Spain’s Leader in Senegal Concludes West Africa Tour Aimed at Tackling Irregular Migration
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met with Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Thursday to conclude his trip through three West African nations aimed at tackling irregular migration to Spain’s Canary Islands. The two leaders signed agreements to promote temporary work opportunities in Spain for Senegalese nationals and vocational training in the West African country…The agreements signed by Sánchez and Faye will promote “circular migration programs,” which are temporary job opportunities in Spain for selected Senegalese workers, granting them permits of up to four years, and for a maximum of 9 months a year…Some 17,200 foreign workers took part in Spain’s circular migration program last year, but only 140 were Senegalese, according to Spanish government officials. The majority came from Morocco and other countries in Latin America…Sánchez also announced the launch of the “Alliance Africa Advances,” a development initiative that includes vocational training to around 500 young people in Senegal…Some migrant rights organizations have expressed doubts regarding the efficiency of vocational trainings like the one promoted by the Spanish government. “The problem of migration is not a question of education or training, it’s a problem of job opportunities,” Moustapha Diouf, who leads an organization promoting local job creation to dissuade young Senegalese people from leaving to Europe, told The Associated Press. AP
Cameroon Media Denounce Surge in Attacks as 2025 Election Nears
Journalists in Cameroon say attacks on reporters have surged as the country prepares for next year’s presidential elections. Ninety-one-year-old President Paul Biya, who has ruled the country for over four decades, may run again. Rights groups say six journalists have been assaulted by gunmen in the past weeks, while several reporters and a radio station have been ordered to stop broadcasting. The Network of Cameroon Media Owners, or REPAC, says four of its members have been brutally attacked by men armed with rifles and machetes in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, in the last three weeks…Besides the physical attacks on journalists, Cameroon media professionals say they are increasingly being silenced as Cameroon prepares for next year’s vote. VOA
Family of Missing Zimbabwean Activist Wants to Know what Happened to Him
There is still no word on the fate of Zimbabwean journalist turned human rights activist Itai Dzamara, an outspoken government critic who disappeared nearly a decade ago, in March 2015. Sheffra Dorica Dzamara, Itai Dzamara’s wife, said the family wants to know what happened. Itai Dzamara disappeared March 9, 2015, while having his hair cut by a barber in his neighborhood of Glennorah. He was reportedly abducted by suspected state security agents. Prior to his disappearance, he had been protesting outside the parliament building calling for the government of then-President Robert Mugabe to respect human rights and boost the moribund economy…Amnesty International has said it believes Dzamara is a victim of enforced disappearance…Several demonstrations to force Harare to reveal what happened to Dzamara have not yielded results. VOA
Nigeria and Niger Sign Security Deal, despite Rift since Coup
Nigeria and Niger have signed a deal to boost their security cooperation, the Nigerian military said on Thursday, despite tensions between the neighbours since a coup in Niger a year ago…Ties between the two countries soured after Niger’s junta toppled Mohamed Bazoum and the July 2023 coup has also split the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), raising questions about the fight against Islamist violence in the region. ECOWAS threatened to invade Niger if diplomatic efforts to restore the democratic government failed, prompting Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali to pull out of the 15-country bloc in January…Niger has remained in a Nigeria-led multinational joint taskforce fighting Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, but has kept its activities to a minimum. Under the deal signed this week, it “reaffirmed its readiness to resume active participation in security cooperation under the Multinational Joint Task Force”, the Nigerian statement said. Reuters
Nigerian Troops Kill 1,166 Armed Men, Rescue 721 Hostages
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says troops eliminated 1,166 armed men and apprehended 1,096 suspects in 29 days across the country. The Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, made this known while briefing journalists on the operations of the armed forces on Thursday in Abuja. Mr Buba said the troops also rescued 721 kidnapped hostages. He said the troops also recovered 391 weapons, 15,234 ammunitions comprising 208 AK47 rifles, 54 locally fabricated guns, 53 dane guns, 36 pump action guns, and 10,452 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo within the month. News Agency of Nigeria
Turkey’s Expanding Leverage in Africa
Since 2003, Turkey has nearly quadrupled the number of its embassies in Africa to 44, become a significant actor in the continent’s defence sector and launched a sprawling constellation of airline routes, connecting Istanbul to dozens of African cities that are served by few other international carriers…Turkey’s rapidly growing influence in the past few years has been particularly prominent in the Sahel, the semi-arid strip south of the Sahara. Alongside countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — so-called middle powers — Ankara has expanded its clout in the Sahel region after several governments fell to mutinous soldiers capitalising on attacks by terrorists and rebel groups as well as popular angst…[T]here has been no greater indicator of Turkey’s reach in Africa than the depth of its security alliances. Ankara has developed ties with countries ranging from Niger in the Sahel to Somalia and Ethiopia in the continent’s east, distinguishing itself as a supplier of effective but inexpensive drones that have proved instrumental on battlegrounds. Analysts and critics say Turkish drones have also become appealing because there are limited human rights requirements attached to their purchase, though they are only sold to governments, with non-state actors excluded. Financial Times
Namibia, Facing Drought, Plans to Kill Elephants for Meat
The Southern African nation of Namibia is planning to butcher hundreds of its most majestic animals to feed some of the 1.4 million people — nearly half the country — who are in a hunger crisis amid the worst drought in a century. The plan, under which the country will kill 723 wild animals, including 83 elephants, to feed people, is “necessary” and “in line with our constitutional mandate where our natural resources are used for the benefit of Namibian citizens,” the country’s ministry of environment, forestry and tourism said in a news release…The animals are not just being killed for meat. Namibia is also trying to minimize dangerous encounters with humans which, it said, would be expected to increase during the drought as animals and humans sought out water and vegetation…The situation is dire. Last week, a United Nations spokesman said that 84 percent of Namibia’s food resources were “already exhausted.” The New York Times
China’s Lending to Africa Rises for First Time in Seven Years, Study Shows
Chinese lenders approved loans worth $4.61 billion to Africa last year, marking the first annual increase since 2016, an independent study showed on Thursday. Africa secured more than $10 billion in loans a year from China between 2012-2018, thanks to President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), but the lending fell precipitously from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Last year’s figure, a more than three-fold increase from 2022, shows China is keen to curb risks associated with highly indebted economies, the study by Boston University’s Global Development Policy Centre found…There were 13 loan deals last year involving eight African countries and two African multilateral lenders…It has lent the continent a total of $182.28 billion between 2000-2023, the Boston University study found, with the bulk of the finances going to Africa’s energy, transport and ICT sectors. Reuters
Libya Central Bank Governor Flees Divided Country over Fear for His Life
The head of the Libyan central bank who controls billions of dollars in oil revenue said he and other senior bank staff had been forced to flee the country to “protect our lives” from potential attacks by armed militia…Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh…has been pushing for the removal of Kabir. Tensions between the two men have mounted, with Kabir accusing the prime minister of overspending and painting a misleadingly “rosy” picture of the economy in his speeches. The stand-off came to a head this week when a committee from the Tripoli government took over the premises of the central bank in the coastal city. Armed groups then began intimidating staff into operating the institution, according to Kabir, who said he then fled to an undisclosed location…Under UN Security Council resolutions, only the central bank in Tripoli is authorised to control and disburse the oil revenues. The UN and the US have called for dialogue to resolve the crisis. Financial Times
U.S. Envoy Shifts Sudan Strategy to Focus on Results, Not Process
The U.S. special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, outlined a shift in strategy on Thursday, emphasizing a focus on tangible outcomes to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country…Tom Perriello’s statement was in response to a question about the future direction of discussions after the Geneva meeting on the humanitarian situation. The question specifically inquired whether future meetings would involve the newly formed ALPS Group or revert to the Jeddah format in terms of participation and location. He further underscored that this new approach enables them to tap into a wide network of expertise, including humanitarian organizations, regional partners, and subject matter experts whenever they need and wherever they are…He emphasized that their immediate priority, after ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid to famine-stricken regions, is to halt the RSF shelling of civilian neighbourhoods. Sudan Tribune
South Sudan to Halt Oil Production Due to Sudan Conflict
South Sudan will halt oil production that flows through neighboring Sudan due to the ongoing conflict that has further strained the country’s economy, a parliamentary official said on Tuesday. The chairperson of the information committee of Parliament, Oliver Mori Benjamin said the Petroleum Minister Puot Kang Chol told lawmakers in a closed session that oil exports would only resume once the conflict in Sudan ends. A pipeline carrying more than 60% of South Sudan’s crude oil to Port Sudan for export was damaged in February this year, compounding the current situation…South Sudan’s oil exports have been halted since February 6, 2024, following damage to the pipeline…According to the Petroleum ministry, only 1.2 million barrels of South Sudanese oil was shipped to international markets in March, compared with 2.2 million in February, and six million in January. Sudan Tribune
Ghana Signs Agreement to Build Small NuScale Nuclear Reactor
Ghana on Thursday signed an agreement with a U.S. developer for a nuclear reactor using technology from NuScale Power, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, as the country seeks its first atomic power plant. Nuclear Power Ghana and Regnum Technology Group signed the agreement to deploy a NuScale VOYGR-12 small modular reactor, or SMR, at a U.S.-Africa nuclear energy summit in Nairobi…The U.S. is looking to promote technologies it considers to be clean energy and sell them to developing countries. The administration of President Joe Biden believes that nuclear energy, which generates power virtually emissions free, is critical in the fight against climate change. Reuters