Africa StreaM

The deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 500 people, the UN health agency's figures showed Monday. Healthcare workers in Ituri province, the heart of the outbreak, on Sunday issued a 24-hour notice threatening to strike if the government did not improve their working conditions and pay them promised benefits.

Algeria's ruling National Liberation Front won the most seats in the country's parliamentary elections, the election board said Monday, securing 90 out of 407 in the July 2 vote. But the poll was marred by record-low turnout after the government barred more than a third of prospective candidates from running.

Mali's military junta is facing one of its most serious security challenges in months. A wave of coordinated attacks by the jihadist group JNIM and its Tuareg ally, the FLA, has targeted army positions across the north of the country, raising fresh questions about the government's ability to contain the insurgency.

The Malian army said Saturday that several northern towns, including Gao and Sévaré, were targeted by rebels. The statement came as a rebel group announced a new offensive to capture a town in the country's north. Andrew Lebovich, a research fellow at Clingendael's Conflict Research Unit, said some of the targets were intended more as "diversions" than as primary objectives, unlike strategically important towns such as Anefis.

Jihadists and their separatist Tuareg allies hit Mali with fresh coordinated attacks Saturday, striking multiple towns and a prison just months after hobbling the country's military junta with a similar wave of assaults. FRANCE 24's Philip Turle explains.

The Malian army said Saturday that several northern towns, including Gao and Sévaré, were targeted by rebels. The statement came as a rebel group announced a new offensive to capture a northern town. Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for ​the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), said in a Facebook post that the town of Anefis was being targeted by the separatists. FRANCE 24's Wassim Nasr reports.

Insurgents in ​Mali staged attacks in at least five locations ‌early ⁠on ‌Saturday, including at a prison in Kenieroba, according to an army statement. The attacks seem to have been focused on seizing the town of Anefis in Kidal region, which hosts fighters from the Russian mercenary group Africa Corps as well as Malian troops.

In tonight's edition: Ebola is spreading beyond its original hotspot in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a new case has been detected nearly 600 kilometres away. Also, another humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan around the besieged city of El-Obeid, the UN says.

From intensifying drone warfare between Ukraine and Russia to mounting fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, anti-immigration protests in South Africa and a landmark ruling by the US Supreme Court, this week has been shaped by conflicts over power, identity and international law.

Sudan Affairs Analyst Jan Pospisil says the siege of El-Obeid has been ongoing for almost a year, with paramilitary group The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) appearing determined to seize the city. While he argues that Sudan's civil war is not a proxy war in the strict sense, he also makes clear that "without international support, the war would not go on like this”. However, none of the external actors involved – whether the UAE, which supplies arms to the RSF, or the US and Saudi Arabia – has the leverage to bring the warring parties to a ceasefire, let alone a negotiated settlement.

The UN on Friday warned that a "human rights catastrophe" was unfolding in Sudan's El-Obeid where experts have warned the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) may be about to stage an offensive. Civilians in the city have already been subjected to "siege-like conditions" for the past 18 months, UN rights chief Volker Turk said.

William Hilderbrandt is pleased to welcome Mateo Jaramillo Ortega, ICRC Regional Spokesperson for Eastern Africa. He asserts that '"civilian suffering in Sudan is not inevitable: much of the harm over the past three years, since the beginning of combat in Khartoum, and nowadays in el-Obeid, could have been prevented had the laws of war, and international humanitarian law, been respected."

An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 400 people and continues to spread, with health authorities confirming a first case in the major city of Kisangani, hundreds of kilometres from the epidemic's epicentre in the northeast.

In this edition, Algerians headed out to the polls for parliamentary elections in an exercise that was overshadowed by the sidelining of hundreds of would-be candidates. Also, dozens have died in severe flooding in Ivory Coast. And in Cameroon, a waterfront community once surrounded by black volcanic sands sees their environmental heritage swamped by tons of rubbish.

Russian mercenaries from the Africa Corps, which has replaced the well-known Wagner Group in providing support to the Malian army, are deploying new combat drones in Mali. Frequently found on the frontlines in Ukraine, these drones are now entering the Sahel region – an environment for which they were not designed.

Algerians headed to the polls on July 2 to elect a new parliament in an election shadowed by expectations of low turnout among the 25-million-person electorate. The vote is taking place amid controversy of the government disqualifying roughly a third of potential candidates, with some saying they were blocked from competing for major constituencies. FRANCE 24's Claire Paccalin tells us more about how the elections works, and in what context they're taking place.

Algerians on Thursday voted in parliamentary elections amid concerns over turnout after a campaign season marked by low attendance at official campaign events. Electoral authorities barred 269 candidates from running for the 407-seat lower house of parliament ahead of the vote.

The Danish Refugee Council has warned that the latest Ebola outbreak in DR Congo is complicating an already strained humanitarian situation. In a recent report, the NGO stressed the response to the health emergency "must not hollow out the aid programming that is holding communities together". Speaking to FRANCE 24, Secretary-General Charlotte Slente lamented a "funding crisis" that had already begun before the Ebola outbreak, adding that with the arrival of the virus, "there's a risk these resources are now turned into a response to Ebola".

He’s one of Francophone Africa’s most followed influencers. With his humourous content about everyday life, Macdi has drawn a huge number of followers into his enigmatic universe of wild scenarios. Over the last three months he’s gained over two million followers on Tik Tok. He now has some 9 million followers on the Chinese platform which has catapulted him to stardom as the most popular Senegalese influence. In a country where creators usually express themselves in Wolof, the local language, he’s chosen French to appeal to a broader audience. Our correspondent in Dakar, Elimane Ndao, went to meet him.