‘Somalis Continue to Lose Their Lives on a Daily Basis’: UN Condemns Somalia’s Rising Deadly Attacks
The UN’s human rights chief on Monday attacked a surge in civilian casualties in Somalia, largely due to attacks by al-Shabaab jihadists, saying more than 600 civilians had been killed this year. Volker Turk said the toll had worsened an already grim situation for people in Somalia. At least 613 civilians have been killed and 948 injured so far in 2022, according to the latest UN figures – the highest since 2017 and a more-than 30% rise from last year. AFP
Peace Talks on DR Congo’s Troubled East Set for 21 November
Talks aimed at bringing peace to eastern DR Congo, home to dozens of armed militias including the M23, are due to begin in Nairobi on November 21, the East African Community (EAC) said Sunday. The announcement came as troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo clashed anew with M23 rebels north of the key eastern city of Goma, officials said…Kenya’s ex-president Uhuru Kenyatta, the EAC’s mediator for the situation, is also due in the capital Kinshasa on Sunday for talks. AFP
Ethiopia: TPLF to ‘Disarm’ If Eritrean Troops Leave
Ethiopian government on Saturday agreed with commanders of the Tigray Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters to disarm, once Eritrean troops leave the war scene. A disarmament agreement reached in Nairobi, on the mediation of the African Union negotiators, said the rebel group had accepted to surrender both heavy and light weaponry to help end the war. But that decision would be pegged on the departure of “foreign forces.” Nation
Plight of Egyptian Dissident Alaa Abdel Fattah Overshadows COP27
UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz and Volker Turk, UN high commissioner for human rights, have all urged Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to release Abdel Fattah, who is serving a five-year jail sentence over a social media post. But COP27 has also given Egypt’s human rights defenders, long vilified and banned from the country’s airwaves, an exceptional global platform. Enjoying the solidarity of international climate activists and with unfettered access to the press, the conference has created an unprecedented opportunity to make their voices heard. Financial Times
Africa Will Lose 64% of GDP to Climate Change by 2100
Warning that the continent needs a robust loss and damage mechanism the report indicates that even if African countries “keep global temperature rise to 1.5C as set out in the Paris Agreement, they’ll face an average GDP reduction of 14% by 2050 and 34% by 2100.” The World Bank estimated Africa’s GDP at $1.92 trillion in 2021…Despite being the least responsible for climate change, Africa remains disproportionately vulnerable to the growing adverse impacts caused by global heating, with the eight of the ten most vulnerable countries being African. They are also the least prepared to tackle the crisis. Quartz Africa
Poor Countries Need Climate Funding. These Plans Could Unlock Trillions.
There is growing momentum behind a set of ideas that would fundamentally overhaul the two powerful financial institutions, which frequently loan or grant money from rich, industrialized nations to developing countries. The proposals are rapidly gaining traction among heads of state, finance ministers and even leaders of the bank and the fund, who are all meeting now at the United Nations climate summit known as COP27. New York Times
Sudan: FFC Groups Sign New Political Declaration
Several political groups, members of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), signed a political declaration supplementing the draft transitional constitution, Sudan Tribune learned on Saturday…The text, which includes principles reaffirming civilian government, justice, economic and security reforms as well as preparation for elections, was circulated nearly two weeks ago…The sources added that the rest of the revolution’s forces and groups would ink it within the next few days. However, disagreements still persist over how to implement these principles, particularly, about the Empowerment Removal Committee, the review of the peace agreement, justice and the future of the Rapid Support Forces. Sudan Tribune
UN Experts Urged to Intervene over Protesters Arrested in Sudan
The United Nations Experts have been urged intervene on behalf of eight Sudanese activists arrested over the killing of a member of Sudan’s military forces. The call is part of a joint statement issued by REDRESS, the Missing Initiative and the Sudanese Defenders Centre for Legal Aid. The protestors have reportedly been subjected to torture and are being prosecuted for crimes which carry the death penalty in an ongoing trial marked by due process violations. Sudan Tribune
Africa is home to three glacier-capped mountains. Within decades, scientists say, the glaciers will be gone. Mount Kenya’s will be the first to go, with researchers predicting their disappearance as soon as 2030. The mountain would be among the first in the world to entirely lose its glaciers because of human-induced climate change. The peaks of Mount Kenya — once covered in blinding white ice and now an arid brown — are a testament to losses already suffered in this part of Africa and a harbinger of what is to come. Washington Post
Troops in the DR Congo clashed with M23 rebels north of the key eastern city of Goma on Sunday, officials said, in the latest violence to hit the troubled region. Army sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the military was engaging the M23 in Mwaro, a village about 20 kilometers north of Goma. “We woke up to fighting this morning,” one army official told AFP…The clashes come one day after Kenyan troops deployed to eastern DRC, as part of a military operation from the seven-nation East African Community (EAC) to stabilize the volatile region. Voice of America
Those running businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, even in relatively prosperous countries such as Ghana, face a scarcely conceivable array of problems. Chief among them is access to finance. Alas, government and donor efforts to fix the problems often go awry…Ghana’s government is now broke and in talks with the IMF. The central bank has increased its main interest rate to 24.5%. Borrowing costs on commercial loans are higher still. Economist