-based violence has long been endemic in Kenya, this year saw some high-profile killings and a spike in the number of women murdered, causing nationwide anger and calls to action. In July, bags containing body parts of women believed to be murdered by a serial killer were discovered in a dump in Nairobi. The rise in killings in the country is linked to economic disparities and ingrained patriarchal attitudes, researchers say. This problem is not unique to Kenya but reflects a wider problem across the continent. A United Nations report published in November said Africa recorded the highest rate of partner-related femicide in 2023, estimated to be more than 21,000 murders. After months of public criticism, Kenya’s President William Ruto acknowledged last month that femicide was “a pressing and deeply troubling issue.” After meeting with elected female leaders, he committed about $770,000 to a campaign to protect and support victims. Activists and human rights groups have said that that figure is not enough, calling on Ruto to declare femicide a national crisis and allocate more funds. They have also called on parliament to enact a law imposing harsher penalties on perpetrators of gender-motivated killings. Meanwhile, protesters were outraged at the handling of demonstrations by police. Activist Mwikali Mueni said that during the demonstration she suffered a neck injury, inflicted by police officers. “It is very sad that I was injured while championing for women not to be injured or killed,” she told the AP. “If the president is serious about ending femicide, let him start by taking action on the officers who have brutalized us today.” Share this story

Mali Recently Launched Attacks Against Ethnic Tuareg Rebels

Simply Replacable Mali Mali recently launched drone attacks against ethnic Tuareg rebel leaders in the town of Tin Zaouatine near the border with Algeria, killing eight people. The incident, say analysts, could be a turning point in the Malian government’s counterinsurgency campaign against the Azawad Liberation Front, an organization whose founders, mostly ethnic Tuaregs, have been seeking an independent state in northern Mali since 2012, reported Africanews. The Tuaregs and their allies have never lost so many important members of their group in a single incident, noted Devdiscourse. Still, some say it’s only one battle, not the wider war against insurgents who have steadily made gains over the past few years. That involves various groups fighting under the banner of the Azawad Liberation Front against Malian forces now bolstered with Russia’s Africa Corps, the new name of the mercenary Wagner Group, and inflicted heavy losses, reported the Arab Weekly. The Russian mercenaries replaced France and the United Nations peacekeepers after they were asked to leave last year. At the same time, highlighting the instability running throughout the Sahel region, Malian officials have been fighting Islamic jihadists like the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM). In September, the JNIM struck a gendarmerie school in the capital of Bamako and a military installation camp at the international airport on the outskirts of the city, killing more than 70 people and injuring at least 200. That attack sent shockwaves across the capital, which has been relatively free from security concerns until that point, and undermined the West African country’s ruling military junta, which has touted itself as the purveyor of security. Meanwhile, the leader of the junta, Col. Assimi Goïta, has also assumed more political control since coming to power in a coup in 2021 that deposed the leader of another coup from the year before. As the BBC explained, Goïta recently sacked his prime minister, Choguel Kokalla Maiga, after Maiga questioned why the junta had not fulfilled its pledge of holding democratic elections this year. “The transition … has been postponed indefinitely, unilaterally, without debate,” said Maiga. “This is not normal in a government.” Goïta also recently appointed himself to the highest rank possible in the army, a sign that he was not likely to hand power over to civilian leaders anytime soon. And he has cracked down on freedoms: Dozens of the junta’s critics have disappeared, political parties have been dissolved and the media silenced, Human Rights Watch wrote. Goïta is fighting the global elite, too. After enacting a law that gives Mali a greater share of revenues from its gold mines, a key sector, in November the country’s authorities arrested four senior employees of a Canadian mining company, Barrick Gold, to pressure companies to pay millions in additional taxes. It also issued a warrant for its CEO. That followed the arrest of the CEO of Australian company Resolute Mining and two employees in Bamako over a tax dispute, only being released after the company paid $80 million to Malian authorities and promised to pay a further $80 million in the coming months. As the Africa Report wrote, Goïta and officials in Bamako will likely not pull Barrick Gold’s permits. They need the gold industry to fuel their fight against rebels and Islamic terrorists while addressing their people’s basic needs. “Mali is likely to continue to use detentions, arrests, and even charges against mining executives to compel foreign-owned companies to comply with new regulations and generate short-term funds,” Beverly Ochieng, an analyst at the Control Risks Group consulting firm, told the Associated Press. Essentially, it needs the money. Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world, with high poverty rates: Less than half of the population has access to electricity or clean drinking water and more than two million children do not attend school. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced by terror groups operating outside of the capital. The junta knows it can be deposed at any time. After all, Mali has seen three coups in the past 12 years. And already the cracks are appearing, say observers. “Mali’s junta has spread the image of a strong government adept at protecting its people. That image has come crashing down with the insurgent attack on Bamako,” World Politics Review wrote. “Should Goïta be perceived by the population of Bamako to be failing, his days will be numbered, most likely to be replaced by another young man in military fatigues waiting to seize his opportunity to try to solve the multitude of problems affecting the country.” Share this story

Ghana: The Power Of Disloyalty

The Power of Disloyalty Ghana More than 15,000 displaced people from Burkina Faso have crossed the porous, 372-mile border with Ghana recently to escape al Qaeda and Islamic State-affiliated fighters. The militants are thought to have entered northern Ghana, too, stoking existing civil strife between ethnic communities and participating in attacks and violence that have killed dozens of people. In response, Ghanaian officials have imposed a curfew in the West African coastal country’s north, reported Foreign Policy magazine. They are trying to regain the peace and stability that had long made the country a model in the region. That may be changing, however. Currently, militant insurgents control almost half of Burkina Faso, parts of central and northern Mali, and territory along Niger’s borders with the two countries. Over the past two years, the insurgents have slowly expanded their campaign south from the Sahel into the northern parts of the region’s coastal states and now threaten Ghana. This threat and the ensuing instability is now a major issue for voters as they go to the polls Dec. 7 to elect a new president. Lead contenders seeking to succeed incumbent President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is finishing up his second and final term because of term limits, are Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia and former President John Mahama. Mahama, 66, who is now leading in the polls, has vowed to improve the country’s economy to bring about renewed stability, GhanaWeb reported. He also told Reuters that he would renegotiate Ghana’s $3 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which involved a bailout and debt restructuring, but which was painful for the poor and middle class. When he was president from 2012 to 2017, Mahama invested in infrastructure but also oversaw power shortages and political corruption scandals among his allies. Now, his plans would likely increase the country’s budget and therefore its dependence on the IMF, more than his opponent’s economic agenda, wrote the Africa Report. Bawumia is an Oxford University-educated central banker who has pledged to expand Ghana’s tech sector, the BBC reported. He is also a member of the Muslim minority community instead of hailing from the dominant Akan-speaking ethnic group. Bawumia’s ruling New Patriotic Party and Mahama’s opposition National Democratic Congress have run Ghana since the end of military rule in 1993. As World Politics Review explained, both parties have often used public funds to “cultivate clientelist networks for partisan benefit” while stoking local inter-ethnic strife to gain advantages over the years, a risky strategy now that jihadists are part of the equation in the country. “Both main political parties have deployed inflammatory rhetoric that has heightened political polarization, raising risks of political violence ahead of, and especially on and after, election day,” noted analytical group, Stratfor. Meanwhile, there is a spoiler in the form of wealthy entrepreneur, Nana Kwame Bediako, who hopes to disrupt the campaign with his unorthodox style – he placed himself on billboards around the country wearing a full mask so voters had little idea of who he was initially, the Guardian reported. Now, with a flashy social media campaign, he’s appealing to the youth vote in a land where the median age is 21. Meanwhile, unlike past elections, these polarized voting blocs might not line up as they usually do to support whichever party won their party leaders’ favor, however, noted the Conversation. More Ghanaians are becoming swing voters who want to see results rather than political handouts or hear divisive talk. The people might be the country’s best path to renewed stability, the magazine added. “The rising share of swing voters in the country’s elections may be good for the country,” it wrote. “It creates uncertainty in electoral outcomes, which should encourage more political accountability and responsiveness to voters’ needs.” Share this story