A kenyan police officer deployed to Haiti to assist in combating violent gangs was killed during a con­frontation with one of the gangs, according to Kenyan officials on Sunday.

The incident occurred in the Artibonite region, where Kenyan forces were engaged in operations to address gang violence.

The Kenyan mission reported that the officers were responding to a request for assistance from residents in Pont-Sonde.

The officer was airlifted for medical treatment but succumbed to his injuries, as stated by God­frey Otunge, the commander of the Kenyan contingent in Haiti.

Following the shooting, the officers pursued the assailants. Mission representative Jack Ombaka expressed gratitude to hospital personnel and Salvador­an forces for their support after the incident.

“This is the sacrifice our brave officer made — he lost his life while defending the people of Haiti,” Ombaka remarked.

The Gran Grif gang is known to dominate the area.

This loss is a setback for efforts to control Haiti’s gangs, which have been rampant since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.

Kenya has deployed hundreds of officers to support Haiti’s struggling law enforcement, with an additional 200 officers arriving in February to join over 600 already present, as part of a multinational force that includes personnel from Jamaica, Guate­mala, and El Salvador.

—Africa News

 the Sudanese army says it has broken a near two-year siege imposed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the key southern state capital of el-Obeid.

The breakthrough came hours after the RSF signed a political charter in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to establish a breakaway government in areas under its control.

The RSF and the army have been in a vicious battle for power since April 2023, with tens of thousands of people killed and millions forced from their homes.

The war has split the country, with the army controlling the north and the east while the RSF holds most of the Darfur region in the west and parts of the south.

El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, is a strategic hub connecting the capital, Khartoum, to Darfur. This is the latest army advance in recent weeks following the recapture of several parts of Khartoum from the RSF.

There was jubilation on the streets as Sudanese soldiers marched into the city.

A military spokesman, Nabil Abdallah, confirmed the gains in a statement, saying army forces had destroyed RSF units.

Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim said the move was a “massive step” in lifting the RSF siege on el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, and would also allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to Kordofan.

Sudanese civil society activist Dallia Abdlemoniem told the BBC Newsday programme that the recapture of the city “was “huge” and “significant”.

She said the RSF had “held the civilians captive for nearly two years” in the city.

The situation there was “horrif­ic”, she said, adding that there had been no medical or food aid in an area considered “to be very risky in terms of famine and malnutri­tion”. —BBC.

 THE president of Congo has declared his intention to establish a unity gov­ernment as violence intensifies in the eastern part of the country and crit­icism grows regarding his response to the situation.

In his first remarks since Rwan­dan-backed rebels took control of significant cities in eastern Congo, President Felix Tshisekedi addressed the Sacred Union of the Nation ruling coalition on Saturday, urging members to focus on unity rather than internal disputes.

“I may have lost a battle, but not the war. I need to engage with ev­eryone, including the opposition. A national unity government will be formed,” Tshisekedi stated, though he did not provide specifics on its structure or timeline.

The M23 rebels, the most nota­ble among over 100 armed groups competing for power in eastern Congo, have rapidly advanced through the area, capturing vital cities and resulting in approximate­ly 3,000 deaths.

In a swift three-week campaign, the M23 gained control of Goma, the main city in eastern Congo, and also took Bukavu, the second-larg­est city.

According to U.N. experts, the rebels are backed by around 4,000 Rwandan troops and have threat­ened to advance all the way to Kinshasa, the capital, located over 1,000 miles away.

Rwanda has accused Congo of recruiting ethnic Hutu fighters linked to the 1994 genocide against Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

The M23 claims to be defending Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan descent from discrimination and aims to transform Congo into a modern state, although analysts suggest these are merely justifica­tions for Rwanda’s involvement.

On Saturday, Tshisekedi hon­ored fallen soldiers and pledged to strengthen the military.

—Africa News