The most important developments in sub-Saharan Africa. Six days a week.
Mali's army, backed by Russia's Africa Corps, took back the northern city of Kidal on 6 October without a fight after the separatist Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) pulled out. The FLA had held the city since 25 April; its spokesman called the withdrawal a strategic retreat and blamed air strikes by the army and its Russian allies, a claim that has not been verified. The army first retook Kidal from separatists in November 2023 and lost it again during this year's rebel and jihadist offensives. The recapture gives the junta a symbolic gain after months of setbacks, but it deepens its reliance on Russian forces while jihadist groups still hold much of the rural north and centre.
Kenya confirmed its first Ebola case on 6 October: a Kenyan man who had lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and died in a Nairobi hospital. Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the man travelled by road to Kampala on 2 October and flew to Nairobi the next day; 28 contacts are under monitoring, and the flight's passengers and crew are being traced. DR Congo's outbreak, its deadliest on record, has caused more than 8,000 cases and 4,000 deaths, and Uganda was declared free of the disease only in August. A case in East Africa's main air hub raises the risk of spread through Uganda and Kenya and of disruption to travel, tourism and cross-border trade.
