New Evidence Shows Atrocities Committed by Army in Burkina Faso
New documents verified by FRANCE 24 illustrate the scale of the atrocities committed by the Burkina Faso army on February 25, 2024. In April, the NGO Human Rights Watch reported the massacre of 223 civilians, including women and children. New evidence shows other killings committed by the army between May 3 and 9 -10 in several towns in eastern Burkina Faso…The latest videos – viewed by Wassim Nasr, a FRANCE 24 journalist specialised in jihadist movements – show “piles of corpses of men, women and children, including very young children” in the village of Soro. Other graphic images show burnt corpses…The latest images of corpses left in several locations south of Dori were taken by JNIM jihadists who were first on the scene, as was also the case after the massacre in Soro and Nondin on February 25. New images were released of Burkina Faso soldiers filming their own crimes, in the eastern Foutouri area (south of the town of Dori) between May 3 and 9-10, 2024. France 24
Mali: Civilian PM Asks Junta to Discuss End of Transition Period
Mali’s civilian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga called Saturday on the country’s military leaders to discuss ending the so-called “transition” period, in a rare criticism of the ruling junta. The country has been ruled by the military since successive coups in 2020 and 2021. In June 2022, the junta pledged to hold elections and hand power back to civilians by the end of March 2024, but then postponed the vote indefinitely. “The Transition was supposed to end on March 26, 2024. But it was postponed indefinitely, unilaterally, without debate within the government,” Maiga told supporters of his M5-RFP movement, in a speech published on Facebook by local media. AFP
Russians, Belarusian Held in Chad Return to Moscow, Media Say
A group of four Russian and Belarusian nationals, detained in the central African state of Chad for more than a month, flew back to Moscow on Saturday, Russian media reported. State news agency RIA said the group included Maxim Shugalei, identified as a sociologist but described by Western journalists and institutions, including the European Union, as an official linked to the late head of Russia’s Wagner Group…[The Moscow daily] Kommersant said it had learned that their detention was linked to an article in the French-based magazine Jeune Afrique identifying Shugalei as a close associate of Wagner’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin…Shugalei is subject to EU sanctions on grounds of overseeing disinformation campaigns to promote Wagner in Africa. Kommersant said he and [Samir] Seifan had been detained in Libya in 2019 on allegations of trying to manipulate elections. Reuters
They Fled War in Sudan. Now, Women in Refugee Camps Say They’re Being Forced to Have Sex to Survive
Some Sudanese women and girls assert that men, including those meant to protect them such as humanitarian workers and local security forces, have sexually exploited them in Chad’s displacement sites, offering money, easier access to assistance and jobs. Such sexual exploitation in Chad is a crime. Hundreds of thousands of people, most of them women, have streamed into Chad to escape Sudan’s civil war, which has killed over 20,000 people. Aid groups struggle to support them in growing displacement sites. Three women spoke with the AP in the town of Adre near the Sudanese border. A Sudanese psychologist shared the accounts of seven other women and girls who either refused to speak directly with a reporter or were no longer in touch with her. AP
Warring Parties Target Local Aid Volunteers as Fighting Escalates in Sudan
In interviews, volunteers [with Sudan’s emergency response rooms] said both sides accuse them of being informants, distrust them for their anti-militarist views, and see them as cash cows to be ransomed and exploited. They described facing arrests, interrogations, beatings, and robberies. Volunteers said the violence has had a major impact on their groups: Soup kitchens and other local initiatives run by emergency response rooms have had to temporarily close in some cases, while volunteers have had to escape the city following threats…Volunteers said they face significant risks because they are in regular contact with the fighting groups, usually to negotiate a pathway for their supplies. This often leads to false accusations that they are supporting one side or the other…[T]hey said they face suspicion based on the fact that many of their members were previously part of the pro-democracy resistance committees that opposed the influence of the army and the RSF over politics and the economy. The New Humanitarian
Zambia: Why Hydropower Is Failing This Nation — And Could Fail Others
Hydropower is the world’s most widely used form of renewable energy, propelling development in South America, parts of China and India, and much of sub-Saharan Africa. But over the past two years, a wave of extreme droughts has wreaked havoc on this critical energy supply. As the Earth warms, this once promising resource is becoming less reliable in meeting the needs of the growing population — in some instances leading to desperation and potential political instability…In good times, the Zambezi is fed by rainfall across a wide area that includes Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. But research shows that droughts have increased in frequency since the dam was built. And hotter temperatures linked to climate change have increased evaporation rates. Human activity has also played a role in increasing the vulnerability of the hydro system. Both the Zambian and Zimbabwean utility companies have sometimes drawn water from the dam beyond their allotted share, especially in seasons of scarcity…With the vulnerability of its electricity system fully exposed, Zambia now finds itself in a position common among African countries…It has a growing population and scores of rural areas still to connect to the grid. Its massive debt makes it hard to borrow and attract investment. How Africa scales up power — and whether governments here tap clean energy or fossil fuels — is complex and will help shape the planet’s climate over the next century. The Washington Post
Plastic Waste Chokes Congo Dam, Causing Widespread Power Cuts
A tide of plastic waste flowing into a major hydroelectric dam in eastern Congo is causing regular power cuts in several major cities, creating a challenge that local authorities are trying to solve. The Ruzizi dam located at the south end of Lake Kivu, which borders Rwanda, supplies the city of Bukavu and others with electricity and the power outages are hurting local businesses. The problem is linked to the growing use of plastics coupled with a lack of waste collection in the region. Heavy rainfall causes waste to flow down from the mountainous terrain to the lake, where it collects and blocks the machinery…Surface-level cleaning isn’t enough as the waste accumulates to a depth of 14 metres, with divers required to clean the river bed to prevent turbine blockages. Reuters
At Least 13 People Killed and More Kidnapped by Extremist Rebels in Eastern Congo
At least 13 people were killed and others kidnapped in eastern Congo by extremist rebels local authorities said Saturday. Rebels with the Allied Democratic Forces killed civilians in Mabisio village in North Kivu province, said the area’s administrator, Col. Alain Kiwewa, on state television. Women were among those killed in the attack late Friday evening, and houses were burned and looted, he said…Eastern Congo has struggled with armed violence for decades as more than 120 groups fight for power, land and valuable mineral resources, while others try to defend their communities. Some armed groups have been accused of mass killings. In recent years, ADF attacks have intensified and spread towards Goma, eastern Congo’s main city, as well as neighboring Ituri province. AP
UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan Visits Ethiopia for Talks on Transitional Justice
A member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, Barney Afako, today commenced a five-day visit to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Commission’s visit follows President Salva Kiir’s assent to two laws in the past week, marking a significant milestone towards the establishment of a Commission for Truth, Reconciliation and Healing, and the Reparation Authority for addressing legacies of violations and the needs of victims and survivors. In September 2024, South Sudan’s leaders extended for another two years the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, raising concerns about their commitment to completing the political transition. The African Union and IGAD are among the main guarantors of the Revitalized Agreement. Radio Tamazuj
Nigeria and India Agree Deeper Ties in Maritime Security, Counter-terrorism
Nigeria and India on Sunday agreed to deepen collaboration in maritime security, intelligence and counter-terrorism during a state visit to the West African country by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi is the first Indian premier to visit Nigeria in 17 years after an invitation by President Bola Tinubu…Modi arrived in the capital Abuja on Saturday night and met Tinubu at the presidential villa on Sunday where the two leaders also discussed economic development, defence, healthcare and food security, a joint statement said. With growing threats in the Gulf of Guinea and the Indian Ocean, the two countries agreed to coordinated action to safeguard maritime trade routes and combat piracy. Reuters
South Africa Police Try Siege Tactics on Illegal Mining, Igniting Debate
[South African police are] trying to flush out hundreds of men accused of illegal mining in an abandoned gold mine, where they are now camped out near Stilfontein, in South Africa’s North West Province. Officers have cut off the miners’ supply of water and food, guarded every known exit and pulled up or cut ropes used to ferry supplies underground, according to images distributed by the police. The siege tactics, part of national crackdown on illegal mining, have ignited a debate in South Africa about upholding human rights protected by the Constitution and efforts to fight crime in a country with high rates of lawlessness. It has also renewed attention to mining’s dark legacy in South Africa, and the common but dangerous practice of illegal mining, driven by soaring unemployment…As unemployment rates have soared over the last decade, more out-of-work or untrained miners have gone underground…Artisanal mining has also become part of a global criminal network dealing in illicit precious metals, according to the Minerals Council of South Africa, an industry group. The New York Times
TikTok Takes down Nearly 400,000 Videos in Kenya over Sexual Content
TikTok is deleting more videos in Kenya for violating community guidelines, as the company looks to avoid government scrutiny over content moderation for sexually explicit content. TikTok pulled down 360,000 videos in Kenya in the three months to June, according to its newly published Q2 enforcement report…The platform was compelled by Kenya’s government in April to share quarterly compliance reports because it faced a petition that threatened to see it banned in the country…TikTok’s enforcement report further disclosed that the platform banned nearly 60,000 accounts in Kenya for violating various community guidelines…In August TikTok set up an advisory council with experts drawn from across the continent to help inform its policies and improve its content moderation…The country’s technology ministry, however, told Parliament that it preferred to enhance regulation of the platform as opposed to a ban. Semafor