Polls Close in Chad’s Contentious Parliamentary Election
Polls have closed in Chad’s first parliamentary election in 13 years, which the government has presented as a key step towards ending a military rule. The voting ended at 6:00pm local time (17:00 GMT) on Sunday. Provisional results are expected by January 15 and final results by January 31…Voters will choose a new parliament, provincial assemblies and local councils in one of the world’s poorest countries, with the opposition boycotting the vote, citing fears of vote rigging. Turnout was low in the capital N’Djamena when polling stations opened on Sunday. Election officials in the upmarket district where the president’s family and ruling dignitaries live put voter apathy down to the “cold weather”. Opposition parties have urged Chad’s eight million voters to shun elections whose results they said had been decided in advance…Voting is taking place against a backdrop of recurring attacks by the armed group Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, the ending of a military accord with former colonial master France and accusations that Chad is interfering in the conflict ravaging neighbouring Sudan. Al Jazeera with AFP
UN Authorises New Mission against Al-Shabaab in Somalia
The UN security council adopted a resolution on Friday allowing the deployment of up to 12,626 personnel to support the Somali government’s nearly two decades-long fight against al-Shabaab. The existing peacekeeping force, known as the African Union transition mission in Somalia (Atmis), whose mandate ends at the end of this year, will be replaced by the leaner African Union support and stabilization mission in Somalia (Aussom). The two peacekeeping forces were preceded by the African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom), which was the largest, longest running and deadliest such mission in history…Burundi, one of the troop contributing countries, announced that it would not take part in the upcoming peacekeeping mission due to a “lack of consensus” between Burundi and Somalia on the number of troops it would be allowed to deploy…It wasn’t clear if Ethiopia, which has been a major contributor to the two past iterations of the peacekeeping forces and is also a target of al-Shabaab, would be allowed to continue to play a role. Somalia and Ethiopia have been embroiled in a year-long dispute over a sea access deal that landlocked Ethiopia reached with the separatist northern Somaliland region. The Guardian
Mozambicans Flee to Neighbouring Malawi amid Post-election Unrest
Mozambique has been gripped by violent protests for about two months since the electoral commission said the ruling Frelimo party had retained power and its candidate won the presidency in the election…A decision by Mozambique’s Constitutional Council to validate the election results on Monday triggered more demonstrations. Monitoring group Plataforma Decide put the death toll at 125 since the court’s decision and at 252 since late October. A senior Malawian official said that as of Wednesday, 2,182 Mozambican households fleeing the violence had crossed into Malawi’s Nsanje district, which borders Mozambique…Frelimo has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975. Western observers have said this year’s election was not free and fair. Reuters
London-listed Miner Pauses Mozambique Operation amid Political Unrest
The London-listed mining company Gemfields said it had temporarily halted its ruby mining operation in Mozambique after groups “took advantage” of political unrest to set fire and attempt to invade its site, resulting in two deaths. Gemfields, one of the world’s largest miners of coloured gemstones, said more than 200 people associated with illegal ruby mining attempted to invade the residential village built by the company next to its Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) operation in northern Mozambique on Christmas Eve…Gemfields said on Friday that looters set fire to community buildings built by MRM and that security forces, made up of the Mozambican police and the military, protected the residential village in a “staged escalation of force” that resulted in two individuals being shot and killed…The unrest resulted in Gemfields temporarily relocating some of its more than 500 employees, halting its operation since Christmas Eve. It began a phased return of staff on Thursday. The Guardian
SA Safety and Security Structure Intensifies Operations at Border with Mozambique
The South African National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJoints) has intensified its operations along the South Africa-Mozambique border to prevent and combat any “opportunistic crimes” that might arise as a result of the ongoing unrest in the neighbouring region. The announcement of these measures on Sunday followed reports that a riot at a prison in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, on Christmas Day resulted in more than 1,500 prisoners escaping from the facility. Another 33 died and 15 were wounded during the incident…Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber has given his assurance that all South African nationals arriving at the border from Mozambique will be able to “return home safely”, according to his party, the DA…The NatJoints statement noted the “interconnected nature of regional security” and reaffirmed the commitment of the South African government to support Mozambique in restoring peace and stability in the region. Daily Maverick
South Africa: 47 Zama Zamas Arrested in North West amid Ongoing Resurfacing Efforts
Twenty-one illegal miners resurfaced at Margaret and Buffelsfontein No 10 shafts in the last two days. It brings the count for the week (since Monday) to 47 miners arrested for illegal mining, trespassing and contravention of the Immigration Act. The office of the provincial commissioner in the North West said in a statement on Sunday that 10 illegal miners resurfaced at Margaret Shaft on Friday and 11 resurfaced at Buffelsfontein Shaft No 10 on Sunday morning…It said the Vala Umgodi operations (close the holes) would continue throughout the festive season. On Sunday, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) said the miners’ resurfacing was proof the zama zamas were able to exit the underground tunnels on their own…It said the notion that the miners are trapped because of police action above ground was misleading. Police had secured the area around the mine, but exit points had been established to “allow miners to surface safely and face due legal processes”. Natjoints said the government acknowledged the presence of narratives surrounding the operation, which was why it was essential to “rely on verified information from official channels”. News 24
DR Congo Rebels Kill at Least 21 during Christmas Week
ADF rebels have killed at least 21 people this week in the conflict-riven eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources told AFP on Saturday. The attacks all took place close to Manguredjipa, a town known for its rich mineral deposits and regularly targeted by the ADF…Multiple separate local sources confirmed the dates, locations and tolls of these attacks to AFP. Originally from Uganda, the ADF, or Allied Democratic Forces, have been present since the mid-1990s in the DRC’s restive northeast, where its fighters have killed thousands of civilians…Home to vast mineral resources, the eastern DRC has been plagued by infighting between various armed groups for decades. VOA
Airstrike on Insurgents Mistakenly Killed 10 Civilians, Nigerian Military Says
An airstrike targeting an armed group in northwestern Nigeria mistakenly killed at least 10 civilians, the West African nation’s military said Friday. The villagers were killed on Christmas Day when the air force targeted a logistics base of the Lakurawa insurgent group in the Silame area of Sokoto state, Edward Buba, Nigerian defense spokesperson, told journalists at a press conference…The Lakurawa insurgent group began infiltrating Africa’s most populous country following a wave of coups that disrupted Nigeria’s relations with neighboring Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, hurting their ability to cooperate on transnational threats. Initially gaining local support by helping communities defend themselves against armed cattle rustlers, the group later sought to impose strict Islamic laws across border communities of the French-speaking countries…Since 2017, some 400 civilians have been killed by such accidental strikes by the military, according to the Lagos-based SBM Intelligence security firm. AP
Glitzy Calabar Carnival Wraps Up Tough Year in Nigeria
Every December, the celebration draws nearly two million partygoers to the capital of Cross River state, organisers said. Calabar carnival, known as “Africa’s Biggest Street Party”, is the highpoint of a month of festivities that began with the switching on of the lights on a 40-foot Christmas tree. Now in its 20th year, the carnival attracts dancers and floats from Nigeria’s different ethnic communities, as well as performers from abroad…The year had been tough for many Nigerians. President Bola Tinubu’s reforms have sparked one of the worst cost-of-living crises the West African country has seen in decades. But ‘Detty December’ — local slang that loosely means end-of-year merrymaking — spreads Christmas cheer in the Christian-majority south, providing something of a reprieve from harsh economic realities. The Calabar carnival, first held in 2004, is its highlight. AFP
90% of Oil Wells in Sudan’s East Darfur Destroyed
About 90 percent of the oil wells in Sudan’s East Darfur State have been completely sabotaged and vandalized as copper and electrical wires were stolen by unknown persons before some of the wells were set ablaze. 23 out of 36 wells were operating in the state’s oil fields since 2016 run by the Chinese Petro-Engine and Sharf companies. The director of the Jad Al-Sayed Administrative Unit in Abu Karinka Locality, Hussein Ahmed Hussein, told Radio Tamazuj that the damage to the oil wells in the Shaq Omar area was a great blow…Ahmed called for efforts to stop the deliberate destruction of a public resource to preserve what remains of the wells and to ward off environmental hazards such as oil leakage from pipelines. Radio Tamazuj
Sudan Conflict: ‘There Cannot Be a Military Solution to This War’
Ramtane Lamamra, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan recently travelled to Sudan, where he met senior figures of the Government, including General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan and the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces. The Envoy also went to Ethiopia, where he talked to a delegation from the Rapid Support Forces in the capital, Addis Ababa…UN News: The conflict has been going on for 20 months with no end in sight, despite the continued efforts from the UN and regional organizations, what needs to be changed to achieve significant progress towards a ceasefire? Lamamra: There needs to be a ceasefire that stops the bloodshed, paves the way for a negotiated agreement and a credible, inclusive Sudanese-led political process that preserves the unity of Sudan…I personally cannot resign myself to the notion that the second anniversary of the outbreak of the war next April would come and go without all concerned, including all influential global and regional actors, putting an extraordinary collective pressure on the belligerent parties and their respective supporters to seriously give peace a chance. Such a long overdue pressure should also be directed at the foreign parties that supply the weapons and equipment, which feed the military illusions and miscalculations of the actors, at the expense of the wisdom and the value of a peaceful solution preserving the unity and territorial integrity as well as the wellbeing of Sudan and its people. UN News
Ethiopia: Commission Cautions against Silencing Rights Organizations under Dubious Claims
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has expressed concern about recent restrictions on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) by the Authority for Civil Society Organizations (ACSO) in Ethiopia, which has seen the suspension of five CSOs in a span of two weeks. EHRC said it has been looking into reports that in recent weeks alone, several civil society organizations received notifications from the Authority accusing them of engaging in activities “beyond their stated objectives, in violation of their obligation to operate independently from political involvement, and in ways that harm national interests,” which “prompted the Commission to launch an inquiry based on complaints and information submitted.” The Commission “found it troubling” that while it was following previously issued restrictions, the CSOA issued additional notices to two more CSOs working in the area of advocacy for human rights, accusing them of “legal violations” without “substantiating the claims.” The notices targeted the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) and the Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Center (EHRDC). Addis Standard
Egypt Completes Trial Run of New Suez Canal Channel Extension
The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement that during a trial run two ships passed through a new stretch of the canal’s two-way section without incident. Following the 2021 grounding of the container ship Ever Given that blocked the vital waterway for six days, Egypt accelerated plans to extend the second channel in the southern reaches of the canal and widen the existing channel. Its revenue from the waterway, the gateway to the shortest route between Europe and Asia, has nevertheless tumbled since Yemen’s Houthi militants began attacking ships in the Red Sea in November 2023 in what they say is solidarity with Palestinian militants in Gaza. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday that due to “regional challenges”, the country had lost approximately $7 billion in Suez Canal revenue in 2024, marking more than a 60% drop from 2023. Reuters
Senegal Says It’s Closing ‘All Foreign Military Bases,’ a Move Aimed at French Troops in the Country
Senegal’s prime minister said on Friday that the government is closing “all foreign military bases,” an announcement essentially aimed at France, the West African nation’s former colonial power. Although Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko did not specifically name French troops, no other foreign forces have military bases in Senegal. France has suffered similar setbacks in several West African countries in recent years, including Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso, where French troops that have been on the ground for many years have been kicked out. Sonko made the announcement during a general policy statement to the National Assembly, without providing a timeline for the exit of the French troops. It comes a month after Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said there would soon be no more French soldiers on Senegalese soil. AP
‘We Fall and We Rise’: Some Amputees in Sierra Leone Turn to Farming to Combat Discrimination
From 1991 to 2002, conflict in [Sierra Leone] created some 28,000 amputees…Amputation by machete was one terror tactic by rebels. But even now, amputation rates remain high in Sierra Leone due to motorbike accidents, poor medical care and delayed treatment by traditional healers, according to medical researchers. The government doesn’t collect data on amputees, but the United Nations estimates there are about 500,000 disabled people in the country…More than 20 years later, in a nation ranked near the bottom of the U.N. development index, amputees still face discrimination, often regarded as a shameful reminder of the civil war. Many resort to begging and live in the streets…The Farming on Crutches initiative … offers a rare refuge. It aims to restore amputees’ confidence and independence by teaching them skills to start a farm business. They’ve trained 100 amputees and want to expand their work. [The] project’s name reflects amputees’ widespread use of crutches instead of prosthetic legs in Sierra Leone. Foreign donors distributed them after the civil war but many people say they don’t fit well and cause sores. And the country’s only prosthetic clinic is too expensive for many…There currently is no specific support for amputees from the government, the National Commission for Persons with Disability said. AP