Africa

8, February 2017

Somali hotel attack kills six ⁰

A terrorist attack by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants on a hotel in Somalia’s port city of Bosasso has left four guards and two assailants dead.

“Three al-Shabab fighters stormed the International Village Hotel this morning. Four guards and two of the attackers died in the fighting,” said Bari region Governor Yusuf Mohamed on Wednesday.

According to the governor, none of the guests at the hotel, which is popular with foreigners, were hurt in the armed assault. He said one of the assailants fled the scene and remained at large.

“Fortunately, the attackers did not enter the rooms. The fighting took place inside the compound. A third fighter escaped and we are pursuing him. All the people in the hotel are safe,” Mohamed said.

The development came as Somalia’s legislators are set to elect the country’s next president in the capital of Mogadishu later in the day.

Somalia’s current President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (seen) faces chances of potential re-election by the country’s legislators on February 8, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Somali authorities have enforced a security lockdown of Mogadishu in order to step up safety across the capital ahead of the planned legislative process.

Somalia’s Police Commander Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Haamud announced on Tuesday that security forces had blocked main roads and barred vehicles from driving near the secure airport compound.

“Police forces will secure the election scene and streets, and the vote will take place peacefully as planned,” the police chief added.

Presstv

8, February 2017

Ivory Coast: Alassane Ouattara caught in the pangs of a monster he created ⁰

Soldiers in Ivory Coast have mutinied in a town in the southeast of the country, renewing an attempt to secure promised bonuses and make other grievances heard. Witnesses in the town of Adiake said on Tuesday that soldiers opened fire and blocked roads earlier in the day, similar to what happened in Bouake and other cities a month ago. “The soldiers erected barricades blocking traffic near their camp. The population has left the streets and we let the students out because we were afraid,” said a teacher in Adiake, adding that schools and other government institutions were shuttered as a result of the mutiny.

Another teacher said gunfire had begun earlier in the Special Forces’ camp in Adiake, adding that the entire town began panicking after armed soldiers left the barracks. A spokesman for the army confirmed that there was gunfire in Adiake, a town located nearly 100 kilometers east of Ivory Coast’s commercial hub Abidjan. The official did not immediately confirm the mutiny.

There was also no report on what the shooters were demanding, but the similar revolt in Bouake last month saw soldiers mutinying over unpaid bonuses and other grievances. The Bouake unrest quickly spread to other cities, including Abidjan. The government then agreed to pay more than 8,000 soldiers, most of them former militants who controlled northern Ivory Coast from 2002 to 2011, bonuses of nearly $20,000.

Other soldiers and elements of security forces have sought similar bonuses since the deal in January. Military sources said on Tuesday that mutineers in Adiake were seeking a similar payoff, which also included bonuses promised to them when they fought for former President Laurent Gbagbo. Hospital sources said the gunfire stopped around 1:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, but people in Adiake were still panicked.

Presstv

2, February 2017

Gunmen kill five on Cameroon-Nigeria border ⁰

Unidentified gunmen have killed five people, including three nationals from Nigeria and one from Cameroon, after raiding a United Nations (UN) team on the border between the two countries, the UN has announced. The deadly raid occurred in the Hosere Jongbi area near Kontcha in northern Cameroon on Tuesday, according to a Wednesday evening statement by the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS).

“An unknown armed group attacked the UN team and killed five persons and injured several others,” read the statement, which also identified the victims as “one UN independent contractor, three Nigerian nationals and one Cameroonian national.” The UN’s special representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, censured the armed assault.

The statement, which did not mention the nationality of the UN contractor killed in the attack, further explained that the team was working to demarcate the nearly 2,000-kilometer land border dividing Nigeria and Cameroon. The area has reportedly been a source of tension between the two countries in the past. The Nigeria-based Takfiri terrorist group of Boko Haram, whose terror campaign has ruined wide areas of northeast Nigeria since 2009, also remains active in the far-north region of Cameroon.

Presstv

27, January 2017

Southern Cameroons Internet affair: Nigerian diplomat says Francophone action is against the 1963 Vienna Convention ³

The Consul General of Nigeria to the South West and North West regions, Dan Wari Nwazim has strongly criticized internet disconnection in the two regions for over a week now.

In an interview with Buea based Newspaper The Rambler, the Nigerian Diplomat said the act by the Government is against the 1963 Vienna Convention on diplomatic and Consular relations which stipulates that “Communication of Diplomatic and Consular missions are invaluable and the host Government should do nothing to tamper with them.”

Dan Wari Nwazim told The Rambler that for over a week Communication between his office and head Office in Abuja in particular and the world in General has been grounded, yet nobody has cared to explain to them why they should suffer such fate.

The Consul General said the only thing he has come across in Newspapers as reason for such action by Government is that, they disconnected internet in the South West and North West Regions of the country because of ‘irresponsible use of Cyber space by some individuals’.

Dan Wari noted that it will be of the interest of Cameroon Government to restore internet in the Consulate, “We are telling the Government of Cameroon to restore our internet. We are not part of irresponsible internet users.”

Cameroun Info.Net

23, January 2017

Gambia: Former President Jammeh ‘emptied coffers’ before leaving ⁰

The Gambia’s former president Yahya Jammeh, who caused a political crisis in the African country before finally going into exile, has emptied the government’s treasury, plundering millions of dollars in his final weeks in power, says an aide to the country’s new president.

“Over two weeks, over 500 million dalasi (11 million dollars) were withdrawn” by Jammeh, Mai Fatty, an aide to President Adama Barrow, said in the Sengalese capital Dakar on Monday. “As we take over, the government of The Gambia is in financial distress… The coffers are largely empty,” he told reporters.

Long-time ruler Jammeh flew out of The Gambia on Saturday and headed for Equatorial Guinea, where he is expected to settle with his family. Before deciding to leave, he pushed the country to the brink of war by refusing to concede defeat in the presidential election held in December last year. The subsequent political crisis drew in mediators from regional countries, some of which were coping with crises of their own.

Those regional mediating countries also formed up a military force to force Jammeh out of power if he did not step down voluntarily. Jammeh clung to power even for some two days after his mandate expired despite the threat of the use of force but ultimately decided to go into exile. He had been in power since a coup in 1994.

A woman celebrates after hearing about the departure of former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh, in Banjul, January 21, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The West African military force entered The Gambia on Sunday to provide security and allow Barrow, who has been staying in neighboring Senegal, to return to The Gambia, whose own military had sided with Jammeh. Barrow is eager to return “as soon as possible,” said his aide, warning that “the state of security in The Gambia is still fragile.”

According to Fatty, President Barrow wants the deployed West African military force to remain in The Gambia for the time being. “We want their mandate to be extended,” Fatty said, explaining that Barrow was waiting for personal assurances of loyalty from national security forces.

He said that after the full transfer of power, the new administration’s first priority will be to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of people who have fled the country in recent weeks fearing a violent escalation.

Presstv

18, January 2017

Egypt: Sisi’s government puts ex-football legend on ‘terror list’ ⁰

Egyptian authorities have added the name of a former football legend to the country’s controversial so-called terror list. Mohamed Aboutrika is a four-time African Footballer of the Year and court officials announced the blacklisting on Wednesday.

Aboutrika is one of Egypt’s all-time greatest athletes. He is accused of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s largest political party, which is currently banned by the government. Tens of thousands of people have been jailed on similar charges while courts have handed down hefty sentences to Brotherhood supporters and sympathizers.

The list currently contains 1,500 names, including those of senior Brotherhood members. Among them is former President Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted in a coup led by the former head of the armed forces and current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in 2013.

Those blacklisted as terrorist become subject to a travel ban and face an asset freeze, according to a draconian law passed in 2015, which has drawn huge international criticism. Aboutrika supported Morsi’s bid to become the first democratically-elected president. The retired footballer, who is currently 38, has denied allegations of providing funds to the Brotherhood.

His lawyer said on Wednesday that the decision by the Criminal Court of Egypt was against the law. Mohamed Osman said Aboutrika has yet to be convicted or formally notified of the charges against him, adding that he would appeal the ruling. The legend footballer faced an earlier asset freeze order by a government committee in 2015. A later court ruling was supposed to lift the freeze although Osman said the ban was still in place.

Aboutrika, known as the Magician to many Egyptians, is currently in Gabon, where the Africa Cup of Nations is being held. Osman would not elaborate on when his client would return to Egypt to face the new charges.

Presstv

15, January 2017

Scores of refugees feared dead off Libya coast ⁰

Scores of people are feared dead in an incident involving a boat that capsized in the Mediterranean Sea while carrying 110 asylum seekers. The Italian coastguard said four people had been rescued in the waters between Libya and Italy, where the incident occurred, media reported on Sunday. A spokesman for the coastguard added that 13 bodies had so far been recovered from the boat, which capsized around 50 kilometers off the coast of Libya. Italian, Spanish, and French naval and merchant vessels as well as a plane and a helicopter were involved in rescue operations, the spokesman said.

According to the Italian government, 181,000 asylum seekers arrived in Italy last year, all of them having departed from Libya. The refugees, desperate to leave and thus at the mercy of human traffickers, are often loaded onto rickety vessels in the waters of the Mediterranean. Countless incidents of boats capsizing have occurred and hundreds have perished as a result. In 2016, 5,000 asylum seekers died during the perilous crossing, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The exodus of refugees from North Africa and the Middle East has also led to a refugee crisis in Europe, their desired destination. In reaction to the crisis, European countries have mobilized resources to reduce refugee arrivals and deport those that do arrive to other countries. Tougher border controls, strict refugee policies, and deals with countries to return asylum seekers are part of the measures enforced by European authorities to cope with the crisis. This is while analysts believe Western policies are the root of the crisis, as those policies fan the flames of wars and conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa and force locals to leave their homes.

Presstv

13, January 2017

Gunfire erupts in Ivory Coast’s second largest city ⁰

Gunfire has erupted in Ivory Coast’s second largest city, Bouake, ahead of planned talks between the defense minister and a group of mutinous soldiers. Witnesses said the troops began firing in the air during a protest by residents against the mutineers near a cultural center in the city on Friday.

At least 100 heavily armed mutineers poured into the city center aboard military transport trucks and pickups, according to witnesses. Shops were closed across the volatile area. Disgruntled soldiers seized control of Bouake on Friday. Rocket launchers were used in the streets, terrifying residents.

“I’m going home. With this shooting starting up again, I prefer to be at home,” said a local man.Defense Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi is to negotiate with soldiers who staged a two-day mutiny last week. The soldiers want bonuses, pay raise, housing, and swifter promotion. On Sunday, the mutineers briefly held hostage Donwahi and his team as they were negotiating a deal over the matter.

The photo taken on January 7, 2017, shows mutinous soldiers in Ivory Coast’s second largest city, Bouake. (Photo by AFP)

President Alassane Ouattara has announced that a deal has already been reached between the two sides. Ouattara has, however, refrained from giving the exact details of the deal. Most of the people involved in the armed revolt are reportedly former rebels who were later integrated into the army.

Presstv

12, January 2017

Obama warns about the dangers of extreme inequality and racism ⁰

Outgoing US President Barack Obama has used his farewell speech to warn that the country’s growing economic inequality and racial tensions pose a major threat to American democracy. Obama issued the warning as he said goodbye to the nation on Tuesday at the McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, the same place where he gave his presidential victory speech in 2008.

His farewell speech came following one of the most divisive presidential elections in US history and a deep sense that the poisonous political environment has set Americans against each other. Obama called on Americans to work together to protect democracy in their country and make it work. “Democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted,” he said.

The outgoing president also warned about the dangers of extreme inequality and racism.“Our economy doesn’t work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic principles,” he stated. “While the top one percent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many families, in inner cities and rural counties, have been left behind.” “The laid-off factory worker; the waitress and health care worker who struggle to pay the bills – convinced that the game is fixed against them, that their government only serves the interests of the powerful – a recipe for more cynicism and polarization in our politics,” he warned.

Speaking about the threat of growing racial tensions in the US, Obama said: “After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. Such a vision, however well-intended, was never realistic. For race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society.” Further in his farewell speech, Obama spoke about the achievements during his eight-year presidency, including reforms in the US healthcare system as well as the landmark nuclear deal with Iran.

Obama also said his administration will do all it can to ensure the smoothest possible transition of power to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20. During Trump’s presidential campaign, he repeatedly claimed that the presidential election is being rigged and that he will not accept the result of the election if he loses, challenging a centerpiece of US democracy.

Presstv

7, January 2017

Ivory Coast: Heavy gunfire heard near military base in second largest city ⁰

Heavy gunfire has been heard near the main military base in Ivory Coast’s second largest city of Bouake as disgruntled soldiers remain in control of the city after waging a mutiny over wages. “The shooting is very heavy right now at the 3rd Battalion. I’m nearby and I hear it like it was right next to us,” said a Bouake resident Konan Benoit in a phone contact on Saturday as quoted in a report by Reuters, which added that gunfire could be heard on the line.

Heavy fighting and gunfire exchanges broke out early on Saturday near the key military camp in the city of nearly half a million inhabitants, where angry soldiers and military officers started a revolt against the central government over pay and bonuses a day earlier. Most of those involved in the armed revolt are reportedly former rebels who were later integrated into the nation’s army.

A picture taken in Bouake on January 6, 2017 shows UN Blue Helmet peacekeepers vehicles arriving at the entrance of the city where soldiers demanding more pay and housing revolted earlier in the day. (Photo by AFP)

Reports indicate that the uprising has spread to a number of other cities with the nation’s Defense Minister Alain-Richard Donwahi declaring on national television that a group of soldiers had used their weapons to force their way into Bouake’s military headquarters shortly after midnight to make known their demands.

“Mainly they revolved around the issue of payment, timely bonuses, around grades, the time it takes to get to the superior grade. There were also demands relating to the living conditions for soldiers,” Donwahi stated. He further described the move by the rebelling soldiers as “deplorable,” reasoning that the nation was recovering from a deep crisis. However, he also noted that their grievances were “understandable” and that he would travel to Bouake on Saturday to speak to the revolting soldiers.

“We shall talk with our men, collect their concerns and then find solutions to this situation which is deplorable, it’s understandable but still deplorable because of the image of our country, because of the work done by the president of the republic since coming out of the crisis, to demonstrate in this way can be prejudicial to our country but we understand what happened,” Donwahi added.

Passengers rest next to a bus, some 15 km from Bouake, as they wait to enter the large city on January 6, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

The defense minister, who confirmed that five cities has so far been affected by the uprising, made the remarks following an emergency meeting with other members of the African country’s National Security Council, including President Alassane Ouattara and senior military officers.

According to press reports, exchange of gunfire also erupted at a military base in Daloa city, the main trading hub in the western cocoa belt, where civilians said soldiers, some wearing masks, were patrolling the streets in sport utility vehicles. The city of Bouake was the seat of another uprising that began in Ivory Coast in 2002 and controlled the northern half of the country until it was reunited following a civil war in 2011.

Presstv