Nigeria’s President Appoints New Security and Intelligence Chiefs
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu named new homeland security and foreign intelligence chiefs on Monday, a week after their predecessors resigned abruptly, as Africa’s most populous nation fights a northeastern insurgency and rampant kidnappings. Mohammed Mohammed, who headed Nigeria’s mission to Libya, will lead the National Intelligence Agency. Adeola Ajayi will helm the Department of State Security. The previous agency chiefs, appointed by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018, gave no reason for their resignations. They could have taken the fall for the country’s poor security performance, or have been purged along with government personnel from the north to replace with Tinubu’s own Yoruba ethnic stock, said Confidence MacHarry, lead security analyst at consultancy SBM Intelligence. Following incessant attacks by armed groups, Tinubu is boosting intelligence gathering to deal with nationwide kidnappings for ransom by armed gangs and a more than decade-old insurgency in the northeast. Reuters
Spain’s Leader Begins West Africa Tour in Mauritania to Tackle Irregular Migration to Canary Islands
Spain’s prime minister embarked on a three-day tour of West Africa on Tuesday as the European nation struggled to contain the number of people making the dangerous Atlantic voyage by boat to the Canary Islands. The Spanish archipelago — located close to the African coast and used as a stepping stone for migrants and refugees trying to reach continental Europe — has seen more than 22,000 people disembark on its shores since January, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry, more than double the number of irregular arrivals for the same period last year. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez begins his visit in Mauritania before continuing south to Gambia and Senegal. The three coastal nations have become the main departure points used by smugglers to launch overcrowded boats. Thousands of Malian refugees fleeing violence and instability are among those embarking on the perilous Atlantic route to the Canaries, as well as unemployed youth from Senegal, Mauritania and other West African nations who seek better job opportunities abroad. AP
Mali Suspends French News Channel LCI for Two Months
Mali’s military-led government has suspended broadcasting by French private news channel LCI on its territory for two months, alleging “false accusations” were made on air against the army and its Russian allies…HAC [Mali’s media regulator], objected to comments made by military specialist Colonel Michel Goya in a programme broadcast on LCI titled “Wagner Decimated in Mali: the Hand of Kyiv”. At the end of July, the Malian army and its Russian allies suffered a heavy defeat in the north of the country, with Tuareg-led rebels claiming to have killed 84 Wagner fighters and 47 Malian soldiers…In 2022, the junta broke away from its long-standing alliance with former colonial ruler France, and began forging closer ties with Russia, with troops from the infamous Wagner mercenary corps deployed to the country. Since then Mali’s junta has clamped down on foreign media. RFI
West Africa’s ‘Coup Belt’: Did Mali’s 2020 Army Takeover Change the Region?
Four years ago this month, a group of Malian soldiers descended on a military base in Kati, close to the capital Bamako, arrested their most senior leaders, and seized weapons from the armoury. Shortly after, they stormed Bamako in trucks, where they detained then-President Aboubakar Keita…That August marked an end to eight years of political stability in Mali, where between 2012 and 2020 there were no military takeovers in an area that was coup-prone. The takeover also stamped the start of a political ripple in the wider West Africa region that has since seen other civilian governments fall. “We largely saw civilian rule strengthening in Africa up until that moment, and I think that the Mali coup was a critical juncture in the weakening of that norm,” said Dan Eizenga of the United States-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS). The slew of coups is reminiscent of the 1980s-1990s when African countries newly liberated from colonial rule faced a barrage of rebellions. “I don’t think you’ll find another four years that has seen so many coups and counter-coups since [that time],” Eizenga told Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera
Dam Collapse Devastates Communities in Eastern Sudan
A dam that collapsed in Sudan near the Red Sea on Sunday flooded surrounding communities and caused an unknown number of deaths and injuries, local and international officials said…The Arba’at dam unleashed a deluge of water on the surrounding area, stranding villagers, the Federal Ministry of Health said in a statement…The OCHA report said that the dam, in a remote area near the Red Sea, was the main source of fresh water for Port Sudan, the country’s de facto wartime capital, about 25 miles to the southeast. The dam is over 530 miles from the capital, Khartoum, which is inland. According to preliminary reports from OCHA, the bursting of the dam caused its reservoir to empty completely, damaging around 20 villages downstream. The authorities in Sudan reported that up 50,000 people were affected to the west of the dam. The New York Times
New Mpox Strain Is Changing Fast; African Scientists Are ‘Working Blindly’ to Respond
Scientists studying the new mpox strain that has spread out of Democratic Republic of Congo say the virus is changing faster than expected and often in areas where experts lack the funding and equipment to properly track it…More research is urgently needed, but three teams tracking mpox outbreaks in Africa say they cannot even access chemicals needed for diagnostic tests. Planning a response, including vaccination strategies, without this is difficult, the scientists said. [Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, a South African epidemiologist and chair of the Africa CDC’s mpox advisory committee] said around half of cases in eastern Congo, where Ib is particularly prevalent, are only being diagnosed by doctors, with no laboratory confirmation…Many African laboratories cannot get the supplies they need, said Dr. Emmanuel Nakoune, an mpox expert at the Institut Pasteur in Bangui, Central African Republic, which also has clade Ia cases. “This is not a luxury,” he said, but necessary to track deadly outbreaks. Reuters
DR Congo No Longer Expects to Receive Mpox Vaccines This Week
Democratic Republic of Congo no longer expects to receive its first delivery of mpox vaccines this week, the head of its response team said on Monday, as Congo battles a new variant of the virus that has spread beyond its borders.
The World Health Organization declared mpox a global public health emergency on Aug. 14 for the second time in two years. On Aug. 19, Congo’s health minister said the Central African country hoped to receive its first doses of a vaccine by this week, following promises from the United States and Japan to help it fight its outbreak. But asked whether Congo would begin receiving the doses this week, Cris Kacita, the head of Congo’s response team, told Reuters: “No. There are still several processes to follow.” He said the Congolese pharmaceutical regulatory agency would first need to be in touch with Danish drugmaker Bavaria Nordic for guidance before the vaccines arrive in the country…Mpox vaccines have already been made available in more than 70 countries outside Africa. Reuters
Ghana Presidential Contenders Promise to Ease Hardship as Campaign Ramps Up
The two main contenders in Ghana’s presidential election have launched duelling manifestos promising fiscal stability, jobs and a path out of the country’s worst economic downturn in a generation. Voters will head to the polls on Dec. 7 to elect a successor to President Nana Akufo-Addo, who is stepping down at the end of the two terms he is allowed to serve…The election will pit ex-president John Dramani Mahama of the main opposition National Democratic Congress party against Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, an economist and former central banker, from Akufo-Addo’s ruling New Patriotic Party…Both Mahama and Bawumia laid out their policy promises over the weekend ahead of a vote analysts predict to be tight two-man contest, even though others are running. Mahama, 65, vowed to scrap first-year university fees to boost tertiary education and reduce taxes during his first three months in office…Bawumia promised to simplify the tax system, almost halve the number of ministers and cut public spending by 3% of GDP. Reuters
Tunisian Court Allows Mekki to Return to Presidential Race
Tunisia’s administrative court on Tuesday upheld an appeal by prominent politician Abdellatif Mekki, allowing him to resume his candidacy in a presidential election expected on Oct. 6, judicial and political sources told Reuters. The electoral commission had excluded Mekki from the race due to what it said was a lack of popular endorsements. The judicial official told Reuters that the court’s decision was final and could not be appealed. Reuters
Algerian Election Campaign Marked by Social Pledges and Claims of Unfair Play
Algeria’s presidential election, set for 7 September, is drawing scrutiny for both the policies at play and a lack of competition. Some 24 million voters will choose from three candidates, including incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. The narrow field has led to allegations of undemocratic practices, with opposition figures claiming the system is rigged to favour the status quo…Only two candidates were approved to challenge Tebboune: Abdelaali Hassani of the moderate Islamist party, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), and Youcef Aouchiche of the centre-left Socialist Forces Front (FFS)…The thirteen other hopefuls, however, failed to secure the required number of signatures to enter the race, a barrier that many argue is symptomatic of a broader effort to “neutralise the opposition”…Algeria’s presidential election campaign continues until 3 September. RFI
Campaigns Underway in Mozambique to Choose Next President
Mozambique has begun a 45-day election campaign to choose the next president, with four hopefuls looking to succeed President Filipe Nyusi. He will step down in January at the end of his second five-year term. More than 17 million registered voters will choose the country’s new head of state and 250 members of parliament in the October 9 election. The ruling Frelimo’s party’s presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, is expected to face a stiff challenge from Venancio Mondlane, who is running as an independent. The other two candidates are Ossufo Momade of the former rebel Renamo party and Lutero Simango of the Mozambique Democratic Movement…These will be Mozambique’s seventh general elections since the advent of multiparty democracy in 1994, two years after the government signed a peace deal with Renamo to end a 16-year civil war that killed an estimated 1 million people. Renamo has not won a national election since then. Frelimo has ruled Mozambique since 1975 when the country won independence from Portugal. VOA
Two Oilfields in Southeast Libya Shut down, Engineers Say
Two oilfields in southeast Libya have halted production and another has had its output cut, engineers at the fields told Reuters on Tuesday, showing a plan to reduce output announced on Monday is being put into effect. The eastern-based administration had said on Monday the oilfields will be closed, but there has still been no confirmation from Libya’s internationally recognised government in Tripoli, or from the National Oil Corp (NOC) which controls the country’s oil resources…The rival [administration] in Benghazi is not internationally recognised, but most oilfields are under the control of eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar. Engineers at Amal and Nafoora oilfields said on Tuesday production was halted, while engineers at Abu Attifel said production output was reduced. Fields in the east account for almost all the country’s production. Reuters