Situation Report: RSF and SAF fighting over control of Babanusa in West Kordofan, Kidnapping for ransom in Oromia, IDPs protest in Mekelle

Three days of severe fighting has been reported from Babanusa in West Kordofan, where Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a military offence against Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in order to capture their headquarters; An increasing number of people are kidnapped for ransom in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Victims are tortured until family members pay the ransoms; Internally displaced persons in Tigray held a peaceful protest in Mekelle yesterday calling for withdrawal of foreign forces from Tigray so as to be able to safely return to their home; and more.

News Highlights: Ethiopia signs MoU with Somaliland, Impunity fuelling abuses in the Horn, EU increasingly relying on external solutions

In this week’s News Highlights: Ethiopia signs MoU with Somaliland causing tensions across the Horn and beyond; Al-Burhan rejects ceasefire proposal from Taqadum civilian coalition; Sudan’s Resistance committee members targeted; Humanitarian conditions worsen amidst conflict and cholera outbreak in Sudan; Urgent assistance required for drought-affected areas in Ethiopia; UN helicopter stuck in Al-Shabaab territory in Somalia; Testimonies from Eritrea’s prisons; Pro-democracy Eritreans warn about upcoming festival in Australia; Warrap State in South Sudan approves shoot-to-kill law; Impunity fuelling abuses in the Horn, states HRW; Rights of migrants and refugees being harmed in Tunisia; More legal migration necessary, says European Commission; EU increasingly turning to external solutions to migration; At least three people dead following shipwreck off Greece; Tusk states Poland will not accept relocation of asylum seekers; and Number of deaths on routes to Spain almost tripled, states NGO. 

News Highlights: ECJ dismisses complaints refugee quota, Eritrean rebels video, Libya’s recent history

In this week’s news highlights: Italian interior minister Marco Minniti defends his strategy of making deals in Libya to stop migration; the European Court of Justice throws out complaints of Hungary and Slovakia against mandatory relocation of refugees; Eritrean rebels fear the support of Gulf states to Afewerki’s regime; Ethiopia’s drought situation declared major issue by UN; warnings about Cholera in Sudan; Libya’s fragmentation and deals with EU member states are analysed; and Human Rights Watch report states United Nation should start an investigation on torture as possible Crime Against Humanity in Egypt.