By Benoit Lannoo* ANTWERP (Belgium) | 02 September 2025 (IDN) — For two years, at least twenty-three Artsakhis are jailed in Baku. Their crime: wanting to be what they are, namely Artsakhis. And what does the European Union do? Nothing! Today, it is Independence Day in Artsakh. But there is nothing to celebrate, since the […]
Pashinyan Apologies For Insulting The Armenian Apostolic Church
By Benoit Lannoo* YEREVAN, Armenia | ANTWERP, Belgium | 21 August 2025 (IDN) — There is little chance that the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will congratulate the Armenian Apostolic Catholicos on his birthday today. This is a U-turn from five or six years ago, when a praising press release was issued every year by […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Shire in Tigray hub for smuggled gold
Situation in Sudan (per 21 August) Armed individuals clashed within the Zalengei hospital in Central Darfur after two different patients were brought in with gunshot wounds on 16 August. A grenade attack left one person dead and five injured. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) decided to suspend its activities at the hospital and evacuate its staff following […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Secret Sudan-US talks in Switzerland
Situation in Sudan (per 14 August) At least 40 people have been killed in an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the Abou Shouk displacement camp close to El Fasher, North Darfur, on Monday, states the Abu Shouk Emergency Response Room. Civilians were shot in their homes and in public. The Yale Humanitarian Research […]
Karapetyan’s Case Crucial for Armenia’s future
By Benoit Lannoo* YEREVAN, Armenia | 14 August 2025 (IDN) — Today at 5:30 PM local time, an Armenian anti-corruption Court in Yerevan will decide on a petition of the General Prosecutor of the country to prolong the detention of Mr. Samvel Karapetyan. Last Monday, the Armenian Court of Criminal Appeals already decided that Mr. […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: SAF states it destroyed UAE airplane carrying mercenaries
Situation in Sudan (per 7 August) The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) repelled a coordinated assault by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in northern North Kordofan state. They captured and executed dozens of SAF prisoners. The RSF launched a counteroffensive from Umm Sayyala, reportedly inflicting heavy losses on the SAF and forcing a full retreat, with claims […]
Haiti Situation Report: Nonprofits withdraw after Kenscoff kidnapping
Situation in Haiti The nonprofits Our Little Brothers and Sisters and the St. Luke Foundation shut down all operations in Haiti, including hospitals and orphanages, after gunmen abducted seven staff members and a 3-year-old child from the St. Helene Orphanage in Kenscoff on 3 August. Three police officers were killed in an ambush by the […]
The Ximdo Gamble: TPLF-Eritrea Alliance and the Fragile Peace in Tigray and the Horn of Africa
By Daniel Tesfa and Mirjam van Reisen AXUM | 7 August 2025 (IDN) — The Horn of Africa, particularly Tigray, stands at a precarious crossroads. Ximdo is a new political strategy with at the centre a new alliance between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) with Eritrea People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Ximdo […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: Eritrean opposition group announces armed struggle; Uganda-South Sudan forces clash; Kenya halts Eritrean refugee registration
Situation in Sudan (per 31 July) Attacks on civilians and essential infrastructure in the Kordofan states in Sudan have caused hundreds of deaths, states the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It states that in some areas, 90% of civilians have fled. 13 children died as a result of severe food shortages in the Lagawa displacement […]
Situation Report Horn of Africa: RSF-led parallel government formed in Sudan
Situation in Sudan (per 28 July) A rival parallel government led by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti) was formed on Saturday. The creation of a 15-member Presidential Council was announced. Mohamed Hassan Al-Ta’aishi, a former member of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, was appointed as Prime Minister. The parallel government has been formed […]