The alliance of rebel groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have declared a humanitarian ceasefire starting on Tuesday.  

In a statement, the group —which includes the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels cited “humanitarian reasons” for the ceasefire, after capturing territory in eastern parts of the country. 

South Sudan’s transition to democratic governance through a highly anticipated, first-ever post-independence general election has to wait once again for another two years. Despite this latest extension, the country has achieved notable milestones in its transitional justice process.  

Weeks into the ceasefire in Gaza, thousands of Palestinians who left for neighboring Egypt are grappling with the question of when they might go home, though they reject the prospect of a mass displacement proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.  

A proposal by Trump that much of the population of Gaza be cleared out and residents sent en masse to Egypt and Jordan has been universally denounced across the Arab world as a form of ethnic cleansing.  

Foreign powers including the U.S. and the European Union have condemned Rwanda's involvement in the fighting, which UN reports have said includes the deployment of thousands of its own troops and weapons in support of the Tutsi-led M23 militia. 

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission has recorded an “alarming rise” in reported executions of Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russian armed forces during the war in recent months.  

The mission in Ukraine said it had received reports of 79 executions in 24 separate incidents since the end of August last year. International humanitarian law prohibits the execution of prisoners of war and the wounded, regarding it as a war crime. 

Two weeks after the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect, aid is flooding into the Gaza Strip, bringing relief to a territory suffering from hunger, mass displacement, and devastation following 15 months of war. 

But Palestinians and aid workers say it is still an uphill battle to ensure the assistance reaches everyone. And looming large is the possibility that fighting will resume if the ceasefire breaks down after the six-week first phase. 

The government of Somalia’s semiautonomous Puntland region says military strikes by the United States in the Golis Mountains killed “key figures” of the ISIL (ISIS) group. 

ISIL has a relatively small presence in Somalia compared with al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, but experts have warned of growing activity. 

ISIL has been involved in attacks in southern and central Somalia. The group funds its activities through extortion, smuggling, and illicit taxation, particularly in some coastal areas where it has attempted to control local businesses. 

Rebels backed by Rwanda captured more towns in eastern Congo as they moved beyond the key city of Goma in an apparent attempt to expand their control in the conflict-battered region. 

The rebels advanced toward the center of South Kivu province after taking several towns, including Kalungu, Kanyezire, and Mukwinja, according to a local civil society leader and an aid worker in the area. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. 

A series of constitutional reforms granting sweeping new powers to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega have been passed without dissent by the country’s legislature. 

A unanimous vote ushered in what critics have described as a power grab by Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo. The reforms also make the vice president a “co-president”.