WILSON MCMAKIN

Congo national park associated with Prince Harry acknowledges human rights abuses
A national park associated with Prince Harry in the Republic of the Congo has acknowledged that its guards committed human rights abuses against Indigenous peoples who were displaced when the park was constructed.
 
M23 rebels patrol the streets of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
Congo’s government and rebels say they are working toward a truce in the east
A joint statement from Congo’s government and a coalition of insurgents in the country’s east including the M23 rebels says the two sides have agreed to work toward a truce following peace talks in Qatar.
 
Police rescue 33 West Africans from a human trafficking scam in Ivory Coast
The international police agency Interpol says that police raids have rescued 33 West Africans from a human trafficking ring in Ivory Coast that lured people into paying fees and providing coerced labor by promising them jobs in Canada.
 
From left, Niger Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare, Mali's Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traore attend a joint news conference following a meeting of Russian foreign Minister with foreign Ministers of the Confederation of Sahel States in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, Pool)
Drone downing sparks diplomatic fallout between Algeria and Sahel countries
Relations between Algeria and the military alliance of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have plunged to historic lows as the two sides curtail diplomatic ties in a spat over a downed drone last week.
 
Moussa "Dadis" Camara speaks upon his arrival from exile in Conakry, Guinea, Dec. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Diallo Abdoul Aziz, File)
Guinea’s former dictator pardoned over the 2009 stadium massacre
Guinea’s ruling junta has pardoned the country’s former dictator, Moussa “Dadis” Camara, who was serving a 20-prison sentence for the 2009 stadium massacre by the military. A decree pardoning Camara was read on state television.
 
Burkina Faso junta arrested 3 journalists in latest media crackdown, rights group says
Burkina Faso’s ruling military junta has arrested three prominent journalists, escalating its crackdown on media freedom in the West African country, according to a Human Rights Watch.
 
Islamic militants kill 12 Cameroonian soldiers in an attack near Lake Chad
At least 12 Cameroonian soldiers have been killed in an attack by Islamic militants on the border with Nigeria. The attack on Monday night also left over a dozen soldiers wounded and occurred in the Lake Chad area near the town of Wulgo.
 
In this video frame grab, people assist victims after two explosions hit a meeting of M23 rebel group leaders and residents in Bukavu, eastern Congo, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)
Angola to act as mediator in peace talks between Congo and M23 rebels
Angola has announced plans to act as a mediator in the conflict between Congo and the Rwandan-backed rebel group M23. The president of Congo was in Angola to discuss a potential peace process.
 
Somali internally-displaced persons (IDP) children look out from family's makeshift homes in Maslah camp on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
USAID cuts are already hitting countries around the world. Here are 20 projects that have closed
Countries around the world already are feeling the impact of the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate more than 90% of foreign aid contracts and cut some $60 billion in funding.
 
9 killed, hundreds of homes burned down in Central African Republic attack
Local officials in Central African Republic say that nine people have been killed and more than 700 houses burned down. Rebels with self-defense militia 3R said they attacked the village of Nzoroh on Tuesday.
 
A young man smokes Kush, a derivative of cannabis mixed with synthetic drugs like fentanyl and tramadol and chemicals like formaldehyde, at a hideout in Freetown, Sierra Leone, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu, File)
The main ingredients in Sierra Leone’s kush are synthetic opioids and cannabinoids, report finds
A new report released by an anti-transnational crime group has identified the core chemical components of kush, a synthetic drug that has swept through Sierra Leone and the region in the past few years.
 
Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo Judith Suminwa talks to journalists during a press conference organized by the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU), at a side event of the High-Level Segment of the 58th session of the Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)
More pressure on Rwanda as Congo says rebel uprising has killed over 7,000 people this year
Congo says over 7,000 people have died this year as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have captured unprecedented amounts of territory in its mineral-rich eastern region.
 
People watch the first boat leaving Bukavu heading to Goma on Lake Kivu since the eastern Congo city was taken by M23 rebels Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)
Residents say Rwanda-backed rebels are advancing on a third city in eastern Congo
Residents say Rwanda-backed rebels appear to be heading toward a third major city in eastern Congo. International pressure rose Tuesday over the M23’s expansion in the mineral-rich region that’s critical for global technology.
 
3 Chinese citizens sentenced to 7 years in prison for illegal mining in Congo
Three Chinese citizens have been sentenced to 7 years in prison and ordered to pay $600,000 in fines for illegally exploiting mineral resources in Congo, according to court filings.
 
Sierra Leone declares emergency after confirming 2nd mpox case in 4 days
Sierra Leone has declared a state of emergency after reporting its second case of mpox in less than four days. Neither case had known recent contact with infected animals or other sick individuals, the health ministry said.
 
Barrick Gold Corporation President and CEO Mark Bristow visits the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange after ringing the opening bell, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Mali seizes 3 tons of gold from Canadian company Barrick amid dispute over share of revenue
Mali’s military government has started seizing gold stocks of the Canadian mining company Barrick as part of a legal battle over the share of revenue owed to the West African state, according to an internal Barrick letter seen by The Associated Press.
 
At least 40 farmers killed by Boko Haram militants in northeast Nigeria, an official says
A Nigerian official says at least 40 farmers were killed by militants in a weekend attack in northeastern Borno state.
 
Former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke answers a question following a speech at the IHS CERAWeek, in Houston, March 4, 2014. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan, File)
US to return $52.8 million in seized assets linked to Nigeria’s former oil minister
The United States will return $52.88 million in seized assets to Nigeria as part of a yearslong corruption probe against former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke and associates.
 
Militants inflict heavy losses on Benin’s armed forces in an attack in the north
Benin’s military says that militants inflicted heavy losses on the country’s armed forces during an attack this week on a fortified military post in the north. Col.
 
M23 rebels stand with their weapons in Kibumba, in the eastern of Democratic Republic of Congo, Dec. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)
Congo bans Al Jazeera over its interview with a key rebel leader and threatens journalists
Congo has banned Al Jazeera satellite news network over its interview with the leader of a violent rebel group that has seized territory in the country’s east in recent days.
 
Congo will execute more than 170 people convicted of armed robbery, official says
Congolese authorities say more than 170 inmates on death row were flown from the capital to a high-security prison in the north where they will be executed.
 
Airstrike on insurgents mistakenly killed 10 civilians, Nigerian military says
Nigeria’s military says an airstrike targeting an armed group in northwestern Nigeria mistakenly killed at least 10 civilians.
 
Senegal's then-opposition leader Ousmane Sonko adresses supporters in Dakar, Senegal, Thursday, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Sylvain Cherkaoui, File)
Senegal says it’s closing ‘all foreign military bases,’ a move aimed at French troops in the country
Senegal’s prime minister has announced the closure of “all foreign military bases” in the country, a statement essentially aimed at France, the African nation’s former colonial ruler.
 
38 people are dead and over 100 missing in Congo after a ferry capsizes on the Busira River
Officials say 38 people are confirmed dead, and over 100 missing in Congo after an overloaded ferry — full of people returning home for Christmas — capsized. Twenty people are confirmed to have been rescued so far.
 
Hauwa Bwami's grandson Suleiman eats an orange-fleshed sweet potato, harvest from a farm inside their compound in Kaltungo Poshereng Nigeria, Sunday, June 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)
UN food agency says 40 million people are struggling to feed themselves in West and Central Africa
The U.N.'s food agency says more than 40 million people are struggling to feed themselves across West and Central Africa.
 
At least 25 are killed and dozens are missing after an overcrowded boat capsizes in Congo
Local officials and residents say an overcrowded boat capsized on a river in central Congo, killing at least 25 people, including children, and leaving dozens missing.
 
Ivory Coast dissolves student unions after deaths and a police raid
The government of Ivory Coast has announced a ban on all student union associations following the death of two students and the arrest of 17 suspects.
 
FILE - M23 rebels stand with their weapons in Kibumba, in the eastern of Democratic Republic of Congo, Dec. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa, File)
Rwanda’s army and an armed group shelled displaced people camps in Congo, rights group says
A leading rights group says Rwanda’s army and a militia it backs shelled camps for displaced people in eastern Congo. Human Rights Watch also accused Congo of abuses against civilians.