By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on France 24
According to the Spanish authorities, 60,000 migrants reached Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, within a few days, in an influx fuelled by viral rumours. Madrid says more than half have already returned, while Rabat is cooperating with repatriations; the Spanish toll mentions 60 deaths.
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry denies any army involvement in the 19 October drone strike on Amiet market in the disputed Abyei region. Local authorities raised the death toll to 153, while the Rapid Support Forces-aligned government called for an international investigation, according to Radio Tamazuj.
🇸🇩 Sudan · Source: Radio Tamazuj ·
Between 16 August and 15 October, 4,162 migrants reached the Canary Islands by sea, while the average daily rate rose from 21 to 68. Twenty-five of the 49 boats arriving since 14 September, carrying 1,561 migrants, departed from Moroccan ports, according to Spanish Interior Ministry data reported by Yabiladi.
🇲🇦 Morocco · Source: Yabiladi ·
During his visit to Ceuta, King Felipe VI reaffirmed that Ceuta and Melilla were Spanish and that their sovereignty was not negotiable. The position, expressed during his trip to the enclave, comes amid migration tensions between Spain and Morocco, Maghrebemergent reports.
🇲🇦 Morocco · Source: Maghrebemergent ·
Arrivals in Europe of migrants from West Africa fell by 59% in the first half of 2026, to 4,566 people, while departures shifted southwards, particularly to The Gambia. The IOM attributes this change to tighter controls in Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal; on the Atlantic route, the number of dead and missing rose from 1,172 to 1,215 between 2024 and 2025, according to the African Press Agency.
🇬🇲 Gambia · Source: Kassataya ·
Western Sahara: Polisario threatens to quit peace processThe Polisario Front warns it could withdraw from the Western Sahara peace process if the Security Council adopts the US draft resolution without substantial changes. The text would make autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty the basis for negotiations, according to the movement’s letter to the Security Council president, reported by Yabiladi.
Force enters Central Bank of Libya headquarters in TripoliA force and other parties entered the Central Bank of Libya’s headquarters in Tripoli on 22 October 2026, after Governor Naji Aïssa’s resignation was accepted. The bank blamed, among others, Libya’s Ministry of Defence and said it was considering legal action, according to its statement.The week in Africa
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