China Just Raised Its Diplomatic Ambitions in Africa

Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi completed a tour of Eritrea, Kenya and Comoros, continuing a tradition dating back three decades by which Chinese foreign ministers open the diplomatic year with a trip to Africa. The visit—which comes just over a month after the conclusion of the eighth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, or FOCAC, held late last year in Dakar, Senegal—illustrates how China’s engagement with African countries is evolving. Beijing is apparently ready to play a bigger role in mediating some of the region’s conflicts. Whether those efforts will pay off is an open question for both China and its partners on the continent.

South Sudan backs military stance on civilian rule in Sudan

South Sudan President Salva Kiir has lauded the Sudanese military leadership’s decision to return the country to civilian rule.

Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Monday called on political forces to agree on a civilian transitional government without them, further stressing the need to establish a national security council.

Dans l’est de la RDC, la rébellion du M23 pousse toujours plus de civils sur les routes

Au moins 160 000 personnes ont fui les combats dans le Nord-Kivu. Une tentative de médiation entre Kinshasa et Kigali doit se tenir, le 6 juillet, à Luanda.

Les coups de feu l’ont réveillé en pleine nuit. Dans son village de Buhumba, situé dans la province du Nord-Kivu, l’armée congolaise faisait face, fin mai, aux insurgés du Mouvement du 23-Mars (M23). « Au matin, les soldats avaient disparu. Il ne restait plus que les rebelles. Je suis parti immédiatement », raconte Harerimana, debout au milieu de nattes étalées sur le sol en guise de lit.