Africa

Sudan’s civil war reignites the illicit car trade into Chad

Numerous actors are involved in this surging criminal enterprise, with members of the rebel Rapid Support Forces becoming key players.

Sudan’s third civil war, which began in April 2023 between the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces, has reignited the illicit cross-border trade in vehicles. At the onset of the conflict, significant looting occurred in Khartoum and other major cities, primarily perpetrated by RSF members.

Numerous actors are involved in this surging criminal enterprise, with members of the rebel Rapid Support Forces becoming key players.

Sudan’s third civil war, which began in April 2023 between the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces, has reignited the illicit cross-border trade in vehicles. At the onset of the conflict, significant looting occurred in Khartoum and other major cities, primarily perpetrated by RSF members.

In its 2024 Openness Index, the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) declared Imo State the worst place to be a journalist in Nigeria. The index, a subnational assessment of press freedom and civic space in Nigeria, was published in July. It ranked states based on political openness, media independence, and the safety of civic actors.

By attacking transportation arteries, fuel tankers, and population centers in western Mali, the JNIM coalition is targeting the economic, security, and political vulnerabilities of the military junta in Bamako.

The Maçina Liberation Front (FLM) launched a series of seven simultaneous attacks spanning hundreds of kilometers in western Mali in border towns near Senegal and Mauritania on July 1, 2025. This represented a dramatic shift in tactics and an expansion in the reach of the Jama’at Nasrat al Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) coalition of which FLM is the most active member. Over the past year, nearly 20 percent of JNIM violent activity in Mali—resulting in a doubling of fatalities to over 450 deaths—took place in the west and south of the country. JNIM had previously been primarily concentrated in north and central Mali. Only 8 percent of violent episodes linked to JNIM were in western and southern Mali the year before.

Le Haut commissariat aux réfugiés en Libye a annoncé « un incident tragique survenu au large de Tobrouk », samedi, et l’Organisation internationale pour les migrations a fait part du « tragique accident » d’un canot pneumatique, dimanche. La route maritime du centre de la Méditerranée est la plus dangereuse au monde pour les migrants.

Adama Bayala et Alain Traoré avaient respectivement disparu depuis juin et juillet 2024. La junte d’Ibrahim Traoré est accusée d’utiliser de manière abusive un décret de mobilisation générale dans le cadre de la lutte antidjihadiste.

Deux journalistes burkinabés enlevés et portés disparus depuis plus d’un an ont été libérés en début de semaine, ont indiqué à l’Agence France-Presse (AFP) leurs proches.