In Sudan the civil war, which broke out two months ago, continues to rage, but this week’s novelty is the 24 hour truce announced by both parties on Friday, and continued until Sunday morning. As Sudan Tribune reports, the ceasefire was also intended to ensure the free movement and supply of humanitarian assistance, crucial throughout the country. Again Sudan Tribune also writes about the IGAD peacekeeping mission (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) to try to find a solution to the conflict, led by Kenyan President William Ruto and his counterpart from South Sudan Salva Kiir.
Africanews recounts how the Sudanese government declared the United Nations envoy to the country, Volker Perther, persona non grata, after accusing him for several of being responsible for the ongoing war. Fighting broke out on the day the two rival generals were due to meet for negotiations aimed at integrating the RSF into the regular army, as the UN had been demanding for weeks. Finally, Africa ExPress writes about the evacuation of the Maygoma Housethe largest orphanage in Khartoum, where the impossibility for the staff to go to work due to the bombings has caused more than fifty children to die of hunger in recent weeks.
Protests in Senegal, the end of Covid in Burkina Faso
In an article on France Inter translated for Italy by Internazionale, Pierre Haski talks about the protests following the conviction of the opponent Ousmane Sonko, which involved several young people and caused a wave of violence that resulted in 16 deaths, 500 arrests and blockage of the internet. Haski also tries to reconstruct the process that led to the Senegalfor a long time considered “one of the few democratic states in Africa”, to “what the Senegalese intellectual Felwine Sarr has defined as a ‘slow descent’ towards ‘the weakening and erosion of Senegalese democratic conquests'”.
Africa24Tv, on the other hand, writes about the revocation of the restrictions against Covid-19 in Burkina Faso. A decision that comes after the multiplication of vaccination campaigns, launched in March 2023, which allowed the health authorities to considerably reduce the number of cases of Covid-19. This should hopefully allow for a relaunch the tourist activity, which dropped by 23.5% in 2020 due to the pandemic. With this measure, the government intends to diversify the tourist activity by reducing the entry and exit conditions throughout the national territory.
Diplomacy: the Arab League and Morocco in Libya, the African Union between Moscow and Kyiv
After two weeks of discussions, which began in Bouznika in Morocco on May 22, the Joint Commission coming from the Libyan parliament and high council of state, charged with drafting electoral laws in Libya, came to the signing of an agreement on the holding of legislative and presidential elections in the country. Africa24Tv talks about it, adding that the secretary general of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Abou El Gheit, praised Morocco’s efforts; as well as the president of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, congratulated Morocco through a tweet for his facilitation.
Finally, Le Point Afrique writes about the proposal of theAfrican Union to act as a mediator to arrive at a solution for the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. A statement from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesman announced a mission which will see six African heads of state travel to both Russia and Ukraine in mid-June. “We Africans will be able to express our views on how we perceive the impact of this war on Africa in terms of food prices, grain prices and fuel,” Ramaphosa said, noting the significant impact, more than for any other continent, that the Russian invasion had on the African continent.
EPA/STRINGER cover photo