ESCALATING THREATS OF MASS VIOLENCE SPUR FEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA
For months, anti-migrant and anti-immigrant sentiment has been building across South Africa. Protest groups and activists have staged demonstrations that have sparked violent mob attacks on foreign nationals, resulting in multiple deaths and the destruction of immigrant homes and businesses. These actors have issued demands for immigrants to leave the country before July 1st – although they were vague as to what might happen to those who stay on. The threat, however, had its intended effect, leading thousands of immigrants, mostly from other African nations, to flee South Africa. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned attacks on foreign nationals, saying they "do not represent the views of South Africa's people, nor reflect our government's policy."
South Africa has experienced repeated waves of xenophobic violence in the past. Thirty years after the end of apartheid, the country continues to grapple with high unemployment, one of the world's highest murder rates, and deep racial inequality. The current unrest has grown out of campaigns against undocumented migrants who are being blamed for taking jobs from South Africans and straining public services. And while the United States under the Trump administration has authorized the resettlement of White Afrikaners, the vast majority of mob violence has been directed at documented and undocumented foreigners from other Sub-Saharan countries. (New York Times, June 26, 2026; CNN, June 29, 2026)
SUDANESE COURT SENTENCES RSF OFFICIALS
On July 13th, the Anti-Terrorism and Crimes Against the State Court in Port Sudan sentenced Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (better known as Hemedti), the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) anti-government militia, as well as 15 other senior RSF officials, to death in absentia. The defendants were found guilty of violating international humanitarian law by committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide in the West Darfur region. The Port Sudan case, the first court verdict against an RSF leader, focused on the alleged murder of West Darfur governor Khamis Abakar by the paramilitary group.
Sudan's army, known as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), has been fighting a bloody civil war against the RSF since April of 2023. The war has been fought without regard for civilian infrastructure and lives, resulting in the killing at least 59,000 people and the displacement of around 13 million others. On July 1st, Amnesty International published a report alleging that the paramilitary group deliberately targeted children during the siege and was responsible for serious crimes against humanity, including calculated ethnic cleansing. (Darfur Network for Human Rights, July 13, 2026; The Guardian, July 1, 2026)
TREASURY SANCTIONS RWANDAN COMPANIES AND BUSINESSMEN
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned several companies and businessmen it says are exploiting the resources of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to illegally smuggle minerals to neighboring Rwanda. Washington described the movement as a coordinated "network," claiming that the sanctioned parties were working with the paramilitary group known as the March 23 Movement (M23). There is compelling evidence that, even though the militia has been designated by both the United States and the United Nations, it still receives backing from Kigali. Two individuals and four companies are implicated in the sanctions, and any assets that they own under U.S. jurisdiction are now frozen and American citizens are forbidden from transactions with them. (U.S. Department of Treasury, June 25, 2026; BBC, June 26, 2026)
RUSSIA'S WAGNER BUILDS A DRUG EMPIRE
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the notorious Russian mercenary group known as Wagner, died in August 2023 in a plane crash following an abortive coup against the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since then, Wagner has split into two separate entities: Wagner and the Africa Corps. The latter has been placed under the direct control of the Russian defense ministry, creating a more direct linkage to government policy. Wagner's remaining mercenaries, however, have stayed largely independent. And while the Russian government co-opted much of the original company's business, the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is somewhat different, due to the remoteness of the region and because of the extent to which Wagner veterans have entrenched themselves in the country.
There, Wagner, led by Prigozhin's son, Pavel, is said to be closely integrated with the national army and local militias. The mercenaries, exploiting smuggling routes and diverting trade flows to maintain control over key resources, have established a Tramadol drug empire. Tramadol is a highly addictive painkiller that is prescribed to miners at Wagner's gold mines and to militia fighters allied to the group. In the CAR, workers typically take much more than the recommended dosage, creating a reliance on the medication and a dependency on the Wagner Group as the supplier. The money from drugs, smuggling and mining activities has allowed Wagner and its allies to purchase more arms and equipment, increasing violence in the CAR in the process. (Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2026)