Day: July 13, 2022

Highlights

By the end of June, the early stages of the rainfall season are coming to an end. So far, the 2022 rainy season in West Africa has been characterised by variable conditions. Over the course of the month, rainfall deficits were particularly pronounced during the first dekad of June and mainly affected the Central Sahel (western Niger, north-eastern Burkina Faso, eastern Mali), central Mali, eastern Guinea, western Cote d’Ivoire, south-western Cameroon and the Lake Chad Basin. Over the course of the month of June rainfall improved and offset some of the early season deficits recorded in the westernmost parts of West Africa (Senegal, southern Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau), as well as in central Burkina Faso, central Chad and central Niger. Coastal countries including Benin, Togo, Ghana, parts of Nigeria and southern Cameroon, as well as the south-eastern parts of the region (southern Chad and CAR) benefitted from favourable rainfall conditions in June.

Over the past two (2) months (May-June 2022), the conditions reflect the patterns observed in June, with overall mixed conditions across the region. While some areas including the western (Senegal, southern Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau), southern (Ghana, Benin, Togo) and south-eastern (southern Chad, CAR, southern Cameroon) parts of the region experienced above normal rainfall, the seasonal rains were normal to below normal in the rest of West Africa. Particularly in the Central Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin, northwestern Nigeria and western Cote d’Ivoire, moderate to severe rainfall deficits were recorded during this period. While especially in the Sahelian areas these are unlikely to significantly impact the agricultural season, which usually starts a bit later, the progression of the rains in these areas will need to be monitored closely.

Vegetation conditions are below average over a wide area in the Sahel from western Mali across Burkina Faso and northern Nigeria to southern Chad. Vegetation deficits are particularly pronounced in the eastern parts of the region (in northern (Benin, Togo and Nigeria) and southern Chad). In some areas, these conditions are expected to improve due to above normal rains received in mid to late June. On the other hand, better than normal vegetation conditions can be observed in Senegal, northern Niger and Chad, where above normal rainfall was received in early June.

The short-term forecasts indicate that by early-July (10 July 2022), seasonal rainfall will likely be above average in the western part of the region (in Senegal, southern Mauritania, Guinea Bissau) as well as over western Guinea, Sierra Leone, western Liberia as well as south-eastern Cameroon and CAR. This might partially offset the rainfall deficits in the western parts of the Sahel (Senegal, southern Mauritania, and Guinea Bissau) and the lead to more favorable conditions during the early stages of the growing season.

According to the 2022 PRESASS seasonal forecast, average to above average seasonal rainfall is expected in most of the Sahelian Belt (from Senegal through to Chad), including Cabo Verde. Average to below average rainfall is expected in south-eastern Nigeria and south-western Cameroon. The seasonal forecast also suggests that the start of the season will be early to normal, with shorter than normal dry spells during the first half of the rainy season across the Sahelo-Sudanian zone.

Source: World Food Programme

Authorities in South Africa have arrested the owner of a bar and two employees in connection with the deaths of 21 teenagers, who lost their lives at a tavern last month under mysterious circumstances. Vicky Stark reports from Cape Town, South Africa.

A team of detectives working on the case made the arrests.

Officials say the three suspects face charges of violating the liquor act, while a forensic investigation into the cause of the deaths continues.

The two employees, ages 33 and 34, have been fined $118, while the owner must appear in court for his alleged role in selling alcohol to minors.

The 21 youths, the youngest of whom was just 13 years old, died in the early hours of Sunday, June 26. Some had been celebrating the end of mid-year exams. There is speculation they ingested something poisonous or were the victims of a gas leak.

Others at the tavern made it to a hospital, where they were treated for headaches and vomiting and discharged after observation.

Police have appealed for patience as the investigation continues.

The 52-year-old bar owner will appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court in Eastern Cape Province on August 19.

Source: Voice of America

Ivory Coast released a written statement demanding the immediate release of 49 soldiers arrested at Bamako’s airport Sunday, claiming they were “unjustly arrested.” Mali’s military government has called the soldiers “mercenaries.”

The Ivorian statement also denied allegations by Mali’s military government that the soldiers were armed and arrived in Mali without authorization, and said both Mali’s minister of foreign affairs and the Malian army’s chief of staff received copies of the soldiers’ mission order.

Both the U.N. mission in Mali and the Ivorian government’s statement have said that the soldiers were sent to Mali as support for a U.N. Mission contingent.

The U.N. mission in Mali, MINUSMA, recently renewed its mandate, with Mali’s U.N. representative voicing the government’s refusal to allow the U.N. to carry out human rights investigations during a June 29 Security Council meeting.

The U.N. has carried out a number of human rights investigations in Mali in recent years, including events that implicate the French army as well as Islamist militants. The U.N. sought access to the town of Moura in Mali, which was the sight of what many witnesses said was a massacre by the Malian army working with Russian mercenaries. Witnesses say the alleged massacre was carried out over five days.

The Malian government has continually denied access to the town of Moura, saying the government itself would carry out an investigation.

The regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, which includes neighbor Ivory Coast, sanctioned Mali in January over delayed elections but lifted sanctions this month after the government proposed a 2024 election plan.

Source: Voice of America