News Highlights: UN report on Libyan atrocities, Somalia and UAE tension, EP report condemns Hungary

In this week’s news highlights: Israel’s government given until 15 April to show Uganda deal; UN report on detention and torture in Libya;Seizure of money in Somalia creates political upsurge; Darfur rebel group asks for humanitarian help; Sudanese President reported to have ordered release of detainees; Hearing on Eritrea’s refugees taking place in Washington; Ethiopian President asks for unity; and a European Parliament draft report calls for the Council to take strong action against Hungary over migration.

Rising tension in Horn of Africa region

In the initial weeks of 2018, the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir announced the closure of the border with Eritrea which was was followed by the deployment of militia forces to the bordering regions. The reason for the border closing has not officially been made clear and Sudan has denied tension between the two countries. This manoeuvre comes just after the declaration of a six-month state of emergency in the Sudanese regions of Kassala and North Kordofan. The official motivation given for the state of emergency was the Sudanese campaign against the trafficking of human beings, weapons, and drugs and in those border regions.

New highlights: Yemini prisoners in Eritrea, Italy considers shutting out boats, mandate Special Rapporteur Eritrea extended

In this week’s news highlights, Italy is threatening to close its ports to foreign boats carrying stranded migrants and refugees; worrying reports state that hundreds of Yemeni prisoners are detained and abused, including at an AUE base in Eritrea; the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Eritrea is extended; an in-depth report looks at how Israel aims to get rid of its Eritrean and Sudanese refugees; and 2.000 leave South Sudan each day to flee violence and hunger.