INTL Africa: Politics, Economics, Military- August 2020

[Plain Jane]

Here is July's thread:

INTL - Africa: Politics, Economics, and Military- July 2020

Here is June's thread: https://www.timebomb2000.com/xf/index.php?threads/africa-politics-economics-military-june-2020.575297/ Regional Conflict in Mediterranean beginning page 27: https://www.timebomb2000.com/xf/index.php?threads/regional-conflict-brewing-in-the-mediterranean.565195/page-27...

www.timebomb2000.com

Regional Conflict in Mediterranean beginning page 35:

WAR - Regional conflict brewing in the Mediterranean

Amir Tsarfati @BeholdIsrael 15m The Turkish parliament has approved a law that will allow stricter monitoring of social media content. Critics fear the new legislation is a further step toward silencing dissent in the country.

www.timebomb2000.com

Main Coronavirus Thread beginning page 1302:

CORONA - Main Coronavirus thread

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNH6vW2Yaf8 27:24 min 127 - Dr. Ruth Karron Answers Your COVID-19 Vaccine Questions •Jul 31, 2020 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health How close are we to a vaccine? What do efficacy trials actually entail? What are the challenges to...

www.timebomb2000.com

Scores of Zimbabwe protesters arrested, military in streets

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Scores of people were arrested Friday in Zimbabwe as hundreds of military troops as well as police attempted to thwart an anti-government protest, with streets empty and many people hiding indoors.

apnews.com

Click to copy
Scores of Zimbabwe protesters arrested, military in streets
By FARAI MUTSAKAyesterday



1 of 20
Armed soldiers patrol a street in Harare, Friday, July, 31, 2020. Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, was deserted Friday, as security agents vigorously enforced the country's lockdown amidst planned protests.Police and soldiers manned checkpoints and ordered people seeking to get into the city for work and other chores to return home. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Scores of people were arrested Friday in Zimbabwe as hundreds of military troops as well as police attempted to thwart an anti-government protest, with streets empty and many people hiding indoors.

Organizers said demonstrators originally planned to protest alleged government corruption but instead targeted the ruling political party, using the hashtag #ZANUPFmustgo.”

Tensions are rising in Zimbabwe as the economy implodes. Inflation is more than 700%, the second highest in the world. Now the coronavirus burdens the threadbare health system.

Police arrested scores of people who tried to hold low-key protests, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said. They included prominent author Tsitsi Dangarembga and Fadzayi Mahere, spokeswoman of the main opposition MDC Alliance party. Mahere was charged with “participating in an “unlawful gathering,” her lawyers said.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has described the planned protest as “an insurrection to overthrow our democratically elected government.” He warned that security agents “will be vigilant and on high alert.”


Speaking at the burial Friday of a cabinet minister who died from COVID-19, Mnangagwa did not directly refer to the protest but called for unity and urged Zimbabweans to shun violence.

The normally teeming downtown capital, Harare, was deserted as soldiers and police patrolled and manned checkpoints. An army helicopter hovered over some of the capital’s poor, volatile suburbs. Security forces on Thursday drove people out of the city and forced businesses to close.

“So both the government and the people are afraid of protests more than coronavirus,” chuckled a security guard, walking along an empty road. “I have never seen these security people so effective, and the people so compliant, even during those days of the complete lockdown.”

The southern African country had gradually relaxed its lockdown to allow for some commercial activity, but it continues to ban protests as part of lockdown rules.

The opposition and human rights groups have said they witnessed abuses such as arrests, detentions, beatings and the stalking of activists and ordinary people accused of violating the lockdown ahead of the planned protest.

Police and government spokespeople have dismissed the allegations, even as a prominent journalist and a politician behind the protest have spent close to two weeks in detention.

Mnangagwa’s administration accuses the U.S. government of funding the two men and other activists involved in mobilizing the protest, with a ruling party spokesman this week calling the U.S. ambassador a “thug.”

Anti-government protests in Zimbabwe in 2018 and 2019 resulted in the killing of several people, allegedly by the military.

The pandemic has brought a new layer of suffering.

In public hospitals, doctors and nurses are frequently on strike and infrastructure is so dilapidated that “unborn children and mothers are dying daily,” according to the Zimbabwe Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The World Food Program this week projected that the number of Zimbabweans facing food insecurity could reach 8.6 million by the end of the year.

That would be “a staggering 60% of the population – owing to the combined effects of drought, economic recession and the pandemic,” the WFP said, appealing for more money to intervene.

 

[Plain Jane]

Suspected Boko Haram militants kill 16 in northern Cameroon

Suspected militants from Islamist group Boko Haram killed at least 16 people and wounded seven early on Sunday in a grenade attack on a camp for displaced people in northern Cameroon, a local official said.

www.reuters.com

NEWS
AUGUST 2, 2020 / 5:45 AM / UPDATED 19 MINUTES AGO
Suspected Boko Haram militants kill at least 13 in Cameroon


2 MIN READ

DOUALA (Reuters) - Suspected militants from Islamist group Boko Haram killed at least 13 people and wounded eight others in a grenade attack in northern Cameroon on Sunday, a security source and a local official told Reuters.

The unidentified assailants threw a grenade into a group of people inside a camp for displaced people in the commune of Mozogo near the Nigerian border in the Far North region, said mayor Medjeweh Boukar.

Boukar was informed by locals that 13 had died. A security official who confirmed the attack said that 2 wounded also died, bringing the toll to 15.

Boko Haram has been fighting for a decade to carve out an Islamic caliphate based in Nigeria.

The violence, which has cost the lives of 30,000 people and displaced millions more, has frequently spilled over into neighbouring Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

In June last year, around 300 suspected Boko Haram militants swarmed onto an island on Lake Chad in Cameroon’s far north and killed 24 people, including 16 Cameroonian soldiers stationed at military outposts.

Reporting by Josiane Kouagheu,; Writing by Edward McAllister; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alexandra Hudson
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Plain Jane]

Françafrique lives on – DW – 08/03/2020

France's former African colonies are celebrating 60 years of independence. But France's influence remains all pervasive and critics say it is time that Africans cut the umbilical cord and put an end to Françafrique.

www.dw.com

AFRICAN INDEPENDENCE
Africa and France: An unfulfilled dream of independence?
France's former African colonies are celebrating 60 years of independence. But France's influence remains all pervasive and critics say it is time that Africans cut the umbilical cord and put an end to Françafrique.




"60 years on, francophone countries in Africa still do not have true independence and freedom from France," says Nathalie Yamb, adviser to Ivory Coast's Freedom and Democracy Party (LIDER). Even the content of school textbooks is often still determined by France, she added.

But more importantly, the political system in many of the countries was introduced by France. "Shortly before independence, France decided to abolish the parliamentary system in some countries like Ivory Coast and introduce a presidential regime in which all territories and powers are in the hands of the head of state," Yamb told DW. The reason being that in this way, "only one person with all the power needs to be manipulated," she said.

Françafrique, as the French influence in the former colonies is called, remains a fact, particularly galling to the young, whose resentment of the former colonial power is growing.
Beginning in the 1980s, many French presidential candidates have been announcing plans to put an end to Françafrique. But the promise of a new beginning between France and the francophone states has turned into a mere ritual, according to Ian Taylor, professor of African politics at St. Andrews University in Scotland. "They come out with statements and they want to change it. But after after a couple of years, they realize that the business interests and the kind of political interests are still very strong and there's no real will on either side to fundamentally re-balance the relationship." Taylor said.

Money and power
But why do neither Africa's elites nor France seem to want to break away from the clutches of Françafrique? Researcher Paul Melly of the British think-tank Chatham House, puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of the elites intent on defending their private interests. In 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle commissioned his adviser Jacques Foccart to build up Françafrique. "Foccart built a network of personal contacts between the French leadership and the elites of the former French colonies," Paul Melly told DW. "These were often very personal connections, but they also had an opaque, very paternalistic, very controlling character."

Foccart came up with the treaties that are still in force today. In exchange for military protection against attempted coups and the payment of hefty kickbacks, African leaders guaranteed French companies access to strategic resources such as diamonds, ores, uranium, gas and oil. The result is a solid presence of French interests on the continent, including 1,100 companies, some 2,100 subsidiaries and the third largest investment portfolio after Great Britain and the United States. France also retains the right of first refusal on all natural resources and privileged access to government contracts.

France also has a considerable military presence in Africa. It leads the Barkhane operation against Islamist groups in the Sahel region, in which around 5,100 soldiers from several countries are involved. According to the US daily "New York Times", in 2007, almost half of France's 12,000 peacekeeping troops were deployed to Africa. These troops have both military and advisory capabilities as well as supporting and stabilizing the regimes of the respective countries.

African youth are increasingly critical of African-French relations
Read more: France to boost military troops in Africa's Sahel to counter terrorism

The young are getting restless
All this is very frustrating, says Nathalie Yamb, who points a finger at African political and economic elites. "At the top of the system, there is no will to change. They want to continue to serve France instead of serving the best interests of their people. But the youth of Africa is more and more vocal about claiming true independence and breaking up with this insane and unhealthy relationship with France," she said.

Caroline Roussy of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations in France (IRIS), has a more nuanced view. "Independence is not complete. But we cannot compare the situation to the 1960s. France and President Emmanuel Macron have tried to change the patterns and paradigms to put an end to Françafrique," Roussy said.

• 
  
  
  CULTURAL HERITAGE TAKES FIRST STEP ON JOURNEY HOME
  Colonial theft in the Kingdom of Dahomey
  These three totems, half human, half animal, are kept in the collection at the Parisian Quai Branly Museum for non-European art. They come from the West African Kingdom of Dahomey, which is now the Republic of Benin. The former French colony has classified the objects as looted art and in 2016 demanded their return. France refused the request.

1234567
A summit of the French and all African governments was supposed to prepare the way to a new kind of relationship, but it had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan was to discuss projects and solutions for building sustainable cities and regions in Africa, so as to meet the challenges posed by the massive urbanization in the coming decades.

Nathalie Yamb is skeptical."Françafrique, Afrique-France - you can play with words, but it doesn't change the system," she said. In her opinion, relations between France and the French-speaking African countries have deteriorated further under the present French president. "I even think Emmanuel Macron is one of the worst president in that sense, that he's actually like [former French President Charles] de Gaulle. He's actually not hiding his will to forcefully maintain the relationship between Africa and France."

France maintains a massive military presence in Africa
Read more: France's Macron calls colonialism in Africa a 'grave mistake'

Small progress
Caroline Roussy agrees that the president made some mistakes when he first came into office. "For instance, when he convened the presidents of the G5 Sahel instead of going to see them." But he also took positive action, Roussy adds. "He placed Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo at the head of the International Organization of Francophonie and promised to return most of the African artifacts stored in French museums.

"If France loses Africa, France is nothing", Yamb counters. "Macron is trying to impose on Africa a relationship that Africans no longer want," she maintains. As an example, she points out the recent agreement between France and eight members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on replacing the CFA franc with a new West African single currency called Eco.

"The Eco is a very old Ecowas project, which France has decided to hijack. They say they're changing the system, but they're only changing the name," Yamb said. "It must be an initiative of an African government. It can't be announced, designed or planned by France."

Will the end of the CFA-Franc hasten the end of Françafrique_
Read more: West African states mired in controversy over 'Eco' currency

Africa first
According to the agreement, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) will no longer have to deposit half of its foreign exchange reserves with the Banque de France as was the case until now. However, the fixed parity with the euro will be maintained, allegedly to prevent inflation. At least this will put an end to remittances from Africa to France. But it will not enable an African independent monetary policy.

In the past, African countries paid up to 65% of their foreign exchange reserves into the French treasury. "It sounds incredible but African governments don't know how much money in the treasury belongs to each individual country," says researcher Ian Taylor. He accuses France of re-declaring African money as development aid for the original depositors, thereby projecting its power in the region.

"The CFA has to go. It is such a ridiculous neo-colonial stunt by the French that it should have gone 60 years ago. The first step is to try to kill CFA, to try to actually move towards true independence for Francophone Africa, which would basically kill Françafrique", Taylor sums up. 60 years after independence, the francophone countries need African elites who are prepared to put Africa first.

 

[Plain Jane]

Blast rocks military base in Somali capital, at least eight dead

A huge blast rocked a military base in Somalia's capital Mogadishu near a stadium on Saturday, killing at least eight people and injuring 14, emergency workers said, and the militant group al Shabaab claimed responsiblity.

www.reuters.com

NEWS
AUGUST 8, 2020 / 5:09 AM / UPDATED 7 HOURS AGO
Blast rocks military base in Somali capital, at least eight dead

Abdi Sheikh
2 MIN READ

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A huge blast rocked a military base in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu near a stadium on Saturday, killing at least eight people and injuring 14, emergency workers said, and the militant group al Shabaab claimed responsiblity.

Soldiers opened fire after the explosion which sent clouds of smoke into the sky, said Halima Abdisalan, a mother of three who lives near the area.

“We ran indoors in fear,” she told Reuters. “Soon I could see a military pickup speeding and carrying many soldiers covered with blood. I do not know if they were all dead or injured.”


Army officer Major Abdullahi Mohamud said it was an attack. “It must be a suicide car bomb, I am now transporting casualties,” he said.

Claiming responsibility for the incident, the military operations spokesman of the al Shabaab group, Abdiasis Abu Musab, said: “We conducted a successful martyrdom operation on a major apostate military base in Mogadishu.”

“The enemy suffered many casualties and wounded, military vehicles destroyed.”

Somalia has been embroiled in deadly violence since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew leader Siad Barre and then turned on each other.

Since 2008, al Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow the internationally-recognised central government and establish its rule based on its own interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Additional reporting by Feisal Omar; writing by Omar Mohammed; Editing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Gareth Jones and Andrew Heavens
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Plain Jane]

Mauritius scrambles to counter oil spill from grounded ship

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Anxious residents of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius stuffed fabric sacks with sugar cane leaves Saturday to create makeshift oil spill barriers as tons of fuel leaking from a grounded ship put endangered wildlife in further peril.

apnews.com

Mauritius scrambles to counter oil spill from grounded ship
By CARA ANNAtoday



1 of 6
In this photo provided by Grégoire Rouxel fuel is in the ocean leaking from a ship, rear right, that ran aground, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, in Mauritius. The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has declared a "state of environmental emergency" after a Japanese-owned ship that ran aground offshore days ago began spilling tons of fuel. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced the development late Friday, Aug. 7, 2020, as satellite images showed a dark slick spreading near environmental areas the government called "very sensitive." (@gregrouxel via AP)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Anxious residents of the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius stuffed fabric sacks with sugar cane leaves Saturday to create makeshift oil spill barriers as tons of fuel leaking from a grounded ship put endangered wildlife in further peril.

The government has declared an environmental emergency and France said it was sending help from its nearby Reunion island. Satellite images showed a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near wetlands that the government called “very sensitive.”

“When biodiversity is in peril, there is urgency to act,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted Saturday.

Wildlife workers and volunteers ferried dozens of baby tortoises and rare plants from an island near the spill, Ile aux Aigrettes, to the mainland as fears grew that worsening weather on Sunday could tear the Japanese-owned ship apart along its cracked hull.

A French statement from Reunion on Saturday said a military transport aircraft was carrying pollution control equipment to Mauritius and a navy vessel with additional material would set sail for the island nation.

Residents and environmentalists alike wondered why authorities didn’t act more quickly after the ship ran aground July 25 on a reef. Mauritius says the ship, the MV Wakashio, was carrying nearly 4,000 tons of fuel.

“That’s the big question,” Jean Hugues Gardenne with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation told The Associated Press. “Why that ship has been sitting for long on that coral reef and nothing being done.”

This is the country’s first oil spill, he said, adding that perhaps no one expected the ship to break apart. For days, residents peered out at the precariously tilted ship as a salvage team arrived and began to work, but ocean waves kept battering the ship.

“They just hit and hit and hit,” Gardenne said.

Cracks in the hull were detected a few days ago and the salvage team was quickly evacuated. Some 400 sea booms were deployed to contain the spill, but they were not enough.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth says the spill “represents a danger” for the country of 1.3 million people that relies heavily on tourism and has been been hit hard by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has restricted travel worldwide.

“Our country doesn’t have the skills and expertise to refloat stranded ships,” he said Friday. Bad weather has made it impossible to act, and “I worry what could happen Sunday when the weather deteriorates.”

Heavy winds are expected to push the oil slick even farther along the mainland’s shore. A Mauritius Meteorological Services forecast for Sunday has advised that seas will be rough with swells beyond the reefs and “ventures in the open seas are not advised.”

Videos posted online have shown oily waters lapping at the mainland, and a man running a stick across the water’s surface then lifting it, dripping black goo. The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation is working to free trapped seabirds and turtles.

Environmental group Greenpeace Africa warned that tons of diesel and oil are leaking into the water. It shared video showing Mauritius residents, to chants of “One, two, three!,”
shoving the makeshift oil barriers into the sea, while crowds of children and adults hurried to make more.

“Thousands of species around the pristine lagoons of Blue Bay, Pointe d’Esny and Mahebourg are at risk of drowning in a sea of pollution, with dire consequences for Mauritius’ economy, food security and health,” said Greenpeace’s climate and energy manager, Happy Khambule.
The country also has appealed to the United Nations for urgent aid, including experts in containing oil spills and environmental protection.

“We are in a situation of environmental crisis,” said country’s environment minister, Kavy Ramano.

A police inquiry has been opened into possible negligence, the government said.
Online ship trackers showed the Panama-flagged bulk carrier had been en route from China to Brazil. The ship’s owners are listed as the Japanese companies Okiyo Maritime Corporation and Nagashiki Shipping Co. Ltd.

A statement by the Nagashiki Shipping Co. Ltd. said “due to the bad weather and constant pounding over the past few days, the starboard side bunker tank of the vessel has been breached and an amount of fuel oil has escaped into the sea.”

It added: “Nagashiki Shipping takes its environmental responsibilities extremely seriously and will take every effort with partner agencies and contractors to protect the marine environment and prevent further pollution.”

The Mauritius Marine Conservation Society and other local groups warned that the cleanup could take much longer than expected.

“The great urge for all of us is to ‘get on with it,‘” the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation said. “But currently we understand that it may be a waste of time to ‘clean up’ an area where oil may continue to flow in.”
___
Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed.

 

[Plain Jane]

Gunmen kill French nationals in Niger wildlife park – DW – 08/09/2020

At least six French aid workers and their local guide have been shot dead by gunmen in southwestern Niger. The attack took place at a giraffe reserve outside the capital.

www.dw.com

Gunmen kill French nationals in Niger wildlife park
At least six French aid workers and their local guide have been shot dead by gunmen in southwestern Niger. The attack took place at a giraffe reserve outside the capital.





Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, the governor of Niger's Tillaberi region, told the AFP news agency Sunday that at least eight people were killed by gunmen riding motorcycles in a wildlife park in southwester Niger.

"There are eight dead: two Nigeriens including a guide and a driver, while the other six are French," Katiella said.

"We are managing the situation, we will give more information later," the governor added, without saying who was behind the assault.

The Elysee Palace confirmed that French citizens were killed in the attack. President Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences for the victims in a statement, denouncing the violence as "cowardly."

French authorities regularly warn citizens against travelling to most parts of Niger, where militant groups, including Boko Haram and affiliates of the "Islamic State" (IS) group are active. The West African country's Kouré area, however, is considered relatively safe.
Read more: Niger: Attack on military camp kills dozens of soldiers


Watch video02:12
Sahel hit by 'unprecedented terrorist violence,' UN warns
Targeted attack
Sources say the attack took place around 11:30 a.m. (1030 GMT) 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) east of Kouré, which is an hour's drive from the capital, Niamey.

"Most of the victims were shot... We found a magazine emptied of its cartridges at the scene," a source told AFP. "We do not know the identity of the attackers but they came on motorcycles through the bush and waited for the arrival of the tourists."

While officials first described them as tourists, the French humanitarian organization ACTED said that its staff members were involved in the attack on Sunday.

Niger Defense Minister Issoufou Katambé separately told news agency Reuters that six victims worked for an international aid group.

The area where the attack occurred is home to the last West African giraffes. The Koure Giraffe Reserve southeast of Niamey is a popular tourist attraction in Niger, a country that borders seven countries in an unstable region including Libya, Mali, Chad and Nigeria.
Read more: Amnesty accuses West African forces of human rights abuses in Sahel region

Jihadi activities in the region
In January, Nigerien authorities banned the use of motorcycles in an attempt to curb the movements of jihadis.

France, a former colonial power in the region, launched a coalition of West African and European allies in June to fight Islamist militants in the Sahel region, which includes Niger.

Read more: Anti-French sentiment on the rise in West Africa as security situation deteriorates
In October 2017, militants linked to IS killed four US soldiers in an ambush in Niger.
Read more: US troop drawdown from Sahel puts pressure on Europe
shs/rc (AFP, Reuters)
This is an updated version of a previous article.

 

[Plain Jane]

Chad: 60 years of independence – DW – 08/10/2020

Following the clamor of World War II, France abandoned its former colonial empire, including Chad. Sixty years on, Chadians say they're suffocating under the rule of President Idris Deby while Paris looks away.

www.dw.com

How free is Chad 60 years after independence?
Following the clamor of World War II, France abandoned its former colonial empire, including Chad. 60 years down the road, Chadians say they're suffocating under the rule of President Idris Deby while Paris looks away.





On August 11, 1960 — just two years after becoming a republic — Chad got independence from France. At the time, the prime minister, François Tombalbaye, became the first president of a country that quickly descended into a civil war that pitted the Muslims in the north against the majority Christians in the south.

Read more: Africa and France: An unfulfilled dream of independence?
Tombalbaye ruled with an iron fist until his assassination in 1975 which was carried out by members of the Chadian military. Ever since, the Sahel country has neither been peaceful nor witnessed a smooth transition of power.

"There were no ethnic cleavages, until the civil war in 1979. Muslims, Christians, Northerners and Southerners lived in harmony," Eric Topona, a Chadian journalist says.
"Today, Chad is in a state of disrepair." Topona regrets that the notion of general interest has disappeared. "In short, the foundations of the country have been undermined, insecurity and impunity have increased."

After World War II, Africans involved in pro-independence movements put pressure on the colonial masters and reminded them of the promises they had made to secure African support for the war effort.

Read more: Chadian army captures hundreds of rebels after French airstrikes
With the pressure of the United States, the Europeans were obliged to set free their colonies. But France kept its influence and control in Africa, says Avocksouma Djona Atchenemou, professor at the University of N'Djamena.

"The independence was given to us with conditions and it seems we were not prepared," the Chadian historian told DW. "It is France that chooses its agents [leaders of Chad: Editor] and decides how Chad should move forward."

There's a notion that whoever wants to run for president in any former French colonies should seek permission from Paris.

Rich in natural resources, but Chadians live in poverty
Chad produces 1.5 billion barrels of oil — making it one of the largest oil reserve holders in Africa. Its oil revenues contributes 60% to the national budget. Whereas cotton, cattle, livestock, and gum arabic make a big chunk of Chad's non-oil export earnings.

The services sector — which has attracted foreign investment mostly through telecommunications and banking — contributes less than one-third of the country's GDP.
However, according to the World Bank, Chad is ranked the last out of 157 countries in the Human Development Index.

40% of the population lives below the poverty line, and more than four million Chadians are unable to have one decent meal a day.

Read more: Chad's oil wealth continues fueling tensions
Malnutrition, neonatal death, and famine thrive in a nation endowed with natural resources, says Ndolembai Sadé Njesada, an opposition politician and the vice president of the party "Les Transformateurs".

"Being independent gives a nation the ability to freely govern and guide itself toward prosperity, health, and wealth," Njesada told DW.

"The freedom of assembly, access to internet and electricity, clean water, basic healthcare are among other things that show the true lack of freedom and independence," he added.

A ruler with an iron fist
Critics describe President Idriss Deby Itno as a strongman leading the country with an autocratic style. They accuse him of turning Chad into his backyard.
Observers had expected his rule to last very long — and he did not disappoint.

He has ruled over a profoundly fragmented nation, with multiple ethnic groups and clans vying for power against each other. Unlike his predecessors, Deby has remained in power for 30 years, thanks mainly to his political cunning and prowess as a military tactician.

His critics say he uses oil revenues to build patronage networks and a crackdown on dissent. "He has done everything possible to eliminate everyone who opposes his regime. He has dismantled the civil society groups," Abdelkérim Yacoub Koundougoumi, a Chadian political activist who lives in exile, told DW.

Koundougoumi, 43, was only 13 when Deby took power in 1990 after deposing the notoriously brutal Hissene Habre in an armed rebellion.

President Deby knows that after three decades of reign, says Njesada; he has nothing new to offer the people of Chad. "This results in frustrations leading to new rebellion groups that forge alliances with neighboring countries to remove him from power."

Military powerhouse in the region
Chad has become a critical military power in the Sahel region and further south, in the Central African Republic (CAR).
It has deployed its soldiers on multiple fronts, including in a heavily-criticized intervention in CAR in 2013, in Mali and in the Lake Chad basin to fight Boko Haram.



Listen to audio04:04
NL1108 Interview Chad Independence
President Deby — a darling of the West — has been pursuing military diplomacy and gained the trust of Europe in a bid to lead the fight against terrorism in the region.
However, some Chadians view his alliance with the West as an insurance policy for his government that mostly lacks legitimacy back home.

"We have never understood the reasons for these endless wars," Atchenemou said, adding that the regime has excelled in over-communitarianism, sowing division in favor of the minority at the expense of the vast population, which represents 256 ethnic groups.
"I believe that the regime needs instability to justify staying in power."

French military interventions in Chad

France has over 5,000 troops based in Chad helping the Sahel countries to fight jihadists
Since independence —France has intervened more than 50 times militarily in Africa — Chad being the most consistent target.

French politicians sent troops to protect Chadian dictators between the 60s and 80s.

As an example, France launched Operation Epervier 1986 to protect the regime of Hissène Habré against the aggression of Libyan forces.

The French army never left Chad ever since. Habré was convicted of crimes against humanity in 2016.

Epervier was replaced by today's Operation Barkhane in 2014. There are 5,100 French troops fighting jihadists in the Sahel with their base in Chad's capital N'Djamena.

Most Chadians believe they can stabilize their nation without the help of France. But they also know that it's nearly impossible to get rid of the former colonial master, especially with the current regime in power. "Chad has the potential to become a prosperous and developed nation. The future of Chad is in the hands of Chadians", Njesada said.

 

[Plain Jane]

South Africa's poor scramble for anti-HIV drugs amid virus

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — When her regular clinic ran out of her government-funded HIV medications amid South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown, Sibongile Zulu panicked.

apnews.com

Click to copy
South Africa’s poor scramble for anti-HIV drugs amid virus
By BRAM JANSSEN and ANDREW MELDRUM2 hours ago



1 of 16
Sibongile Zulu poses for a portrait inside her home in Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, July 28, 2020. Zulu is HIV positive and couldn't get her full medication for two months due to a lack of stock in government pharmacies. Across Africa and around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the supply of antiretroviral drugs to many of the more than 24 million people who take them, endangering their lives. An estimated 7.7 million people in South Africa are HIV positive, the largest number in the world, and 62% of them take the antiretroviral drugs that suppress the virus and prevent transmission. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — When her regular clinic ran out of her government-funded HIV medications amid South Africa’s COVID-19 lockdown, Sibongile Zulu panicked. A local pharmacy had the drugs for $48, but she didn’t have the money after being laid off from her office job in the shutdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Desperate for the lifesaving medication, the single mother of four called a friend -- a nurse with a local charity helping people with HIV, the Sister Mura Foundation. She’s one of the lucky ones: Since April, the foundation has provided Zulu with the drugs, purchased locally.


Across South Africa and around the world, the pandemic has disrupted the supply of antiretroviral drugs, endangering the lives of many of the more than 24 million people globally who take the medications that suppress the HIV virus.

In sub-Saharan Africa alone, a study by UNAIDS found that a six-month disruption of antiretroviral therapy could lead to 500,000 additional AIDS-related deaths.

The disruptions are particularly troubling in South Africa, which has 7.7 million HIV-positive people, the world’s largest number, with 62% of those depending on the government’s antiretroviral program, also the world’s largest. Anti-coronavirus restrictions have hindered both imports of the drugs and the local production and distribution of the medications, according to a report by UNAIDS.

View attachment 213823

In addition, many HIV patients have stopped going to the often-crowded clinics for fear of being exposed to the coronavirus. And others cannot afford the transport fares to reach clinics.

In June, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said countries should “urgently make plans now to mitigate the impacts of higher costs and reduced availability of antiretroviral medicines.”

“I call on countries and buyers of HIV medicines to act swiftly in order to ensure that everyone who is currently on treatment continues to be on it, saving lives and stopping new HIV infections,” Byanyima said.

HIV positive people who contract COVID-19, are more than twice as likely to die from the disease as people without HIV, according to an early study of mortality rates in South Africa’s Western Cape province, the country’s first epicenter for the disease.


“We’re worried that we’re going to be seeing an increase in deaths in co-infections such as TB and other opportunistic infections,” Dr. Nomathemba Chandiwana, an HIV research clinician, told The Associated Press.

Clinics in central Johannesburg have seen a 10% to 25% drop in people coming for HIV treatment, she said. On top of that, several clinics have had to close temporarily when nurses and doctors have become sick with COVID-19.

“Some clinics see 60 to 80 patients per day, so when one closes, for even a week, it means many people are not getting their drugs. It’s a serious threat,” said Chandiwana, who works for Ezintsha, part of the University of the Witwatersrand.

COVID-19 is similarly disrupting vaccinations. The past few months have seen a 25% reduction in childhood immunizations, according to Shabir Madhi, a professor of vaccinology at the same university, who warned of possible outbreaks of measles.

The diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis also has also been hampered by the pandemic, risking the lives of many of South Africa’s neediest citizens, health experts say.

“Disruptions to these medications is a public health problem. It threatens the poor and most vulnerable,” said Vinyarak Bhardwaj, deputy director of Doctors Without Borders’ program in South Africa, which has HIV programs in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.

“We’re responding to this threat by helping to minimize shortages and by providing stable HIV patients with multi-month prescriptions to limit their visits to the clinics. We’re also increasing treatment advice by telephone and the internet,” he said.

Reliable supplies of antiretroviral drugs are so critically important in South Africa that a monitoring program, Stop Stockouts, was created in 2013 and is closely tracking and responding to the disruptions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The mill town of Ngodwana in the country’s northeast, a truck stop on the highway to Mozambique, is a microcosm of South Africa’s inequality, rated as the world’s highest.
Ngodwana’s 3,500 residents are mostly Black, living in a densely packed shantytown, with limited electricity and running water. Safe distancing is nearly impossible. Years ago, the truck traffic was blamed for bringing HIV to the area; now come fears it will become a hot spot for COVID-19.

Many in Ngodwana can no longer afford to travel the 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the town of Nelspruit to get their drugs and don’t feel comfortable going to the crowded local clinic. So the Dutch-based aid group North Star Alliance set up a tented drop-in center and started home visits.

Clad in a mask, gloves and protective surgical gown, nurse Nomautanda Siduna walked through Ngodwana’s dirt streets to a mud-walled, tin-roofed home. Once inside, she quickly got to work, distributing a two-month supply of antiretroviral drugs to the HIV-positive woman, a sex-worker, and advising her how to stay as safe as possible amid the pandemic.

“You must know that with COVID out there, you must take your treatment, every day, same time, like you’re always doing,” Siduna told her. “And you must use a condom when you’re sleeping with anyone.”

Pretty Mkhabela, 34, said the pandemic frightens her and that she’s taking new precautions as a sex worker.

“Yes, I’m scared,” Mkhabela said. “When I work with my client, I use a mask and my client also uses a mask.”

Another resident, Rose Khondowa, tried to get her antiretroviral drugs by traveling to Nelspruit, but encountered only a locked gate after a COVID-19 outbreak among hospital workers caused the clinic to temporarily close. She didn’t have enough money, about $4, for a second trip.

By chance, she saw the North Star Alliance gazebo in Ngodwana and succeeded in getting a month’s supply of antiretroviral drugs.
“If I didn’t find them,” she said, “I would have died.”
___
Follow AP pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and Understanding the Outbreak

 

[Plain Jane]

Sharia court sentences singer to death for blasphemy – DW – 08/11/2020

A Sharia court in Nigeria has sentenced a singer to death by hanging for blasphemy. The 22-year-old musician might appeal the verdict.

www.dw.com

Sharia court in Nigeria sentences singer to death for blasphemy
A Sharia court in Nigeria has sentenced a singer to death by hanging for blasphemy. The 22-year-old musician might appeal the verdict.





A Sharia court in the state of Kano on Monday said it had found a 22-year-old musician, Yahaya Aminu Sharif, guilty of using derogatory expressions against the Prophet Mohammed in one of his songs and sentenced him to death by hanging.

Sharif had reportedly circulated the song on WhatsApp in March, prompting angry demonstrators to burn down his family house.

Media reports said that it wasn't immediately clear how the lyrics violated the local blasphemy law and Sharif may appeal the verdict.

Read more: Nigeria looks back on 20 years of Sharia law in the north

Speaking to AFP, the spokesperson for the Kano region justice ministry, Baba-Jibo Ibrahim, said that Sharif had legal representation during the trial that went on for four months.
The trial was reportedly held behind closed doors for security reasons.

Sharif is the second person to be handed a death sentence for blasphemy since several states in northern Nigeria reintroduced a stricter version of Sharia in early 2000s.
Many have also had their limbs amputated under the law.

Kano is one of the regions in the north where the Islamic law runs parallel to the state and federal justice system.
dvv/aw (AFP, dpa)

 

[Plain Jane]

Outcry in Somalia as new bill would allow child marriage

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An outcry is rising in Somalia as parliament considers a bill that would allow child marriage once a girl’s sexual organs mature and would allow forced marriage as long as the family gives their consent.

apnews.com

Click to copy
Outcry in Somalia as new bill would allow child marriage
By CARA ANNA2 hours ago


JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An outcry is rising in Somalia as parliament considers a bill that would allow child marriage once a girl’s sexual organs mature and would allow forced marriage as long as the family gives their consent.

The bill is a dramatic reworking of years of efforts by civil society to bring forward a proposed law to give more protections to women and girls in one of the world’s most conservative countries.

The new Sexual Intercourse Related Crimes Bill “would represent a major setback in the fight against sexual violence in Somalia and across the globe” and should be withdrawn immediately, the United Nations special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, said in a statement Tuesday.


The bill also weakens protections for victims of sexual violence, she said.
Already more than 45% of young women in Somalia were married or “in union” before age 18, according to a United Nations analysis in 2014-15.

Somalia in 2013 agreed with the U.N. to improve its sexual violence laws, and after five years of work a sexual offenses bill was approved by the Council of Ministers and sent to parliament. But last year the speaker of the House of the People sent the bill back “in a process that may have deviated from established law” asking for “substantive amendments,” the U.N. special representative said.

The new bill “risks legitimizing child marriage, among other alarming practices, and must be prevented from passing into law,” U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said this week, warning that its passage would “send a worrying signal to other states in the region.”

Thousands of people in Somalia are circulating a petition against the bill, including Ilwad Elman with the Mogadishu-based Elman Peace center.

As Somalia prepared to mark International Youth Day on Wednesday, Elman tweeted this week: “I don’t wanna see any Somali officials participating online to celebrate ... when you’re trying to steal their childhood away from them RIGHT NOW with the intercourse bill legalizing child marriage.”

Somalia’s presidency and health ministry had no immediate comment Wednesday. It was not clear when the bill would be put up for a vote.

“We want to make sure it goes in line with Islamic law and traditions,” the deputy parliament speaker, Abdweli Mudey, said after the new bill emerged.

The U.N. mission to Somalia in a separate statement has called the new bill “deeply flawed” and urged parliament to re-introduce the original one. That original bill “will be vital in preventing and criminalizing all sexual offenses,” the Somalia representative for the U.N. Population Fund, Anders Thomsen, said.

“Big moment for MPs to decide Somalia’s future values,” the British ambassador to Somalia, Ben Fender, has tweeted.

The contentious new bill comes as women’s rights groups openly worry that the coronavirus pandemic and related travel restrictions in Somalia have worsened violence against women and female genital mutilation. Nearly all Somali women and girls have been subjected to that practice.

Some 68% of more than 300 service providers across the country have reported an increase in gender-based violence, including rape, since the pandemic began, UNFPA said in a report last month.

Nearly a third of respondents, including more than 750 community members, said they believed child marriages had increased in part because of economic pressures and in part because schools have been disrupted.

And in some cases, health facilities have closed, limiting access to care.
___
Abdi Guled in Nairobi, Kenya contributed.

 

[Plain Jane]

UN says more than 70 killed in clashes in South Sudan

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 70 people were killed and dozens injured during weekend clashes between South Sudan’s army and armed civilians in north-central Tonj, the United Nations reported Tuesday.

apnews.com

Click to copy
UN says more than 70 killed in clashes in South Sudan
By EDITH M. LEDERERyesterday


UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 70 people were killed and dozens injured during weekend clashes between South Sudan’s army and armed civilians in north-central Tonj, the United Nations reported Tuesday.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan reported that “the violence was sparked by a disagreement over a disarmament exercise being conducted in the area.”

“During the fighting, the local market in Romich was reportedly looted and some shops were burned to the ground,” Dujarric said. “Many women and children fled in fear of their lives.”


The U.N. spokesman said a U.N. peacekeeping patrol is en route to the area to assess the security situation.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission is urging all those involved in the violence “to lay down their weapons and to help restore calm for the sake of their communities,” Dujarric said.
He said the mission is engaging political and community leaders and will support local reconciliation and peace-building efforts to prevent further conflict.

There were high hopes that South Sudan would have peace and stability after gaining its long-fought independence from neighboring Sudan in 2011. But the world’s youngest nation slid into ethnic violence in December 2013, when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir, a Dinka, started battling those loyal to Riek Machar, his former vice president who belongs to the Nuer people.

Numerous attempts at peace failed, including a deal that saw Machar return as vice president in 2016 — only to flee the country months later amid fresh fighting. The civil war has killed nearly 400,000 people and displaced millions.

Intense international pressure followed the most recent peace deal in 2018, and on Feb. 22 a coalition government led by Kiir, with Machar as his deputy, was formed. But peace still remains elusive.

 

[Plain Jane]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

New Report Reveals US Special Forces Active In 22 African Countries

by Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/13/2020 - 02:00
TwitterFacebookRedditEmailPrint

Authored by Alan Macleod via Mint Press News,
The US has roughly 6,000 military personnel scattered throughout the continent with military attachés outnumbering diplomats in many embassies across Africa.

A new report published in South African newspaper The Mail and Guardian has shed light on the opaque world of the American military presence in Africa. Last year, elite U.S. Special Operations forces were active in 22 African countries. This accounts for 14 percent of all American commandos deployed overseas, the largest number for any region besides the Middle East. American troops had also seen combat in 13 African nations.

The U.S. is not formally at war with an African nation, and the continent is barely discussed in reference to American exploits around the globe. Therefore, when U.S. operatives die in Africa, as happened in Niger, Mali, and Somalia in 2018, the response from the public, and even from the media is often “why are American soldiers there in the first place?”
The presence of the U.S. military, especially commandos, is rarely publicly acknowledged, either by Washington or by African governments. What they are doing remains even more opaque. U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) generally claims that special forces go no further than so-called “AAA” (advise, assist and accompany) missions. Yet in combat, the role between observer and participant can become distinctly blurry.

The United States has roughly 6,000 military personnel scattered throughout the continent, with military attachés outnumbering diplomats in many embassies across Africa. Earlier this year, The Intercept reported that the military operates 29 bases on the continent. One of these is a huge drone hub in Niger, something The Hill called “the largest U.S. Air Force-led construction project of all time.” The construction cost alone was over $100 million, with total operating costs expected to top $280 billion by 2024. Equipped with Reaper drones, the U.S. can now conduct cross border bombing raids all over the North and West of Africa.

Washington claims that the military’s primary role in the region is to combat the rise of extremist forces. In recent years, a number of Jihadist groups have arisen, including Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, and other al-Qaeda affiliated groups. However, much of the reason for their rise can be traced back to previous American actions, including the destabilization of Yemen, Somalia, and the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in Libya.
It is also clear that the United States plays a key role in training many nations’ soldiers and security forces. For example, the U.S. pays Bancroft International, a private military contractor, to train elite Somali units who are at the forefront of the fighting in the country’s internal conflicts. According to The Mail and Guardian, these Somali fighters are likely also funded by the U.S. taxpayer.

While training foreign armed forces in basic tactics might sound like a bland, unremarkable activity, the U.S. government also spent decades instructing tens of thousands of Latin American military and police in what they called “internal security” at the notorious School of the Americas at Fort Benning, GA (now rebranded as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security). Recruits in the twentieth century were instructed on internal repression and told that a communist menace lied around every corner, meting out brutal repression on their own populations once returning. Likewise, with counter-terrorism training, the line between “terrorist” “militant” and “protester” can often be debatable.

The U.S. military also occupies the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, claimed by the African island nation of Mauritius. In the 1960s and 1970s, the British government expelled the entire local population, dumping them in slums in Mauritius, where most still live. The United States uses the island as a military base and a nuclear weapons station. The island was critical to American military activities during both Iraq Wars and continues to be a major threat, casting a nuclear shadow over the Middle East, East Africa, and South Asia.

While there is much talk, (or more accurately, condemnation) in Western media of China’s imperialist motives in Africa, there is less discussion of the U.S.’ continuing role. While China operates one base in the Horn of Africa and has greatly increased its economic role on the continent, the thousands of American troops operating in dozens of countries are overlooked. The amazing thing about the American Empire is it is invisible to so many who serve it.

 

[Plain Jane]

Death toll from attack on Mogadishu hotel rises to 16

At least 16 people were killed on Sunday when Islamist insurgents attacked a seaside hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, a government spokesman said, with a witness describing the scene inside the compound as "like hell".

www.reuters.com

NEWS
AUGUST 17, 2020 / 3:31 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Death toll from attack on Mogadishu hotel rises to 16


2 MIN READ

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - At least 16 people were killed in an attack on Sunday by the Islamist group al Shabaab on a seaside hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, according to government spokesman Ismail Mukhtar Omar.

The toll includes 11 victims and five assailants, Omar said in a Tweet late on Sunday.

“Security forces lost one, 18 people were injured,” Omar said.

Militants stormed the high-end Elite Hotel in Lido beach, detonated a car bomb and then opened fire with assault rifles, the latest attack by al Shabaab, which has been battling the country’s central government since 2008.

The hotel is owned by Abdullahi Mohamed Nor, a lawmaker and former finance minister, and is frequented by government officials and members of the Somali diaspora.

Dr Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of AAMIN ambulance services, told Reuters on Monday they had transported to hospitals at least 43 people injured in the attack.

Al Shabaab wants to topple the central government and establish its own rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

Over the years the group has waged its war through bombings and gun assaults both on military and civilian targets like hotels and busy intersections in Mogadishu and across Somalia.

Al Shabaab has also carried out attacks in neighbouring Kenya and Uganda as revenge for their military deployments in Somalia as part of a regional peace keeping mission.

Somalia has been embroiled in violence since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew leader Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other.

Reporting by Abdi Sheikh; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; editing by Giles Elgood
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Plain Jane]

Hunger, squalor mar South Sudan post-war unification efforts

BOR, South Sudan (AP) — Here in crowded camps in South Sudan, former enemies are meant to be joining forces after a five-year civil war so they can help the shattered country recover.

apnews.com

Hunger, squalor mar South Sudan post-war unification efforts
By MAURA AJAKyesterday



1 of 4
Trainees parade with the wooden mock guns which they use to train with, during the visit of the defense minister to a military training center in Owiny Ki-Bul, Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan Saturday, June 27, 2020. At crowded camps in South Sudan, former enemies are meant to be joining forces and training as a unified security force after a five-year civil war so they can help the shattered country recover but they can barely find enough food. (AP Photo/Maura Ajak)

BOR, South Sudan (AP) — Here in crowded camps in South Sudan, former enemies are meant to be joining forces after a five-year civil war so they can help the shattered country recover. But they can barely find enough food.

The Associated Press spoke to women, both former rebel fighters and government troops, who are among tens of thousands of people being trained as a unified security force. It’s meant to be a major step in the 2018 peace deal ending the war that killed nearly 400,000 people.

Visits to a handful of camps found squalid conditions, with food supplies expired or stolen by corruption. With few sanitary products available, the women use random pieces of cloth, even strips of bedsheets, for their periods.


While some seek informal work in nearby communities to get by, the threat of sexual assault — even by male trainees — makes others wary of venturing too far.

“I’m describing the situation as disgusting,” said Nyaluel Makuei. The 36-year-old mother of seven said she has dedicated her life to serving her country, but she finds little support now.

“Even if you get a piece of soap you still stink and smell bad,” she said. “Some of our sisters left the center because of that situation.” At times, she said, meals are just porridge mixed with salt to satisfy hunger because the camp’s supply of beans turned rancid.

The women who once fought on opposing sides now identify themselves as members of South Sudan’s unified force, an effort to leave their past behind. But they are reminded of their country’s persistent troubles — insecurity, graft, poverty — at every turn.

Some in the international community warn that South Sudan’s implementation of the peace deal is in peril. A United Nations panel of experts this year said the training camps host far fewer people than the goal of 83,000, and government soldiers make up a “significantly smaller percentage” than former rebel fighters.

Most government forces remain in barracks elsewhere. “Many key commanders instructed their forces to remain outside of the security reunification process, retain their weapons and stand ready to re-engage in active fighting,” the U.N report said.

Instruction in the training camps is limited to “basic moral orientation, rather than any substantive military training,” it added.

Meanwhile, vicious intercommunal fighting in parts of South Sudan has killed hundreds of people this year. A well-trained, properly provisioned security force is needed.

“I am acutely aware that the peace implementation remains painfully slow and far below your expectations,” President Salva Kiir said last month.

At the Toufigia police training center in Malakal, which hosts more than 3,000 people, women reported selling tea or making charcoal to find money to survive.

Veronica Akiij, 41, said she decided to work as a tea lady to support her family. Awin Deng, 39, said she stayed up at night baking bread to sell. She hopes to be part of the first batch of police officers to graduate from training but has seven children to support.

“We are tired of this situation,” said Nyakuma Oyen, 25.

During a recent tour of the training sites, Defense Minister Angelina Teny acknowledged the challenges. “It is not your fault, because 1,000 South Sudanese pounds ($7) cannot buy you a sack of flour. The situation is forcing you to do that,” she said of the informal work.

South Sudan’s civil war largely destroyed the health system and other basic services, leaving women especially exposed. Human rights groups and medical charities reported many women were raped after going out to find water or wood.

That threat remains, even for the trainees.
At the Panyier training center in Bor, which hosts more than 1,800 people, nurse Monica Achol Agwang said she has examined many cases of sexual assault.

“Some get pregnant and experience a miscarriage during training in the field,” the 38-year-old said. Transferring women to town for proper treatment is difficult, with poorly constructed roads and frequent flooding.

Dozens of people have HIV, an alarming rate, she said. And yet there isn’t enough medicine even for other sexually transmitted diseases.

Now the COVID-19 pandemic has arrived. Abul Malual, a 29-year-old mother of five who arrived at the training center in January, said people are sleeping 10 to a tent meant to house six people.

That’s on top of the indignity of asking for sanitary pads and receiving none. And food supplies have been erratic for months, Malual said.

The head of the Panyier training center, Brig. Gen. John Aciek Ajith, accused the government’s Joint Transitional Security Committee of not delivering needed aid since June. He has requested help from other military divisions.

But Maj. Gen. Chol Martin with the military’s Division 8 said his soldiers are no longer receiving their salaries and most have started to support themselves by fishing or selling charcoal.

He said he tries to help by allowing them to sell food from the storeroom. Most of the food is expired, Martin said, and yet some soldiers eat it, making them ill.

The co-chair of the Joint Transitional Security Committee, Gen. Wesley Welebe Samson, said the blame for the lack of support lay elsewhere, including with the Joint Defense Board, the country’s highest security command.

“Our mission regularly has been seized by others who are looking for food and medical supplies,” he said. Contracts for supplies are signed by the government’s National Transitional Committee and “we are not involved.”

There are now more than 47,000 trainees across South Sudan, Samson said.
“These are human beings. They need to eat. The stores are supposed to be full of food,” he said. He confirmed that most trainees leave the centers to find food elsewhere.

At the Kaljak police training center in Bentiu, which hosts some 3,000 people, women reported much of the same — little food, no medicines, no soap or sanitary pads. Some forage for green leaves to eat.

“Our situation is horrible,” said Mary Stephanose, 37.

Others are pregnant. A 30-year-old who gave only her first name, Mary, said she is in her sixth month but rarely has the chance for a checkup. “I cannot even attend the training or stand well because I feel dizzy,” she said.

Some trainees stood for portraits, wearing flip-flops, their pregnancies swelling their cloth wraps. Few uniforms were in sight.

 

[Plain Jane]

Mali president resigns after detention by military, deepening crisis

Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned on Tuesday and dissolved parliament hours after mutinying soldiers detained him at gunpoint, plunging a country already facing a jihadist insurgency and mass protests deeper into crisis.

www.reuters.com

NEWS
AUGUST 18, 2020 / 6:40 AM / UPDATED 13 MINUTES AGO
Gunfire heard at Mali army base as embassy warns of possible mutiny


3 MIN READ

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Gunfire was heard on Tuesday at an army base outside Mali’s capital Bamako as the Norwegian Embassy and security sources said a possible mutiny was under way.

Local residents and security sources said there was gunfire at the army base in Kati, about 15 km (9 miles) outside Bamako, where a mutiny in 2012 led to a coup d’etat, although it was not immediately clear who was firing at whom.

A source who handles security for non-governmental organisations in Mali said gunfire had also been heard near the prime minister’s office.

Kalifa Naman, a senior official at state television ORTM, said its headquarters has been evacuated. There have been no reports of any attack on state TV, which was still broadcasting recorded programming, as usual.

“The embassy has been notified of a mutiny in the Armed Forces and troops are on their way to Bamako. Norwegians should exercise caution and preferably stay at home until the situation is clear,” the Norwegian Embassy said in an alert to its citizens.

Yes, mutiny. The military has taken up arms,” a security source said.

A military spokesman confirmed that gunshots were fired at the base in Kati, but said he did not have any further information.

Opponents of the current president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, have led mass protests since June calling on Keita to resign over what they say are his failures to restore security and address corruption.

At least 14 people have been killed in the protests, according to the United Nations and human rights activists.

Regional powers are worried that any prolonged unrest from the protests could derail the fight against Islamist militants in the region, many of whom are centred in Mali. Their presence has rendered large areas of the centre and north of Mali ungovernable.

Keita had hoped that concessions to opponents and recommendations from a mediating delegation of regional leaders would help stem the tide of dissatisfaction.

In a message to its citizens on Thursday morning, the French Embassy in Bamako said: “Because of serious unrest this morning, Aug. 18, in the city of Bamako, it is immediately recommended to remain at home.”

The 2012 mutiny at the base led to a coup that toppled then-President Amadou Toumani Toure and contributed to the fall of northern Mali to jihadist militants. (This story refiles to fix spelling of Mali in first paragraph)

Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo and Paul Lorgerie; Additional reporting by David Lewis in London and Aaron Ross in Dakar; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by John Stonestreet and Alison Williams
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Plain Jane]

This mutiny has become more serious.

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Mali Coup Underway As Mutinying Soldiers Storm President's Palace, Arrest Country's Leaders

by Tyler Durden
Tue, 08/18/2020 - 14:45
TwitterFacebookRedditEmailPrint

A military coup is underway in the West African country of Mali, as amid an armed uprising defected soldiers have “arrested” President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, according to the breaking AFP report.
Soldiers were seen storming the president's residence in the evening hours Tuesday (local time), and the pair of leaders were reportedly transferred to a rebel military base near the capital of Bamako.
Prior file image, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (R) reviews troops in Kati, via AFP
The mutiny is being condemned by the United States, France and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), after beginning earlier in the day at the Kati military base which lies 15 km outside Bamako.

Gunfire could be heard as chaos erupted, and a number of senior civilian government as well as military officials were detained in the mutiny.

The country had seen rolling mass protests since June over widespread allegations of corruption and a deteriorating security situation, in what some citizens have condemned as a sense of lawlessness due to corrupt security forces and officials tasked with overseeing them.

Developing....

 

[Plain Jane]

Somalia executes soldiers convicted for boy’s fatal rape

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Two Somalia soldiers were executed Tuesday after being convicted of raping a 10-year-old boy who died from the bleeding, officials say.

apnews.com

Click to copy
Somalia executes soldiers convicted for boy’s fatal rape
By ABDI GULEDtoday


MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Two Somalia soldiers were executed Tuesday after being convicted of raping a 10-year-old boy who died from the bleeding, officials say.

The executions of the two soldiers in Baidoa town in southwestern Somalia follows a hurried trial which convicted the two soldiers of raping the boy in July after luring him into an isolated area. There were no immediate details about the trial proceedings.

The executions also come amid mounting public pressure on the authorities of Southwest State after reports of two other cases of rapes of young boys emerged, angering local residents who are demanding justice.


The two soldiers who were executed Tuesday had confessed to the crime, according to Southwestern provincial/regional information minister Ilyas Said Ali. The minister also confirmed the arrests of more people in connection with the other two rape cases.

Somalis on social media have urged authorities to bring perpetrators of the attacks to justice. Rape suspects often avoid prosecutions in this Horn of Africa nation, where the justice system remains weak.

Traditional elders often try to settle rape cases through talks among elders representing the perpetrator and the victim, but local activists subsequently urged the suspects to face trial under a tough new law against sex crimes.

Under the new law, those found guilty of rape can be jailed for up to 10 years without the option of a fine. However, some of them could face the death penalty.

Somalia is trying to build a functional government after years of lawlessness and an insurgency by Islamic extremists.

 

[Plain Jane]

Mali coup leaders pledge fresh elections – DW – 08/19/2020

The soldiers behind a military coup in Mali have vowed to hold fresh elections following an international outcry over their armed takeover. The mutineers detained the president at gunpoint, forcing him to resign.

www.dw.com

Mali coup leaders pledge transition leading to fresh elections
The soldiers behind a military coup in Mali have vowed to hold fresh elections following an international outcry over their armed takeover. The mutineers detained the president at gunpoint, forcing him to resign.





The Malian soldiers who toppled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in a coup said Wednesday they planned to form a civilian transitional government to pave the way for new elections.
In a statement broadcast on state television, the mutineers identified themselves as the National Committee for the Salvation of the People.
"With you, standing as one, we can restore this country to its former greatness," the group's spokesman Col. Maj. Ismael Wague said.
Keita announced his resignation and the dissolution of parliament late Tuesday after rebel soldiers detained him at gunpoint. He said he was stepping down to avoid "bloodshed.
Watch video02:47
Mali's president resigns, coup leaders promise election

Fears of rising instability
The putsch has been widely condemned by Mali's regional and international allies, who fear it could plunge the West African country further into chaos. The former French colony had already been battling a jihadi insurgency and months of anti-government protests.

Flanked by soldiers, Col. Maj. Wague said the committee had acted to prevent the situation from getting worse, and called on civil society and political organizations to join their cause.

"Our country is sinking into chaos, anarchy and insecurity mostly due to the fault of the people who are in charge of its destiny," he said, adding that borders were closed and a curfew would be imposed from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Anti-government demonstrators took to the streets to celebrate the news of Keita's ousting, while a number of Mali's foreign partners voiced concern.
Read more: Mali risk remains after clumsy West African intervention

The rebellion began outside the capital, Bamako
Thomas Schiller of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in the Malian capital Bamako told DW the coup had made the crisis "much worse than it was before."

"There are fears that the crisis in Bamako will also have a considerable impact not only on the security situation in Mali itself, but also on the entire Sahel region," he said.

"It is a tragedy that this political crisis has come to a head (in this way) in Bamako, thwarting any attempt to stabilize the country."

International reactions
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) condemned the coup in a statement, saying it would close land and air borders to Mali and push for sanctions against "all the putschists and their partners and collaborators."

The 15-nation bloc, which includes Mali, also said it would exclude the country from its internal decision-making bodies.

The UN Security Council was due to hold a closed meeting later on Wednesday to discuss the situation.

EU Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton told Europe 1 radio that the European Union would push for elections within a reasonable timeframe and a democratic process that respected the constitution.

In a statement, China's Foreign Ministry said it was opposed to regime change by force.
Read more: Germany's Maas calls for renewed international effort to stabilize Mali

How the coup unfolded
Soldiers took up arms at a military base in Kati, a town 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the Bamako on Tuesday and began arresting senior military officers and civil servants.
Rebel troops surrounded Keita's private residence in the evening and fired shots into the air before taking the leader into custody. Prime Minister Boubou Cisse was also seized. One of the prime minister's staff said the pair were being held at the army base in Kati.

DW learned earlier on Tuesday that several high-ranking politicians and officials were arrested, including Finance Minister Abdoulaye Daffe and the chief of staff of the National Guard.

Hours later, Keita delivered a brief address on state television saying he was resigning and dissolving parliament.

Watch video03:12
What's next for Mali? — DW's Tomi Oladipo
How did we get here?
The mutiny came after months of political crisis following the fallout from Mali's parliamentary elections. In March, opposition leader Soumaila Cisse was kidnapped three days ahead of the first round of votes.

On election day, the abduction of officials, trashing of polling stations and a deadly mine explosion marred the vote.

The second round of voting, in April, was disrupted in the country's volatile north and central areas. Later, Mali's constitutional court overturned the results of some 30 seats, a move that was advantageous for 10 candidates in President Keita's party.

In June, public anger at the government's handling of the elections spilled onto the streets of Bamako. The June 5 Movement - Rally of Patriotic Forces, known as M5-RFP, have held further anti-government protests, with many demanding Keita resign. Fourteen people were killed during protests in July.

Kati saw a mutiny in 2012 that led to a coup d'etat that ousted then-President Amadou Toumani Toure and contributed to the fall of northern Mali into the hands of jihadi militants.
nm/ng (Reuters, AFP)

 

[Plain Jane]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Mauritius Arrests Captain Of Japanese Oil Tanker That Ran Aground, Causing Massive Oil Spill

by Tyler Durden
Wed, 08/19/2020 - 23:05
TwitterFacebookRedditEmailPrint

The captain of a Japanese oil tanker that ran aground off the coast of Mauritius on July 25, causing a devastating oil spill in one of the world's cleanest ocean environments, is now under arrest.
Additionally, International Tankers Owners Pollution Federation Ltd and Le Floch Depollution will both begin cleaning 3 sites on the country's shoreline that were affected, joining local efforts from fishermen, according to Reuters.
The tanker, MV Wakashio struck coral reef off the coast of the Indian Ocean and began to spill oil on August 6. As a result, Mauritius announced a state of environmental emergency. The spill spread over a "vast area of endangered corals" according to the report. Some are calling it the country's "worst ecological disaster".
Inspector Siva Coothen said:

“We have arrested the captain of the vessel and another member of the crew. After having been heard by the court they have been denied bail and are still in detention.”

The country's coast guard had "repeatedly tried to reach the ship" in order to warn it about its dangerous course. They said they received no reply.
An official for Mauritius said:

“The route set five days before the crash was wrong and the boat navigation system should have signalled that to the crew and it seems the crew ignored it. The boat did also fail to send out an SOS (when it ran aground), and did not respond to attempts by the coastguard to get in touch.”

The crew had been questioned about whether or not they were having a birthday party on board but, so far, there have been no definitive answers. There were also scattered reports that the ship was moving closer to the shoreline to find a Wifi signal or a cell phone signal; those reports have also not been confirmed.
The deputy captain was also arrested. Emergency crews were able to remove most of the ship's remaining oil before it split in two on Saturday.

 

[Plain Jane]

Nigeria: Jihadis take hundreds hostage – DW – 08/19/2020

Islamists from a Boko Haram splinter group have taken large numbers of people captive in a northeastern Nigerian town. Many of the victims had just returned to the town after fleeing a bloody attack there two years ago

www.dw.com

Nigeria: Jihadis take hundreds hostage near Lake Chad
Islamists from a Boko Haram splinter group have taken large numbers of people captive in a northeastern Nigerian town. Many of the victims had just returned to the town after fleeing a bloody attack there two years ago





Members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) jihadi group overran the northeastern Nigerian of Kukawa late on Tuesday, taking hundreds of hostages, locals and militia sources said on Wednesday.
Local militia head Babakura Kolo said many of those seized had just been resettled in the town by the government after spending nearly two years in displacement camps after fleeing an attack on the town in November 2018.
"The terrorists attacked the town in 22 trucks around four pm (1600 GMT) yesterday and engaged soldiers guarding the town in a fierce battle," he said.
Security sources say ISWAP is trying to build up its influence in the Lake Chad region, where Kukawa is located. The group is a splinter group of Boko Haram, a jihadi organization that has killed tens of thousands during its 10-year campaign mainly in northeastern Nigeria to establish a state based on fundamentalist Islamic law.
Read more: Increased terror attacks in Africa amid coronavirus pandemic
Millions displaced
The jihadi conflict in Nigeria's northeast has forced some 2 million people to flee their homes, with many of them moving to displacement camps in the regional capital of Maiduguri.
Authorities have been trying for the last two years to get them to return to the towns they have left, even though international charities have insisted it is not safe to do so. Those who have returned are confined under military protection, but insurgents continue to carry out attacks.
The United Nations said last Friday that 10.6 million of the 13 million people in the states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe would need humanitarian assistance this year amid the ravages of the conflict and the coronavirus pandemic.



Watch video03:43
Conflict as Lake Chad vanishes
tj/stb (epd, AFP)

 

[Plain Jane]

A look at how Mali's coup may affect neighboring countries

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — African and Western leaders have condemned the junta that forced Mali’s president from power, warning the coup was a deep setback that could threaten the battle against Islamic extremism across the Sahel region, where thousands have been killed by jihadists.

apnews.com

A


Click to copy
A look at how Mali’s coup may affect neighboring countries
By CARLEY PETESCHyesterday



1 of 2
Security forces and others in celebration drive through the streets of the capital Bamako, Mali, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020, a day after armed soldiers fired into the air outside President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita's home and took him into their custody. African and Western leaders condemned on Wednesday the junta that forced Mali's president from power, warning the coup was a deep setback for the West African nation that could threaten the battle against Islamic extremism. (AP Photo)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — African and Western leaders have condemned the junta that forced Mali’s president from power, warning the coup was a deep setback that could threaten the battle against Islamic extremism across the Sahel region, where thousands have been killed by jihadists.

The West African economic bloc, known as ECOWAS, held a virtual extraordinary summit Thursday on the situation in Mali after military leaders pushed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita from office earlier this week.

Coups were on the decline in West Africa, and some fear that the removal of Mali’s elected president three years before the end of his term could set a dangerous precedent. A number of elections are set to be held later this year involving incumbents, including in Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Niger.



Here is a look at several countries in West Africa and the Sahel, the sprawling region south of the Sahara, that could be affected by increased instability in Mali:

MAURITANIA:
Mauritania shares a border with Mali, and already has received tens of thousands of refugees after Islamic militants seized large swaths of northern Mali back in 2012.

The two countries are both part of the G5 Sahel regional force — along with Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso — which is trying to battle extremists across the Sahel. So far the coup leaders in Mali have pledged to maintain their international commitments, presumably to the G5 among others. However, Mali’s ousted president was among its most vocal supporters and the force already has been plagued by a shortage of funds since its inception.

BURKINA FASO:
A record 1 million people already have been displaced by violence in Burkina Faso, nearly half of them this year, according to a recent report by the Norwegian Refugee Council. Observers fear those numbers could soar higher if the security situation deteriorates significantly in neighboring Mali.

Burkina Faso was long spared the kind of extremist violence seen across the border, but that has changed. The deterioration of Burkina Faso’s security situation began after former President Blaise Compaore resigned amid a popular uprising in 2014 after ruling for nearly three decades. The Presidential Guard was dissolved after a failed coup against the transitional government and security systems broke down.

In January 2016, al-Qaida-linked militants believed to be from outside the country attacked a restaurant popular with foreigners in the capital of Ouagadougou, killing at least 30 people.

Other attacks have followed in the years since, and the violence has increasingly spread south and east. Now some analysts fear the jihadists have set their sites even further, targeting borders with Benin, Togo and Ivory Coast.

Burkina Faso’s military is ill-equipped and under-trained and, as the force targets civilians perceived to support the jihadists, accusations are mounting of extrajudicial killings, torture and unlawful detention.

Coupcast, a project of One Earth Future using historical data to predict the likelihood of a coup attempt, put Burkina Faso in the top 10 African countries likely to see a coup in last year’s report.

NIGER:
Niger also has a long, porous border with Mali, and the western border region already has seen some of the country’s worst extremist attacks — carried out by militants belonging to a group called The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara.

In 2017, Islamic extremists in western Niger killed four American service members who were helping Niger’s military battle extremists. At the time of the ambush, the forces were in pursuit of an Islamic extremist leader believed to have crossed over into Mali.

Coupcast also put Niger in the top 10 African countries likely to see a coup in their 2019 report.

IVORY COAST
Ivory Coast, West Africa’s economic powerhouse, has not seen a large-scale attack by Islamic extremists since March 2016, when al-Qaida-linked militants killed at least 19 people at a beach resort. However, there have been growing concerns amid a number of attacks on security posts along the country’s northern border with Burkina Faso, including the biggest attack since 2016 that killed at least 14 troops on the border in June.

Things are also tense politically as the country’s president of nearly a decade, Alassane Ouattara, now says he will seek a third term in office. He has argued that his previous terms don’t count toward a two-term limit because of changes made to the constitution in 2016. Opposition and civil society groups are already calling on him to withdraw his candidacy, and Ouattara could be vulnerable to further efforts to block him from getting a third term.

 

[Plain Jane]

Mali's coup leaders meet mediators seeking return to civilian rule

A key meeting on Saturday between Mali's coup leaders and mediators from West Africa's regional bloc seeking a return to civilian rule ended after just 20 minutes.

www.reuters.com

NEWS
AUGUST 22, 2020 / 8:35 AM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
West African mediators jet to Mali seeking reversal of coup


BAMAKO/LONDON (Reuters) - Mediators from West Africa’s regional bloc are due in Mali on Saturday for talks aimed at reversing a coup that has been condemned abroad, but celebrated by many in a country battling an Islamist insurgency and simmering political unrest.

Leaders from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have taken a particularly hard line on Tuesday’s ouster of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita. They quickly shut borders and ended financial flows - a move diplomats said was as much about dissuading opponents at home as stabilising Mali.

“They cannot tolerate this taking place. They are taking it very personally. It is on their doorstep and they think they are next,” one regional diplomat said of the West African leaders.


The presidents of Ivory Coast and Guinea are among those pushing for a tough response, another diplomat said, as both have faced violent public protests to their third-term bids and want the bloc to show it will not tolerate power grabs in its own backyard.

All eyes are on the visit by an ECOWAS delegation led by Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan, which is expected to arrive in Mali later on Saturday, according to his spokesman.

The ouster of Keita, known as IBK, has been welcomed by many in Mali, which was rocked by months of protests calling for his resignation over alleged corruption and worsening security in areas where affiliates of al Qaeda and Islamic State are active.

Reinstating IBK is out of the question. The only thing they can achieve is the transition. Under the rules of ECOWAS, ECOWAS should midwife the transition,” the second diplomat said, referring to the outcome of the delegation’s talks.

A junta of military officers has controlled the country since Tuesday, when the mutineers detained Keita at gunpoint and forced him to resign. They have promised to oversee a transition to elections and a spokesman has said they are open to talks with ECOWAS.

On Friday, thousands of the coup’s supporters gathered in a central square in Bamako, the capital, to celebrate the takeover. There is no outward sign ECOWAS’s suspension of financial relations is yet being felt.

Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo and David Lewis; Additional reporting by Alessandra Prentice; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by James Drummond
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Plain Jane]

Germany, France, Britain to keep troops in Mali – DW – 08/21/2020

German Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer said Sahel terrorism remained a "great threat." Her French coounterpart called Mali part of a "security challenge" across Sahel Africa, impinging on "the whole of Europe."

www.dw.com

Germany, France, Britain to keep troops in Mali despite coup
German Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer said Sahel terrorism remained a "great threat." Her French coounterpart called Mali part of a "security challenge" across Sahel Africa, impinging on "the whole of Europe."





French, British and German defense ministers on Friday insisted their troops would stay assigned to UN and French-led missions in Mali — despite a military coup last Tuesday.
Europe's "engagement" in the UN's MINUSMA mission and France's Operation Barkane since 2012-2013 was "still necessary," said the host of the tripartite talks, Germany's Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

The anti-jihadist campaigns across the Sahel were "still necessary," said Kramp-Karrenbauer, "because terrorism remains a great threat, including for us here."
Read more: Mali: A revolt that led to a coup d'etat


Watch video02:30
Mali: Military coup leaders promise election
'Far from over'
French Defense Minister Florence Parly said the Sahel's "security challenge" also represented a threat for the "whole of Europe" to Africa's north.
Britain's Ben Wallace, referring to Mali's coup, said "stability must be restored."
The three ministers urged Malian soldiers who led this week's coup to "return to constitutional order." Kramp-Karrenbauer echoed German Chancellor Angela Merkel's condemnation of the coup.

Mali's CNPS junta is headed by Assimi Goita, According to a biography released the day after the coup, he attended elite military schools in Mali and rounded off his training in Gabon, Germany and the US.

Read more: Opinion: Time to match deeds to words in Mali

The ministers met in Dillingen, in Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer's home state of Saarland

Europe's mission in Mali
Assigned to MINUSMA, begun in 2013, are 13,000 UN "blue helmets," including currently some 900 German troops stationed mainly in Mali's restive Gao desert region, where Goita led infantry units from 2002 to 2008.

Since 2018, Britain has had some 100 soldiers assigned to France's 5,100-strong Operation Barkane, and has agreed to provide 250 British troops to MINUSMA starting this year.
In addition, the European Training Mission in Mali comprises 620 military instructors from 28 European countries, to train and equip Mali's army and more recently troops of neighboring G5 Sahel nations, including Niger and Chad.

• 
  
  
  UN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS IN AFRICA
  DR Congo: UN's largest mission
  Since 1999, the UN has been trying to pacify the eastern region of the DR Congo. The mission known as MONUSCO has nearly 20,000 soldiers and an annual budget of $1.4 billion (1.3 billion euros). Despite being the largest and most expensive mission of the United Nations, violence in the country continues.

12345678910
Thousands rally to celebrate coup
Meanwhile, thousands of opposition supporters gathered in capital Bamako's Independence square on Friday to celebrate the ouster of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
The supporters were part of the June 5 Movement, a loose coalition which had launched protests demanding Keita's resignation.

While the military coup continued to draw international condemnation, people at the Bamako rally were seen cheering as the new junta praised the public for their support. Many were blowing vuvuzela horns, draped in the Malian national flag.

"We have come here to thank you, to thank the Malian public for its support. We merely completed the work that you began and we recognize ourselves in your fight," the junta's spokesman, Ismael Wague, said at the rally.

Hundreds of people marched in central Bamako to celebrate Keita's departure
ipj/rt (dpa, AFP, Reuters, KNA)

 

[Plain Jane]

DR Congo: Tshisekedi moves closer to the US – DW – 08/22/2020

A new military agreement has underscored a budding friendship between the US and DR Congo, alongside speculation about the establishment of a US command center. But experts say it's too soon to draw conclusions.

www.dw.com

DR Congo: Felix Tshisekedi moves closer to the US
A new military agreement has underscored a budding friendship between the US and DR Congo, alongside speculation about the establishment of a US command center. But experts say it's too soon to draw conclusions.





For a long time, relations between the United States and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) were far from cordial. DR Congo's long-time ruler, Joseph Kabila, clung to power with increasing urgency in the last few years of his presidency, causing his country to slide even deeper into diplomatic isolation.

But ever since Felix Tshisekedi took office in 2019, relations with the US are warming up. A new high point towards reconciliation took place in early August when both countries agreed to pursue military cooperation. Among a list of other agreements, Congolese officers are set to be trained in the US in the future.

Read more: Opinion: One year in office - Is DRC's Tshisekedi in charge?
For Stephanie Wolters, an expert on DR Congo at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) in Johannesburg, the agreement underscores the growing importance for the Tshisekedi government to maintain ties with the US.

"It's a political relationship that they have," she told DW. "Since Tshisekedi became president in 2019, the US has been the most actively supportive international player in the DR Congo. We have seen a number of high-level officials going to Kinshasa over the last year and a half and the US ambassador is very active and visible."

This friendship has gone so far as Tshisekedi endorsing the so-called Trump peace plan — a proposal from US President Donald Trump to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East. But how does the Congolese president benefit in this duo?

Selected Congolese officers will be trained in the US in the future under a new agreement
At first glance, the new military cooperation agreement should be considered a minor step forward, says Wolters. Nevertheless, Tshisekedi sees the agreement as a positive sign for future relations. In the past, the Americans found it difficult to work with the Congolese.

"Many [Congolese] generals and officers have committed human rights violations and human right violations are also regularly committed by the rank and file," Wolters explains. "But the bottom line is, the Americans are huge supporters of Tshisekedi. They've been encouraging him to go after some of the more corrupt in the government and in the military and there is very visible and public support for this."

Speculation over US headquarters in Africa
An even more far-reaching alliance with the US is also currently being discussed in DR Congo. The military agreement between the two countries has led to speculation about a possible relocation of the headquarters of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). The US Department of Defense recently announced its intention to move AFRICOM headquarters from its previous location in Stuttgart, Germany, as part of the reorganization of the US armed forces in Europe.

Congolese MP Mohamed Bule, the former deputy defense minister and a retired army general, suspects Washington may rethink the AFRICOM headquarters issue based on the recent military agreement with DR Congo, referring to rumors that the DR Condo has already been mentioned as a possible location for the new headquarters back in 2008.

"It was the US that asked for AFRICOM to be set up in our country," he told DW. "So it depends on them to use this resumption of military cooperation to revive the issue."

Tshisekedi seeking international support
Frank Gollwitzer, a former Bundeswehr officer who currently works with the Hanns Siedel Foundation (HSS) in Kinshasa, says DR Congo is becoming more open to Western influence.
"Due to the past, DR Congo is allergic to Western units in the country," he told DW. "Over the past century, various Western units and troops have cavorted [through the country], so they don't want any foreign soldiers there and even regularly ask that UN missions be scaled down."

Former president Joseph Kabila (center) still has significant influence over the military
From AFRICOM's point of view, setting up headquarters in DR Congo would not have any advantages, says Gollwitzer. A location in Africa may be out of the question for the US. According to statements from the US Department of Defense to AFRICOM employees in Stuttgart, a suitable location is currently being sought in Europe or the United States.

For Gollwitzer, the military agreement between the Trump and Tshisekedi administrations is another sign of change in Congolese-American relations, which began shortly after Tshisekedi took office in 2019.

"[Tshisekedi's] first trip after his election was to the US," explains Gollwitzer. Domestically, Tshisekedi is in a weak position: His party is in the minority in both the parliament and the senate and most of the general staff are still loyal to Kabila who, after 18 years as president, is still able to pull a few strings. But with the support of the US, Tshisekedi could strengthen his position abroad, as well as in his own country's military.

 

[Plain Jane]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

New Ebola Outbreak Reported In Congo, WHO Alarmed

by Tyler Durden
Mon, 08/24/2020 - 02:00
TwitterFacebookRedditEmailPrint

Authored by Jack Philips via The Epoch Times,
A new outbreak of the Ebola virus has infected 100 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Equateur Province, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which said several dozen people have died.

The outbreak was first declared on June 1 in the province, and a cluster was first found in Mbandaka, the capital.

“The outbreak has since spread to 11 of the province’s 17 health zones. Of the 100 cases reported so far, 96 are confirmed and four are probable,” the agency said.

Some 43 people have died from the deadly virus, which causes hemorrhagic fever.

“The outbreak presents significant logistical challenges, with affected communities spanning large distances in remote and densely-forested areas of the province, which straddles the Equator,” said WHO.
“At its widest points, the outbreak is spread across approximately 200 miles both from east to west and from north to south.”

The agency said that providing relief to affected populations can take days. Supplies and first responders have to travel areas that don’t have roads and may have to rely on river boat travel, according to WHO.

Burial workers put on their protective gear before carrying the remains of Mussa Kathembo, an Islamic scholar who had prayed over those who were sick, and his wife Asiya to their final resting place in Beni, Congo DRC, on July 14, 2019. (Jerome Delay/AP Photo)

In the same province, an outbreak of Ebola occurred in May 2018, killing at least 33 people.

“With 100 Ebola cases in less than 100 days, the outbreak in Equateur Province is evolving in a concerning way,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti with WHO.
“The virus is spreading across a wide and rugged terrain which requires costly interventions and with COVID-19 draining resources and attention, it is hard to scale-up operations.”

Earlier in August, Congolese Ebola health workers protested over unpaid wages.
The provincial health minister, Bruno Efoloko, said the governor had concluded negotiations with the striking workers late on Monday afternoon. They were protesting against the health ministry’s recent publication of their pay scales, which they thought were too low, and the government’s failure to pay them since the start of the new epidemic, Keita said.

"The negotiations were successful. The laboratory is now operational,” Efoloko told Reuters, adding that some lab technicians had returned to work after the talks.

“The national ministry of health promises to examine their claims,” Efoloko said. “We will continue to educate others for an effective resumption of activities.”

In June, Congo celebrated the end of a separate Ebola outbreak in the east of the country, the second-worst on record, which killed more than 2,200 people over two years.

WHO said over the weekend that the current response is indeed in need of funding.

“Without extra support the teams on the ground will find it harder to get ahead of the virus,” said Dr. Moeti.
“COVID-19 is not the only emergency needing robust support. As we know from our recent history we ignore Ebola at our peril.”

He was referring to the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

 

[Plain Jane]

Mali junta proposes 3-year military rule: reports – DW – 08/24/2020

Mali's junta and mediators from West Africa's regional bloc have reached agreement on some points. Reports said the junta pledged to free deposed President Keita and proposed a three-year transition led by the military.

www.dw.com

Mali junta proposes 3-year military rule, agrees to free president: reports
Mali's junta and mediators from West Africa's regional bloc have reached agreement on some points. Reports said the junta pledged to free deposed President Keita and proposed a three-year transition led by the military.





Mali's military junta has put forward a plan for a soldier-led transitional body to rule for three years and agreed to release the ousted president, French Radio RFI and the AFP news agency reported.

The proposal was reportedly presented during negotiations between the rebel soldiers and West Africa's regional bloc late Sunday.

Malian soldiers seized power in a coup last Tuesday following months of protests against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.
Read more: Opinion: Time to match deeds to words in Mali


Watch video02:47
Mali's president resigns, coup leaders promise election
'Discussing the way forward'
Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) headed by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan are holding closed-door talks with the new junta, led by Colonel Assimi Goita (pictured above), in a bid to return the country to civilian rule.
"We have reached a number of agreements but we have not reached agreement on all the issues," Jonathan told reporters.

Both the regional delegation and the military officers "want the country to move on" after the coup, he said. "We are just discussing the way forward."

The talks lasted around nine hours on Sunday and were set to continue on Monday.
"We reached compromise on certain aspects and the negotiations will continue tomorrow," spokesperson for the junta, Colonel Ismael Wague, said.

Neither delegation specified which points they had agreed on or what the outstanding issues were. However, sources quoted by media suggested the fate of detained President Keita and the details of a transition to civilian rule were a key focus of discussions.
Read more: Isolation beckons as ECOWAS piles pressure on Mali junta leaders

Watch video02:30
Mali: Military coup leaders promise election
Junta wants three-year transition

AFP quoted a source in the ECOWAS delegation as saying the junta wanted a "three-year transition" to review the foundations of the Malian state.
"This transition will be directed by a body led by a soldier, who will also be head of state," the source said on condition of anonymity.

A junta official confirmed the proposal to AFP, saying the transition would have "a military president and a government mostly composed of soldiers."

Read more: Mali: A revolt that led to a coup d'etat
French Radio RFI reported late Sunday that the junta was ready to allow Keita to return to his home in Bamako or leave the country.

"And if he wants to travel abroad for treatment, that is not a problem," AFP quoted the ECOWAS source as saying. Prime Minister Boubou Cisse would be moved to a secure residence in the capital, the source added.

Tuesday's coup, the country's second in eight years, has received condemnation from the international community but it is being celebrated by many in Mali — a nation grappling with an Islamist insurgency and months of political turmoil following a contested legislative election in March.
dvv/nm (AP, Reuters)

 

[Plain Jane]

Mali talks end with no decision on transitional government

Talks between West African mediators and Mali's military coup leaders ended on Monday after three days of discussions without any decision on the make-up of a transitional government, a junta spokesman said.

www.reuters.com

NEWS
AUGUST 24, 2020 / 10:16 AM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO
Mali talks end with no decision on transitional government

Tiemoko Diallo, Cheick Diouara
4 MIN READ

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Talks between West African mediators and Mali’s military coup leaders ended on Monday after three days of discussions without any decision on the make-up of a transitional government, a junta spokesman said.

West Africa’s regional bloc dispatched negotiators to Mali at the weekend in a bid to reverse President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita’s removal from power last week. But talks had focused on who would lead Mali and for how long, rather than the possibility of reinstating the president, diplomats said.

The coup has raised the prospects of further political turmoil in Mali which, like other countries in the region, is facing an expanding threat from Islamist militants.

RELATED COVERAGE

• 
  Mali junta says decision on transitional government to be decided 'by Malians'

Colonel Ismael Wague said mediators would report to regional heads of state ahead of a summit on Mali this week but, highlighting the backing the soldiers enjoy, the final decision on the interim administration would be decided locally.

“Nothing has been decided. Everyone has given their point of view,” Wague told reporters. “The final decision of the structure of the transition will be made by us Malians here.”

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, who led the regional mediation team, said they requested and were granted access to Keita.


“President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita told us that he has resigned. That he was not forced to do so. That he does not want to return to politics and that he wants a quick transition to allow the country to return to civilian rule,” Jonathan told reporters.

Talks were taking place with the threat of regional sanctions hanging over the junta, known as the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP).

“(Mediators) will discuss this with the heads of state so they can lift or at least ease the sanctions. Sanctions are not good for us or the population,” Wague said.

The regional branch of West Africa’s BCEAO central bank reopened on Monday.


TRANSITION
Four sources, who have direct contact with people involved in talks, had said earlier that Keita would not be involved in any transition.

Two sources said a year-long transition, similar to the one in Niger following a 2010 coup, was on the table. Another source said the junta was eager to prioritise reforms over elections so it could be longer.

Wague earlier denied reports by French radio RFI that the CNSP wanted a three-year transitional government led by a soldier and mostly made up of the military.




Colonel Ismael Wague, the junta's spokesman of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People (CNSP), which overthrew Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, speaks to the media after the meeting with Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mediators, in Bamako, Mali August 24, 2020. REUTERS/Moussa Kalapo
An African diplomat monitoring the talks said that ECOWAS was keen to push for a “short transition” with a focus on holding the elections and allowing an elected civilian administration to handle the reforms afterwards.

However, several analysts warned against rushing to fresh elections without addressing the corruption and mismanagement that the soldiers and opposition leaders who led weeks of protests in the run up to the coup complained about.

“We did that in 2012 and here we are with another coup,” said Lori-Anne Theroux-Benoni, head of the Dakar office of the Institute for Security Studies, referring to the vote that brought Keita to power in 2013 after his predecessor was also ousted.

“We should be innovative and use the time of the transition to make the process of the reform irreversible,” she said. “This might take longer than what some international actors want.”

Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo and Cheick Diouara; Additional reporting by David Lewis in London; Editing by Bate Felix, William Maclean and Alex Richardson
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

 

[Doc1]

Françafrique lives on – DW – 08/03/2020

France's former African colonies are celebrating 60 years of independence. But France's influence remains all pervasive and critics say it is time that Africans cut the umbilical cord and put an end to Françafrique.

www.dw.com

AFRICAN INDEPENDENCE
Africa and France: An unfulfilled dream of independence?
France's former African colonies are celebrating 60 years of independence. But France's influence remains all pervasive and critics say it is time that Africans cut the umbilical cord and put an end to Françafrique.




"60 years on, francophone countries in Africa still do not have true independence and freedom from France," says Nathalie Yamb, adviser to Ivory Coast's Freedom and Democracy Party (LIDER). Even the content of school textbooks is often still determined by France, she added.

But more importantly, the political system in many of the countries was introduced by France. "Shortly before independence, France decided to abolish the parliamentary system in some countries like Ivory Coast and introduce a presidential regime in which all territories and powers are in the hands of the head of state," Yamb told DW. The reason being that in this way, "only one person with all the power needs to be manipulated," she said.

Françafrique, as the French influence in the former colonies is called, remains a fact, particularly galling to the young, whose resentment of the former colonial power is growing.
Beginning in the 1980s, many French presidential candidates have been announcing plans to put an end to Françafrique. But the promise of a new beginning between France and the francophone states has turned into a mere ritual, according to Ian Taylor, professor of African politics at St. Andrews University in Scotland. "They come out with statements and they want to change it. But after after a couple of years, they realize that the business interests and the kind of political interests are still very strong and there's no real will on either side to fundamentally re-balance the relationship." Taylor said.

Money and power
But why do neither Africa's elites nor France seem to want to break away from the clutches of Françafrique? Researcher Paul Melly of the British think-tank Chatham House, puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of the elites intent on defending their private interests. In 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle commissioned his adviser Jacques Foccart to build up Françafrique. "Foccart built a network of personal contacts between the French leadership and the elites of the former French colonies," Paul Melly told DW. "These were often very personal connections, but they also had an opaque, very paternalistic, very controlling character."

Foccart came up with the treaties that are still in force today. In exchange for military protection against attempted coups and the payment of hefty kickbacks, African leaders guaranteed French companies access to strategic resources such as diamonds, ores, uranium, gas and oil. The result is a solid presence of French interests on the continent, including 1,100 companies, some 2,100 subsidiaries and the third largest investment portfolio after Great Britain and the United States. France also retains the right of first refusal on all natural resources and privileged access to government contracts.

France also has a considerable military presence in Africa. It leads the Barkhane operation against Islamist groups in the Sahel region, in which around 5,100 soldiers from several countries are involved. According to the US daily "New York Times", in 2007, almost half of France's 12,000 peacekeeping troops were deployed to Africa. These troops have both military and advisory capabilities as well as supporting and stabilizing the regimes of the respective countries.

African youth are increasingly critical of African-French relations
Read more: France to boost military troops in Africa's Sahel to counter terrorism

The young are getting restless
All this is very frustrating, says Nathalie Yamb, who points a finger at African political and economic elites. "At the top of the system, there is no will to change. They want to continue to serve France instead of serving the best interests of their people. But the youth of Africa is more and more vocal about claiming true independence and breaking up with this insane and unhealthy relationship with France," she said.

Caroline Roussy of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations in France (IRIS), has a more nuanced view. "Independence is not complete. But we cannot compare the situation to the 1960s. France and President Emmanuel Macron have tried to change the patterns and paradigms to put an end to Françafrique," Roussy said.

• 
  
  
  CULTURAL HERITAGE TAKES FIRST STEP ON JOURNEY HOME
  Colonial theft in the Kingdom of Dahomey
  These three totems, half human, half animal, are kept in the collection at the Parisian Quai Branly Museum for non-European art. They come from the West African Kingdom of Dahomey, which is now the Republic of Benin. The former French colony has classified the objects as looted art and in 2016 demanded their return. France refused the request.

1234567
A summit of the French and all African governments was supposed to prepare the way to a new kind of relationship, but it had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan was to discuss projects and solutions for building sustainable cities and regions in Africa, so as to meet the challenges posed by the massive urbanization in the coming decades.

Nathalie Yamb is skeptical."Françafrique, Afrique-France - you can play with words, but it doesn't change the system," she said. In her opinion, relations between France and the French-speaking African countries have deteriorated further under the present French president. "I even think Emmanuel Macron is one of the worst president in that sense, that he's actually like [former French President Charles] de Gaulle. He's actually not hiding his will to forcefully maintain the relationship between Africa and France."

France maintains a massive military presence in Africa
Read more: France's Macron calls colonialism in Africa a 'grave mistake'

Small progress
Caroline Roussy agrees that the president made some mistakes when he first came into office. "For instance, when he convened the presidents of the G5 Sahel instead of going to see them." But he also took positive action, Roussy adds. "He placed Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo at the head of the International Organization of Francophonie and promised to return most of the African artifacts stored in French museums.

"If France loses Africa, France is nothing", Yamb counters. "Macron is trying to impose on Africa a relationship that Africans no longer want," she maintains. As an example, she points out the recent agreement between France and eight members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on replacing the CFA franc with a new West African single currency called Eco.

"The Eco is a very old Ecowas project, which France has decided to hijack. They say they're changing the system, but they're only changing the name," Yamb said. "It must be an initiative of an African government. It can't be announced, designed or planned by France."

Will the end of the CFA-Franc hasten the end of Françafrique_
Read more: West African states mired in controversy over 'Eco' currency

Africa first
According to the agreement, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) will no longer have to deposit half of its foreign exchange reserves with the Banque de France as was the case until now. However, the fixed parity with the euro will be maintained, allegedly to prevent inflation. At least this will put an end to remittances from Africa to France. But it will not enable an African independent monetary policy.

In the past, African countries paid up to 65% of their foreign exchange reserves into the French treasury. "It sounds incredible but African governments don't know how much money in the treasury belongs to each individual country," says researcher Ian Taylor. He accuses France of re-declaring African money as development aid for the original depositors, thereby projecting its power in the region.

"The CFA has to go. It is such a ridiculous neo-colonial stunt by the French that it should have gone 60 years ago. The first step is to try to kill CFA, to try to actually move towards true independence for Francophone Africa, which would basically kill Françafrique", Taylor sums up. 60 years after independence, the francophone countries need African elites who are prepared to put Africa first.

Yes. Of course. Absolutely! Everything and anything is the fault of the White/colonial administrations of the distant past. The African countries inherited - virtually handed to them on a plate - technology, infrastructure, medicine, language, law and Christian religious traditions. Yet - and this is important - they, the Africans, turned every single "liberated" country into an irredeemable shit hole.

You doubt this? Name a single former African colony which has thrived in the absence of their former European colonial masters. C'mon. Surely you can name just one! Generations have passed since the last "evil, oppressive colonial government" handed over the reigns of power. Not a handful of years, but generations!

The Leftists assured us - as far back as the forties, fifties and sixties, that when the evil, oppressive yoke of the Europeans was lifted, Africa would soar to unimaginable heights once the promise of her indigenous population(s) were unshackled.

Yeah. Sure. Right...

Best
Doc

 

[Plain Jane]

Battle looms in Mozambique over extremists' control of port

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — The stinging success of Mozambique's Islamic extremist rebels in seizing and holding a northern port city signals to the government, neighboring countries and the world that Africa has yet another insurgency hotspot.

apnews.com

Click to copy
Battle looms in Mozambique over extremists’ control of port
By TOM BOWKER2 hours ago



1 of 4
This image distributed online by the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP) and provided by SITE Intelligence Group shows ISCAP fighters and weapons following clashes with Mozambican government troops on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, near Mocimboa da Praia, in northern Mozambique. The stinging success of Mozambique's Islamic extremist rebels in seizing and holding the northern port city signals to the government, neighboring countries and the world that Africa has yet another insurgency hotspot. Writing in Arabic reads "Blessings of God are on the soldiers of the caliphate after their attack on the Mozambican army near the city of Mocimboa da Praia". (SITE Intelligence Group via AP)

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — The stinging success of Mozambique’s Islamic extremist rebels in seizing and holding a northern port city signals to the government, neighboring countries and the world that Africa has yet another insurgency hotspot.

A battle looms as the government is expected to launch its forces to regain control of Mocimboa da Praia, a strategic port in northeastern Mozambique that was captured by the extremists earlier this month.

The Islamic State Central African Province showed new levels of organization, strategy, manpower and weaponry in the days-long battle to win control of the port earlier this month.

The extremists’ victory in Mocimboa adds to the obstacles facing the multi-billion dollar international investments to exploit the massive deposits of liquified natural gas in northern Mozambique.

Mocimboa, in Mozambique’s northernmost Cabo Delgado province, is a centuries-old port on Indian Ocean trade routes and close to the border with Tanzania. It’s the third time this year that the rebels have taken control of Mocimboa and the longest time that they have held the city of an estimated 30,000 people.

The rebels started as a ragtag group near Mocimboa in 2017 and since then have grown in strength to carry out a campaign of violence in villages in coastal districts of Cabo Delgado, killing more than 1,500 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. They have now pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

This year, the insurgents have repeatedly attacked — and taken — the city center of Mocímboa da Praia, first in March, then in June, and now in August. This time, on August 10, they also won control of the port.

“The fall of Mocímboa da Praia is a major strategic victory for the insurgents,” said Eric Morier-Genoud, a historian at Queen’s University Belfast, “as well as a personal victory. Many insurgent leaders come from this town and made a comeback on their own terms,” he said. “They took five days to capture the town and its port, showing determination, organization and good planning.”

The attack on the town was “highly sophisticated,” according to military analyst and former South Africa army colonel Johann Smith. Before starting their five-day assault at the beginning of August, the extremists carried out preliminary “attacks on government forces’ positions around Mocímboa da Praia,” Smith said, and they cleared out “suburbs of the town to get most civilian residents to leave the area.”

Then from August 5 through 10, the insurgents fought with government troops in Mocímboa. They ambushed a convoy of reinforcements traveling to Mocímboa from the garrison town of Mueda. More than 50 young army recruits were killed by insurgents in the ambush that happened at the village of Awasse, according to several sources.

The government forces were supported by helicopter gunships flown by the South African mercenary company Dyck Advisory Group, but their efforts were hampered by the need to return to the provincial capital, Pemba, to refuel. The helicopters also dropped supplies – including ammunition – too far from where it was needed, according to the Zitamar news agency.

By August 11, the port had been taken by the insurgents, who also fired on government vessels, preventing them from bringing reinforcements to hold the town, Defence Minister Jaime Neto said in a press conference.

The extremists have held the port city for nearly two weeks, setting up what will likely be a bruising battle.

“The Mozambican military will recapture Mocímboa da Praia. The question is when and how,” said expert Morier-Genoud. “Once they do, the question will also be how will the army hold onto the town. The present organization and logistics of the army clearly failed to secure the town this time round.”

With all phone lines and internet access cut to Mocimboa, it is hard to guess what the insurgents will do, he said.

”We know they told the population that they were planning on staying in Mocímboa da Praia for good,” he said. “If this is indeed their plan, then they will militarily secure the town and neighboring areas and start developing something of an administration – presumably along Shariah rule lines.”

tHowever, Professor Yussuf Adam, a Mozambican academic with decades of research in Cabo Delgado, reckons the insurgents may not focus on holding Mocimboa but instead “will continue with their strike-and-run tactics, and will select targets which will contribute to lock down the logistics of the northern part of Cabo Delgado.”

He said the rebels may avoid trying to control areas where they can be bombarded by air.
“They will attack again and again,” said Adam. “It will depend on the capacity of the government forces to transform a war of movement of the guerrillas, into a war of positions.”

Beyond getting continued help from the mercenaries of the Dyck group, Mozambique has avoided asking for outside assistance and looks to continue that stance even as it takes over the rotating presidency this month of the regional bloc, the 16-nation Southern African Development Community.

Defence Minister Jaime Neto said recently that the only help Mozambique requests of its neighboring countries “is vigilance at the borders to prevent bandits from entering our territory.”

 

[Plain Jane]

Sudan not considering normalising ties with Israel before end of interim govt in 2022

Sudan's Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday that the country's interim government was not mandated to normalise ties with Israel.

www.france24.com

Sudan not considering normalising ties with Israel before end of interim govt in 2022
Issued on: 25/08/2020 - 16:07

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) greets Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok (R) in Khartoum, Sudan, on August 25, 2020. © AFP
Text by:FRANCE 24Follow
11 min
Sudan's Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday that the country's interim government was not mandated to normalise ties with Israel.


"The Prime Minister clarified" to Pompeo "that the transitional period in Sudan is being led by a wide alliance with a specific agenda: to complete the transition, achieve peace and stability in the country, and hold free elections," Sudan's government spokesman Faisal Saleh said.
The post-Omar al-Bashir transitional government, whose term ends with elections in 2022, "does not have a mandate beyond these tasks or to decide on normalisation with Israel", Hamdok was quoted as telling Pompeo.

Hamdok also reaffirmed the importance of separating normalisation of ties from a US decision on removing Sudan's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, Faisal Saleh added.

Pompeo in Sudan aims to improve Israel-Arab ties
230000

First American top diplomat to visit Sudan in 15 years
The declarations come as Pompeo visited Sudan on Tuesday on a tour urging more Arab countries to normalise ties with Israel, after the US-brokered Israel-UAE agreement.
Pompeo, the first American top diplomat to visit Sudan since Condoleezza Rice went in 2005, arrived on a historic "first official non-stop flight" from Tel Aviv, he tweeted from the plane.
Israel remains technically at war and has no formal diplomatic relations with Sudan, an East African country that for years supported hard-line Islamist forces under its former strongman Bashir.

Khartoum hopes Washington blacklist removal
But its new joint civilian-military transitional government has vowed to break with the Bashir era following his ouster last year amid enormous pro-democracy protests.
Pompeo met Prime Minister Hamdok and Sovereign Council chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for talks the US State Department had said would express US "support for deepening the Sudan-Israel relationship".

Sudan, which has launched sweeping social and political reforms, hopes Washington will soon take it off its blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism as it seeks to fully re-integrate into the international community.

Hamdok wrote on Twitter that he and Pompeo had a "direct & transparent conversation regarding delisting Sudan" from the terror list, on bilateral relations and US government support.

"I continue to look forward to positive tangible steps in supporting the glorious Sudanese revolution," wrote Hamdok.

Mixed messages
Both Sudan and Israel have already taken a series of steps to forge ties, despite some mixed messaging from Sudan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Burhan in Uganda in February and later announced that the two leaders had agreed to cooperate towards normalising ties.
Sudan's cabinet later denied that Burhan had made such a promise, in a context where the topic of normalisation remains highly controversial in much of the Arab world.

'No mandate'
More recently, Sudan's foreign ministry spokesman Haider Badawi indicated Sudan could favour such an accord, but Foreign Minister Omar Qamareddin then said the issue had "never been discussed by the Sudanese government" and promptly fired the spokesman.
The coalition of parties and civil society groups that led the protest movement, the Forces of Freedom and Change, argued Tuesday that the government has "no mandate" to normalise ties with Israel, pointing to "the right of Palestinians to their land and to a free and dignified life".

Pompeo's regional trip, also taking in Bahrain and the UAE, comes in the wake of the landmark August 13 announcement of a normalisation of relations between the Emirates and the Jewish state. Speaking in Jerusalem on Monday, both Pompeo and Netanyahu said that they were hopeful that other Arab states would follow suit – in part to boost an alliance against their common arch foe Iran.

Sudan has been on Washington's state sponsors of terror list since 1993 because of its earlier support for and the presence of jihadists, including Osama bin Laden, who lived there for years in the 1990s before heading to Afghanistan.

While the US lifted a 20-year trade embargo against Sudan in October 2017, it kept the country on its list of state sponsors of terrorism, and Khartoum has been lobbying hard to have that designation lifted.

Sudan has been in talks on compensating victims of Bashir-era al Qaeda attacks, including the 2000 USS Cole bombing in Yemen and the simultaneous 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Huge economic pressures
The Pompeo visit comes as Sudan is in deep economic crisis, hit by the long years of US sanctions and the 2011 secession of the country's oil-rich south.

Grappling with high inflation and the coronavirus pandemic, the country badly needs more foreign assistance and investment, but that is constrained by the state sponsor of terror designation.

The United Nations says more than 9.6 million people – almost a quarter of Sudan's population – are suffering severe food insecurity.

Sudan is "extremely keen to have US sanctions lifted and they are under heavy UAE influence," said Cinzia Bianco, a research fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Bashir to face genocide charges
While Bashir is on trial over the Islamist-backed coup that brought him to power over three decades ago, the new transitional government in Khartoum is at pains to distance itself from his legacy.

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app
It has agreed in principle to hand Bashir over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for his role in the Darfur conflict on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Conflict broke out in the Darfur region in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels staged an uprising against the government, citing marginalisation and discrimination. Khartoum responded by unleashing the feared Janjaweed militia, mainly recruited from Arab pastoralist tribes, in a scorched-earth campaign that left 300,000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million.

Hamdok has made finding a peace deal with rebel groups a priority, in order to bring stability to restive regions that also include Blue Nile and South Kordofan.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

 

[Plain Jane]

Was Russia behind the coup in Mali? – DW – 08/26/2020

In the wake of Mali's political crisis, there are reports suggesting that the junta leaders were trained in Russia and have ties with the Kremlin. Meanwhile, the United States has suspended military ties with Mali.

www.dw.com

Was Russia behind the coup in Mali?
In the wake of Mali's political crisis, there are reports suggesting that the junta leaders were trained in Russia and have ties with the Kremlin. Meanwhile, the United States has suspended military ties with Mali.





Local media aBamako.com reported that the junta leaders, who forced President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (IBK) to step down, were in Russia on a training program organized by Russian Armed Forces ahead of the military coup.

Colonel Malick Diaw and Sadio Camara, believed to be the chief architects of the August 18 coup d'etat, spent a year in Russia at the Higher Military College in Moscow.

Read more: Mali coup: ECOWAS, junta transition talks end without deal
Keita's time in office, which began in 2013 after a coup in 2012 ousted Amadou Toumani Toure, coincided with establishing a French peacekeeping mission, and the Kremlin may have been trying to tussle with France in West African countries where Paris has a stronghold and influence.

"It's difficult for me to judge how reliable this information is because Moscow has said nothing about it," Russian expert Irina Filatova, Research Professor at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, told DW. She noted that the Kremlin and Mali have established strong ties and Russia has been supplying some military equipment to Mali.

IBK, as they call him in Mali, is unpopular in his country, but has been an essential ally for the West — particularly France — in the fight against jihadis in the Sahel.

US Africa Command condemns coup
Apart from the alleged Moscow training, the Malian putschist leaders got training from the United States and Germany, according to the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM).
"The mutiny act in Mali is strongly condemned and inconsistent with US military training and education," Kelly Cahalan, Media Operations Branch Chief for AFRICOM, told DW.

The US Army says Colonel Assimi Goita got military training in the US, but AFRICOM distanced itself from the coup leaders

"Colonel Goita participated in previous US Africa Command Flintlock training exercises and also attended an 18-day Joint Special Operations University Bi-Lateral Seminar at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida," Cahalan added, referring to Colonel Assimi Goita — the coup leader.
Goita also participated in a program on terrorism and security studies at the George C. Marshall European Center in Germany.

Following the coup, the US Department of Defense is reviewing the situation on the ground in Mali for any potential impacts on US military assistance, according to Cahalan. "Until the review is complete, there will be no further training or support to the Malian armed forces," Cahalan said.

US Special Operations Forces have trained over 20 African armies in the art of countering extremist organizations

But according to Judd Devermont, Director of the Africa Program for Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) — a US-based think tank, the reality is that many African military officers receive training abroad, and they tend to be natural leaders who are decisive, charismatic and confident.

"The qualities that recommend them for foreign training are the same ones that make them effective coup leaders," Devermont told DW, as he weighed in on why Russia is in focus in connection with the recent coup in Mali.

Russia-Mali ties in the spotlight
Analysts say the relations between Mali and Russia go back to the 1960s following Mali's independence from France. But they were also quick to argue that France and its Western allies' have so far failed to stabilize Mali.

"When Malians went out last January to ask for the departure of foreign forces in Mali, their objective was [to call for] Russia's return," Fatoumata Coulibaly, professor at the University of Bamako, told DW.

But according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the military cooperation between Mali and Russia is "very poor."

"Russia has not been involved in any major arms deals with Mali, except for the 2016 deal when Mali signed a contract with Russia for an estimated four Mi-35M combat helicopters," Alexandra Kuimova, a researcher with SIPRI's Arms and Military Expenditure Program, told DW.

She added that Kremlin delivered at least two new Mi-35M combat helicopters to Mali between 2017 and 2019. According to Russian officials, the deal was a step towards further cooperation between the two countries.

Africa becoming a power-play field for Russia and the West
The think tank, CSIS has done extensive research on Russia's growing influence in Africa in recent years. The Kremlin has deepened its economic and military ties with the continent, especially when Russia was slapped with Western sanctions in 2014 — prompting a scramble for markets and partners.

"One of the reasons why Russia is so interested in Africa is to compete with the West. The more influence it has in Africa, the less control [there is] of the West," Filatova told DW.

According to SIPRI, in the last 10 years, Russia accounted for 16% of total arms exports to the African continent — excluding Egypt.

Every country uses its strong points, she said, adding that it's complicated for Russia to get trade items that they can offer to African countries on the top of what is being provided by Western governments and China.

"That's why apart from the military equipment, trade with Africa has never been significant. Of course, Russians are interested in mineral resources, but they can offer military assistance, and that's their strong point," she added.

 

[Plain Jane]

Mali's deposed president returns home under tight security

A family member says former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was returned home by the ruling military junta 10 days after his arrest and resignation.

apnews.com

Mali’s deposed president returns home under tight security
By BABA AHMED and CARLEY PETESCHyesterday



1 of 5
Mediator for the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS and former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, center, speaks with ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, right, as they meet with representatives of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People at the Ministry of Defense in Bamako, Mali Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. Top West African officials are arriving in Mali's capital following a coup in the nation this week to meet with the junta leaders and the deposed president in efforts to negotiate a return to civilian rule. (AP Photo)

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita returned home Thursday after being detained for 10 days by the ruling military junta that staged a coup last week, a family member said.

The move came the same day that the junta made public a decree of its National Committee for the Salvation of the People that seems to overrule Mali’s constitution.

Keita was detained on Aug. 18 when a group of military officers arrested him and took him to Kati, 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the capital, Bamako. Later that night he resigned as president.

West African leaders from the 15-nation bloc knowns as ECOWAS have decried the overthrow of an elected leader and placed sanctions on Mali, shutting borders, halting financial flows and threatening further sanctions.


Keita was brought home around 2 a.m. Thursday by the military, according to a family member who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to speak to the press. New guards were put on duty at the president’s residence and the junta must approve all visitors, the family member added.

His release comes as ECOWAS leader are meeting Friday in a virtual summit to further discuss the crisis in Mali. It could be a signal that Mali’s ruling junta, which wants ECOWAS to lift sanctions, are trying to meet some of the bloc’s demands.

The ECOWAS negotiating team met with Keita during their visit to Mali’s capital last week. Keita confirmed to them that he resigned voluntarily and “was no longer interested in returning to his former position.”

But the junta on Thursday released a degree signed Aug. 24 by junta leader Col. Assimi Goita that installs “provisional authority and lays the foundations for a rule of law.” It says the law is necessary given the dissolution of the National Assembly and the government.

It declares that the provisions of Mali’s 1992 constitution “apply as long as they are not contrary or incompatible with those of the present act.”

The main demand from ECOWAS, however, is at a standstill. West Africa’s leaders have demanded that Mali’s junta put in place an interim government, headed by a civilian or retired military officer, that would last no longer than one year before democratic elections are held to restore the country to civilian rule.

Mali’s junta has proposed staying in power for three years until Mali’s next election until 2023.

African countries and others have expressed fears that Mali’s upheaval could allow Islamic extremists that Mali has been fighting with heavy international support for seven years to extend their reach.

On Thursday, Mali’s military said four soldiers were killed and 12 others wounded in an ambush on an anti-poaching unit by insurgents in central Mali. Reinforcements have been dispatched to the site 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Konna, the military said.
___
Petesch reported from Dakar, Senegal.

 

[Plain Jane]

South African president grilled over COVID-19 graft scandals

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has faced tough questioning by lawmakers over COVID-19 corruption scandals, days after he asked ruling party members to refrain from stealing money meant for the poor.

apnews.com

South African president grilled over COVID-19 graft scandals
By MOGOMOTSI MAGOMEyesterday

FILE — In this Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020 file photo, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his State of the Nation Address in Cape Town, South Africa. Ramaphosa on Thursday Aug. 27, 2020, faced tough questioning by lawmakers over COVID-19 corruption allegations, days after he asked ruling party members to refrain from stealing money meant for the poor. (Sumaya Hisham/Pool Photo via AP, File)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday faced tough questioning by lawmakers over COVID-19 corruption scandals, days after he asked ruling party members to refrain from stealing money meant for the poor.

Many South Africans have been dismayed to see the country’s widespread graft problem infiltrate efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus. South Africa has the world’s fifth largest virus caseload with more than 600,000 confirmed infections.

Ramaphosa promised to overhaul the government’s procurement system, which he said is vulnerable to corruption. “Clearly, this COVID moment has given us the opportunity” for change, he said, promising “a much more effective” system.


It was his first question-and-answer session with lawmakers since corruption allegations were leveled against high-ranking officials in the government and the ruling African National Congress party.

“It is disgraceful that at this time of national crisis, there are companies and individuals who seek to criminally benefit from our efforts to protect people’s health and save lives,” Ramaphosa said.

Graft claims related to the country’s $26 billion social relief package for the pandemic, which included the purchase of large amounts of personal protective equipment, have rocked the country. Ramaphosa’s own spokeswoman, Khusela Diko, was placed on leave due to the allegations.

The provincial health minister of the country’s economic hub, Gauteng province, Bandile Masuku, also has been placed on leave after being linked to corruption claims.

The leader of the official opposition, the liberal Democratic Alliance party, criticised Ramaphosa for allowing the former mayor of eThekwini municipality, Zandile Gumede, to be appointed as a provincial lawmaker despite facing corruption charges.

Ramaphosa has been accused of being soft on corruption amid concerns that implicating too many senior leaders of the ANC could split the ruling party.

The president said the matters of the former mayor and his spokeswoman are being investigated by the relevant entities, which will advise him on the appropriate action to take.
This week South Africa’s government began publishing contracts and procurement offers related to the pandemic, which Ramaphosa called “unprecedented in our country’s history, enabling members of the public to find detailed information about how public funds are being spent.”

Having secured the presidency on an anti-corruption ticket after predecessor Jacob Zuma was pressured to resign amid multiple scandals in 2018, Ramaphosa has been under pressure to show that his government is taking a tough stance on the scourge.

This week his letter to ANC party members cited “clear progress” since the election, but he scolded: “Today, the ANC and its leaders stand accused of corruption. The ANC may not stand alone in the dock, but it does stand as accused No 1.”



Leftist opposition party leader Julius Malema called on Ramaphosa to scrap the current procurement system and establish special courts that would deal with corruption cases, following the model that was used to prosecute crimes committed during the 2010 FIFA World Cup that was held in South Africa.

Corruption cases would be dealt with swiftly under that model, Malema said.
The COVID-19 corruption scandals dominated Thursday’s session with lawmakers, but Ramaphosa also was taken to task over the scourge of gender-based violence in South Africa and the country’s dire economic situation.

South Africa slipped into recession before the pandemic lockdown that started in March, and its unemployment rate is now above 30%.

 

[Plain Jane]

Burundian refugees face uncertain future – DW – 08/28/2020

As hundreds of Burundian refugees living in Rwanda return home after years in exile following deadly political violence, observers see this as a chance for Burundi and Rwanda to normalize frosty relations.

www.dw.com

Burundian refugees face uncertain future after years in Rwanda
As hundreds of Burundian refugees living in Rwanda return home after years in exile following deadly political violence, observers see this as a chance for Burundi and Rwanda to normalize frosty relations.




Returning refugees had to undergo a coronavirus temperature check
Against a backdrop of thawing relations between the small central African neighbors of Burundi and Rwanda, more than 170 Burundian refugee families have been repatriated from Rwanda. Many of them spent years in exile. Marked buses have taken Burundians from the Mahama Refugee Camp across the border to two temporary sites in Burundi.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Rwanda is facilitating the proceedings and says the repatriation will continue.

• 

Many refugees fled to Rwanda following Burundi's political crisis triggered by the 2015 election, which saw deceased former President Pierre Nkurunziza win a third term in office.

Hope for a better future
A male refugee, who spoke to DW on condition of anonymity, fled Burundi in 2016 without his wife and children. The repatriation gives him the chance to find his family. With the change of regime, he hopes the situation will continue to improve.



"At that time, I fled my hometown, men and boys were being arrested en masse. We were hunted under the former regime." The man says his family has told him it is now safe to return.

Now that Burundi is under the leadership of new President Evariste Ndayishimiye, following the sudden death of President Pierre Nkurunziza in June, some Burundian refugees feel safe enough to return home. Ndayishimiye tweeted in his local language: "We welcome our brothers who have returned from exile in Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda. It's a pleasure for their families and the nation of Burundi."


He has instructed authorities to help the refugees integrate and called on the others who are willing to return to come home.

Read more: Burundi: Tough presidency awaits Evariste Ndayishimiye

A Burundian farmer and father of three is enthusiastic about his return after being encouraged by his relatives. "I left Burundi in 2015 because I was afraid of the insecurity that prevailed in my village. My family in Burundi assure me the situation is good. This is why I have decided to leave exile," he told DW.

More repatriation planned
The UNHCR in Rwanda says repatriation is an option for all Burundians in Rwanda. The UN agency has already registered nearly 1,500 Burundians, mostly refugees from the Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda, near the Tanzanian border.

So far, only one convoy has left Rwanda for Burundi. Elise Villechalance, spokesperson for the UNHCR in Rwanda, said the program would be evaluated after the first trip. "I imagine there will be another technical meeting that will be held to see how it went, what went well, where we need to make improvements. More repatriation efforts will follow this first one," said Villechalance.


Burundi's 2015 crisis claimed at least 1,700 lives and forced nearly 400,000 to flee
The first convoy included 558 refugees from 178 different families. Only refugees who tested negative for COVID-19 were repatriated.

Not all refugees want to return to Burundi, neither do all of them feel safe in their home country. It's widely thought that the majority of refugees sheltering in Rwanda will stay there. While most repatriation efforts for Burundians have come from Tanzania, this repatriation from Rwanda marks a positive shift in relations between the two countries.

Time to mend ties?
Diplomatic ties between Rwanda and Burundi were severely damaged when Rwandan President Paul Kagame criticized his then-Burundian counterpart, Nkurunziza, for seeking a third term in office.

The repatriation was kickstarted by a group of Burundian refugees in Rwanda, after they expressed a desire to return home in a petition to President Ndayishimiye. According to that petition, the refugees said their reasons for fleeing the country and remaining in exile were no longer necessary since Nkurunziza was dead.


Rwandan President Paul Kagame did not get along with former Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza

In response, President Ndayishimiye accused Rwanda of holding the Burundian nationals "hostage" for political and strategic reasons, and that his government would not deal with a "hypocritical state". Rwanda strongly rejected these claims.

The two countries share a volatile history, with refugees consistently crossing the border to escape political and ethnic persecution. DW's Alex Ngarambe, who was at the scene when the refugees were being transported, described the action as a turning point for relations between Rwanda and Burundi.

"They are trying all their best to see how they can normalize relations, especially after five years of mistrust between the two governments. It is in the best interest of Rwanda to see that they work well with the neighbors," Ngarambe said.



Watch video02:08
Burundi holds peaceful election despite fraud allegation

 

[Plain Jane]

Zimbabwe's 'keyboard warriors' hold protests off the streets

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Unable to protest on the streets, some in Zimbabwe are calling themselves “keyboard warriors” as they take to graffiti and social media to pressure a government that promised reform but is now accused of gross human rights abuses.

apnews.com

Click to copy
Zimbabwe’s ‘keyboard warriors’ hold protests off the streets
By FARAI MUTSAKAyesterday



1 of 8
A woman walks past a wall with graffiti calling on the government to stop corruption in this Monday, June, 15, 2020 photo. Unable to protest on the streets, some in Zimbabwe are calling themselves "keyboard warriors" as they take to graffiti and social media to pressure a government that promised reform but is now accused of gross human rights abuses.(AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Unable to protest on the streets, some in Zimbabwe are calling themselves “keyboard warriors” as they take to graffiti and social media to pressure a government that promised reform but is now accused of gross human rights abuses.
Activists use the hashtag #zimbabweanlivesmatter to encourage global pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.

Tens of thousands of people, from Jamaican reggae stars to U.S. rap and hip-hop musicians, have joined African celebrities, politicians and former presidents in tweeting with the hashtag.

But some analysts say online protests might not be enough to move Mnangagwa, who increasingly relies on security forces to crush dissent despite promising reforms when he took power after a coup in 2017.


Tensions are rising anew in the once prosperous southern African country. Inflation is over 800%, amid acute shortages of water, electricity, gas and bank notes and a health system collapsing under the weight of drug shortages and strikes by nurses and doctors.

Revelations of alleged corruption related to COVID-19 medical supplies led to the sacking of the health minister and further pressure on Mnangagwa.

His government has responded to the rising dissent with arrests and alleged abductions and torture.

Before July, few Zimbabweans knew about Jacob Ngarivhume, a fringe opposition politician. Then he went on social media to announce an anti-government protest planned for the end of July.

Soon, #July31 swelled into a movement. The government panicked, jailed Ngarivhume and journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, deployed the military and police to thwart the protest and arrested dozens of people who tweeted about it.

“Social media is making waves in Zimbabwe. It is really helping people access information about government scandals faster and cheaper so it makes them want to act,” said Elias Mambo, publisher of ZimMorning Post, which publishes investigative stories online and on WhatsApp groups.

Angry, but afraid to take to the streets, Zimbabweans are turning to their computers and smartphones to protest. They are also splashing graffiti with colorful anti-government messages on the walls of stadiums, cemeteries and city buildings.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, have expressed concern over the government’s alleged abuses.

“The online campaign massively helped place the political crisis and human rights abuses in Zimbabwe on the global map. Zimbabweans are realizing that social media has a massive international influence,” said the Human Rights Watch director for southern Africa, Dewa Mavhinga.

Cyril Ramaphosa, president of neighboring South Africa and chairman of the African Union, dispatched special envoys to meet Mnangagwa. But they returned without meeting the opposition despite having kept them on standby, inviting anger in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Zimbabweans had earlier used social media to protest against the previous government of Robert Mugabe. The army briefly allowed street protests in 2017, but only to use the crowds as pressure to force Mugabe out. Now, activists say, the same military is making the streets dangerous for them.

“Digital activism cannot be ignored and cannot be confronted by traditional authoritarian tactics, as shown by the #zimbabweanlivesmatter campaign,” said Alexander Rusero, a political analyst based in the capital, Harare.

Yet the latest online campaign, like previous ones, appears to have only hardened the government’s resolve to crush dissent.

In response to the online campaign amid renewed international pressure, Mnangagwa during a national address described his rivals and critics as “destructive terrorist opposition groupings,” “dark forces” and “a few bad apples” that should be “flushed out.”

Security agents have continued arresting activists even after the July protest was foiled, according to human rights groups and the main opposition MDC Alliance party.

Analysts said such a hardline reaction shows that online campaigns without “ground activism” are unlikely to force the ruling ZANU-PF party to institute reforms that could weaken its hold on power and related economic benefits.

“Online activism needs to correlate to, and not supplant, ground activism. A delicate balance of the two will render ZANU-PF ineffective,” Rusero said.

The ruling party “has demonstrated that it will do anything, including crude repression, to stay in power. So it is up to citizens and activists to raise the costs of abuses,” said Mavhinga, whose rights group has been documenting alleged abuses.

“Keyboard warriors help to amplify the voices of agony from within Zimbabwe, but without robust and sustained campaigns on the ground, the social media campaigns would fizzle out,” he said.

Some activists are raising similar questions.
“Beyond tweeting about Hopewell (Chin’ono) and Jacob (Ngarivhume), what citizen actions can we do to put pressure for their release,” 21-year-old Namatai Kwekwedza tweeted days after the foiled protest.

She faces multiple charges related to breaching the peace for being one of the few Zimbabweans brave enough to participate in anti-government marches in recent months. She faces a fine or up to five years in prison on each charge.

“Some of us are ready, (but) it only works with the numbers,” she said, adding: “This whole business of being too afraid is stupid. We are already dead. We have to fight for our future.”

 

[Plain Jane]

Sudan signs peace deal with rebel alliance – DW – 08/31/2020

Sudan's transitional government has signed a long-awaited peace agreement with a coalition of armed groups. The deal raises hopes of an end to decadeslong civil wars — but not all rebel groups are on board.

www.dw.com

Sudan signs landmark peace deal with rebel alliance
Sudan's transitional government has signed a long-awaited peace agreement with a coalition of armed groups. The deal raises hopes of an end to decadeslong civil wars — but not all rebel groups are on board.





Officials from Sudan's transitional government on Monday signed a peace agreement with the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of several armed groups, after nine months of tough negotiations.

The deal with the SRF was signed by Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and the chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, during a televised ceremony in the South Sudanese capital, Juba. The signing took place under the auspices of South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, who played a large role in mediating the agreement.
The pact foresees power sharing, compensation and reconciliation measures. It also contains agreements on allowing people displaced by 17 years of conflict to return home.
Read more: Sudan's liberalization for the chosen few

'The start of peace-building'
Among other things, the provinces of Blue Nile, South Kordofan and West Kordofan will be granteed self-rule, according to a draft of the agreement seen by The Associated Press.
After the signing, Hamdok called the deal a "great work" and "the start of peace-building."


Watch video05:57
Sudan: Women's new freedom
An SRF representative said the coalition hoped the deal would end the suffering of Sudan's people.
In a joint statement, Norway, Britain and the US hailed the agreement as an "an important step in restoring security, dignity and development to the population of Sudan's conflict-affected and marginalized areas."

Elusive final goal
Sudan's transitional government, which came to power after President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in April 2019 by the military amid an uprising, has made ending rebellions in the country's provinces a key goal. Among other things, it aims to use cuts in current military spending to boost the country's ailing economy.


Watch video02:38
How is Sudan faring 1 year after Omar al-Bashir's ouster?
But other groups, including the largest single one, the Sudan Liberation Movement-North, have yet to reach a deal, while another major group, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army, rejects the transitional government as a legitimate entity,
Sudan's civil conflicts, which have wracked the country since 2003, when unrest broke out in the Darfur region, have killed some 300,000 people and displaced millions, according to the United Nations.
tj/rs (dpa, AP)

 

[Plain Jane]

Daughter says 'Hotel Rwanda' hero was 'kidnapped' in Dubai

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The man portrayed in the film “Hotel Rwanda” as saving the lives of more than 1,200 people from genocide was “kidnapped” while in Dubai, his daughter asserts, while a video shared by Rwandan authorities allegedly backing his arrest on suspicion of terrorism was challenged by his

apnews.com

Daughter says ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero was ‘kidnapped’ in Dubai
By CARA ANNA and JAKE BLEIBERGyesterday



1 of 2
Paul Rusesabagina appears in front of media at the headquarters of the Rwanda Bureau of investigations building in Kigali, Rwanda Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. Rusesabagina, who was portrayed in the film "Hotel Rwanda" as a hero who saved the lives of more than 1,200 people from the country's 1994 genocide, and is a well-known critic of President Paul Kagame, has been arrested by the Rwandan government on terror charges, police announced on Monday, Aug. 31, 2020. (AP Photo)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The man portrayed in the film “Hotel Rwanda” as saving the lives of more than 1,200 people from genocide was “kidnapped” while in Dubai, his daughter asserts, while a video shared by Rwandan authorities allegedly backing his arrest on suspicion of terrorism was challenged by his foundation.

Paul Rusesabagina’s appearance in handcuffs in Rwanda’s capital on Monday prompted concern among human rights activists that this was the latest example of the Rwandan government targeting critics beyond its borders. He had lived outside Rwanda since 1996, in Belgium and then in Texas.

Rwandan authorities said they issued an arrest warrant for Rusesabagina to answer charges of serious crimes including terrorism, arson, kidnap, and murder perpetrated against unarmed civilians. The authorities cited “international cooperation” and gave no details but suggested that Interpol was involved. They did not say where or how he was apprehended.

Rusesabagina’s adopted daughter, Carine Kanimba, told The Associated Press she last spoke with him before he flew to Dubai last week but she didn’t know the nature of his trip. She didn’t provide evidence to support her claim that he was kidnapped.

She said the family has not been able to speak to him and is worried the 66-year-old may not be getting his hypertension medication. Rusesabagina is a Belgian citizen and U.S. permanent resident and has long been a target because of his criticism of Rwanda’s government, she said.

“What they’re accusing him of is all made up,” she said. “There is no evidence to what they’re claiming … We know this is a wrongful arrest.”

Rusesabagina has won numerous international honors including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 and the Lantos Human Rights Prize in 2011.

Rusesabagina has denied the Rwandan government’s charges that he financially supports Rwandan rebels. In 2010, he told the AP that the government was conducting a smear campaign against him for opposing Kagame. He has called Kagame’s government a dictatorship and urged Western countries to press the government to respect human rights.
“I believe it is a travesty that a human rights champion like Paul Rusesabagina should be captured, detained and held in the way he is being held,” said Katrina Lantos Swett, president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. “This should raise a lot of deep concern and skepticism.”

It was not clear when Rusesabagina would appear in court. Police called him the suspected “founder, leader, sponsor and member of violent, armed, extremist terror outfits including the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD).”

The MRCD condemned the arrest and called Rusesabagina one of its leaders. The group, which describes itself as an opposition political platform, did not respond to a request for comment.

An armed wing of the MRCD, the National Liberation Front, was accused of clashing with Rwandan soldiers in 2018 and 2019, and Rwanda arrested NLF spokesman Callixte Nsabimana last year.

In the video shared by Rwandan authorities, Rusesabagina said “it is imperative that in 2019 we speed up the liberation struggle of the Rwandan people ... the time has come for us to use any means possible to bring about change in Rwanda, as all political means have been tried and failed.” He expressed support for the NLF.

The video appeared to be a clip from one posted online in late 2018 as a New Year’s message.

But Kitty Kurth, spokeswoman for the Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation, asserted that the video appeared to be staged. Rusesabagina was wearing the same jacket and tie he was photographed in on Monday, she said, and the video was not filmed at Rusesabagina’s homes in Texas or Belgium. She said he exclusively speaks off-the-cuff in recorded speeches, whereas in the video he seems to be reading from a script.

“It’s been recorded within the last couple days and, obviously, they made him read something,” Kurth told the AP.

Michela Wrong, a British journalist researching a book about Rwanda, told the AP that Rusesabagina’s group posed no real danger to Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s rule.
“When you have a country where no genuine opposition is tolerated, there’s no freedom of speech and elections are routinely rigged, challenges to the status quo inevitably end up taking guerrilla form,” she said. “Rwanda may be a donor darling, but it is probably the most repressive country in Africa today.”

Rwanda’s government has been accused of previously hunting down dissidents overseas. South African investigators have said Rwanda was directly involved in the killing of Col. Patrick Karegeya, an outspoken critic, in Johannesburg in 2014.

Interpol declined to comment on Rusesabagina’s arrest, saying it does not discuss its “red notices” for people wanted for prosecution unless they are public.

Police and authorities in Dubai, a city-state in the United Arab Emirates, did not respond to a request for comment. Kagame maintains a close relationship with Dubai.

In Belgium, authorities said they had no information about Rusesabagina’s arrest and were not involved. The U.S. State Department said it was monitoring the situation and referred questions to the Rwandan government.

“No country has broadly conceded that it arrested and handed over Mr. Rusesabagina to the Rwandan authorities. This is a clear indication that whatever happened was illegal and nobody wants to take responsibility for blatant illegal action,” said Etienne Mutabazi, spokesman for the Washington-based opposition Rwanda National Congress.

The 2004 Oscar-nominated film “Hotel Rwanda” showed Rusesabagina, a Hutu married to a Tutsi, as using his influence as a manager of the Hotel des Mille Collines to allow more than 1,200 Tutsis to shelter in the hotel’s rooms.

The Rwandan government disputes Rusesabagina’s story about saving people during the 1994 genocide, in which more than 800,000 Tutsi and Hutus who tried to protect them were killed by Hutus. Officials accused him of seeking to profit from his experience.

Actor Don Cheadle, who played Rusesabagina in the film, told the AP “it is my sincere hope that Paul is being treated humanely and fairly, and that a transparent and just legal process designed to reveal the veracity of these charges is advanced in a timely manner.”
___
Bleiberg reported from Dallas, Texas. Jon Gambrell in Dubai; Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda; Ignatius Ssuuna in Kigali, Rwanda; Brooke Lefferts in New York; Raf Casert in Brussels and Matt Lee in Washington contributed.

 

[Plain Jane]

Ex-Malian president Keita hospitalized at private clinic
By BABA AHMEDyesterday

Col. Assimi Goita, who has declared himself the leader of the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, arrives to meet with former Nigerian president and mediator for the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS, Goodluck Jonathan, at the Ministry of Defense in the capital Bamako, Mali Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. The military junta now in charge of Mali insisted Monday that former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita had resigned of his own free will and was not overthrown, as the officers now running the country try to prolong their rule until 2023. (AP Photo/Baba Ahmed)

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, the Malian president ousted in a military coup last month, was hospitalized late Tuesday at a private clinic, intensifying fears about the 75-year-old’s health after being detained for 10 days by the junta now in power.

Keita’s condition was not immediately known, and it was unclear whether he would be evacuated abroad for medical treatment given the circumstances.

His hospitalization was confirmed to The Associated Press by two people at the clinic who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to journalists.

The former Malian president has appeared gaunt in recent photographs, and concerns only mounted during his time in military custody in the barracks at Kati outside the capital.

Keita, who was first elected in 2013, had three years left in his term when mutinous soldiers detained him at his residence after firing shots outside the house. Hours later, he appeared in a midnight broadcast on state television, telling Malians he would resign immediately so that no blood would be shed for him to stay in power.

Officials from the junta, called the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, had said Keita was only being held at the barracks for his own protection. A protest movement against Keita’s presidency saw tens of thousands demonstrate in the streets in the months leading up to his overthrow.

The international community has decried the ouster, and the regional bloc ECOWAS already has placed sanctions on Mali, shutting borders, halting financial flows and threatening further sanctions.

A mediation delegation led by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan met with Keita while he was in military custody, and they later told journalists that Keita did not want to try to return to power.

France, the United Nations and others called for his immediate release, and he ultimately was taken to his home Thursday where he remained under military surveillance. A relative told AP that Keita had been unable to see his personal doctor.

Even with his release, ECOWAS has continued to press for a return to civilian rule within one year. However, the junta has proposed waiting until 2023 to hold new elections, which the French defense minister said over the weekend was “out of the question.”

There is widespread fear Mali’s political upheaval could again allow Islamic extremists to extend their reach, upending more than several years of international support including a U.N peacekeeping mission that has been working to stabilize the country. After Mali’s last coup in 2012, extremists seized power in towns across the north only to be ousted the following year by a French-led military intervention.

More than seven years on, peacekeepers and soldiers still come under frequent attacks from the jihadists, and the instability undermined Keita’s popularity as president.
___
Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal, contributed to this report.

 

[Plain Jane]

Tunisia swears in new government – DW – 09/02/2020

Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and his ministers were sworn in after wining a marathon confidence vote, giving Tunisia its third new government since October. Political parties have complained of being sidelined.

www.dw.com

Tunisia swears in third new government in less than a year
Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and his ministers were sworn in after wining a marathon confidence vote, giving Tunisia its third new government since October. Political parties have complained of being sidelined.





A new Tunisian government, headed by 46-year-old Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, was sworn in before President Kais Saied at the Carthage Palace outside Tunis on Wednesday.
The ceremony followed a marathon 15-hour confidence vote on Tuesday in which Mechichi and his 28-member Cabinet were confirmed by a vote of 134-to-67 with no abstentions.
Prior to the vote, many of Tunisia's political parties had complained about the fact that the Cabinet consisted of academics, public servants and experts rather than professional politicians.

PM calls on Cabinet to ‘save the country'
The new prime minister called on his Cabinet to hit the ground running in an effort to "save the country." He said his government would successfully "move forward" as long as it was not the victim of political wrangling.

Mechichi's is the third government since parliamentary elections were held in October of last year, and the ninth since Tunisian protests ousted long-time President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, sparking the Arab Spring.

Read more: Opinion: Arab Spring needs a dynamic reboot
Long viewed as the sole success story of the 2011 uprisings, Tunisia has been battered by economic hardship and civil unrest. The country's struggling tourism industry, for instance, suffered another severe blow due to the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, the Tunisian economy is expected to shrink by some 7% by the end of the fiscal year.


Watch video03:35
Young Tunisians still inclined to migrate to Europe
From ‘dignity' to ‘despair'
High unemployment, which officially stands at 18%, has caused many young Tunisians to flee the country in hopes of securing a better future. Others still have opted to join Islamic extremist groups.

Mechichi addressed the gravity of the current situation, saying: "Ten years after the revolution, the dream of a new Tunisia that assures liberty, dignity and equality has transformed into disillusion, disappointment and despair, which has pushed a large number of Tunisians to take boats of death," in a reference to the perilous journeys many have undertaken in an attempt to reach Europe.

Eighth time a charm?
Mechichi, an independent who served as interior minister in the outgoing government of Elyes Fakhfakh, will now replace his former boss in a handover ceremony this Thursday — making him the eighth democratically elected prime minister in the last decade.
The new prime minister promised his government would push for reforms, bolster public finances, crack down on tax evasion and invest in poor regions across the country.
js/dj (AFP, AP, dpa)

 

[Plain Jane]

US suspends some aid to Ethiopia over dam dispute with Egypt

The State Department says that on the guidance of President Donald Trump the U.S. is suspending some aid to Ethiopia over the “lack of progress” in the country’s talks with Egypt and Sudan over a massive, disputed dam project it is completing on the Nile.

apnews.com

US suspends some aid to Ethiopia over dam dispute with Egypt
By CARA ANNAyesterday



1 of 2
FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020 file photo, Egyptian farmer Makhluf Abu Kassem, 55, center, sits with farmers under the shade of a dried up palm tree surrounded by barren wasteland that was once fertile and green, in Second Village, Qouta town, Fayoum, Egypt. The State Department said Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020 that on the guidance of President Donald Trump the U.S. is suspending some aid to Ethiopia over the "lack of progress" in talks with Egypt and Sudan over a massive, disputed dam project which Egypt has called an existential threat and worries will reduce the country's share of Nile waters. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty, File)

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — On the guidance of President Donald Trump, the State Department said Wednesday the U.S. is suspending some aid to Ethiopia over the “lack of progress” in the country’s talks with Egypt and Sudan over a massive, disputed dam project it is completing on the Nile River.

It was an unusual example of Trump’s direct intervention on an issue in Africa, a continent he hasn’t visited as president and rarely mentions publicly. The dam dispute centers on two of Africa’s most populous and powerful nations, Ethiopia and Egypt, and some have feared it could lead to military conflict.

A State Department spokesperson told The Associated Press the decision to “temporarily pause” some aid to a key regional security ally “reflects our concern about Ethiopia’s unilateral decision to begin to fill the dam before an agreement and all necessary dam safety measures were in place.”

It is not clear how many millions of dollars in aid are being affected, or for how long. The decision was taken by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “based on guidance from the president,” the spokesperson said.


Ethiopia this week said it was asking the U.S. for clarification after a media report said Pompeo had approved cutting up to $130 million in aid because of the dam dispute. The report by Foreign Policy last week set off an uproar among some in Ethiopia, which sees the dam as a source of national pride.

There was no immediate comment from Ethiopia’s government. Ethiopia’s ambassador to the U.S., Fitsum Arega, this week tweeted that his country is determined to complete the dam, saying that “we will pull Ethiopia out of darkness.”

Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam has caused severe tensions with Egypt, which has called it an existential threat and worries that it will reduce the country’s share of Nile waters. Ethiopia says the $4.6 billion dam will be an engine of development that will pull millions of people out of poverty. Sudan, in the middle, worries about the effects on its own dams though it stands to benefit from access to cheap electricity.

Years of talks among the countries have failed to come to an agreement. Key remaining issues include how to handle releases of water from the dam during multi-year droughts and how to resolve future disputes.

Pope Francis recently urged Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to continue talks amid regional concerns about a potential military conflict.

The U.S. earlier this year tried to mediate the discussions, but Ethiopia walked away amid accusations that Washington was siding with Egypt. Now the three countries are reporting any progress to the African Union, which is leading negotiations.

Ethiopia had said it would fill the dam with or without a deal with Egypt and Sudan. The dam’s 74 billion-cubic-meter reservoir saw its first filling in July, which Ethiopia’s government celebrated and attributed to heavy rains, while a startled Egypt and Sudan hurriedly sought clarification and expressed skepticism.

“The United States previously and repeatedly expressed its concern that commencing the filling of the GERD before all necessary dam safety measures were implemented created serious risks for the populations of the downstream countries,” the State Department spokesperson said. “In addition, filling while negotiations were underway undermines the other parties’ confidence in the negotiations.”

The spokesperson also said “the United States has been increasingly concerned by the lack of progress in the negotiations of a trilateral agreement” on the dam’s filling and operation, but said the U.S. continues to work with all three countries on the issue.

The spokesperson said aid will continue for Ethiopia’s response to COVID-19 and HIV and “certain humanitarian assistance to aid those affected by conflict, drought, displacement, and other humanitarian challenges.”

Ethiopia in recent weeks has seen a rapid rise in confirmed COVID-19 cases and now has more than 50,000, another challenge for a country already facing outbursts of deadly ethnic violence and growing economic pain.

A former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia, David Shinn, had warned against an aid cut, writing that “playing political hardball with Ethiopia will not only fail to obtain Washington’s desired result but will probably ensure that the Ethiopian diaspora in the United States rallies against Trump. There are sizeable Ethiopian-American communities in key states such as Georgia, Texas, and Virginia.”