This was rumoured for a while, but hard to verify, but weeks later my old newsroom has finally certified the news: Sudan's Armed Forces launched a deadly drone strike in neighbouring Ethiopia, killing 8 civilians including an IOM aid worker on April 29th. Sudan had warned attacks were imminent.

N.B...especially relevant for my American friends here. And if you're American & a journalist covering foreign affairs/Iran...the Ciham story shouldn't be left out. Especially when the Trump administration officially announces it's rapprochement with Eritrea, which could be any day.

THREAD: So you may or may not recognize this little girl, but it's timely to learn about her now, as Iran's Hormuz deadlock is pushing desperate regional & global powers towards alternative trade corridors. This is Ciham Ali Abdu, an American citizen. She hasn't been seen or heard from since 2012.

Sudan openly lashed out at Ethiopia, accusing the country of allowing Emirati backed RSF forces to use Ethiopian airbases as launching pads for drone strikes. No evidence was provided, but the accusation isn't outlandish & could be accurate. Sudan has hinted that it may retaliate. @aljazeera.com

I'm way out of my league with this high caliber lineup of trailblazing women, but we're still gonna give it our best shot later today. Wish me luck✌🏿

In this video explainer produced by @thetimes.com, I provide analysis on how conflict in East Africa is being inflamed by geopolitical rivals in the Gulf, who are carving the region apart. The race for the Bab El Mandeb oil corridor pits 🇦🇪 on one side & 🇸🇦 🇪🇬 on the other, but fuels 🇪🇹 🇸🇩 🇪🇷 wide tension

Wow. Just wow.

The Public Source produce deep dives and essays that really acquaint you with Lebanon. Read this indepth sit down they had with the late Amal Khalil back in January. Che Guevara-esque, a fearless warrior of a journo, chasing the eye of the storms of war since 2006.

Next level depravity. Blunt, unapologetic justification for the murder of Lebanese journalists, and a promise to kill more. Rest in power Amal.

I wrote about Israel’s forced evacuation, what happens to those who leave and those who stay behind www.aljazeera.com/features/202...

Lebanese francophone outlet L’Orient Le-Jour: the Nakba of South Lebanon. We Lebanese are calling it for what it is: a continuation of the 1948 Nakba. The photo shows a Lebanese village with an Israeli flag on it, planted by the genocidal army.

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.

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

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.

My latest for Middle East Eye: satellite imagery analysis reveals that an Ethiopian army base in western Ethiopia is being used as a weapons & logistics hub by Sudan's UAE backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to launch cross border attacks on Sudanese army positions from Ethiopia.

"A former Ethiopian government adviser told MEE that “many in Ethiopia’s foreign ministry and elsewhere believe the UAE has been calling the shots in Ethiopia in regard to the Sudan government, RSF and Eritrea over the port of Assab for at least two years”. ✍️ @zekuzelalem.bsky.social + Oscar Rickett

BAGHDAD (AP) — American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Baghdad last week, has been released, an Iraqi official says.

Ouch. Looks like his highness Pahlavi bout to get hit with the Maria Corina Machado treatment.

I hate how many journalists descend on Beirut when there is war. Yes, it needs covering and some people know the city and do it really well. But still, many come in and repeat problematic western-centric narratives. I understand this is the type of reporting that makes careers and pays bills

Operation "Shock and awe," Baghdad, March 2003. That's what comes to mind. That operation led to at least 6,000 civilian deaths per Iraq Body Count. How many will die this time?

Appeared on Deutsche Welle TV, to dissect possible war in the Horn. Among points I make: Iran bombing the UAE could affect Emirati East Africa operations, possibly delaying a push to war by its client state Ethiopia & hampering operations of its proxy, the genocidal RSF in Sudan. Starts at 12:24.

Victims in our countries seldom get profiled and humanised in Western media. This is a portrait of a life cut short. What a tragedy. "Saleh Ahmed (55) lived in the UAE as an expat for 25 years, sending under £500 per month in earnings to Bangladesh for his wife and four children."

Was on the Global Dispatches podcast last week with Mark Leon Goldberg, to discuss the complexities of brewing conflict in the Horn, & the vested interest many Gulf powers have. Recorded just before all hell broke loose in the Middle East. Will have a follow up addressing more recent developments.

The last photo of Mikaeil Mirdoraghi, a third-grade student killed in the reported U.S./Israeli strike on a primary school in Minab, Iran. He is waving goodbye to his mother.

Today the Israelis ordered the evacuation of the southern suburbs of Beirut. This included a couple Palestinian refugee camps. People who were displaced during the Nakba or in 67, settled in Beirut and now their grand/great grandchildren are once again displaced.

This is a introspectional must read especially for journos. It dissects how a series of investigative stories on a trove of leaked docs containing data & gruesome photos of Syria's forcibly disappeared, ended up retraumatizing families. Critical reflection on the duty to inform, & minimizing harm.

“No front-page stories in NYT, WSJ, WaPo. No mention on NBC and CBS Sunday Shows. No stand alone segments on Evening News shows. A death count on par with the OKC bombing is relegated to the back page.” www.columnblog.com/p/corporate-...

Follow Justin, for updates and his top top Al Jazeera coverage from Beirut, as Lebanon endures the umpteenth Israeli bombing campaign of the country in barely three years. The frequency of IDF airstrikes in Lebanon swings up & down, but airstrikes never completely stopped despite the 2024 ceasefire.

I really do feel for Iranians, coming from a region that is harmed by both the "anti imperialist left" and the right. The former teams up with our genocidal governments as long as they say they're against the US, the latter wants us bombed into oblivion and prevented from immigrating.

Woke up to a dozen messages of friends in Beirut saying Israel bombed

The Tasnim and Fars news agencies are confirming the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.news/9i4fmn

If you missed it when it aired on the weekend, this is my TV production debut, for @aljazeera.com's The Listening Post. We investigated Israeli gov efforts to whitewash genocide in Gaza for African audiences, using journalists & Christian influencers. Fellow "journos" were held to account.

THREAD: A first for me: I've co-produced an episode of Al Jazeera's The Listening Post, and it airs tomorrow! Outrage over genocide in Gaza has led to Israel losing the streets & the campuses of the western world. So, Israel has recently decided to try selling its narrative...to Africans.

I cover the Horn. Reporting on 🇵🇸🇮🇱 is generally not part of my mandate. But the beats have aligned. Six months of work later, this weekend I'll have an investigation go live & it addresses Israel's genocide in Gaza and the African continent. Coming to @aljazeera.com, hope you'll tune in. 🇰🇪🇿🇦🇪🇹

This is *so* important.

Wrote for @theglobeandmail.com: I spent months hearing from African survivors of Myanmar scam camps, where trafficking victims are forced to run scams targeting westerners. Chinese criminals & at least one pro-junta militia cooperate to dish out horrific abuse against migrants to ensure compliance.

My latest: Without anti-authoritarianism, 'anti-imperialism' is just conservatism with left-wing aesthetics www.hauntologies.net/p/iranian-pr...

On the rank tankie-ism that @timnitgebru.bsky.social and @zekuzelalem.bsky.social have been calling out on the American anti-imperialist "left", with regard to Iran, Tigray, Bosnia, and so many others. bsky.app/profile/timn...

The government knew the news of Li's death would lead to an uproar. So they did one of the most shameful things ever. They would not announce his death. They pretended he was still alive. State media statements that Li had passed away were wiped. But this photo was posted. And then we all knew.

it's so annoying how much American websites assume any traffic from Africa is fraud 😭 once my apartment building blocked all traffic from the page where I'd pay rent like wtf

With the industry in the hands of wealthy moguls and governments who don't share the interests or the same passion for the craft as chronically underpaid muckrakers, journalism was always doomed. It's at the mercy of people who we are mandated to hold to account, a terrible setup from the get go.

I will never cancel R Kelly. He devoted decades of his life to producing great music. His impact on that front is immeasurable. /s

Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed answered questions in parliament today. Loosely addressing recent clashes & his gov's fallout with neighbouring Eritrea. When asked what was behind the feud with Eritrea, he stated that things began to unravel when Eritrean soldiers massacred civilians during the Tigray war.

Demonstrations were held in parts of Ethiopia yesterday, not far from where clashes between Ethiopian forces & Tigrayan rebels went on for 5 days. Protesters called for an end to fighting & for the rebels to vacate the area. Following calls from the international community, fighting has halted.

Weekly-ish reminder that an easy way to support my work is through ko-fi.com/eliaayoub I know these are difficult times, so no worry if you can't

At this time of uncertainty in the Horn of Africa, I really didn't think the Epstein files would trend in the region, but they are. Ethiopia's Minister of Education was the subject of emails exchanged in 2009 between Epstein & Henry Jarecki, wealthy entrepreneur dogged by allegations of SA as well.

Three days into conflict in Tigray, the warring factions are either silent, or issuing vague statements. Following a call for restraint by the African Union, the chairman of the TPLF, under whose command Tigrayan rebels are fighting, responded expressing a willingness to engage in dialogue.

51 year old heir apparent, famous for drunken twitter escapades & resulting diplomatic incidents, is head of Uganda's national army, appointed by his father who has ruled the country since 1986. Get to know General Muhoozi Kainerugaba better! The BBC have profiled the eccentric nepo baby today.

UPDATE: as fighting breaks out in Tigray, and drone strikes are reported...Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has state media cameras on him, while he walks the streets of Jijiga in Eastern Ethiopia, accompanied by the Presidents of neighbouring Somalia and Djibouti. No mention of the fighting in the north.

UPDATE: according to reports from Tigray regional state television, drone strikes targeted trucks in two north-east Tigray towns at 4AM local time. A driver was killed, another is injured. These would be the first civilian casualties of drone strikes in Tigray, since the Tigray war ended in 2022.