SUDAN: REMEMBERING THE 2019 KHARTOUM MASSACRE

This week marks six years since peaceful Sudanese demonstrators were brutally k*lled while staging a sit-in protest on 3 June 2019 at the army headquarters, chanting slogans such as ‘Freedom, Peace and Justice’. The now-infamous Khartoum Massacre was carried out by the United Arab Emirates-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, while the Sudanese army, which was aligned with the militia at the time, stood by and did nothing to protect the civilians.

After the movement ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, the predominantly young protesters refused to return home, demanding a civilian-led transitional government and the complete dismantling of the authoritarian regime’s security apparatus.

Continued….. They turned the perimeter of the army headquarters into a lively space of resistance, civic education, art, and a united front embodying the hopes of all Sudanese for a democratic country.

Tragically, the RSF r*ped and k*lled many civilians, throwing bodies into the Nile River that later resurfaced. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), under the Transitional Military Council (TMC), invited the RSF into the capital city to reinforce and coordinate the violent and premeditated crackdown aimed at forcibly dispersing the sit-in and crushing the pro-democracy movement.

African Stream Editor-in-Chief Ahmed Kaballo’s 2019 documentary sheds light on the massacre, during which extreme violence is estimated to have lasted between 3 and 18 June. Witness testimonies he gathered at the time placed the death toll at 127, with more than 70 cases of r*pe and at least 40 bodies thrown into the Nile. However, other sources suggest these numbers may have been underestimated, primarily due to the Transitional Military Council forces suppressing evidence.

In this clip, we hear from witnesses and see only snippets of the violence that ensued when a generation determined to reclaim their country’s trajectory faced forces using violence to maintain a system that does not reflect the people’s aspirations.

Watch the full documentary on Kaballo’s YouTube channel (@ahmedkaballo4170).

Sources

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2024/6/3/what-was-the-khartoum-massacre-marked-by-sudans-activists

https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/11/18/they-were-shouting-kill-them/sudans-violent-crackdown-protesters-khartoum

https://phr.org/our-work/resources/chaos-and-fire-an-analysis-of-sudans-june-3-2019-khartoum-massacre/

https://humanrights.berkeley.edu/projects/verifying-sudans-khartoum-massacre/

https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/11/18/they-were-shouting-kill-them/sudans-violent-crackdown-protesters-khartoum

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/06/02/sudan-justice-june-3-crackdown-delayed


https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2020/3/6/sudans-june-crackdown-may-have-killed-241-people-rights-group

THE REAL PAN-AFRICANISM

Pan-Africanism is more than just continental solidarity and cultural kinship. 

Kambale Musavuli, one of the leading political and cultural voices from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), argues that the true essence of Pan-Africanism, particularly as forged at the Fifth Pan-African Congress in Manchester in 1945, transcends mere sentimental unity and involves a concrete strategy for total liberation and development.

Kambale reminds us that the motivation for the Pan-Africanism of 1945 was unequivocally clear: it was not "unity for the sake of unity." Instead, it was a direct response to the systemic deprivation of African people and the relentless exploitation of the continent's vast natural resources.

Continued……. 80 years later, there is an urgent need to rediscover and implement the commitment to economic justice and self-determination championed by Pan-Africanists such as W.E.B. Du Bois, George Padmore, and Kwame Nkrumah. Kambale's message is that we need to discard forms of Pan-Africanism that prioritise political rhetoric over real improvements in the lives of ordinary Africans.

Authentic Pan-Africanism means a call to action: to harness the continent's wealth for the benefit of its own people. A visible sign of its resurgence can be seen in the alliance of Sahel States (AES) of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.

The trio are leading the way in reclaiming our sovereignty and control over our resources. They have booted French and US troops, they are nationalising resources, and they are consolidating their security and foreign affairs.

With the AES, Africa now has a tangible example of real Pan-Africanism–one that aims for the betterment of our people in terms of peace, justice, and prosperity.

Video credit: AfroDominion Media

WAS COLONIALISM BENEFICIAL | WE REACT

Was colonialism beneficial to its victims? We respond to a GB News panel (@GBNEWS on X) that cited education, transportation, and sanitation as reasons to be thankful to European colonisers.

In reality, looking at the advanced systems of education and society in places like Mali, Uganda, and Kenya, it is evident that colonialism robbed Africa of much more than it supposedly bestowed. Its disastrous impact on human lives and erasure of systems of knowledge and culture further provide a damning indictment of their claims.

Have a watch, and please share your thoughts.

NASSER AND SIX-DAY WAR

Today marks the anniversary of the Six-Day War. On 5 June 1967, Israel launched strikes against Egypt, Jordan and Syria, claiming it was trying to prevent attacks from these countries that it had been striking over several months due to attacks by pro-Palestine resistance fighters. Aided by the US, Israel went on to invade and occupy Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, Egypt-administered Gaza Strip, Jordan-administered West Bank, Jerusalem’s Old City and Syria’s Golan Heights.

Continued……. At the time, Egypt was led by one of its most popular presidents, Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-70). He’d beaten the British, French and Israelis in the 1956 Suez War, and his Pan-Arabism and Pan-Africanism changed the landscape of his country and the region. 

Listen to Nasser’s TV interview in 1967, where he spells out, in no uncertain terms, his take on Israel and the US, just before the conflict broke out. 

Nasser remained resolute even after Egypt’s defeat in the Six-Day War. Many believe if he hadn’t died in 1970, Egypt would still be fighting to free all the occupied lands. His successor, Anwar Sadat (1918-81), did manage to liberate the Sinai Peninsula, but only after recognising Israel and starting diplomatic ties following a 1979 agreement. In the years since, Egypt has signed many bilateral deals with Israel on energy, food and agricultural products.

Hence, the Six-Day War remains a controversial topic amongst Africans and Arabs alike. 

Now, compare Nasser’s words with what Egypt has done following the 7 October 2023 escalation of Israel’s 77-year occupation of Gaza, where, amongst other things, Egypt has restricted aid to Gaza by denying trucks from crossing into Rafah. One Egyptian company reportedly generated $2 million per day in 2024 as it charged Palestinians fleeing Israel’s military onslaught and siege.

Sources

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2009/7/13/1967-arab-israeli-war-timeline

https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/icj-rule-egypt-end-complicity-israel-starving-gaza-will

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-firm-palestinians-fleeing-war-gaza

https://www.britannica.com/event/Six-Day-War

https://jacobin.com/2020/09/egypt-gamal-abdel-nasser-legacy

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/-1979-israel-egypt-normalization-meant-to-remove-cairo-from-arab-israeli-conflict-/2546743

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-firm-palestinians-fleeing-war-gaza

https://www.efootage.com/videos/78856/nasser-interview-israel

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/overview-of-israel-jordan-cooperation-2

Iraq war-crimes veteran and US President Donald Trump’s campaign donor Erik Prince has reportedly entered a deal with the Haitian government to fight gangs. The founder of private military contractor Blackwater is amongst the US contractors working on a secret task force to deploy lethal drones against Haiti’s gangs. Despite operations since March, the New York Times reports no ‘high-value targets’ have been k*lled or captured. The Times claims Prince sent two large weapons shipments to Haiti, and that he seeks to tap around 150 Haitian-American veterans. 

Continued………Prince’s record does not boost confidence that this will be in the interests of Haiti. In 2007, his team k*lled 14 civilians in Iraq, a crime Trump pardoned in 2020. Prince helped recruit and train Colombian mercenaries for the United Arab Emirates in 2011. Interestingly, the foreign-backed proxy war in Sudan since April 2023 has involved UAE-hired Colombian mercenaries supporting the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces. In 2021, the United Nations accused Prince of violating an arms embargo on Libya. 

Considering the disastrous history of foreign interventions in Haiti since its 1804 Black-led revolution, Prince’s move in Haiti doesn’t seem like a break from normal proceedings. During the UN ‘peacekeeping’ intervention from 2004 to 2017, Haitians reported abuses, such as civilian k*llings and s*xual assault. UN soldiers discharging sewerage into a river also caused the deaths of at least 10,000 Haitians. 

Kenyan police are now leading a US-backed, UN-sanctioned multistate occupation of Haiti to fight gangs.

Sources say these gangs that the US and the West claim they have been trying to defeat are backed and armed by the Haitian bourgeoisie that collaborates with foreign powers.

What does Erik Prince’s involvement mean for the people of Haiti? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: @DeptofDefense on X

Sources
https://archive.ph/OrHuz

https://theintercept.com/2018/01/10/haiti-raid-united-nations-police-grand-ravine/

https://jacobin.com/2023/10/haiti-crises-chaos-united-states-foreign-policy-intervention

https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2017/12/06/in-1825-haiti-gained-independence-from-france-for-21-billion-its-time-for-france-to-pay-it-back/

https://www.democracynow.org/2014/10/6/death_of_baby_doc_duvalier_wont

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2004/03/hait-m01.html#:~:text=Aristide%E2%80%99s%20overthrow%20is%20the%20outcome,country%20in%20the%20early%201990s

https://isreview.org/issues/35/aristide/

https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/94-459.html#:~:text=In%201915%2C%20the%20United%20States,a%20program%20of%20public%20works

https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/feature-images-of-legacy-of-un-peacekeeping-mission-haiti

marxist.com/the-gangs-of-haiti-and-the-failure-of-bourgeois-rule.htm

NIGER PRESIDENT: FRANCE IS INTERTWINED WITH T*RRORISTS

Just a few days before the 83rd birthday of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (1942-2011), we bring you this 31 May clip, in which Nigerien President Abdourahamane Tiani came forward once again to accuse imperialist powers of destabilising his country. This time, he zoomed in on the role of France, the United States, the European Union and NATO, especially their part in supporting t*rrorism within the Sahel. 

He specifically criticised NATO for its 2011 invasion and destruction of Libya, which led NATO-backed ‘rebels’ to k*ll Gaddafi. Upon Gaddafi’s assassination, violent t*rrorist militias gained access to Libyan weapons.

Continued…….. They flooded the Sahel with those arms, enabling Al-Qa*da in the Islamic Maghreb to seize multiple territories in northern Mali. For the next several years, various t*rrorist organisations would continue to reap chaos in Mali and neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. 

In this clip from a longer interview, Tiani also states, ‘France and its other acolytes have not limited themselves to creating these cells where they have entrusted very specific missions. France has also infiltrated all the movements that were initially called independence movements, then jihadist movements and finally, terrorist movements.’

This declaration echoes Mali’s accusations at the 2022 UN General Assembly against France that the latter had violated its airspace and provided arms and intelligence to t*rrorist organisations. Mali then submitted a letter to the UN Security Council detailing these airspace violations, arguing, ‘These flagrant violations of Malian airspace were used by France to collect information for t*rrorist groups operating in the Sahel and to drop arms and ammunition to them.’

Now that Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have united under the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) confederation, the heads of state of all three countries have been raising their voices against imperialist support for t*rrorism in their region.

Video credit: @ortntele (X)

Sources

https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/how-wests-war-libya-has-spurred-terrorism-14-countries

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2022/08/18/mali-s-junta-continues-to-mount-accusations-against-france-after-troop-withdrawal_5993953_124.html

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mali-accuses-france-arming-islamist-fighters-letter-un-2022-08-17/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHjVl6dZx8o&t=355s

On 4 June, the US shot down a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. 

The US Ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, argued the resolution did not condemn H*mas or call for the group to disarm and leave Gaza. She further accused H*mas of rejecting ceasefire proposals despite the group agreeing in May to one that the Trump administration proposed.

The US exercised its veto against a proposal co-sponsored by the 10 non-permanent UN Security Council members: Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia. The other permanent members, China, France, Russia, and the UK, had voted in favour.

Continued……. The resolution reiterated calls for the ‘immediate, dignified and unconditional release of ‘all hostages held by H*mas and other groups’ and the ‘immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions’ on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid while calling for ‘safe and unhindered access’ for the UN and its partners.

H*mas is believed to hold 56 hostages in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel far dwarfs that figure, holding over 9,500 Palestinians, many of which have never been convicted. 

The UN has warned that based on Israel’s obstruction of aid, all people in Gaza face a ‘high risk of starvation,’ or Phase 5 of its Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.

The ceasefire veto comes as Gaza’s horrific crisis deepens, with the UN warning of the ‘total collapse of health services, growing displacement, and a rising death toll around the new privatised US-Israel led aid distribution system which bypasses established agencies.’ It is also part of a pattern of US support that Israel has enjoyed since 7 October 2023, including weapons shipments and funding, making the US an accomplice in the massacre of Palestinians.

Sources
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164056

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g60p1xgdlo

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/11/29/why-does-israel-have-so-many-palestinians-detention-and-available-swap

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-remaining-hostages-gaza-dbedb436b04fac1c790a794a4ef03853

https://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-ready-to-free-all-hostages-at-once-for-end-to-war-palestinian-official/

https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/current-members

https://www.state.gov/military-assistance-to-israel/

https://abcnews.go.com/International/history-us-support-israel-runs-deep-growing-chorus/story?id=104957109

https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/current-members

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/over-760-palestinians-arrested-in-israeli-raids-in-west-bank-in-february/3505348

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/05/israel-recovers-bodies-two-israeli-american-hostages-7-october-attack-judih-weinstein-gad-haggai

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/6/1/why-hamas-is-seeking-to-change-the-us-proposed-gaza-ceasefire-deal

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163131

PRESIDENT TRAORE FLOODS BURKINA FASO WITH MORE FARMING EQUIPMENT

On 22 May 2025, President Ibrahim Traoré visited the city of Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. He did not show up empty handed. Instead, he came with thousands of new farming and fishing equipment made available to Burkinabé workers by his administration. This generous distribution of resources is a part of the government's campaign to fight for food sovereignty and self-determination.

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj-ilBGSBwY&t=16s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyPLz9ZGa1M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUhrcwBZwas

https://burkina24.com/2025/05/23/bobo-dioulasso-le-capitaine-ibrahim-traore-visite-lusine-de-la-societe-nouvelle-anatrans-sa/

https://www.aa.com.tr/fr/afrique/burkina-faso-suspension-de-lexportation-de-la-noix-brute-de-cajou/3526658

MEETING SETTLERS BUILDING A WHITES-ONLY TOWN IN SOUTH AFRICA

Renowned poet, writer and activist Maya Angelou (1928-2014) famously said, 'When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.'

One group of people has consistently shown the world who they are, but many still refuse to believe them. 

For over three centuries, Europeans brutally colonised South Africa's indigenous African population, violently displacing them from their land, establishing laws and systems that dehumanised Black people and excluded them from any meaningful participation in the country's economic and social sectors.

Even after the country gained independence from apartheid in 1994, the new African-led multi-racial government let them get away with committing atrocities against Black people. Many settlers have opposed ceding to the Black majority, including by establishing whites-only enclaves.