INR | AFRICA: Weekly Updates

 

Sudan war: Al-Burhan visits Gezira state following RSF attack

• On Thursday (Jun. 6), Sudan's army chief visited Gezira state in south-eastern Sudan, following a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attack.

• Upon arrival, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan was greeted by crowds chanting "one army, one people".

• The RSF killed at least 100 people in their raid over the Wad Al-Noura village, in Al Gezira state.

• Footage from the Sudanese Armed forces Facebook account showed Burhan visiting injured people in hospital.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/07/sudan-war-al-burhan-visits-gezira-state-following-rsf-attack/

DRC 'thwarted coup' trial gets underway in Kinshasa

• Some 50 people, including 3 Americans, appeared in a military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday in connection with last month’s failed coup.

• They are facing charges including terrorism, attempted assassination, illegal possession of weapons and arms of war, and financing of terrorism related to the “attempted coup” on 19 May.

• Six people were killed during the attack led by little-known opposition figure Christian Malanga, which targeted the presidential palace and a close ally of the President Felix Tshisekedi.

• Army officials say Malanga, who lived in the United States, was shot dead for resisting arrest soon after live-streaming the attack.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/07/drc-thwarted-coup-trial-gets-underway-in-kinshasa/

Sudan: RSF kills at least 100 in attack on village - activists say

• At least 100 people were killed, and dozens were injured after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces attacked a village in Gezira province in Sudan on Wednesday, officials said.

• Women, children, and elderly were among the victims in the attacks by the Rapid Support Forces on Wad al-Noura village in Gezira, Mini Arko Minawi, the governor of Darfur province, said on X, formerly Twitter.

• A grassroots group set up to protect residents in Wad Madani, the capital city of Gezira, said late Wednesday on social media that the paramilitary force, which has been fighting the Sudanese army for over a year, used heavy artillery to besiege and attack the village.

Read ahead at: https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/07/sudans-rsf-kills-at-least-100-in-attack-on-village-activists-say/

Kenyan company becomes country’s first to 3D print prosthetic limbs

• Kenyan cobbler, Stephen Ochieng’s life was changed forever following an accident a few years ago.

• He was standing in a crowd of people at a packed station, all trying to board a train to get home after work when he fell under the train.

• The damage to his legs was so severe they both had to be amputated.

• Now, a new 3D printing company, Prothea Kenya, has helped him and other amputees to change their lives for the better.

Read ahead at: https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/07/kenyan-company-becomes-countrys-first-to-3d-print-prosthetic-limbs/

Russia's top diplomat promises more military support for Burkina Faso

• Russia's foreign minister on Wednesday pledged more support to Burkina Faso in fighting militant groups as he pressed his whirlwind tour of West Africa in an attempt to fill a vacuum left by the region's traditional Western partners.

• Sergey Lavrov spoke at a news conference in the country's capital of Ouagadougou while on the third leg of his latest Africa trip, after Guinea and the Republic of Congo.

• Russia is seeking to shore up support from the region amid Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A number of African countries in recent years have expressed growing frustration with their traditional Western partners such as France and the United States.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/06/russias-top-diplomat-promises-more-military-support-for-burkina-faso/

In Burkina Faso, a growing number of children are traumatized by war

• When armed men entered Safi's village in northern Burkina Faso and began firing, she hid in her home with her four children. The gunmen found them and let them live  to suffer the guilt of survival after killing her husband and other relatives.

• Safi, is among 2 million people displaced in the West African country by growing violence between Islamic extremists and security forces.

• About 60% of the displaced are children. Many are traumatized, but mental health services are limited and children are often overlooked for treatment.

• "People often think that the children have seen nothing, nothing has happened to them, it's fine," said Rudy Lukamba, the health coordinator for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Burkina Faso.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/05/in-burkina-faso-a-growing-number-of-children-are-traumatized-by-war/

Chinese nationals among dozens jailed in Zambia for cybercrimes

• A Zambian court on Friday jailed 22 Chinese nationals over cybercrimes that included internet fraud and online scams targeting Zambians and other people from Singapore, Peru and the United Arab Emirates.

• The Magistrates Court in the capital, Lusaka, jailed them for periods ranging from 7 to 11 years.

• The court also fined them between $1,500 to $3,000 after they pleaded guilty to charges of computer-related misrepresentation, identity fraud and illegally operating a network or service on Wednesday.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/08/chinese-nationals-among-dozens-jailed-in-zambia-for-cybercrimes/

Conflicts making migrant routes in Sahel more dangerous, says UN

• The UN Refugee Agency has warned in a new report that conflicts in Sudan and across the Sahel region have compromised protection for migrants crossing from sub-Saharan Africa.

• For the hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants attempting to cross from sub-Saharan African countries to Europe, the journey is an extremely dangerous one.

• The migration routes are all the more dangerous due to the lack of critical services, the UNHCR has said.

• “Our capacity to partner directly with local authorities is missing," said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean Situation. "But the local authorities are there and they would be able to provide those immediate protection services.”

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/05/conflicts-making-migrant-routes-in-sahel-more-dangerous-says-un/

UN: Somalia elected to Security Council after more than 50 years

• Somalia was elected on Thursday (Jun. 6) to serve on the UN security council as a non-permanent member for two years.

• Denmark, Greece, Pakistan and Panama also got seats on the U.N. Security Council in a secret ballot in the General Assembly.

• The 193-member world body elected five countries. The 10 non-permanent seats on the 15-member council are allotted to regional groups that usually select their candidates but sometimes can’t agree on one. There were no such surprises this year.

• This time, the regional groups put forward Somalia for an African seat, Pakistan for an Asia-Pacific seat, Panama for a Latin America and Caribbean seat, and Denmark and Greece for two mainly Western seats.

Read ahead at: https://www.africanews.com/2024/06/07/un-somalia-elected-to-security-council-seat-after-more-than-50-years/

Drafted by:

Daney Antonio Martin (B.A. I.R., 2nd Year) (Region Head)

Published by:

Varsha Das (B.A. I.R., 3rd Year)

INR | AFRICA: Weekly Updates

 

Senegal’s top court confirms Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s election victory

• Senegal's Constitutional Council on Friday confirmed the presidential election victory of opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye.The top court validated provisional results announced on Wednesday based on vote tallies from 100 percent of polling stations.
• Faye won more than 54% of votes in last Sunday's delayed presidential poll, with ruling coalition candidate Amadou Ba taking over 35%.Faye ,44, is due to be sworn in as Senegal's youngest president on Tuesday in the city of Diamniadio, according to the presidency.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/03/30/senegals-top-court-confirms-bassirou-diomaye-fayes-election-victory/

South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma involved in car crash

• Former South African President Jacob Zuma has been involved in a car crash but escaped unharmed.According to local news reports, Police said a drunk driver hit his official state car on Thursday evening.A member of his party, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), claimed it was deliberate.Zuma, suspended by the African National Congress (ANC), is campaigning for MK before May's election
• The crash occurred in his home province, KwaZulu-Natal, at 18:40 local time."No injuries were reported," said police.A 51-year-old man was arrested for drunk and reckless driving.Musa Mkhize, MK's election head, suggested the crash was planned.Zuma, 81, served as president from 2009 to 2018 amidst corruption allegations.He's entitled to an official protection team.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/03/29/south-africas-former-president-jacob-zuma-involved-in-car-crash/

Egypt: population growth declines to 1.4%

• In Egypt, population growth is at half-mast. In 2023, it slowed to 1.4%, its lowest rate in decades, according to figures by the Ministry of Planning data published on Thursday.Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world, with 106 million inhabitants, according to the official Egyptian statistics agency.
• The fall in population is good news for the government. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had already warned of the burden of the birth rate on public finances and government services.At a time when 60% of the population lives at or near the poverty line. Not only that, but the country also faces an infrastructure deficit in terms of schools and hospitals, among other things. And it is crumbling under the weight of a growing debt.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/03/29/egypt-population-growth-declines-to-14/

Nigeria: Army to release over 300 suspects cleared of being members of Boko Haram

• The Nigerian army has said it will free more than 300 people suspected of being part of the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency. It comes after a court in the northeastern Borno state, the heartland of the insurgency ruled there was no evidence they committed any crimes.
• Defence spokesperson Major General Edward Buba on Thursday said the 313 suspected people were prosecuted by the Department of Prosecution, part of the ministry of Justice and will be released

Read ahead at: https://www.africanews.com/2024/03/29/nigeria-army-to-release-over-300-suspects-cleared-of-being-members-of-boko-haram/

Bassirou Diomaye Faye wins Senegalese presidential election with 54.28% of votes

• In Senegal, the provisional official results of the highly anticipated presidential election held on Sunday, March 24, have been unveiled, revealing Bassirou Diomaye Faye as the victor with an impressive 54.28% of the votes. This announcement was made by the National Vote Counting Commission on Wednesday, March 27, marking a significant moment in the country's political landscape.
• Following closely behind Faye is Amadou Ba, who secured 35.79% of the votes, positioning him in second place. Trailing further behind are Aliou Mamadou Dia with 2.8%, Khalifa Sall with 1.56%, and Idrissa Seck with 0.9%. The voter turnout for this election reached 61.3%, indicating a strong civic engagement among the Senegalese population.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/03/27/bassirou-diomaye-faye-wins-senegalese-presidential-election-with-5428-of-votes

Nigerian court has sentenced a Chinese man to death for killing his girlfriend

• A Nigerian court on Tuesday sentenced a Chinese national to death after finding him guilty of killing his girlfriend, a government official told The Associated Press, vowing to recommend execution if he unsuccessfully appeals the ruling.
• Frank Geng-Quangrong was convicted by a local court in northern Nigeria's economic hub of Kano state, Kano Justice Commissioner Haruna Dederi said. Geng-Quangrong had pleaded not guilty.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/03/26/nigerian-court-has-sentenced-a-chinese-man-to-death-for-killing-his-girlfriend/

Togo adopts new Constitution moving nation from presidential to parliamentary system

• Togolese will no longer elect their president.Late Monday (Mar. 25), lawmakers adopted a new constitution introduced by members of the ruling party which transitions the West African nation from a presidential to a parliamentary system.
• The country's opposition, which boycotted the last legislative elections in 2018 and recently denounced "irregularities" in the electoral census, is poorly represented in the national assembly.

Read ahead at: https://www.africanews.com/2024/03/26/togo-adopts-new-constitution-moving-nation-from-presidential-to-parliamentary-system/

Nigeria: 130 school children return home after weeks in captivity

• More than 130 schoolchildren rescued after more than two weeks in captivity arrived in their home state in northwestern Nigeria on Monday ahead of their anticipated reunion with their families.
• The children were seized by motorcycle-riding gunmen at their school in the remote Kaduna state town of Kuriga on March 7, triggering a wide-ranging rescue operation.

Read ahead at:https://www.africanews.com/2024/03/25/nigeria-130-school-children-return-home-after-weeks-in-captivity/

Somalia's football pitch that doubles as an execution ground

• On a beach in the Somali capital, Mogadishu stand six tall concrete posts planted in the pure white sand. The waves of the bright blue Indian Ocean break gently nearby - and often bear witness to some grim events.
• Every so often the security forces bring men to this place, tie them to the posts with plastic ropes, place black hoods over their heads and shoot them dead.

Read ahead at: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68675452

Drafted by:

Daney Antonio Martin (B.A. I.R., 1st Year) (Region Head)

Rtam Sharma (M.A. I.R., 1st Year)

Published by:

Varsha Das (B.A. I.R., 2nd Year)

INR | AFRICA: WEEKLY UPDATES

 

‘We want Sonko’: Senegal opposition boosted after leaders freed before vote

• Celebrations broke out among Senegal’s opposition supporters after two of their top leaders were freed from jail 10 days before the country’s delayed presidential election.

• Firebrand politician Ousmane Sonko and his close aide Bassirou Diomaye Faye were released late on Thursday in a move that could boost the opposition’s chance to win in the March 24 election and replace outgoing President Macky Sall.

• Sonko, the charismatic anti-establishment politician who has won over crowds of youngsters by promising to fight corruption, had been behind bars since July, serving a two-year sentence for corrupting the youth. He was barred from running for the presidential race due to a separate case involving defamation charges.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/15/we-want-sonko-senegal-opposition-boosted-after-leaders-freed-before-vote

Al-Shabab fighters killed as overnight siege of Mogadishu hotel ends

• A 13-hour siege of a popular hotel near government buildings in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, has ended after the al-Shabab fighters who had taken control of the building were killed by security forces.

• “All the terrorist gunmen were killed, and the situation has returned to normal now,” police officer Abdirahim Yusuf told the Agence France-Presse news agency on Friday. “The security forces are carrying out a thorough clearance and investigations.”

• The Reuters news agency reported that three soldiers were killed in clashes, with 27 people wounded. It was not immediately clear how many fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked group were killed.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/15/al-shabab-fighters-killed-as-overnight-siege-of-mogadishu-hotel-ends

‘Russia’s African lab’: How Putin won over Burkina Faso after French adieu

• In the heart of Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, a poster advertising free Russian language courses has been attached to the large, iconic model of a globe on a road intersection which locals refer to as the “United Nations roundabout”.

• Three decades since Russia left large parts of Africa amid the breakup of the Soviet Union, however, signs of its return are visible in Burkina Faso, where the capital’s walls are adorned with pro-Russian graffiti, and Russian flags fly in the streets.

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/3/15/russian-time-how-burkina-faso-fell-for-the-charms-of-moscow 

South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Ivory Coast hit by major internet outages

• Widespread outages were reported on Thursday in countries including South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana and Burkina Faso.

• Since then, services have largely been restored in Liberia and South Africa.

• The cause of the cable failures was not immediately clear, to the frustration of millions of customers around the continent.

(bbc.comhttps://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68569022)

Indian navy intercepts Somali pirates on cargo ship Ruen

• An Indian navy warship has intercepted the hijacked cargo ship Ruen and demanded the Somali pirates on board surrender, a navy spokesperson said on Saturday.

• The pirates who allegedly hijacked the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo vessel on Dec. 14 opened fire on the navy ship in international waters on Friday, the spokesperson said without providing further details.

• The navy had called on the pirates to surrender and release the vessel and any civilians they may be holding.

UN warns of catastrophic hunger in Sudan in coming months

• Nearly five million people in Sudan could suffer catastrophic hunger in parts of the war-torn country in the coming months, United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths warned the Security Council on Friday in a note seen by Reuters.

• Griffiths said acute levels of hunger were being driven by the severe impact of the conflict on agricultural production, damage to major infrastructure and livelihoods, disruptions to trade flows, severe price increases, impediments to humanitarian access and large-scale displacement

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-warns-catastrophic-hunger-sudan-coming-months-2024-03-15

China's Xi willing to work with Angola as it moves on from oil

• Chinese President Xi Jinping said he would support Chinese firms that invest in Angola's agriculture and manufacturing sectors, state media reported on Friday, as the African oil producing nation seeks help in diversifying its economy.

• Lourenco's visit follows Angola's announcement in December it would leave producer group the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and agreements with China on cooperation.

• Xi told Lourenco on Friday Chinese firms could "help Angola achieve agricultural modernisation, industrialisation and economic diversification," the state media report said, as Beijing's long-term drive to deepen economic and political ties with Africa.

https://www.reuters.com/world/chinas-xi-willing-work-with-angola-it-moves-oil-2024-03-15/ 

News bits drafted by: Swapnil Tiwari (BA IR 1st year),

Varsha Das (BA IR 2nd year)

Region Head: Varsha Das (BA IR 2nd year)