Burkina Faso Massacre Survivor Describes Bloodshed in Trenches
A woman who survived the massacre of hundreds of villagers in central Burkina Faso described the horror of searching through bodies to find her brothers, in an interview following the attack claimed by [JNIM] earlier [last] week…The massacre took place on Saturday morning, the woman said in the interview. The army had forced every man in the town out to dig trenches to protect it from attackers, while women and younger children were sent to cut long grass and trees to improve visibility for the soldiers stationed there. The militants, or bushmen as she described them, arrived at about 10 a.m. and began killing, firing on soldiers and civilians alike. They didn’t stop until later in the day when drones arrived overheard. She said it took three days for the survivors, mostly women and children, to collect the bodies…The woman interviewed said civilians, soldiers and volunteer army auxiliaries known as VDPs were among those attacked. One family she knew lost 30 members. Another family of 13 members was completely wiped out, she said. The eyewitness said survivors took the bodies to the mayor’s office and helped each other transport the dead to the site where men were digging graves…A civil society source in Kaya said that the military had surrounded the town where many survivors had fled and were preventing them from leaving or talking about what happened. The bloodshed highlights the danger of the authorities’ growing reliance on civilians as they struggle to combat the jihadist groups that have destabilised swathes of West Africa’s Sahel region since an insurgency took root in Mali in 2012. Reuters
Germany Ends Military Operations in Junta-run Niger
The German army on Friday vacated an air base in junta-run Niger and flew its final troops home, completing a withdrawal from the restive Sahel nation. At the end of May, Germany and Niger reached an interim agreement allowing the German military to continue operating its airbase in the capital, Niamey, until the end of August. But negotiations to extend that agreement broke down, notably because the base’s personnel would no longer benefit from immunity from prosecution…Germany had operated the base in Niger since February 2016, and it once housed some 3,200 personnel. AFP
Sudan: ‘Dire Consequences for Survivors’ Lacking Medical and Trauma Services
“The lack of care, stigma, and administrative barriers, including in accessing medical and trauma services, rape kits, emergency contraception, and safe abortion performed by medical professionals, have resulted in dire consequences for survivors and repeated cycles of violence,” [independent UN experts said on Friday] emphasised. The experts added that for those who have carried pregnancies to term, pre and post-partum services are “scarce, insecure, or entirely inaccessible”. The many documented cases of sexual abuse, rape, enforced prostitution, sexual slavery, and unlawful killings by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and other armed groups are occurring against the backdrop of catastrophic levels of humanitarian crisis in Sudan. UN News
More than 100 Killed in Attempt to Escape DRC’S Largest Prison
More than 100 people were killed while trying to escape from a prison in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the early hours of Monday, the security minister has said…Twenty-four of those who died were killed by gunfire, while the others lost their lives in a crush during the chaos, [Jacquemain Shabani Lukoo] said. He also said a fire broke out and destroyed the prison’s administrative buildings, registry, hospital and food depots…Makala prison is the largest in the country. It was built to hold 1,500 prisoners but housed more than 12,000 as of October last year, most of them awaiting trial, according to Amnesty International. The Guardian
Mpox Vaccines to Arrive in DR Congo in Next Few Days, WHO Says
The World Health Organization chief said on Friday that mpox vaccines were set to arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the next few days to fight a new strain of the virus…Some 230,000 mpox doses are immediately available to be dispatched, added WHO official Tim Nguyen. These doses were donated by the European Commission and Danish mpox vaccine manufacturer Bavarian Nordic, Nguyen said. The WHO has said that its partners can start buying mpox vaccines before they are approved by the U.N. health agency, lifting its usual rules in a bid to get inoculations to Africa faster. It is currently reviewing applications for emergency licences for two vaccines made by Bavarian Nordic and Japan’s KM Biologics. Tedros said these were expected to be granted in the next two weeks. Reuters
Nigeria to Start Mpox Vaccination on October 8
Nigeria will begin vaccinations for mpox from October 8 after regulatory approvals are concluded, a spokesperson for the country’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency told a local newspaper on Saturday. Nigeria received the first batch of 10,000 doses of the mpox vaccine from the U.S. Agency for International Development on Tuesday. The country has confirmed 40 mpox cases with no fatalities yet…[Remi Adele, a spokesperson at the development agency] said the vaccines would be subjected to regulatory lab analysis for three weeks after which they would be distributed across five states with 4,750 persons receiving two doses each, 28 days apart. Reuters
Tunisia Presidential Candidate Arrested, Three Removed from the Race
Tunisia’s electoral commission on Monday rejected a court ruling reinstating three presidential candidates and police arrested another candidate in what opposition critics said was another example of President Kais Saied stifling competition. Defying the highest judicial body, the commission approved only the candidacies of Saied and two others, Zouhair Magzhaoui and Ayachi Zammel, for the Oct. 6 presidential election…Earlier on Monday, police arrested Zammel, a member of his campaign told Reuters. The campaign member said the arrest appeared aimed at distracting him from his campaign. The developments could shake the credibility of the vote and deepen a political crisis that has been escalating since 2021, when Saied began ruling by decree in a move the opposition described as a coup. Last week, the Administrative Court, the highest judicial body that adjudicates electoral disputes, reinstated three prominent candidates, Mondher Znaidi, AbdelLatif Mekki and Imed Daimi, to the election race after the electoral commission had rejected their candidacy filing. Dozens of activists gathered near the commission’s headquarters on Monday, demanding the commission step down. Reuters
Notorious People Smuggler Shot Dead in Libya, Officials Say
One of the world’s most notorious people smugglers, who abused his position as a high-ranking member of the Libyan coastguard, has been shot dead in Tripoli, officials in Italy and Libya have said. Abd al-Rahman Milad, known as Bija, was killed as he left the naval academy in Janzour, Tripoli, riding in a vehicle driven by a chauffeur. The car was hit by a barrage of heavy gunfire, Italian intelligence announced. A UN security report accused Bija of being “directly involved in the sinking of migrant boats using firearms”. He was considered to be the leader of a criminal organisation operating in the Zawiya area in north-west Libya, about 28 miles west of Tripoli. The Guardian
Africa Faces Steep Costs as Temperatures Soar, Says WMO
Africa faces an increasingly heavy toll from climate change with many countries having to spend up to 9% of their budgets battling climate extremes, a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report said on Monday. Despite producing far lower greenhouse gas emissions than other continents, Africa’s temperatures have risen more rapidly than the global average. African countries are now losing on average 2%–5% of gross domestic product responding to deadly heatwaves, heavy rains, floods, cyclones, and prolonged droughts, said the WMO’s State of the Climate in Africa 2023 report. Reuters
Djibouti Offers Port to Defuse Ethiopia-Somalia Tension
Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf says his country has a proposal that could solve the dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia. In an interview with VOA’s Horn of Africa Service, Youssouf said his country has offered to give Ethiopia access to the port of Tadjoura, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border with Ethiopia. He said Djibouti and other countries such as Turkey have been trying to solve the dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia, which ignited at the beginning of this year when Ethiopia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the breakaway region of Somaliland, a deal Somalia sees as an infringement to its sovereignty…Ethiopia already relies on Djibouti’s main port to import most of its goods, using four different terminals, said Youssouf, who is a candidate for the African Union Commission chairperson. VOA
US Imposes Visa Restrictions on South Sudan Individuals, State Dept Says
The United States is imposing visa restrictions on members of the government and others who have obstructed humanitarian aid to the country by taxing shipments, the State Department said on Friday. South Sudan, where hundreds of thousands of people died as a result of civil war from 2013-2018, is experiencing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises as a result of persistent conflict, natural disasters and poverty. U.N. missions there have said South Sudanese authorities are holding up United Nations fuel tankers over a tax dispute, jeopardizing the delivery of millions of dollars of aid during a humanitarian crisis…”Despite assurances, the government has yet to effectively reduce the unacceptably high costs, bureaucratic obstacles, and risks of providing humanitarian assistance to South Sudanese people in need,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. Reuters
Algeria Joins BRICS New Development Bank
Algeria has been approved for membership in the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), the country’s finance ministry has announced…The bank of the BRICS group of nations — whose name derives from the initials of founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — is aimed at offering an alternative to international financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF…Created in 2015, the NDB’s main mission is to mobilize resources for projects in emerging markets and developing countries. The NDB has expanded its membership to include Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates in 2021, and Egypt in 2023. AFP
Paralympics 2024: Eniola Bolaji Wins First Medal for Nigeria in Paris
Eniola Mariam Bolaji has become the first African athlete to win a medal in Para-Badminton, winning a Bronze medal for Nigeria in the women’s Singles SL3. Bolaji Monday morning defeated her Ukrainian opponent, Oksana Kozyna, in straight sets 2-0 (21-9, 21-9) to win Nigeria’s 1st Paralympics medal in Paris. Bolaji, who had her eyes on gold, lost 2-0 (16-21, 17-21) to China’s Zuxian Xiao in the semi-final on Sunday, but she ensured she made up with the bronze on Monday. Many will be happy to see that the medal drought for Nigeria has finally ended after barren outings at the Olympic Games and the recently concluded World U-20 Athletics Championship. Premium Times