Niger on Monday reopened its airspace nearly a month after imposing a ban following a military coup in July, the official Nigerien news agency ANP said.

After taking power on July 26, the coup leaders closed the country’s airspace before reopening it again on August 2 – a measure that was reversed on August 6 after regional countries threatened to intervene militarily to restore civilian rule.

“The airspace of the Republic of Niger is open to all national and international commercial flights,” the agency quoted a transport ministry spokesman as saying, adding that ground services had also resumed.

It added that Niger airspace remained closed to all operational military flights and others requiring prior authorisation from the relevant authorities.

The Economic Community of West African States has imposed sanctions on Niger after the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum and the bloc threatened military intervention as a last resort if talks fail to restore civilian rule.

On August 2, Niger reopened land and air borders with five neighbouring countries: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali and Chad.

Some flights that have received special authorisation have been able to continue to use the airport in the capital Niamey.

On Friday, the United Nations warned that tons of food aid destined for Niger was stuck in transit due to border closures.

Source: AFP

Gabon’s army said on Saturday that it would reopen the country’s borders, closed in the wake of the military coup that ousted ex-president Ali Bongo.

A spokesman for Gabon’s military rulers said on state TV that they had “decided with immediate effect to reopen the land, sea and air borders as of this Saturday”.

A group of 12 Gabonese soldiers had announced on Wednesday that the country’s borders were closed until further notice, in a statement broadcast on the Gabon 24 television channel.

General Brice Oligui Nguema, the head of the elite Republican Guard, on Wednesday led officers in a coup against President Ali Bongo Ondimba, scion of a family that had ruled for 55 years.

His ousting came just moments after Bongo, 64, was proclaimed victor in presidential elections at the weekend — a result branded a fraud by the opposition.

The coup leaders said they had dissolved the nation’s institutions and cancelled the election results as well as closing the borders.

Oligui is due on Monday to be sworn in as “transitional president”.

General Brice Oligui Nguema, the man named to lead Gabon after coup

Five other countries in Africa — Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Niger — have undergone coups in the last three years. Their new rulers have resisted demands for a short timetable for returning to barracks.

Source: AFP

Gabon’s ex- president called on his citizens to “make noise” after a coup attempt in the Central African country, saying he was speaking from detention in his residence.

Ali Bongo Ondimba appeared in a video sat in a chair with a book shelf behind him. It was his first public appearance since soldiers took to state TV.

The disgraced and frustrated Bongo, who championed French interest in Africa spoke but in English and begged for help.

Gabonese President Ali Bongo is under house arrest and one of his sons has been arrested for “treason”, military officers said Wednesday, hours after announcing they had overthrown the government.

“President Ali Bongo is under house arrest, surrounded by his family and doctors,” they said in a statement read out on state TV.

The statement added that other people in the government have been arrested on various charges.

Source: France 24

At least 183 people have been killed since July in clashes in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, the United Nations said Tuesday as it appealed for the killings, violence and rights abuses to end.

Tension in the northern region ratcheted up this year after the end of a devastating war in the neighbouring region of Tigray that also drew in fighters from Amhara.

“We are very concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in some regions of Ethiopia,” UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Marta Hurtado told reporters in Geneva.

“In Amhara region, following a flare-up in clashes between the Ethiopian military and the regional Fano militia, and the declaration of a state of emergency on August 4, the situation worsened considerably.

“At least 183 people have been killed in clashes since July, according to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office.”

Tension in the northern region ratcheted up this year after the end of a devastating war in neighbouring Tigray that also drew in fighters from Amhara.

In April the federal government announced it was dismantling regional forces across the country.

The move triggered protests by Amhara nationalists who said it would weaken their region.

Clashes erupted in early July between the national army and local fighters known as Fano, prompting the authorities in Addis Ababa on August 4 to declare a six-month state of emergency.

The status gives the authorities broad powers to arrest suspects without a court order, impose curfews and ban public gatherings, Hurtado said.

“We have received reports that more than 1,000 people have been arrested across Ethiopia under this law. Many of those detained were reported to be young people of Amhara ethnic origin suspected of being Fano supporters,” she said.

“Since early August, mass house-to-house searches have reportedly been taking place.

“We call on the authorities to stop mass arrests, ensure that any deprivation of liberty is judicially reviewed, and release those arbitrarily detained.”

She added: “We call on all actors to stop killings, other violations and abuses.”

Source: AFP