Category: Rest of Africa

The massive $4.2-billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd) has been at the centre of a regional dispute ever since Ethiopia broke ground on the project in 2011, with Egypt fearing it will slash its share of Nile water.

"Vital internet and mobile phone connections -- which have been critical to sourcing information and supplies during nearly three months of war -- were out of service as "violent clashes" raged in several parts of the city," witnesses told AFP via landline.

"Security has deteriorated sharply amid clashes between two armed Islamist groups as they seek to control supply routes and increase their influence," the New York-based watchdog said in a report.

Three of the firms are associated with the Sudanese Armed Forces (Saf), with the remaining three linked to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Karim Khan made the announcement in a report to the UN Security Council, after three months of war between feuding generals have plunged the northeast African country back into chaos.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) meanwhile said it has opened a new probe into alleged war crimes in Sudan, adding that the escalating violence was a "matter of great concern".

A power struggle between Sudanese Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), spilled into war in mid-April and has since killed thousands of people and displaced millions.

It said a report had been received on Monday that an Israeli had been abducted, without going into further detail.

It could cost $600 million, some $150 million above budget. Yet that may not be President Felix Tshisekedi’s only headache. His pain is multiple.

"The suspension is an alarming development because it comes after an already extended period of sporadic and irregular food aid distributions, and at a time when the humanitarian situation across the country is already dire," Cara Brooks, MSF country director for Ethiopia, said in a...