Simon Allison

The Continent 27 SEPTEMBER 2025 | ISSUE 215 15 INVESTIGATION The Djiboutian massacre Ethiopia won’t acknowledge Djibouti drones killed eight people on the other side of its border with Ethiopia. Djibouti claimed they were terrorists. Ethiopia said nothing. This investigation found that some of the dead were Ethiopians, revealing another episode in Addis’s tendency to let its neighbours kill its citizens with impunity. Crossing the line: Djibouti’s bombs landed inside Ethiopia, killing civilians – not armed fighters. zecharias zelalem On 30 January this year, a drone manned from Djibouti dropped a bomb on a funeral gathering in Siyaru, a remote, semi-arid village near the Ethiopia Djibouti border. As rescuers rushed in, a second bomb dropped. And then a third. At least eight people were killed, including three children. Several others were injured. Given the village’s remoteness, the incident might have gone unreported if graphic images of the dead hadn’t spread across Ethiopian social media. A statement from the Djibouti’s defence ministry said the drone struck rebel fighters from the Front for the

Restoration of Unity and Democracy (Frud), a Djiboutian political party with a military wing. It has been fighting for Afar interests in Djibouti since the 1990s. The Afar are a community split by the colonial border separating Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Eritrea. “Eight terrorists were neutralised on site,” said a Djibouti military statement. “Unfortunately, collateral damage among Djiboutian civilians in the area has been documented.” International media, including Voice of America, Agence France Presse, and Radio France Internationale reported this version of events. Now, new findings from an open In recovery: Mariam Mohammed Abdullah was injured in the drone strike. source investigation by The Continent reveal a different reality. The bombs landed inside Ethiopia, not in Djibouti, and civilians – not armed fighters – were killed. That distinction matters. It shows Ethiopia is once again tolerating a foreign military targeting its own citizens, as it did with Eritrea during the Tigray conflict. A transparent lie Even before the ink could dry on the Djiboutian military’s statement, The Addis Standard and human rights groups in Djibouti were emphatic that the strike had actually occurred inside Ethiopia’s Afar region. But Alexis Mohamed, an adviser to Djiboutian President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, rubbished these reports in now-deleted social media posts. The Continent got to work to figure out what really happened. Over the course of eight months, we collected eyewitness testimonies, interviewed human rights activists in Ethiopia and Djibouti, and examined images and footage from the strike. Our findings align with those of Djiboutian activists, who pinpointed Siyaru in Ethiopia’s Afar region as the site of the strike. The ammunition residue found on the night of the strike confirms the bomb was manufactured by Roketsan, a state run weapons manufacturer in Türkiye. Former US army explosives expert Trevor Ball identified t…

THREAD: this investigation took up over half my year, but it's here in @thecontinent.org:
A Djiboutian drone strike in January was depicted as a army operation targeting rebels. It was actually a massacre of civilians. The bloodshed & coverup implicating Ethiopia, Djibouti, France & Turkiye.
#OSINT

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This is the cover for The Continent, dated 27 September 2025, Issue 215. At the bottom, in the center, there is a young man standing inside a cage made of iron bars, symbolizing imprisonment. He faces forward, holding onto the bars, with a barren desert landscape stretching behind him. Oil rigs and a windmill are scattered in the background. Above his head, glowing in pink and purple tones, are two giant screens resembling video game interfaces. They show cartoonish avatars, guns, and reward icons like coins and badges, with the word “REWARDS” prominently displayed. One line of text on the screens reads: “Complete missions to get rewards!” The overall effect links video gaming and digital rewards with imprisonment, echoing the cover story’s title printed at the bottom: “Egypt’s screen to prison pipeline.” It is illustrated by Wynona Mutisi.

All Protocol Observed.

Welcome to Issue 215 of The Continent.

Egypt’s bid to stamp out dissent has created a screen-to-prison pipeline. Children lured through gaming are jailed without trial — on terror charges.

Read it here: bit.ly/TC_215

Weekend reading

I've been really enjoying these! Would love to know if a similar newspaper exists for the Caribbean. 🖤🖤

#diaspora #Caribbean #Africa #news #Blacksky

This is the cover of issue 214 of The Continent. It’s a picture by Temiloluwa Johnson. The headline reads: “Genuine Italian leather - straight outta Nigeria”. It features a man standing in front of a small workshop. The shop has a corrugated metal roof and a wooden beam holding up the front. A painted sign above him reads “ABDULLAHI HARUNA LITTAHAFIZUL” in faded blue and red letters. The barefoot man is wearing a cap and a dark striped shirt. He is holding up a large, bright red animal hide in front of him. Around him, several other hides in shades of red, yellow, and brown are draped over a low cement wall.. The overall scene gives the impression of a traditional leather workshop, with the man working on dyed hides for sale or processing.

At the top, in bold black letters on a pale yellow background, is the headline: “Reading is resistance.” Below it, there is a cartoon illustration of Astro. The character is holding up a large newspaper that almost covers its whole body. On either side of it are tall stacks of colorful books. Under the illustration, there is a line of text that reads: “We deliver Africa’s leading independent newspaper to your device, for free, every Saturday morning: thecontinent.org/subscribe”

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 214 of The Continent

The shoes and handbags cost thousands. The workers earn just enough to eat. Inside Kano’s leather pits — and the quiet fight for change.

Read it here: bit.ly/214_TC

I'm quoted in this @thecontinent.org story on the slump and potential collapse of Botswana's diamond industry:

“The appeal of diamonds was always partly based on scarcity. And now they are no longer scarce”

This week's The Continent cover is an illustration of a miner on a track that ends at a rock wall with a sign saying "The End". Text says "Hold 'em or fold 'em: Botswana's diamond gambit.

20 years ago, I worked at a diamond mine in Botswana. We knew even then this was coming.

This week's @thecontinent.org

This is the illustrated cover of The Continent, dated 12 September 2025, Issue 213. The illustration shows the inside of a dark, rocky mine tunnel. A miner in an orange jumpsuit and yellow helmet is riding in a small blue mine cart along a set of tracks. He is looking over his shoulder, holding a pickaxe, with a worried expression. In the distance, at the end of the tunnel, a large wooden barrier blocks the way. A sign nailed to the rocks reads “The END”, suggesting that the mine has run out or reached a dead end. The headline reads: “Hold ’em or fold ’em: Botswana’s diamond gambit.” The overall mood is one of uncertainty and exhaustion, hinting at Botswana facing difficult choices about the future of its diamond industry. It is illustrated by Gado.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 213 of The Continent.

Botswana bet big on diamonds — and won. But lab-grown stones are rewriting the rules. Is this a slump, or the end of the road?

Read more 👉 bit.ly/213_TC

'The Continent' 212,6sept.2025 :
-Inflation en Égypte et Zimbabwe.
-Catastrophe naturelle à Tarsin (Darfour) agravée par la guerre.
-Civils et journalistes à Gaza.
-Monument de la Renaissance Africaine à Dakar.
-Lutte contre onchocerciasis.
-'Promises' de Goretti Kyomuhen : jeunes migrants.
#Afrique

Another brilliant cover.

Another outstanding edition.

👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

As Reporters Without Borders, which co-ordinated the unprecedented international campaign, explains:

“This isn’t just a war against Gaza, it’s a war against journalism … Without them, who will alert us to the famine? Who will expose war crimes? Who will show us the genocides?”

I heard about it, from german media no less, and would have written about it myself if I wasn't on holidays.
Also I highly recommend reading The Continent at least from time to time.

An outstanding edition of @thecontinent.org with an incredibly moving piece on #Gaza, reportage from # Sudan on the landslide that buried a thousand people (did you hear about it?) and your weekly does of hope on how WHO is quietly eradicating river blindness
An essential part of your media diet.

The cover of The Continent is almost completely black, with no pictures or illustrations. At the very top is a thin grey band carrying the date 6 September 2025, the issue number 212, and the words African Journalism. Just below that, in large bold grey letters, is the newspaper’s masthead. The rest of the page is empty black space. In the middle of it, in small white letters, is a single line of text: Ansam Al-Kitaa in Gaza City.

This page has a warm yellow background with large bold black text at the top that reads: “We live in the same world. Let’s read from the same page. ”Beneath the text is an illustration of Astro, The Continent newspaper’s mascot. Astro is lying on their back, relaxed, holding up and reading a large newspaper. Below the illustration, the text says:“ We deliver Africa’s leading independent newspaper to your device, for free, every Saturday morning: thecontinent.org/subscribe”At the bottom of the page, two columns list The Team and Our Partners, naming supporting institutions such as 11th Hour Project, African Union, Amplify SA, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Pulitzer Centre, and others.

All Protocol Observed.

Welcome to Issue 212 of The Continent.

We join more than 250 newsrooms in 70 countries blacking out front pages in solidarity with journalists in Gaza.

Read Ansam al-Kitaa’s despatch from Gaza City: bit.ly/212_TC

I can’t stop thinking about this article from @thecontinent.org

‘She (Angelique Nyirasafari) noted that boys continue with school even when they cause pregnancies.’

'The Continent' 211, 30 août 2025 :
- 1tribunal US condamne un tortionnaire gambien.
- Les écoles catholiques de RDC contre la scolarisation des élèves enceinte.
- Développement du solaire en Af.
- Le Burundi face au manque d'essence ou les conséquences à 10 ans de l'avidité politique. #Afrique 1/2

One of my favourite things about the @thecontinent.org is the artistic/ creative direction. Every cover feels like a new piece of art.
If ever your team hosts an in person exhibition @simonallison.bsky.social @wynonamutisi.bsky.social - I am there!

Sierra Leone imported enough solar to increase generation by 60+% of total installed capacity. The future of energy abundance is in Africa 👀

Africa‘s accelerated shift to solar ☀️fueled by Chinese overproduction:

„Imports rose 60% in the 12 months to June 2025,
as Africa’s power needs converge with
China’s overproduction and low prices.“

This and much more in my fav Saturday morning read

👇🏼

Read a newspaper.

thecontinent.org/subscribe

The weekend is here

The cover of The Continent (30 August 2025, Issue 211) is a cartoon illustration by Gado. It shows an old, broken-down bus painted in Burundi’s national colors (red, green, and white), with a Burundian flag at the front. The bus is overloaded with an enormous, unstable pile of goods on its roof — suitcases, sacks, baskets, furniture, bicycles, even a skull. Inside the cramped bus, passengers look weary and squashed. The bus sits propped up on bricks instead of wheels, symbolising that it can’t move. Next to it, a smiling man is holding a yellow jerrycan of fuel, as if about to pour it in. The headline at the bottom reads: “The country that’s run out of fuel.”

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 211 of The Continent.

Fuel’s been scarce in Burundi since 2018, thanks to political unrest. Now, people are risking bullets, crocodiles, even prison just to fill up.

Get your copy here: bit.ly/211_TC

Thank you for flagging this, @gerritkurtz.bsky.social. Our source was the ITC database, which is clearly out of date. Will issue a correction in the next edition.

There’s a whole history of Congolese comics behind that cover

This is the illustrated cover of The Continent magazine, Issue 210, dated 23 August 2025. The headline reads: “The Goma blues.” The artwork is vivid and layered, telling a story through images that blend into one another: At the top, there is a large silhouette of a person’s head in profile. Inside the silhouette is a dark scene of someone sitting, knees pulled to chest, depicting despair. Birds fly in the background. Below this, a line of people carrying heavy boxes marches forward, evoking displacement or migration. Flowing from this scene, a young man is shown pushing a giant box. Beneath him, people pull belongings along the ground while others appear to be running from danger in a tense urban setting. Further down, another man is shown mid-leap, as if fleeing, looking fearful. At the bottom of the cover, a schoolboy with a satchel stands facing an imposing figure lying down with eyes closed, possibly symbolizing loss or mourning. Behind them, a city street stretches into the distance under a blue sky with scattered clouds. The background is a warm earthy brown, with an orange circular glow framing the head silhouette at the top. The illustration is by Edizon Musavuli.

All Protocol Observed

Welcome to Issue 210 of The Continent

With the state absent and armed groups in control, Goma, in eastern DRC, feels like purgatory. One local artist turns to drawing to capture life in the uncertainty of occupation.

Get your copy here: bit.ly/210_TC