Outgoing African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat, pictured with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), takes a final stroll through the corridors of power in Addis Abeba on Saturday, February 15, 2025, after eight years at the helm. His successor, Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, long-serving in his country’s top diplomatic post, clinched the position during an AU summit overshadowed by fears of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) spilling into the wider region, and the mounting humanitarian causality from the war in Sudan.
Youssouf beat rivals, including Kenya’s Raila Odinga and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato, marking a change of guard at the continental body.
At the summit, UN Chief Antonio Guterres warned against further escalation in the DRC, warning that the country's territorial integrity should be upheld amid mounting international pressure on Rwanda. The comments came as Rwandan-backed M23 fighters, having already routed the Congolese army in Goma, captured another town, Bukavu, and pushed deeper into the South. While Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame attended the summit, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi notably remained absent.
European Union officials echoed the outcry, pledging a "robust response" to the "ongoing violation" of Congo’s sovereignty. Guterres, reminding heads of state that Africa holds the key to resolving these tensions, urged dialogue to avert a full-blown regional conflict, a cautionary note as the continent is gripped by multiple crises, from the chaos in Sudan to stalled progress on reparations for colonial-era abuses. The summit also elected Angolan President, Joao Lourenco, to the AU’s rotating presidency.
PUBLISHED ON
Feb 16, 2025 [ VOL
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