Mali political activist freed after monthlong abduction
Alassane Abba, one of the leaders of the former political party Codem, was dropped off along a road in Mali's capital, Bamako, on Thursday, Alhousseini Jannatta Alassane, his son, told The Associated Press.
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‘To us as Boko Girls, he was our father': Slain gang leader idolised by Cape Flats youth
Videos from the funeral vigil of slain Boko Haram leader Ayanda 'Stix' Yikasa (left) show schoolgirls praising him as a 'father figure'. Ayanda Yikasa/Facebook Be among those who shape the future with knowledge. Uncover exclusive stories that captivate your mind and heart with our FREE 14-day subscription trial. Dive into a world of inspiration, learning, and empowerment. You can only trial once.
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South Sudanese exiles face uncertain future after release from prison in Sudan
RENK, South Sudan — As a young man in the mid-1980s, Daud Mahmoud Abdullah left his home in Aweil in South Sudan and headed north. It was a time of war. South Sudan was still part of Sudan and was fighting for independence, in a conflict that would claim about 2 million lives. He never went back. But now at 60 and after six months in a Sudanese prison, he is closer to home than he's been in 40 years. This July, he finally crossed the border back into his native South Sudan, taking a deep breath and reminding himself, 'I am alive.' After everything that has happened to him, it feels like a miracle. Sudan — once his place of refuge — has been embroiled in a brutal civil war since April 2023 that has killed 40,000 people and displaced nearly 13 million more, according to U.N. agencies. Abdullah lived in Wad Madani, the capital of Al Jazirah state, about 135 kilometers (85 miles) south of Khartoum. There had been incursions into the area by the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary force once known as the Janjaweed who were notorious for mass killings, rapes and other atrocities in Darfur two decades ago. More recently, the RSF have again been accused of by the International Criminal Court of committing war crimes , including the attacks on famine-hit Zamzam and other camps in North Darfur. In January, the Sudanese armed forces began recapturing parts of Al Jazirah state from the RSF and making sweeping arrests. Abdullah got caught up in the incursions on his way home from the market: He was picked up by SAF soldiers and accused of cooperating with the RSF. Abdullah says that he was 'beaten, tortured and burned with cigarettes' to make him confess. Although he never made a confession, he was thrown in prison. In a report released in March, the top U.N. human rights body detailed how both the SAF and the RSF have detained tens of thousands of people 'without charge, with limited or no contact with their families, in squalid and overcrowded facilities' in 'a widespread pattern of arbitrary detention, torture, and ill-treatment.' Abdullah can attest to this. He remembers inmates dying from starvation, beatings or illnesses like cholera daily. One morning, he discovered 28 of his fellow inmates had died in the night. For the next three days the bodies lay inside his cell, and the soldiers refused to remove them. 'Even when you shouted to them, they would tell you, 'If you want to die also, you can die with them,' Abdullah said. The Associated Press spoke to eight men in total, some of whom were detained in other prisons in Al Jazirah state and Khartoum. All recounted nightmarish conditions during their incarceration. They described being crammed into cells alongside hundreds of other prisoners. Cells were so crowded that they were forced to sleep with their knees tucked under their chin. Beatings occurred regularly; one said he lost the use of his right eye as a result. Michael Deng Dut, 29, said he had been 'tortured with electricity more than 18 times.' Simon Tong, 39, said that he was tortured with a knife during an interrogation, and rolled up his sleeve to expose the scars on his arm. Many of the men said they were given only a handful of food and a small cup of water once a day. 'This is the reason many of us passed away, because of the lack of food and water,' Tong said. In July, 99 South Sudanese prisoners were separated from the other inmates. As the men awaited their fate, one died, reducing their number to 98. On July 28, they were bundled into a bus and driven away, not knowing where they were going. 'They did not tell us they were going to release us,' Abdullah said. 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He was overcome to see his wife, daughter, and younger brother waiting for him. His wife had decided to take his family south after his younger brother had been arrested and released by SAF for the third time. 'When I saw Abdullah, I thanked God,' she said. 'We did not expect to see him alive again.' Abdullah now hopes to return to Aweil, the town where he was born. He still has family in Sudan, and is trying to contact them so that they might join him in Renk. 'If they come back safely, then we plan to go to Aweil,' he said. 'All of us, together.' ___ For more on Africa and development: The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at .
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Not long after John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as president, he received his first visit from a foreign leader. He had chosen Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president. By today's standards, in which Africa seems to sit on the far margins of world affairs, the selection is practically unimaginable. But even as a senator, Mr. Kennedy had begun to see Africa — with its enormous landmass, newly independent countries and young population — as a continent full of promise. By one count, during his presidential campaign speeches in 1960 he mentioned Africa 479 times. As president, he was keen to compete for influence there with the Soviet Union and even side with anticolonialism, courting tension with America's European allies. Until Mr. Kennedy's assassination, Mr. Nkrumah remained the American president's most important African interlocutor, a fact that reflects both the Ghanaian leader's charisma and the tremendous prestige he had earned on the continent by peacefully leading his country to independence from colonial rule in 1957. Driven by his belief in Pan-Africanism, Mr. Nkrumah worked tirelessly to overcome the Balkanizing impact of colonial rule across Africa. As the world's powers turn away from the continent, it's a vision that may hold the key to realizing Africa's potential today. The United States did not withdraw from Africa after Mr. Kennedy's death, but the continent was sharply downgraded in the hierarchy of Washington's interests. America's involvement quickly narrowed to a policy of near-zero-sum competition with Moscow, in which each superpower forged alliances with the aim of restraining the influence of the other. Most of these involved military relationships and limited financial support to dictatorships of one kind or another, with little regard for democracy, governance or long-term economic development. Since the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet empire, American engagement with Africa has declined sharply and become largely limited to humanitarian assistance. Under President Trump, even this is now in doubt, with the virtual elimination of the United States Agency for International Development and apparent plans to end support for PEPFAR, a program created by George W. Bush that has had remarkable success in combating H.I.V. in Africa. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
