Preparons-nous pour la pire coupe du monde en histoire.

I know Chris, anyone who follows you knows of your uncompromising humanity, no need to clarify!

Yes. They are being displaced and being murdered in airstrikes as well.

Thinking of friends in Lebanon, and all Lebanese who have hopes pinned on another "peace deal" being implemented by parties, with a track record of invading territories and violating ceasefires at will with no repercussions whatsoever.

This is the cover of The Continent. Above that, in a thin strip, it says “African Journalism | 18 April 2026 | Issue 235”. Beneath the title is the headline: “South Africa’s populist pretender”. The central image is a caricature of a Gayton Mackenzie with exaggerated features. He has a very wide grin showing large, uneven teeth, a rounded face, and heavy lines around his eyes and cheeks. His expression is confident but slightly mocking. His hair is bright blond, styled in a sweeping, combed-over shape that resembles Donald Trump's signature hairstyle. He is wearing a dark blue suit jacket, a white shirt, and a bright red tie. On his jacket are several round badges. One is yellow with the letters “PA”. Another shows the South African flag. A third has a blue Star of David on a white background. Another badge reads “I ♥ Orban”. The illustration is by Gado.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 235 of The Continent

In South African politics, Gayton McKenzie is a larger-than-life character who leans into his criminal past and blends populism, and a striking disregard for the rule of law. Remind you of someone?

bit.ly/235_TC

Thanks for this. Really puts a lot into perspective.

Correction...this map shows the road taken from Berbera, not Bosaso. Although both are Somali cities, and both host UAE military officials and equipment...both were vacated and officers at both cities oversaw weapons transfers to Ethiopia and then the RSF.

My story, subject of the thread was published last week in Middle East Eye, co-written w/ Oscar Rickett. Sorry, not exactly a "short" thread.

Sudan's war is the worst ongoing conflict in the world, with widespread CRSV, mass displacement & genocide all documented.

May year 3 be the last.

Germany: Sudan aid conference in Berlin raises €1.3B The war in Sudan is entering its fourth year with international attention focused on other conflicts. The conference in Berlin is aiming to bring back some attention to help fund urgent projects.

Yesterday, Sudan was the topic at a major conference in Berlin, which saw major global powers attend & pledge around 1.3 billion euros in assistance.

The problem is, western states that organize these conferences never call out their partner in the UAE, rendering many gatherings meaningless.

UAE air bridge provides military support to Ethiopia gov’t Al Jazeera investigation finds the UAE is providing extensive support to Ethiopian army in fight against Tigray forces.

Journos have an obligation to document human suffering & if possible, hold responsible parties to account.

It's heartbreaking to confirm that my homeland is complicit in atrocities in Sudan. But considering that the UAE has fueled industrial scale bloodshed in Ethiopia as well, it's not surprising.

That is the defense most echoed by the hundreds of Ethiopian commenters on my Amharic language page below, and via DM. Most responded to our reporting that holds the Ethiopian & Emirati states to account for fueling bloodshed in Sudan by accusing me of "betrayal."
www.facebook.com/ZekuZelalem/...

Egypt carrying out air strikes on RSF in Sudan from secret base Officials say RSF capture of el-Fasher was 'red line' for Egypt and prompted greater involvement in Sudan

The Ethiopian gov has not responded to the allegations, but its supporters on social media have said that Sudan's support for armed Ethiopian groups, including the TPLF, makes their support for the RSF legitimate.

They also point out similar activities by archrival Egypt on behalf of the SAF.

The evidence all points to Ethiopia's arming the RSF, violating an arms embargo & perhaps worst of all, reneging on its genocide convention obligations (the UN has accused the RSF of carrying out a genocide in Darfur). The UAE might not have fully ratified the genocide convention, but Ethiopia has.

Military facilities outside the Sudanese border town of Sali in the Blue Nile State

Open source tools like Google Maps, NASA Fire data also helped pinpoint locations, further corroborating reports of battles, including at this location which is consistent with a military facility. The RSF reportedly attacked this site from the ground and by drone 10°46'40.21"N 34°11'20.78"E.

Map: Sudanese Rebels Overrun Army Garrison at Ethiopia Border Kurmuk town falls to RSF in first major setback for army on new Blue Nile front

They then tracked them crossing into Sudan on dates that correspond with local Sudanese coverage of RSF attacks on SAF positions throughout the month of March. Sudan War Monitor, which provides excellent coverage is recommended.

Empty car haulers at the RSF logistics base outside Asosa

That is where the geospatial gurus, experts from Yale University came in and made the major play. They did their thing and tracked the journeys, spotting the weapons and dozens of empty car haulers at the Asosa base. As many as six car haulers are seen here (29/03/26) having unloaded their vehicles.

Ethiopia builds secret camp to train Sudan RSF fighters, sources say Ethiopia is hosting a secret camp to train thousands of fighters for the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group in neighbouring Sudan, Reuters reporting has found, in the latest sign that one of the ...

What I eyewitnesses couldn't do was identify where the trucks were headed to. We know it was to the Benishangul Gumuz region bordering Sudan, but weren't sure where. I also couldn't find any evidence of vehicles/weapons transportation to a base that Reuters identified as allegedly being an RSF base.

Car hauler seen from space in Ethiopia's Oromia region

Satellite imagery snap of one of the car haulers you see in the video. This one shows it driving eastwards in the town of Mendi. With 3 or 4 geolocated videos, and comment sections full of rich eyewitness testimony, it was easy to pinpoint what roads the "secret" Emirati deliveries were taking.

People who saw them, gave me pretty accurate descriptions of giant white car hauler trucks, transporting dozens of technical vehicles eastwards. And then they were caught on camera by people in towns across Ethiopia's Oromia region. It wasn't long before clips like these began to surface on TikTok.

Map of the Bosaso to Asosa road, taken from Google Maps

The Emirati plan was to secretly transfer the RSF hub from Bosaso in Somalia, to Asosa. Problem is, beyond sources in Somalia notifying us...giant delivery trucks spent months using major highways flanked by Ethiopian army trucks to drive >1500 km. They were spotted by many eyewitnesses in Ethiopia.

Somalia cancels all agreements with the UAE, including at major ports The decision applies to all agreements and cooperation in the ports of Berbera, Bosaso and Kismayo

After Somalia found evidence of Emirati-Israeli military cooperation on its soil...Somalia told Emirati military officers to leave the country. We were told shortly after by sources in Somalia...that instead of being flown home, giant trucks of Emirati hardware began driving east into Ethiopia.

Cargo trucks visible on the left, with nearly 40 armoured personnel carriers on the right (accompanied by 25 light technicals) seen on March 29th 2026.

Sample photo of Emirati APCs taken from the website of The Conversation

In yellow, some 40 APCs (armoured personnel carriers) seen here on March 29th 2026. Sample image from the website of The Conversation shows typical Emirati made APC models.

Heavy machine gun mounts, used to install guns and other heavy weaponry atop technical vehicles, encircled in red

From the website of the Military Systems Group, heavy machine gun mounts

Heavy machine gun mounts, used to install guns and other heavy weaponry atop technical vehicles. Sample image taken from the "Military Systems Group" website.

Hundreds of machine guns circled in yellow. In green, a military delivery vehicle can be seen.

File photo showing Nigerien soldiers aboard a technical fitted with a gun

Hundreds of heavy machine guns, which can be fitted atop technical vehicles, as shown here in the file photo showing soldiers from the Niger army. The imagery is from February 18th. Weeks after this delivery was made, the first of several cross border RSF ground attacks were launched.

Images obtained courtesy of Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab, via Vantor and Planet Labs.

The images show hundreds of light technical vehicles, used by militias across East Africa, including the RSF. This is recent openly sourced footage of RSF fighters with technicals.

Light technical vehicles used widely by the RSF in battle, about 120 seen here before being delivered to the RSF. December 29th 2025.

About 200 light technical vehicles seen on February 18th.

RSF fighter aboard a technical

Short thread containing satellite imagery of Emirati weapons smuggled to the genocidal RSF militia in Sudan, with accompanying file photos. Snapped at a secret RSF logistics base in western Ethiopia (10°05'55.5"N 34°34'50.9"E).

Wednesday marked 3 years since the start of Sudan's brutal civil war.

Coming 2 months after a Reuters story identified what it said was a secret RSF camp in Ethiopia, this report identifies a separate site, an Ethiopian army camp, as Ethiopia's main hub of support for the RSF.

Next Wednesday will mark 3 years since the breakout of Sudan's ongoing brutal civil war.

The genocidal RSF have carried out numerous atrocities over the past three years, including weaponized sexual violence, civilian massacres and drone strikes. In October, following their capture of the city of El Fasher, their fighters killed tens of thousands of civilians who remained in the area.

We spoke to sources in Ethiopia, Sudan & Somalia, all of whom identified the UAE as the primary backer of the operation. Armoured cars that ended up in Sudan had been delivered to Asosa, from the Somali port of Bosaso where the Emiratis operated a base. Tents, heavy machine guns were also spotted.

Concrete evidence of Ethiopia's intervention in Sudan's civil war on the side of the UAE and RSF, was obtained through the Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab.

The base, located near the city of Asosa, has hosted hundreds of light technical vehicles which would be deployed to Sudan.