Day: December 17, 2021

A drop in the levels of rainfall around Lake Chad in Cameroon has caused waterways to dry up and worsened the conflict between farmers and herders over scarce resources.

Gadaf Mahamat is busy rebuilding his property, which was torched during a recent clash between farmers and herders in his community.

He says he lost nearly everything, including millet, rice, goats and chickens. At the time, he had money, 400,000 Central African francs that he put under the mattress; he says the money was burned, as well as his medicine.

The cause of the conflict? The scarcity of water in the Far North region of Cameroon.

Gadaf says members of the Mousgoum community dug a reservoir to water their farms and raise fish but that Arab herders wanted the reservoir closed, describing it as a death trap for their livestock.

The two sides failed to compromise, and the situation escalated.

Moussa Yeni, a member of the Arab herders’ community, says the fight started at his place. He says the Mousgoums came to attack them. He says when the Mousgoums saw that the herders outnumbered them, they fled. Then the herders pursued them and burned their village.

VOA requested interviews with officials of Cameroon’s Far North Region, but they said they were not available to comment.

According to the United Nations, over the last decades, the surface of Lake Chad, which feeds the far north of Cameroon, has decreased by 95%. Communities living along the lake, most of which are water dependent, are fighting for control of the dwindling resources, resulting in deaths, displacement and destruction of property.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and Cameroonian authorities recently organized a reconciliation ceremony in which community representatives committed to ending the violence. The U.N. organization also donated wells.

But it was not enough to resolve the conflict, and new violence broke out a few days after the ceremony.

Jean Bosco Rushatsi of UNHCR Cameroon says this is the beginning. He also says the restoration of peace is a long process, but UNHCR has just committed itself resolutely with all the parties involved in the conflict to the path of reconciliation, of social cohesion through dialogue, and not through violent clashes.

Experts believe that other solutions should be pursued.

Math Mazra of the University of Marouan in Cameroon says the ideal solution would be to find other resources, alternative fishery resources that can, for example, employ modern fish farming methods. He also suggested the creation of artificial ponds.

In the meantime, Gadaf has set to rebuilding his house, in hopes that no one will destroy it again.

Source: Voice of America

The U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday adopted a resolution to establish an International Commission of Human Rights Experts to investigate allegations of abuses committed by all warring parties in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict.

The resolution passed 21 to 15, with 11 abstentions at the end of a daylong special session to address the grave human rights situation in Ethiopia.

Among those voting against the resolution were China, Cuba, Eritrea, Pakistan, Russia and Venezuela. The European Union, which sponsored the resolution, said an independent investigation is necessary to ensure a transparent and impartial accountability process is put in place.

Speaking earlier in the day, Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeppe Kofod told the council it was Addis Ababa’s responsibility to bring perpetrators of crimes to justice. However, he expressed concern that Ethiopia’s national institutions were not up to the task.

“In order to ensure accountability and to prevent further violations, additional independent, international investigations are necessary,” Kofod said. “This is essential to ensure the timely gathering of evidence, of violations, and of abuses committed and for justice to be served.”

Since Ethiopia’s military attacked the Tigray People’s Liberation Front 13 months ago, human rights violations have escalated at an alarming rate. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, and more than 400,000 are suffering from famine.

The U.N. human rights office accuses all warring factions of gross violations, some amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. These include extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, sexual- and gender-based violence, torture, and widespread destruction and looting of civilian property.

The resolution calls for the three-member commission to conduct investigations, establish facts, collect and preserve evidence, identify those responsible and provide guidance on transitional justice, including accountability, reconciliation and healing.

The commission’s mandate is for one year, renewable as necessary.

In a statement issued after the vote, the Ethiopian government denounced the resolution as being politically motivated. It accused the council of double standards and of meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign state under the pretext of human rights. It said it would not cooperate with the established mechanism imposed upon it against its consent.

Source: Voice of America

Moroccan security forces with U.S. support have foiled a suspected bomb plot by the so-called Islamic State group and arrested an alleged supporter of the outlawed organization, counterterror police said Friday.

“This arrest is the culmination of close collaboration between (Moroccan security forces) and U.S. law-enforcement,” Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) said in a statement without giving further details about the joint operation.

The arrested suspect was “an extremist belonging to the so-called Islamic State” and from the Sala Al-Jadida region north of Rabat, the statement added.

According to preliminary inquiries, the man had allegedly pledged allegiance to the group.

He had planned to join foreign jihadist training camps “before deciding to join a terror plot in Morocco using explosive devices,” the statement added.

The police subsequently seized electronic devices and materials used for the preparation of explosives.

“This security operation highlights the importance and effectiveness of bilateral cooperation between (Moroccan security services) and US intelligence and security agencies in the fight against extremist violence and the threat of international terrorism,” the BCIJ said.

Moroccan outlets reported a vast nationwide counterterror operation on Dec. 8, but official sources did not confirm the crackdown.

On Oct. 6, counterterrorism police announced the dismantling of a “terror cell” in Tangiers and the arrest of five suspects accused of plotting bomb attacks.

In September, a cell affiliated to the Islamic State group was dismantled in south Morocco, and seven people were arrested.

Since 2002, Moroccan police claim to have dismantled 2,000 “terror cells” and arrested some 3,500 people in cases linked to terror, according to BCIJ data published in February.

Source: Voice of America