Justin Lynch

Zohran Mamdani won by being himself – and his victory has revealed the Islamophobic ugliness of others | Nesrine Malik The vicious reaction to his New York mayoral success tells us this: the establishment will not countenance mainstream voters making common cause with Muslims, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

This week’s column is on people losing their minds, and insulting the public’s intelligence, over Mamdani.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“It seems hardly a coincidence that RSF public conferences in Nairobi were immediately followed by a $1.5 billion loan from the UAE and a surge in suspicious UAE-to-RSF shipments transiting through Kenya,” Lynch said.

Kenyan Weapons Linked to Sudan’s Civil War - bellingcat Bellingcat and our partners at Kenya’s Daily Nation have identified Kenyan-labelled crates of ammunition inside an alleged RSF depot close to the recently recaptured Sudanese capital Khartoum. Althoug...

Great job by @bellingcat.com
and @nationafrica.bsky.social for their investigation into Kenyan-labeled crates of ammunition found in Sudan's civil war.

www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/06...

Alleged drone strikes in Port Sudan CIR verified user-generated content and satellite imagery confirming fires and damage to six sites in Port Sudan.

After reports of drone strikes emerged from Port Sudan in early May, CIR's Sudan Witness used user-generated content (UGC) and satellite imagery to verify fires and damage to six sites in Port Sudan between 4 and 7 May 2025.
New report: www.info-res.org/reports/alle...

Port Sudan strikes: Drone attacks raise stakes in new phase of bloody civil war - BBC News Experts tell the BBC the air strikes showcase the growth of advanced drone warfare in Africa.

Last week’s UAV attacks in Port Sudan show how Sudan’s war is driven by new technology. The RSF have discovered a vulnerability in SAF’s anti-drone systems. SAF will close the vulnerability, but when? See my comments in the BBC. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Meta’s content moderators face worst conditions yet at secret Ghana… Hit by workers’ rights lawsuits in Kenya, the tech giant has moved its outsourcing to a top-secret new site – where life is grimmer still

Critical investigation by @clairelwilmot.bsky.social about how Meta offshored content moderation to the world's poorest countries. Sweatshops of the digital age. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2025...

4. Displaced civilians from El Fashir must be allowed to travel to Tawila freely. Diplomats should prioritize this immediately with parties and their foreign backers so civilians fleeing violence will have refuge.

3.It's time for diplomats to get real and stop with approaches that won't work. This war will end when SAF and the UAE come to the negotiating table -- be it in 6 months or 60 years. Is anyone in a position to facilitate talks?

2. Sudanese soup kitchens, Emergency Response Rooms, national NGOs and INGOs are the ones delivering on the ground in areas affected by famine. They must receive funding as famine is projected to spread in the next two months.

1. Many humanitarians predicted the current situation back in 2020 (I have receipts for those who served in the transitional government who seem to have forgotten!) Blaming aid workers but not SAF and the RSF for blocking aid is a bizarre talking point.

YouTube video by Al Jazeera English Why is aid to Sudan falling while famine and conflict worsen? | Inside Story

Sudan is suffering the world's worst famine in four decades, but aid is dwindling. I appeared on Al Jazeera's Inside Story with Kholood Khair to discuss how to save lives now and in the future. Here are the points I made:
youtube.com/watch?v=-J_J...

Iran dreamed up a US-style Marshall Plan to rebuild Syria after the civil war. It invested billions to build influence there. Documents from its looted embassy show how that plan went spectacularly wrong with the fall of Bashar al-Assad reut.rs/3Ypri76

Stop the Next Ethiopia-Eritrea War Before It Begins As armies deploy, Gulf states and their Western allies must halt an impending conflict that could inflame the entire Red Sea region.

8/ Second, Sudan's chaos was predictable. Once mass atrocities begin, options become limited. Prevention is key. The current lack of engagement in South Sudan & Ethiopia/Eritrea is equally negligent. Where is the high-level UK + US leadership? See: foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/12/e...

7/ Why does this matter? First, the culture of immunity & negligence continues in Western capitals. We need accountability from think tanks & political leaders to prevent policy failures in Sudan & Africa. Journalists get fooled by style rather than substance.

How the U.N. and the West Failed Sudan Self-delusion and negligence stopped governments and aid agencies from facilitating a genuine and lasting transition to democracy.

6/ Remember: We tried keeping UN peacekeepers in Darfur in 2020. The 2020 Juba Peace Agreement actually facilitated conflict. Western diplomats & experts ignored warnings and were patronizing. Clearly, I/we failed, also. See: foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/03/u...

5/ The West facilitated this disaster through arrogance & negligence. Many "experts" were useless in 2019-20 when concrete preventative steps could've been taken. The response from many in Washington was patronizing.

4/ UAE, Egypt, Turkey, Iran & Russia provide weapons & support to Sudan's warring parties. Qatar & Saudi Arabia likely facilitate this too. They share significant responsibility, particularly the UAE.

3/ Let's be honest: Western policy on Sudan is subservient to financial & military ties with UAE, Turkey & Egypt. But Sudan's leaders are primarily responsible for what's happening. Blaming only the West is careless.

2/ I continue to be embarrassed at the West's negligence, arrogance & patronization. History seems to be rewritten as we see statements of solidarity from governments. UN agencies and experts who ignored concrete actions during the transition.

1/ I can't imagine the anger & disappointment Sudanese feel today. The sit-in was a release of 30 years of fear & violence that erupted into euphoric celebration of democracy. It was a privilege to witness it. Today the transition has turned into a nightmare.

Stop the Next Ethiopia-Eritrea War Before It Begins As armies deploy, Gulf states and their Western allies must halt an impending conflict that could inflame the entire Red Sea region.

Important article on the risks of a war between Eritrea and Ethiopia. CIG have seen evidence of a military buildup for a few months. foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/12/e...

It's looking bad again in Tigray. It's hard to know what will happen, but Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, DRC, and Somalia are all on the brink of or in the middle of state collapse/conflict. The future of the region is being decided in the Middle East.

A Turkish arms firm helped fuel Sudan’s brutal civil war, records show A trove of documents and communications provided to The Post reveals how a Turkish company covertly funneled weapons to the Sudanese army.

“You don’t need a lot of drones to turn the tide of war,” said
Justin Lynch, MD at Conflict Insights Group, a data analytics and research organization that helped authenticate the trove of documents. “You have seen a huge SAF advancement." www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

In Search of Ethiopia's Garima Gospels Some of the world’s oldest Christian manuscripts are in hiding from the violence that has ripped through their region

This is an exceptional article about war, trauma, and Ethiopia. tps://newlinesmag.com/reportage/the-monastery-at-the-heart-of-the-war-between-ethiopia-and-eritrea/