Recalibrating Coastal West Africa’s Response to Violent Extremism
The expanding threat of violent extremism in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger is putting ever greater pressure on their coastal West African neighbors. Countering this threat will require a heightened multitiered response fusing local, national, and regional capabilities. The Africa Center for Strategic Studies’ latest Africa Security Brief highlights the primary role that local governance and security actors play in building trust with communities in contested border regions as well as the value of proactive development initiatives. Given the multiple countries concerned, regional security cooperation will also be vital to ensure effective cross-border communication, to facilitate community-centric security training, and surge forces if needed. Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Ugandan Security Forces Detain Young Protesters Marching in Kampala
Ugandan security forces detained a number of young people on Tuesday in downtown Kampala who were taking part in a banned rally against what the protesters say are rampant corruption and human rights abuses by the country’s rulers. A Reuters witness saw the detentions being made, while a video posted by NTV Uganda on the X social media platform also showed a small group of young people being intercepted and detained by police while they were marching. … The protesters were holding placards and shouting slogans denouncing corruption. One wore a T-shirt bearing the words “Speaker Must Resign.” … All roads to the parliament were blocked off, with only lawmakers and other parliamentary staff having access, and NTV Uganda images showed military armoured personnel carriers patrolling the area. On Monday police sealed off the offices of Uganda’s biggest opposition party, accusing it of mobilising for the protests, and detained some party officials, including its lawmakers. Reuters
UN Says Guinea Opposition Leaders Tortured In Custody
The United Nations said on Friday it was “extremely worried” about the fate of two Guinea opposition leaders reportedly tortured in custody, urging the ruling junta to release them. Oumar Sylla, widely known as Fonike Mengue, and Mamadou Billo Bah — two leaders of a citizens’ collective calling for a return to civilian rule — were arrested on July 9, according to their families and movement. Slammed by their pro-democracy movement as a “kidnapping,” their arrests have provoked a growing international outcry. They are among a long list of opposition figures detained in the troubled West African country since the military seized power in September 2021. … On Thursday, lawyers for the activists wrote to the Hague-based International Criminal Court, saying they were fearful for Sylla and Bah’s lives. AFP
Over 20 Killed in Attack on Central Mali Village
Gunmen killed 26 people in an attack on a village in central Mali’s insurgent-hit Mopti region on Sunday, a local official said on Monday. The attack targeted a village in the Circle of Bankass, one of several areas in Mali’s north and centre where jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State are waging a violent insurgency. Armed assailants opened fire on villagers working their fields on Sunday evening, Bankass Mayor Moulaye Guindo said via telephone. Soldiers deployed to the area only reached the village after the attack, Guindo said, deploring worsening insecurity in the West African country. Reuters
Sudan, Iran Trade Ambassadors after 8-Year Rupture
Sudan’s de facto leader, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, received an Iranian ambassador Sunday and sent his own to Tehran, the government said, cementing a rapprochement after an eight-year rupture. Sudan and Iran agreed last October to resume diplomatic relations, as the army-aligned government scrambled for allies during its war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The Sudanese government, loyal to the army in its 15-month fight against the RSF, announced in a statement that Burhan had received Tehran’s new ambassador Hassan Shah Hosseini in Port Sudan. The Red Sea city has become Sudan’s de facto seat of government since Khartoum became wracked by fighting. … In December, Sudan expelled diplomats from the United Arab Emirates on allegations that the Gulf state was funneling weapons to the RSF. … Egypt and Turkey have backed the army. The United States in February voiced concern at reported arms shipments by Washington’s foe Iran to Sudan’s military. AFP
Algerian Opposition Criticizes ‘Authoritarian Climate’ Pre-Election
Eleven prominent Algerian opposition figures wrote an open letter this week, denouncing “the authoritarian climate” surrounding the country’s upcoming presidential election and calling for a broad democratic transition. Under the rule of military-backed President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, freedom of expression has witnessed a rollback, experts say, with journalists and opposition members facing prison time and critical media outlets losing state advertising funding they have relied on to stay afloat. In their open letter Sunday, the opposition figures — including well-known politicians, lawyers and academics — said the Sep. 7 election was a rubber stamp exercise in futility. They said the lack of civil liberties makes holding a legitimate election impossible. AfricaNews with AP
Tanzanian Minister Sacked after Poll Rigging Remarks
Tanzania’s information minister Nape Nnauye has been removed from his post following an outcry over comments he made suggesting that elections could be rigged. Mr Nnauye was filmed at a rally on 15 July, saying that he would help a fellow ruling party MP win in the 2025 election. He added that “election results are not necessarily those in the [ballot box], rather they depend on the person counting and making announcements.” Following a public backlash after a video of his controversial remarks went viral, Mr Nnauye said he had made them in jest. President Samia Suluhu Hassan sacked him from the cabinet on Sunday as part of a wider reshuffle. … Foreign minister January Makamba has also been sacked, with Tanzania’s ambassador to Italy, Mahmoud Thabiti Kombo, chosen as his successor. BBC
Kenya Police Warn against Protests at Capital’s Main Airport
Kenya’s police has asked protesters to avoid marching to the capital’s main airport and its environs, while the airport’s operator has asked passengers to arrive hours before flights due to enhanced security checks. Youth-led protests across Kenya against proposed tax hikes have continued even after President William Ruto withdrew the legislation in late June and fired almost all of his cabinet. He named part of his new cabinet on Friday, mostly retaining holdovers from the cabinet he had sacked. Some protesters had mobilised to march to the airport, prompting the police warning. Activists say they want Ruto to resign and are calling for reforms to clean up corruption and address poor governance and service delivery at national and regional governments. Protesters should avoid going into restricted areas, including airports, Douglas Kanja, acting police inspector general, said in a statement late on Monday. Reuters
Kenya’s Biggest Protest in Recent History Played Out on a Walkie-Talkie App
Betty had never heard of the Zello app until June 18. But as she participated in Kenya’s “GenZ protests” that month — one of the biggest in the country’s history — the app became her savior. On Zello, “we were getting updates and also updating others on where the tear-gas canisters were being lobbed and which streets had been cordoned off,” Betty, 27, told Rest of World, requesting to be identified by a pseudonym as she feared backlash from the police. “At one point, I also alerted the group [about] suspected undercover investigative officers who were wearing balaclavas.” … Six protesters told Rest of World that Zello, which allows smartphones to be used as walkie-talkies, helped them find meeting points, evade the police, and alert each other to potential dangers. Digital services experts and political analysts said the app helped the protests become one of the most effective in the country’s history. … “Many of the peaceful protesters, well-meaning young people, left town by mid-morning [on June 25 during the protests]. In fact, you could hear them on their Zello, rallying each other to leave town,” Ruto said during a roundtable with local journalists. Rest of the World
Somali Forces Kill Dozens of Militants Following Attack
Dozens of al-Shabab militants have been killed in new clashes in the southern Jubaland state, officials said. The clashes followed three separate coordinated attacks the militants carried out on military bases manned by federal and regional forces in the west and south of Kismayo town. The militants have attacked Bulo Haji, Harbole, and Mido, all of which were seized from al-Shabab since last month. The militants also fired on a fourth base at Bar Sanguni in an apparent attempt to disrupt possible reinforcement to the bases under attack. Spokesperson for the Jubaland regional forces Major Mohamed Farah Dahir told VOA Somali that 135 militants were killed in the attacks. Overall, we killed 135, confirmed,” he said. VOA
Death Toll in Southern Ethiopia Mudslides Rises to at Least 157 as Search Operations Continue
At least 157 people were killed in mudslides in a remote part of Ethiopia that has been hit with heavy rainfall, many of them as they tried to rescue survivors of an earlier mudslide, local authorities said Tuesday. Young children and pregnant women were among the victims of the mudslides in the Kencho Shacha Gozdi district of southern Ethiopia, said Dagmawi Ayele, a local administrator. The death toll rose from 55 late Monday to 157 on Tuesday as search operations continued in the area, said Kassahun Abayneh, head of the Gofa Zone communications office. Gofa Zone is the administrative area where the mudslides occurred. Most of the victims were buried in a mudslide on Monday morning as rescue workers searched the steep terrain for survivors of another mudslide the previous day. AP
Why Nigerians Are Praying for the Success of a New Oil Refinery
The $19bn (£15bn) refinery, based along the coast from Nigeria’s commercial hub Lagos, in the south of the country, is the size of almost 4,000 football pitches. Its construction began back in 2016, and it started production of diesel and an aviation fuel in January of this year. Petrol is now set to follow. The hope is that the facility will end Nigeria’s dependence on imports of these fuels. While Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of crude oil, and the world’s 15th biggest, none of its existing government-owned refineries are operational. The privately-owned Dangote refinery has been built by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote. Born in Kano, the 67-year-old has a net worth of $12.6bn (£9.7bn), according to Forbes magazine. Via his company, Dangote Group, he made his fortune in cement and sugar before taking on what many say is his biggest challenge yet when he launched the refinery. … The Dangote refinery will have the capacity to produce 650,000 barrels of fuel per day once fully operational. Devakumar Edwin, vice president of Dangote Group says the refinery will be producing 500,000 before the end of August, which will exceed the country’s 480,000 barrels per day usage. The aim is to export the surplus. BBC
Most New HIV Infections Occurred outside Sub-Saharan Africa for First Time – UN Report
African countries have made swift progress in tackling the virus, with the number of infections in sub-Saharan Africa 56% lower than in 2010, a new report from UNAids said. Globally, infections have fallen by 39% over the same period. “For the first time in the history of the HIV pandemic, more new infections are occurring outside sub-Saharan Africa than in sub-Saharan Africa. This reflects both the prevention achievements in much of sub-Saharan Africa and the lack of comparable progress in the rest of the world,” said the report, which found case numbers were rising in eastern Europe and central Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and north Africa. UNAids said the world is “at a crossroads” in efforts to tackle the virus, with action this year key to success. … Sub-Saharan Africa remains home to almost half of people living with HIV who have no treatment. Access is especially low among children, the report warned. Guardian
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Publish date : 2024-07-23 14:45:54
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