Human Rights Watch (HRW) announced on May 16 that former Chadian prime minister and opposition leader Succès Masra was arrested at his residence in the capital N'Djamena, urging authorities to immediately release Masra unless they can substantiate the charges against him. HRW's Central Africa director Lewis Mudge stated: "The Chadian government should be seeking ways to dialogue with the political opposition, rather than shutting them down through the use of intimidation and violence."

The Court of Justice of the West African regional bloc ECOWAS on May 16 ordered the government of Ghana to pay a collective $75,000 in damages to 30 members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) over their prolonged and unlawful detention. The court, based in Lagos, Nigeria, found that Ghanaian authorities violated the applicants' human rights by detaining them for extended periods—some for over a year—without trial or due process. The judges noted that both Ghana's constitution and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human & Peoples' Rights require detainees to be presented in court within 48 hours. The 30 HSGF members were arrested on May 8, 2019, under Ghana's 1976 Prohibited Organizations Decree, which outlaws groups deemed a threat to national security. (Punch)

Amnesty International on May 14 condemned the life sentence handed down by a military court in Cameroon against activist Abdu Karim Ali, calling it an "affront to justice" and demanding his immediate and unconditional release. According to Amnesty, Ali was arrested without a warrant in 2022 and arbitrarily detained after he produced a video exposing torture carried out by the leader of a pro-government militia in Cameroon's conflicted Southwest Region. Last month, a military court in Yaoundé, the national capital, sentenced him to life imprisonment for "hostility against the homeland" and "secession."

Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the military of Burkina Faso on May 12 of orchestrating massacres of Fulani civilians between March 14 and April 22 under the auspices of a counter-terrorism operation against Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen (JNIM)—which reportedly retaliated through the targeted killings of civilians viewed as supportive of the military.

The military operation took place in Banwa and Sourou provinces, with interviewees quoted by HRW stating that women, children and the elderly were often targeted. Witnesses believe that the operation has resulted in the displacement of most Fulani people from Banwa province. The Fulani have been collectively blamed for violence perpetrated by JNIM and other affiliated Islamist groups.

UN human rights experts on April 30 condemned the enforced disappearance and apparent summary execution of some 100 individuals in Mali. The experts stated that the unlawful killings and disappearances may constitute war crimes and  crimes against humanity.

The experts found that the Malian authorities have violated the right to life by failing to conduct proper investigations. The statement urged "Malian authorities to conduct prompt, effective, thorough, independent, impartial and transparent investigations into these killings and enforced disappearances, in accordance with international law."

Turkey has sent 500 troops to the Somali capital Mogadishu, the first phase of a planned 2,500-strong deployment to bolster the government against recent advances by the insurgent group al-Shabaab. Turkey already has 300 soldiers in Mogadishu, primarily to train the elite Gorgor brigade. Meanwhile, Turkey has also struck a controversial oil and gas exploration deal with the government in which it will receive 90% of all future revenues as a cost-recovery mechanism. Somalia will earn just 5% in royalties. (TNH)

The government of Benin announced that 54 soldiers were killed April 17 in attacks by jihadists on military positions in a national park near the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. The attacks in Park W, claimed by al-Qaeda-affiliated JNIM, are the deadliest yet in Benin. JNIM attacks in Benin have now caused more fatalities so far in 2025 (157) than they did in the entirety of 2024 (103), according to the monitor Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED). (TNH)

Former Blackwater CEO and and mercenary boss Erik Prince is to lead a team helping the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) secure and tax its extensive mineral wealth, news reports reveal. The deal, reached before the M23 rebels launched a major offensive in January, was just confirmed to Reuters by Congolese officials and diplomats. M23 has since January seized the eastern DRC's two largest cities, Goma and Bukavu, and is threatening to march on Kinshasa, the capital. The Prince-led initiative runs parallel to a broader "minerals-for-security" deal being negotiated between the DRC and the Trump White House. (Mining.com, TNH)