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The commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has threatened to form his own government with Khartoum as its capital if the army sets up an administration in the eastern city of Port Sudan.

In a post on X, external (formerly Twitter), Lt Gen Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, said the RSF had shown "great patience regarding al-Burhan's individual decisions despite his illegitimacy", referring to army chief Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

"We will not allow anyone to speak on behalf of Sudan and claim legitimacy,” the RSF leader added.

The RSF leader's threat followed state media reports that the military-led government plans to build a presidential palace and the headquarters of its foreign ministry in Port Sudan in the Red Sea state.

The city has been serving as the government's operating base since a deadly conflict broke out between the regular army and the RSF in Khartoum in mid-April.

Image source, AFP

A human rights NGO has criticised Kenya’s President William Ruto for failing to reduce human rights violations, after it documented a more than twofold increase in abuses since the beginning of Mr Ruto's presidency in September 2022.

"In the past year, we have witnessed a wave of punitive policing during protests, extrajudicial executions, deaths in custody, deliberate torture of children, interference with investigative authorities, unconstitutional interference of the National Police Service and other critical human rights violations," said the Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU) on Thursday.

IMLU documented 482 cases of torture and related violations since last October, some 128 extrajudicial murders and three enforced disappearances. It says the victims are overwhelmingly young males, with minors aged 17 or younger accounting for 44 cases.

The organisation said that "the data implies that the president’s efforts to address police abuse and protect urban youth have fallen short".

President Ruto has repeatedly promised to abolish extrajudicial killings.

"For the avoidance of doubt, there will be no extrajudicial killings in the government of Kenya under my administration. That is a chapter we must close, weld, bolt and put behind us," he said in an interview with Kenyan media in January.

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Mali’s ruling junta has cancelled independence day celebrations planned for next week following a resumption of hostilities in the north.

The council of ministers in a statement said the anniversary would be “celebrated in sobriety and in the spirit of national revival”.

Junta leader Assimi Goita ordered the government to allocate the funds planned for this year's festivities to help victims of recent deadly attacks.

The council also discussed the possible mobilisation of reservists to counter the militant attacks.

Insecurity is rising in northern and central regions despite the deployment of Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries.

Members of England's Moroccan communities tell the BBC how they have been affected by the earthquake.

Please follow the latest on the Libya flood disaster on this special live page.

Je Seung Lee
BBC World Service Newsroom

Image source, Reuters

The Moroccan authorities have announced plans to fund the rebuilding of about 50,000 homes damaged by last week's earthquake.

They will provide more than $13,000 (£10,460) for the reconstruction of homes which have been completely destroyed, and $8,000 for those with partial damage.

Residents will meanwhile be given temporary shelters equipped to withstand cold weather, and each household will receive a grant of $3,000.

The exact number of people left homeless is still not known.

Nearly 3,000 people have been confirmed dead, and more than 5,000 injured in the 6.8 magnitude quake.

Aid organisations fear many dead still remain in the debris of the devastated city and not enough clean water is available for survivors.

A selection of the best photos from the African continent and beyond.

The Egyptian village of al-Sharif has lost at least 70 young men in the Libyan floods.

Captain Omar Colley cannot celebrate The Gambia's qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations after experiencing the trauma of Friday's earthquake in Morocco.

Gambian football captain Omar Colley tells the story of how he and his team-mates were caught up in Friday's earthquake in Morocco.

Johr Ali, a Libyan journalist from Derna, describes the heartbreak of his friend who lost his entire family in the floods.

Power generation in Nigeria, a major oil and gas producer, fell to zero megawatts early on Thursday.

Residents of Derna tell the BBC how they got out alive as floodwaters smashed through the city.

Pictures reveal washed-away streets and thousands of destroyed buildings in the city of Derna.

Lincolnshire firefighters search for survivors in the earthquake-hit country.

The flooding in Derna swept away houses, buildings and left entire neighbourhoods surrounded by water.

The firefighters on a search and rescue mission speak of the "devastation" caused by the quake.

The BBC's analysis editor looks at the link between the devastating floods and years of crisis in Libya.

Ashraf Ali says it took days for him to learn if relatives were safe in devastating flooding in Libya.