Online Reporter
The African Union (AU) supports South Africa’s proposal for a continent-wide discussion on migration following recent tensions over illegal immigration, the South African Foreign Ministry has said.
Clayson Monyela, the head of public diplomacy at South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), said on X on Thursday that Pretoria has “defeated the attempt to single out and isolate” the country during discussions at the AU.
Monyela added that countries should examine the factors driving migration, and said sending, transit and destination countries “must collaborate to find solutions”.
Monyela’s comments came after Ghana asked the AU to discuss what it described as “xenophobic attacks in the Republic of South Africa against African nationals” as a separate agenda of an upcoming meeting.
The request followed a diplomatic dispute between the two countries after Ghana said one of its nationals was killed during anti-immigration protests in South Africa and raised concerns over the safety of African migrants.
Pretoria rejected the claim, saying police investigations showed the man was shot a day before the protests in what the authorities described as an extortion-related criminal attack.
South Africa has stepped up deportations and border enforcement in recent months as part of its migration policy. — RT
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DRC, Rwanda clash over rebel disarmament plan
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have traded accusations over a proposed plan to disarm a militant group operating on the Congolese side of their shared border, exposing renewed tensions over a peace deal mediated by United States President Donald Trump.
Kinshasa announced on Tuesday that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) had signed a protocol covering disarmament, demobilisation and relocation to designated cantonment sites.
Congolese Regional Integration Minister Floribert Anzuluni said FDLR members would not be forcibly returned to Rwanda, while fighters and their dependents could relocate to a third country if conditions for voluntary repatriation were not met.
He said there was no agreed estimate of the number involved, while the cantonment sites and implementation timetable were still being determined.
The FDLR, formed by ethnic Hutu fighters including some linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, has operated in the eastern DRC for decades.
Kigali has accused Congolese forces of cooperating with the group, which it considers a threat to Rwanda.
Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya described the protocol as a “major turning point” in addressing the FDLR issue, saying it complies with the Washington Accords and demonstrates Kinshasa’s progress toward fulfilling its commitments. — RT
