Somalia has announced that more than $1.1bn (£860m) of outstanding loans will be cancelled by the US, a sum representing about a quarter of the country’s remaining debt. The announcement is the latest in a series of agreements in which Somalia’s creditors have committed to forgiving its debt obligations. Most of Somalia’s debt had built up during the era of Siad Barre’s military dictatorship, which collapsed in the early 1990s and triggered a ruinous three-decade civil war…Harry Verhoeven, an expert on the political economy of the Horn of Africa, said Somalia’s debt forgiveness was “meaningful” as it “enables Somalia to more readily access public financing” from multilateral development banks. However, he said private creditors were likely to remain cautious due to lingering concerns about “financial governance and political instability”. (The Guardian)

[T]wo years after the war ended [in Tigray], Ethiopia is preparing to launch a transitional justice process. In April, its cabinet approved a policy setting up a special prosecutor and court to deal with the most serious abuses, as well as a truth commission with powers to grant reparations and amnesties to mend fractured community relationships. Their work will start in the coming months, covering not just the recent civil war, but all crimes committed in the country since 1995, when its constitution came into force. The transitional justice policy has drawn praise from donors such as the US and the European Union, which froze aid to Ethiopia during the conflict and demanded a transitional justice process before they normalised relations. But it has been criticised by international and national human rights groups, who question the government’s commitment to accountability…There is still fighting in Amhara and Oromia, Ethiopia’s biggest regions, where security forces face accusations of abuses…Much of these regions are too dangerous for officials, so it is not clear how the transitional process will work there. Civil society groups say the ongoing atrocities cast doubt on the government’s commitment to accountability. (The Guardian)

Top Chinese official, Li Xi, arrived in the Kenyan capital for bilateral talks on Monday. He was welcomed by officials, including William Ruto, at Nairobi State House. During talks, William Ruto pledged to strengthen ties between the two nations. “Kenya, I want to assure you, is committed to promoting this partnership across Africa and also upholding the ‘One China’ policy,” Ruto said. With their strategic partnership, the two nations are collaborating on development projects in the country. Ruto has also asked for China’s backing for Kenya’s aim to join the BRICS group of emerging national economies. Currently, BRICS members make up about around 28% of the global economy. The group was founded in 2006; at that time, its members were Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa became a member in 2010, before several other countries, including Egypt and Ethiopia, joined at the start of this year. (Africanews)

A siege by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the town of Al-Hilaliya in Al Jazirah state has resulted in at least 67 deaths, including 54 from suspected poisoning and a dire humanitarian situation for trapped civilians, according to a local civilian group. The RSF, a paramilitary group, has besieged Al-Hilaliya, 70 km (43 miles) northeast of the state capital, Wad Madani, for weeks following the defection of its local commander to the army. The Al Jazirah Conference, a civil society organization, said on Wednesday that 13 people had been killed by RSF gunfire, while 54 had died from poisoning. It accused the RSF of giving detainees food contaminated with urea fertilizer…The witness added that the RSF charged one million Sudanese pounds (around $500) to allow people to leave for Umm Dawaban, east of the Nile. (Sudan Tribune)