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NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : www.cadtm.org
IN BRIEF
by Apoorva Sudhakar
Burkina Faso: Compaore returns for reconciliation summit
On 7 July, former president Blaise Compaore returned to Burkina Faso from his exile in Ivory Coast. Compaore returned after he was invited by the current president Paul Henri Damiba for a reconciliation summit. Compaore previously fled to Ivory Coast amid an uprising in 2014. In April 2022, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for complicity in Thomas Sankara, his predecessor’s murder in 1987. (“Burkina Faso’s ousted ex-President Compaore returns for summit,” Al Jazeera, 7 July 2022)
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Clashes intensify in the east
On 7 July, clashes between the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s army and M23 rebels intensified in the east. The development comes a day after presidents of DRC and Rwanda, Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame agreed to de-escalate tensions. The M23 spokesperson termed the agreement irrelevant and said: “We are Congolese, not Rwandan. If there's a cease-fire, it can only be between us and the Congolese government.” (“M23 rejects ceasefire deal signed between Congo and Rwanda,” Deutsche Welle, 7 July 2022)