NPR News -Africa

April 15, 20243:01 PM ET
Enlarge this imageA man looks at the smoke rising next to the Army General Command in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 16, 2023.

Faiz Abubakr

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Faiz Abubakr

A man looks at the smoke rising next to the Army General Command in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 16, 2023.

Faiz Abubakr

A year of war has torn through Sudan, causing devastation in a country that just a few years ago, was rich with immense promise. A revolution in 2021 toppled longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and brought the prospect of a brighter future for Sudan’s 45 million people. But a coup later that year, led by the army and supported by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, dashed those hopes. And now a fierce battle for control of Sudan between the two sides, fueled by international powers, has caused a major collapse.
Africa Sudan’s conflict hits the 1-year mark, sparking fears of repeated atrocitiesSudannow has the world’s largest displacement crisis, according to ..

April 15, 20248:00 AM ET
Enlarge this imageSudanese refugees who have fled from the war in Sudan get off a truck loaded with families arriving at a transit center for refugees in Renk, South Sudan, on Feb. 13.

Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

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Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

Sudanese refugees who have fled from the war in Sudan get off a truck loaded with families arriving at a transit center for refugees in Renk, South Sudan, on Feb. 13.

Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG — One of the world’s most brutal conflicts is marking its first anniversary this week, but with the war in Gaza and other events dominating news, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan is going underreported.
Since renewed fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15, 2023,more than 8 million people have fled their homes and more than 14,000 people have been killed, according to conflict mon..

April 15, 20245:08 AM ET

NPR’s Michel Martin talks to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, about the civil war that erupted in Sudan. A year later the suffering there isn’t getting global attention.

April 15, 20245:00 AM ET
Enlarge this imagePaul Rusesabagina in 2019.

Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

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Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

Paul Rusesabagina in 2019.

Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

From April to July 1994, the world watched as genocide unfolded in Rwanda. A million people died as neighbors brutally attacked their neighbors with clubs and machetes.
Thirty years later, the horror of the Rwandan genocide endures, but so does the humanity and bravery of Paul Rusesabagina, whose story that was captured in the 2004 movie Hotel Rwanda.
The real Rusesabagina recounted some of the details when he talked to All Things Considered host Juana Summers recently from his home in San Antonio.
Africa Bill Clinton and other leaders join Rwandans in marking 30 years since their genocide”I happened to be a hotelier in 1994, and I had 1,268 people who happened to come to hide in my hotel — Hutus and Tutsis. And none of t..

April 14, 20248:02 AM ET
Enlarge this imageSmoke is seen rising from Khartoum’s skyline, Sudan, Sunday, April 16, 2023. The Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary group have been battling for control of the chaos-stricken nation.

Marwan Ali/AP

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Marwan Ali/AP

Smoke is seen rising from Khartoum’s skyline, Sudan, Sunday, April 16, 2023. The Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary group have been battling for control of the chaos-stricken nation.

Marwan Ali/AP

The words of one Sudanese poet, draw attention to the devastation that one year of war has wrecked on her country.
Emi Mahmoud was born in Sudan where fighting erupted a year ago between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group. The violence has sparked the world’s worst displacement crisis, and for millions of families like her own, it has had a profound impact.
Mahmoud is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agencyand has been speaking to NPR’s Emman..

April 12, 20245:37 PM ET

Josephine Dusabimana’s story of being a helper, though those she helped worried for her safety. A Hutu, she was nearby when soldiers burned Tuti houses — and people needed rescue.

April 12, 20245:26 PM ET

Rwanda has experienced considerable economic growth in the 30 years since the genocide. But some critics say it’s come at the cost of certain freedoms.

April 12, 20245:13 PM ET
Enlarge this imageAlbert Rudatsimburwa, a freelancer journalist reporting in the East African region poses for a portrait in his home.

Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR

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Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR

Albert Rudatsimburwa, a freelancer journalist reporting in the East African region poses for a portrait in his home.

Jacques Nkinzingabo for NPR

It has been three decades since the East African country of Rwanda experienced a genocide that changed the country and shocked the world. We look at the state of their society today.

April 12, 20244:50 PM ET
Enlarge this imageJoel Breman trains scientists in malaria diagnosis in Côte d’Ivoire, 1986. Breman died this month at age 87.

Courtesy of the Breman family.

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Courtesy of the Breman family.

Joel Breman trains scientists in malaria diagnosis in Côte d’Ivoire, 1986. Breman died this month at age 87.

Courtesy of the Breman family.

Joel Breman, a leader in efforts to control smallpox, Ebola, malaria and several other infectious diseases, died this month in Chevy Chase, Maryland, at the age of 87.
Peter Piot, a fellow disease investigator, remembers the exact date that he met Breman. It was October 18, 1976, and Piot, then a young physician and microbiologist, had come to the city of Kinshasa in central Africa (in current-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) to investigate a terrifying, deadly, nameless new disease. Breman, already 40 years old and with several epidemic investigations under his belt, was there w..

April 11, 20245:17 PM ET

Loud Sound Studios is home to two of Rwanda’s up-and-coming hip-hop acts: Pro-Zed and Kenny K-Shot.