Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
16 January 2024 | 12:11 p.m. CAT
1-min read

Picture: Radio Islam International

“Africa is mystic; it is wild. In Africa, there are iridescent blues on the wings of birds. If I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa.”

Beryl Markham
Jodi Picoult
John Hemingway

The Africa Report on Radio Islam International with Sizo Nkala, research fellow at the UJ Centre for Africa-China Studies covered Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s Africa tour, Burundi’s closure of its border with Rwanda and the imminent withdrawal of the UN peacekeeping mission from the eastern DRC.

Chinese foreign minster’s Africa visit

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Africa follows a tradition of foreign ministers visiting the continent in January for the past 34 years. During his trip, Minister Wang Yi is addressing pressing issues, including discussions on Israel’s genocidal war on Palestine and developments in the Red Sea. The tour spans Egypt, Togo, Tunisia, and Ivory Coast, where he is set to attend a football match in a Chinese-built stadium, coinciding with the Africa Cup of Nations. The visit holds particular importance as it prepares for the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2024.

Burundi-Rwanda border closure

Burundi has closed its broder with Rwanda, accusing the East African nation of funding the rebel group Red Tabara, responsible for a December attack that claimed 20 lives. This move echoes historical strains, with Burundi having closed its borders with Rwanda in 2015 over coup accusations.

The escalating tensions in the region bring to the surface concerns of an incitement of violence by external forces to stunt development in the area with the ultimate goal of stealing natural resources.

UN peacekeeping mission submits to calls to leave DRC

Numerous calls from the Congolese government for the UN peacekeeping mission to leave eastern DRC have been heeded. The so-called peacekeepers, stationed for 25 years to combat rebel groups, have been ineffective in dealing with rebel forces and will withdraw by the end of 2024. A UN Security Council vote in December solidified the withdrawal.

Listen to the Africa Report on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Habib Bobat.