Amnesty International’s regional overview describes major armed conflicts continuing largely unabated, military-led governments clamping down “in the name of national security”, and governments weaponising legal systems against LGBTI people. These are the stories we follow. Amnesty International, Africa

What we are tracking

Sudan: the fall of El Fasher

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said in February 2026 that after an 18-month siege the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured El Fasher in October 2025 and that more than 6,000 people were killed in the first three days (at least 4,400 in the city and at least 1,600 on exit routes), concluding the violations amount to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.

Amnesty International said on 1 July 2026, based on 247 interviews, that the RSF committed crimes against humanity, and described the destruction of Zaghawa villages as “consistent with ethnic cleansing”.

CPJ said in April 2026 that at least 16 journalists and media workers had been killed in Sudan’s war and seven were missing.

Sources: OHCHR, Feb 2026 · Amnesty International, 1 Jul 2026 · CPJ, Apr 2026

Refugees and the funding cliff

On 29 September 2026 UNHCR’s Protection Eroded report warned that 8.3 million refugees and other displaced people risk losing vital assistance. It said funding fell from $5.178 billion in 2024 to $3.932 billion in 2025 and that by July only 32% of the $8.5 billion needed in 2026 had been received. In Chad, 319,000 refugees face registration delays; in Ethiopia, safe houses for survivors of gender-based violence fell from 29 to 13 in a year; in Sudan, more than 50,000 survivors of sexual violence could lose post-rape care. UNHCR’s figures are the agency’s own and are advocacy as well as data.

Sources: UN News, 29 Sep 2026 · Al Jazeera, 25 Sep 2026

Democratic Republic of Congo

Human Rights Watch reported on 10 June 2026, based on interviews with 102 former detainees, that the M23 armed group, backed by the Rwandan military, forcibly recruited and detained thousands of people, including children as young as 12, and that it committed abuses at the Rumangabo and Tshanzu camps that amount to war crimes. HRW notes that Rwanda and M23 deny the allegations.

Sources: HRW, 10 Jun 2026

Sahel

HRW said on 2 April 2026 that Burkina Faso’s military, allied militias and the armed group JNIM killed more than 1,800 civilians between 2023 and 2025, and described the ethnic cleansing of Fulani communities.

Amnesty International said on 29 September 2026 that Mali’s army and Wagner Group personnel committed war crimes, documenting 34 civilian killings in seven incidents between 2023 and 2025, including two drone strikes that killed at least 23 people, at least five of them children. Mali notified its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court in June 2026, effective 23 June 2027; HRW said on 2 July 2026 that Sahel countries’ withdrawal “betrays victims”.

Sources: HRW, 2 Apr 2026 · Amnesty International, 29 Sep 2026 · HRW, 2 Jul 2026

Ethiopia

Ethiopia’s 1 June 2026 election was held without voting in all 38 Tigray constituencies and in eight in Amhara because of insecurity, according to the IGAD election observation mission’s preliminary report. HRW said on 25 September 2026 that an apparent government airstrike on a residential compound in Mekelle on 20 August wounded 13 civilians, including seven children, and should be investigated as a possible war crime.

Sources: IGAD preliminary report · PHR · HRW, 25 Sep 2026

LGBTQ+ rights

Reuters reported on 29 May 2026 that Ghana’s parliament passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which would criminalise “promotion” and funding of LGBTQ activity (3–5 years) and create a duty to report, and that it needs President John Mahama’s signature to become law.

Status as of Sept 30, 2026: passed by Parliament, not signed into law as of Sept 30, 2026. Citi Newsroom reported on 1 August 2026 that Parliament adjourned on 31 July without reconsidering the bill, and President Mahama has not assented to it. We found no report that Parliament has re-passed it. Earlier, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) reported in June 2026 that Mahama said the bill needs legal review.

Reuters also reported that Senegal doubled the maximum penalty for same-sex acts to 10 years in March 2026 and that Burkina Faso criminalised same-sex acts in September 2025.

Sources: Reuters, 29 May 2026 · GNA, Jun 2026 · Citi Newsroom, 1 Aug 2026

Press freedom

CPJ’s 2025 census counted 42 journalists jailed in sub-Saharan Africa, with Eritrea, Ethiopia, Niger, Rwanda and Cameroon among the worst jailers. RSF’s 2026 index, as seen in search excerpts we are still re-checking, ranks Eritrea 180th, last in the world.

Sources: CPJ 2025 census · RSF 2026 index, Africa

Accountability, too

HRW highlighted on 23 September 2026 the International Criminal Court’s conviction of Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, a Seleka commander, in the Central African Republic, which it described as a rare accountability milestone. (We are adding a link to the ICC decision.)

Sources: HRW

What you can do

• Read the reports linked above, and the outputs of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights NGO Forum ahead of its 89th Ordinary Session (NGO Forum 8–10 October 2026, Dakar, per ACDHRS).
• Share verified reporting, and read independent African media.
• Ask your elected representatives how their governments are funding protection for refugees.

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