Bangladesh, Burundi, Sudan

Today's three stories you should know

Bangladesh

Violent demonstrations have erupted in cities across Bangladesh after a popular youth leader who was shot last week died from his wounds. Sharif Osman Hadi was shot by masked attackers last Friday as he launched his campaign for elections due to be held in February. The 32-year-old was a spokesperson for the Inquilab Mancha, or Platform for Revolution, which participated in protests that toppled longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. The country’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, appealed for calm. The unrest follows widespread protests against India, where Hasina is living in exile. Bangladesh has sentenced her to death and sought her extradition.

More from Al Jazeera here.

Burundi

Burundi is buckling under the strain of an influx of refugees from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with more than 84,000 fleeing across the border just this month, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Fighting between government forces and the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group intensified this week despite a peace deal announced by U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of DRC and Rwanda at the White House this month. After that deal, M23 occupied the key town of Uvira but has since said it is willing to withdraw at the request of the U.S. The conflict between M23 and the Congolese military has been fought sporadically for years but escalated in January when the rebels launched a lightning offensive in which they captured two major cities.

More from Reuters here.

Sudan

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group killed more than 1,000 people when it overran a camp for the displaced earlier this year, the U.N. Human Rights Office said. The RSF, which is supported and financed by the United Arab Emirates, stormed Zamzam camp in April during its siege of Darfur’s el-Fasher city. The U.N. said hundreds of people were summarily executed, others were killed in house-to-house raids and in markets, and that rape, including gang rape, took place. The RSF and Sudan’s army have been locked in a civil war for two and a half years, unleashing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

More from AP here.