WHO Warns of Spread of Cholera Outbreak from Sudan to Chad Refugee Camps
The World Health Organization warned on Friday that cholera cases in Sudan are set to rise and could spread to neighbouring countries, including Chad, which hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees from Sudan’s civil war in crowded conditions. The more than two-year-old war between the Sudanese army – which took full control of Khartoum state this week – and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has spread hunger and disease and destroyed most health facilities. Drone attacks in recent weeks have interrupted electricity and water supplies in the capital Khartoum, driving up cases there…[Dr Shible Sahbani, WHO Representative for Sudan] said that cholera had reached 13 states in Sudan, including North and South Darfur which border Chad, and that 1,854 people had already died in the latest wave as the dangerous, rainy season sets in…He called for humanitarian corridors and temporary ceasefires to allow mass vaccination campaigns against cholera and other disease outbreaks such as Dengue fever and malaria. Reuters
Darfur Attacks Fuel Refugee Crisis in Eastern Chad, UN Says
Recent attacks in Sudan’s North Darfur have triggered a new flood of refugees into eastern Chad, where humanitarian agencies are struggling to relocate people from the volatile border region ahead of the rainy season, the United Nations said. Attacks in the Zamzam IDP camp and El Fasher on April 11 drove the latest exodus. An average of 740 people have crossed into Chad daily since early June, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported. The influx has pushed the number of Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad to over 1.2 million, a threefold increase since April 2023. Aid operations are under pressure from both the fragile security situation and the imminent rainy season, which threatens to block access to key areas due to flooding in local wadis, or riverbeds. Efforts are focused on relocating refugees away from the border and prepositioning aid in zones at risk of being cut off. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) plans to relocate 130,000 new refugees…The Chadian government has called for the relocation process to be accelerated. On May 22, the country’s Prime Minister urged a faster move of refugees away from border areas. OCHA is supporting the government’s development of a national flood contingency plan. Sudan Tribune
Congolese Rebels Want Peaceful Solution to Crisis, UN Says
The head of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has held talks with Rwanda-backed rebels about protecting civilians in areas under their control in the east. Bintou Keita, the UN secretary general’s special representative, said the rebels spoke of wanting a peaceful solution to the crisis, which escalated in January with their capture of the major city of Goma. She said she had brought “a spirit of listening and exchange” to the discussions in Goma on Friday. Little more detail has been released about any progress made at the summit. But in a short written statement, Ms Kieta said it formed part of ongoing “joint efforts begun several months ago for the benefit of the population”, and that it came at a critical moment…On Friday, almost 250 South African soldiers who were deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo arrived back home as the first part of a phased withdrawal from the eastern warzone. They had been part of a force sent by the southern African bloc (Sadc) to assist the Congolese army, but 20 of its soldiers were later killed during an M23 advance which prompted the decision to leave. At a meeting on Saturday, Monusco said its leader Ms Keita met a top Sadc commander in a show of mutual appreciation for the “support and solidarity” they had shown each other “in these recent, difficult months”. BBC
At Least 100 People Killed by Gunmen in North-central Nigeria, Rights Group Says
At least 100 people have been killed in a gun attack on a village in Nigeria ’s north-central Benue state, Amnesty International Nigeria said Saturday. The attack took place between late Friday and the early hours of Saturday in Yelewata, a community in the Guma area of the state, the rights group said in a Facebook post. Dozens of people are still missing, and hundreds were injured and without adequate medical care, it added. While it remains unclear who was responsible for the killings, such attacks are common in Nigeria’s northern region where local herders and farmers often clash over limited access to land and water…Last month, gunmen, believed to be herders, killed at least 20 people in the Gwer West area of Benue. In April, at least 40 people were killed in the neighbouring state of Plateau. AP
Nine Killed in Niger Jihadist Attack: Local Sources
Suspected jihadists have killed nine travellers, including a teacher, in an attack in southwestern Niger, near the border with Burkina Faso, local sources said Sunday. “A terrorist attack targeted passenger vehicles on Friday June 13, killing nine civilians,” a teachers’ union said in a statement. One of its members had been among the dead, it added. The union said the attack happened around 10:00 am (0900 GMT) on the road linking Makalondi and Torodi near the border with Burkina Faso. A second teacher was wounded and evacuated to Niamey for treatment, said the union, denouncing the attack as a “despicable act”. A Torodi resident confirmed the incident, saying there had been “civilian casualties”. Torodi and Makalondi lie less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Niamey, where the army says it is dealing with “persistent terrorist threats” including “improvised explosive devices” on roads. The towns fall within Tillaberi region’s “three borders” zone — shared by Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali — a hotspot for attacks by Islamic State and Al-Qaeda affiliates…Like its neighbours Burkina Faso and Mali, Niger is ruled by a military junta and faces escalating jihadist attacks. AFP
Niger Jails Two Radio Journalists For ‘Plotting’
Niger on Friday jailed two journalists who were part of a trio detained in early May for plotting against state authority, their employer told AFP. Reporters have regularly been detained since a junta seized power in a 2023 coup, a practice denounced by free speech activists across the world. The three journalists worked for the Sahara FM private radio and were arrested in the central city of Agadez. They had reported that security contracts between the west African country and Russia — a key junta ally — had ended…”A military court judge remanded the two men to Kollo prison,” Sahara FM owner Air Info said on Friday, referring to a jail some 50 kilometres south of the capital Niamey. The company said a third journalist had been provisionally released, adding that all three had been tried on charges of “undermining national defence and plotting against state authority”. AFP
Guinea Sets Up New Election Body Ahead of September Referendum
Guinea’s military leader has set up a new elections authority ahead of a constitutional referendum due on September 21, a move denounced by one senior lawyer Sunday. The presidential decree from General Mamadi Doumbouya was read out on state television late Saturday. It said the new agency would operate under the interior ministry and enjoy financial autonomy. The body will organise political votes and referendums and manage the biometric voter roll, using national civil and population registries. It would also help set up a “a special force to secure the elections”, said the decree. In a Facebook post on Sunday, the country’s former head of the bar Mohamed Traore denounced the move. “A public administration totally politicised and partisan, administrators who organise or take part in rallies supporting the candidacy of the transitional president and act like party activists — this already raises real issues of sincerity and credibility regarding upcoming elections,” he wrote. “If, in addition to that, it is a department placed under the authority of the minister in charge of territorial administration who will be in charge of organizing these elections, we can say that the loop is about to be completely closed,” he added. Guinea’s opposition and civil society have criticised the junta’s increasingly authoritarian rule. AFP
Tanzania Opposition Leader Says Will Defend Himself in Treason Trial
Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu told a court on Monday he had been denied his basic legal rights and that he would defend himself against a treason charge that carries the death penalty. The fiery politician was detained in April, a move denounced by international rights groups and monitors who have called for his release. It comes as authorities in the east African country increasingly crack down on Lissu’s opposition Chadema party ahead of presidential and parliamentary polls in October…Chadema was disqualified from the upcoming elections after it refused to sign an electoral code of conduct. Lissu has led a forceful charge against the government, vowing his party would not participate in polls without significant electoral reforms. Wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words “No Reforms, No Election,” Lissu told the judge that, despite not being sentenced yet, he has been placed in the prison’s death row section…He has been arrested several times in the past, but this is the first time he has faced such a serious charge. AFP
Mozambique’s Future in Balance After Deadly Vote Protests
A national dialogue was announced and a “torch of unity” lit, but many Mozambicans are suspicious about the government’s attempts to address bitter divisions exposed in the last violence-scarred election. President Daniel Chapo announced the dialogue in March after taking charge of the country of 33 million people that was for weeks engulfed in demonstrations against the results of the October vote in which scores of people were killed. It will be spearheaded by an 18-person commission that will tour the country to hear the concerns that burst into the open at the election, ranging from youth joblessness to alleged state cronyism. All political parties have seats and three places reserved for civil society are to be filled by July. But glaringly absent from the process so far has been the charismatic opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, who fired up the protests by insisting he won the vote and the official results were rigged. “Excluding Mondlane also means excluding his people,” said analyst Andre Mulungo of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights…Not having him on the commission overseeing the planned dialogue undermines the process, said Mulungo, adding: “The risk of these people feeling unrepresented and not recognising the outcomes of this dialogue is high.” AFP
Somalia: Puntland President Urges Inclusive Talks Amid Political Deadlock
Said Abdullahi Deni, the president of Puntland, says he is not against dialogue initiated by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, but maintains there is a deliberate effort to mislead members of the international community…All stakeholders should be brought to the table for a broader consensus, Deni said while castigating consultative meetings only involving a few participants, mainly leaning towards the government…Mogadishu, he said, should stop undermining federalism by fighting regional leaders with divergent ideologies, adding that negotiations should be held to resolve disputes. These remarks came on the same day that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s meeting with opposition leaders failed to commence after the opposition refused to attend, citing the absence of Puntland and Jubaland leaders…The president of Somalia is pushing for a one-man-one-vote model of elections without proper infrastructure, with Jubaland and Puntland dismissing it as a strategy to extend the terms of federal leaders, including President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, whose mandate is ending in 11 months. Garowe Online
Ivory Coast Activists Protest Against Presidential Candidates’ Exclusion
Thousands of opposition activists demonstrated in Ivory Coast’s economic capital on Saturday to demand that candidates excluded from the October presidential election be reinstated. Four prominent opposition figures in Ivory Coast have been excluded from the final electoral list, leaving them ineligible to contest presidential elections later this year. They include Tidjane Thiam, leader of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), the country’s main opposition party and driving force behind Saturday’s protest. Thiam was struck from the voter roll in April after a court ruling cast doubt on his Ivorian nationality at the time of registration…No clashes broke out and police stopped demonstrators about 100 meters (109 yards) away from the electoral commission. Only a few senior party figures managed to enter the institution’s headquarters and delivered a document. Thiam has been away from Ivory Coast for three months and did not attend the protest but published a video statement on social media. “This is not just about me, this is a movement for democracy to prevail in our country. Let’s stay mobilised,” he said. “I will soon be with you in Abidjan and we can continue this fight.” AFP
Thousands Rally for Ivory Coast President’s Re-election Push
Thousands of ruling party supporters gathered in Abidjan on Sunday to endorse President Alassane Ouattara’s expected bid for re-election in October, ahead of a party congress next week likely to confirm his candidacy. Political tensions have escalated in Ivory Coast in recent weeks after four opposition leaders were disqualified from the upcoming presidential election. The governing Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) held a gathering in Yopougon, a working-class district of the economic capital Abidjan, concluding weeks of local meetings nationwide ahead of its formal party congress. The party has expressed unanimous support for Ouattara, who has ruled since 2011, to seek a fourth term in office. Ouattara, 83, has yet to declare whether he will seek a new mandate. However, he said in January that he was “eager to continue serving his country”. The rally in Yopougon followed a protest by opposition supporters in Abidjan on Saturday, denouncing the disqualification of candidates and demanding an inclusive vote. AFP
Ethiopia: Journalist Tesfalem Released from Detention
Prominent journalist Tesfalem Waldyes, founder and editor-in-chief of the online outlet Ethiopia Insider, was released from police custody on Friday, 13 June, after being held for several days despite three separate court decisions granting him bail…Tesfalem was arrested on Sunday, 8 June, by security forces who accused him of “disseminating false information,” a claim linked to unrest during a football match between Wolaita Dicha and Sidama Buna. The police alleged that he was present at the scene and told supporters attempting to enter the closed stadium that “the government is only using the stadium for peaceful demonstrations by Tigrayans.” His defense lawyer, Betemariam Hailu, said Tesfalem denies both being present and making the statement, adding that “even if he had, it is not a complex issue that warrants extended investigation or denial of bail.” Despite these charges, the Addis Abeba City First Instance Court, Kirkos Division, granted Tesfalem bail at 15,000 birr, a decision later upheld by the City Appeals Court and again by the City Administration Cassation Court. The Cassation Court ruled that the police appeal contained a legal error that “does not warrant an appeal,” affirming that the lower courts “acted within the bounds of the law.” … [Human Rights Watch said] that “Ethiopia’s police have long flouted court orders to release someone on bail, particularly when it comes to high-profile detainees.” It further stated that “the police also have a notorious reputation for investigating journalists under provisions of Ethiopia’s 2020 Hate Speech and Disinformation Prevention and Suppression Proclamation,” calling the law’s definition of “disinformation” overly broad and prone to abuse. Addis Standard