While political conflicts like Israel-Palestine, Ukraine-Russia, or U.S. elections dominate global headlines, Africa remains largely overlooked. Despite widespread chants of “From the river to the sea,” the ongoing suffering in Sudan and the Congo barely registers. Black suffering is happening across the continent right now, and barely anyone’s paying attention. Let’s talk about what’s really going down — and why staying informed isn’t optional.
Some of these stories will shock you. Others are downright gut-wrenching — and all of them demand our attention.
Sudan – Civil War & Ethnic Cleansing
OMDURMAN, SUDAN – APRIL 30: In this handout image provided by the Ministry of Defence, Soldier from the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, with some Sudenese locals. The final days of evacuations from Wadi Seidna Air Base in Sudan, sees the last evacuees and military personnel boarding an RAF aircraft bound for Cyprus, on 30th April, 2023 in Omdurman, Sudan. RAF flights are continuing between Wadi Seidna airport in Sudan to Larnaca International Airport, following three evacuation flights that took place late overnight between Tuesday 25 April and Wednesday 26 April. The UK government assisted by the British Military has evacuated British Citizens from Sudan. The Ministry of Defence has been working to support the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in evacuating civilian UK nationals from the airport. The operation involved more than 1,200 personnel from 16 Air Assault Brigade, the Royal Marines and the Royal Air Force. (Photo by MoD Crown Copyright via Getty Images)
War between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ignited back in April 2023, and has since displaced over 10 million people. In Darfur, there are credible reports of ethnic cleansing targeting non-Arab communities, including mass killings and gender-based violence. The horrific conflict has forced over 8 million people to flee their homes, while some 5 million are at risk of starvation, per PBS.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – Resource War & Sexual Violence
KOLWEZI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – MAY 26: A girl sells eggs inside an artisanal cobalt and copper mining site on May 26, 2025 in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo. (Photo by Michel Lunanga/Getty Images)
Conditions are growing worse in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as attacks at the hands of armed rebel militias skyrocket, leading to an alarming increase in sexual violence targeting both women and children. “In the face of this unprecedented security and humanitarian crisis, the situation for women and children continues to deteriorate,” UN officials warned, per United Nations News.
The country faces mass displacement, rape as a weapon of war, and illegal resource exploitation, especially for coltan (used in electronics). Over 6 million people have died since the 1990s.
Ethiopia – Tigray Genocide & Starvation
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 10: Members of the Ethopian community gather outside the White House to call attention to the conflict in the Amhara region in Ethiopia on November 10, 2024. Demonstrators called for a cessation of drone strikes in the Amhara region, where the Amhara ethnic group has faced ethnic cleansing overtly and secretly over the past 30 years. (Photo by Bonnie Cash/Getty Images)
The Tigray War (2020–2022) — a civil conflict between Ethiopia’s National Defense Force (ENDF) and their allies (including Eritrea) against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) — saw the systematic use of starvation, mass killings, and sexual violence. They struck a peace deal, but tens of thousands are still missing or displaced. Humanitarian access is restricted, and atrocities may be ongoing under the radar.
Nigeria – Boko Haram, Mass Kidnappings, and State Violence
(Photo by International Medical Corps/Margaret Traub via Getty Images)
More than a decade of terrorism from Boko Haram has killed tens of thousands. Girls continue to be kidnapped, schools attacked, and civilians terrorized in Nigeria’s northeast. Separatist movements and violent crackdowns by police also plague the south and southeast. Boko Haram is a militant Islamist group in northeastern Nigeria, aiming to topple the government and impose strict Sharia law. #ProtectBlackGirls
The Anglophone Crisis, also known as the Ambazonia War of Independence, is an ongoing armed conflict in the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. Since 2016, the government has brutally suppressed the Anglophone minority seeking independence or greater autonomy. Thousands have died in the conflict, with reports of villages being razed, extrajudicial killings, and the silencing of journalists and activists.
Somalia – Al-Shabaab Terror and Starvation
MOGADISHU, SOMALIA – SEPTEMBER 4: Rubble lies on the floor near the site of a recent Al Shabab attack on the Hayat Hotel, seen through the window of an armoured car on September 4, 2022 in Mogadishu, Somalia. Extreme drought has destroyed crops and seen a hike in food prices, leaving 7 million people (out of a total population of 16 million) at risk of famine in Somalia. (Photo by Ed Ram/Getty Images)
Somalia is battling ongoing attacks from the Islamic extremist group Al-Shabaab — who emerged in the mid-2000s — while facing famine conditions worsened by drought and global neglect. Civilians are trapped between government, U.S. drone strikes, and militants, with humanitarian aid frequently blocked.
Burkina Faso – Jihadist Attacks and Military Coups
(Photo by John Kalapo/Getty Images)
The rise of armed Islamist groups has caused a devastating humanitarian crisis— over 2 million displaced. The country has also undergone two military coups since 2022, further destabilizing the region and enabling extremist violence to go unchecked. Burkinabé military officer and politician, Ibrahim Traoré — who took control of Burkina Faso in 2022 — is now being regarded as a savior, after positioning himself as a revolutionary leader fighting Western influence… and so far, the people seem to be on his side.
Mali – Ethnic Massacres & French Withdrawal Fallout
Unrest in 🇲🇱Mali: Villagers Targeted in Deadly Assault by Military Forces In a tragic incident on May 19, the Malian army, alongside Wagner group mercenaries, reportedly killed at least 29 people in Amassin, located in Mali’s Kidal region. Despite claims by Malian security sources that the victims were “terrorists,” independent sources suggest they were unarmed civilians, including local Tuareg leaders. Eyewitnesses describe a grim scene in Amassin as military forces attacked villagers, resulting in over thirty civilian deaths. Some were slaughtered, shot, or burned alive in their homes, including respected community figures. Despite the acknowledgment of an operation in the Anefis sector by the Malian army, details remain unclear, leaving many questions unanswered about the tragic events in Amassin. #mali#fama#wagner
Following the withdrawal of French troops, militant attacks have surged. Ethnic tensions between Fulani and Dogon groups have led to massacres and retaliatory killings, and the junta’s military rule has led to human rights violations.
South Sudan – Ongoing Civil Conflict
BUSIA, ARUA DISTRICT – FEBRUARY 24: South Sudanese refugees cross a small wooden bridge over a river from South Sudan into Uganda on February 24, 2017 in Busia, Uganda. The continued flow of refugees from South Sudan, is putting pressure on the many humanitarian partners, and their capacity to cope with the crisis. The United Nations have said that more than 1.5 million asylum seekers have taken refuge in Uganda, since civil war erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, with 100,00 entering in 2017 so far. Uganda continues to see a flow of between 1000 to 4000 people crossing the border every day. The Bidibidi settlement, one of many across the country, is home to around 274,000 people making it the third largest refugee camp in the world. A famine has just been declared in South Sudan which is likely to lead to an increased flow of people seeking help into the North of the country. People fleeing recent clashes on the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda between the M23 rebel group and the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF), has also led to a number of refugees entering into the South West of Uganda, though the numbers are unclear. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Although they gained independence in 2011, South Sudan remains riddled with ethnic violence, political instability, and famine. Women and children are often the targets of systematic sexual violence, and nearly 8 million people are in need of aid.
Central African Republic (CAR) – Warlord Rule & Religious Violence
BANGUI, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – MARCH 14: Children wash kitchen utensils by the banks of the river Oubangui on March 14, 2021 in the capital Bangui, Central African Republic. Most of the population in Bangui live well below the poverty line, in a country traumatised by years of unrest. (Photo by Siegfried Modola/Getty Images)
Since 2013, fighting between Muslim Seleka and Christian anti-Balaka militias has led to mass displacement and brutal atrocities against civilians. Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group now operate in the region, committing human rights abuses — most disturbingly, with impunity.
Eritrea – Dictatorship & Forced Conscription
SHAGARAB, SUDAN – AUGUST 15: An Eritrean cooks meat for sale in the market of Shagarab refugee camp on August 15, 2021, in Shagarab, Sudan. Situated about 70 km west of the Eritrean border, the refugee camp exist since 1968 and hosts more than 60 000 people, most of them from Eritrea. Sudan hosts one of the largest refugee populations in Africa, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Chad. The latest influx of refugees saw more than 50,000 people flee into Sudan in search of safety after military confrontations broke out between Ethiopia and the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) in late 2020. (Photo by Abdulmonam Eassa/Getty Images)
Under President Isaias Afwerki, Eritrea is one of the most repressive regimes in the world. Citizens, including children, are reportedly forced into indefinite military service, with dissent punished by imprisonment, torture, or death. While the law specifies an 18-month service period, in reality, many end up serving indefinitely, often lasting for decades. Critics have likened these harsh practices to a form of slavery.
Mozambique – Cabo Delgado Insurgency
MOZAMBIQUE- JUNE 30 : A mother and daughter rest outside their home on June 30, 2005 in, Mozambique. Since Mozambique’s 15-year civil war ended in 1992, the country has made a strong recovery, but it has suffered setbacks such as severe floods in 2000 and 2001, followed by two years of drought in 2002 and 2003. These disasters have had a huge impact and led to widespread food shortages and an increase in outbreaks of infectious diseases such as cholera, measles and meningitis. About 13 percent of babies die before their first birthday, 20 percent of children die before the age of five and 48 percent of the country’s children are chronically malnourished. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is having a devastating effect on families, many of whom suffer from poverty and a lack of basic services, with tens of thousands of children orphaned, many of them also HIV positive or already ill with AIDS. (Photo by Graeme Robertson/Getty Images)
In the north of Mozambique, Al-Shabaab have waged a brutal insurgency since 2017, leading to beheadings, rapes, and burned villages, even as recent as reports dated 2024. The fight over liquified natural gas reserves has drawn in foreign mercenaries and militaries, escalating violence.
Rwanda/DRC Tensions – Proxy War Brewing
CYANGUGU, RWANDA – FEBRUARY 16: M23 rebel troops arrive at the Rusizi border post, joining the Congolese city of Bukavu with Cyangugu in Rwanda, on February 16, 2025 in Cyangugu, Rwanda. Militants from the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group have entered Bukavu, the capital city of South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The city with a population of approximately one million people borders Rwanda on the southern end of Lake Kivu, positioned along a key trade route for the mineral-rich region. Hundreds of thousands of people in the eastern part of the DRC have been displaced as the rebel group has made swift advances against Congolese pro-government forces in recent weeks. (Photo by Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/Getty Images)
Rwanda is accused of backing the M23 rebel group in DRC — the location we covered in No. 2 — which has displaced hundreds of thousands. This proxy conflict has the potential to explode into a regional war, with innocent people caught up in the crossfire. It’s a powder keg, barely mentioned in global coverage… if at all. At this very moment, many are on edge regarding what’s to come next.
