Author: Online Portal

At least 25 primary school children were killed when their thatched-roof classrooms caught fire in southern Niger on Monday, the council of ministers said in a statement.

Fourteen more children were injured, including five in critical condition, the statement said. The school is in the town of Maradi, more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) east of the capital Niamey.

“For the moment we cannot state the origin of the fire,” regional director of education Maman Hdi said.

Classes have been suspended and three days of mourning declared in Maradi, he said.

It was the second time this year that a fire has killed pupils in their classrooms in the West African country. Twenty preschool children were killed in April in Niamey.

The council of ministers said on Monday that following the two incidents, preschool classes must not be held in straw-roof huts.

 

 

Source: Voice of America

The African Union envoy for the Horn of Africa warned Monday that the window of opportunity is closing for a political resolution of the crisis in northern Ethiopia, as the country tips further toward all-out conflict.

“The time is now for collective actions in finding lasting solution to avoid further escalation of the situation, which may have direct effect on the strategic Horn of Africa region as a whole,” said former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is the AU’s special representative for the Horn of Africa.

Briefing the U.N. Security Council from Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, where he arrived Thursday, Obasanjo said he has met separately with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and leaders of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), as well as some allied groups, in order to de-escalate tensions and seek the start of talks.

“All the leaders here in Addis Ababa and in the north agree individually that the differences between them are political and require political solutions through dialogue,” he said. “This, therefore, constitutes a window of opportunity that we can collectively tap into to assist the people of Ethiopia to find a lasting solution to the ongoing crisis.”

Obasanjo said he will visit the northern regions of Amhara and Afar on Tuesday, where the TPLF has expanded fighting, displacing thousands of people.

Fighting has escalated in the lead-up last week to the one-year anniversary of the start of the conflict.

Tigrayan forces said earlier this week they were advancing on Addis Ababa and that it could fall within months or even weeks.

The Ethiopian government declared a six-month state of emergency Tuesday and called on residents to defend their neighborhoods if rebels arrived in the capital.

Jaal Marroo, commander of the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), an ally of the TPLF, told Agence France-Presse that the OLA posed “no threat” to ordinary civilians but that Abiy and his ruling Prosperity Party have to be “completely removed and cleared” for reconciliation to begin.

“We will make Ethiopia – not just Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa – a peaceful, very stable place to live in. I am very confident there is not going to be conflict after Abiy Ahmed’s regime,” he said.

Ethiopia’s U.N. ambassador blamed some countries and Western media for encouraging the TPLF.

“It is emboldened to a level that it threatens to unseat a popularly elected federal government and destabilize a nation of 112 million people,” Ambassador Taye Atske-Selassie said of the rebels. “We again reiterate our plea for the support of this group that have been providing it with communications equipment, satellite information, weapons and even fighters to desist from this.”

Civil war concerns growing

The United Nation’s political chief warned that the conflict has “reached disastrous proportions” and if not immediately halted could see Africa’s second-most-populous country engulfed in all-out civil war.

“What is certain is that the risk of Ethiopia descending into widening civil war is only too real,” Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council. “That would bring about a humanitarian catastrophe and consume the future of such an important country.”

DiCarlo said the fighting already threatens regional stability in the Horn of Africa.

“The political repercussions of intensifying violence in the wider region would be immense, compounding the many crises besetting the Horn of Africa,” she added.

“The longer this conflict goes on, the harder the road to peace becomes and the more people will die,” U.S. envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. “And as you heard from High Representative Obasanjo, the window of opportunity is limited, and time is running out. I urge all parties — all parties — in the strongest possible terms to back away from the brink and lead their people toward peace.”

She added that accusations that the United States is biased toward one side are false.

“Let me be crystal clear: We condemn violence on all sides. We condemn any and all human rights violations and abuses committed by all sides.”

Alice Wairimu Nderitu, U.N. special adviser on the prevention of genocide, expressed concern in a statement Monday at the increase of ethnically and religiously motivated hate speech, ethnic profiling and incitement to violence.

“These all constitute risk factors for atrocity crimes,” she warned.

Intensive diplomacy

In addition to Obasanjo, U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths wrapped up a four-day visit to Ethiopia on Monday.

During his mission, he traveled to Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, where the government maintains a de facto blockade on the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The U.N. said no aid has gotten in since October 18, and more than 5 million people are in dire need.

Griffiths also met with Abiy on Friday and with other senior federal government officials.

U.S. Horn of Africa envoy Jeffrey Feltman has also been in the region since Thursday. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Feltman is currently in Addis Ababa.

 

 

Source: Voice of America

BENI, CONGO – Congo banned public gatherings for two days starting Monday in Beni, after the eastern city was hit by two explosions.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a busy intersection in Beni on Sunday, the same day another explosion rocked a Catholic church, authorities said. Neither bomb killed any civilians, but the government closed major gathering spaces for two days and imposed restrictions on public meetings as a precaution against further explosions.

The suicide bomber has been identified as a Ugandan who was a member of the Allied Democratic Forces, according to Congolese army spokesman Lt. Anthony Mwalushay.

The suicide bombing was the first such attack in Beni, worrying authorities who noted the longtime ADF rebel group has in the past few years pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

“We arrested two suspects and intercepted their communications,” Mwalushay said Monday. “I call on the population to be calm and to be very vigilant.”

Schools, markets and churches are closed for 48 hours in Beni, he said.

“We do not want a crowd of more than 10 people for security reasons to avoid falling into the trap of the new modus operandi of the Ugandan ADF rebels in Beni,” he said.

A bomb had also exploded early Sunday at a Catholic church in Beni’s Butsili district. No one was killed, but two people were seriously injured.

“We were about to open the doors of the church to allow the faithful to participate in mass. We heard a bomb inside the church. Two people were already there for morning prayer,” said Mathe Kombi Victoire who works at the church.

This is the third attack in 2021 on a religious target, according to military and government authorities who noted that two imams were killed by ADF rebels earlier in the year.

Many Beni residents stayed at home in fear on Monday.

“We would like the Congolese government to strengthen the military presence in certain places of the city of Beni so that these kinds of explosions do not appear again,” said Mumbere Mafuta, a Beni resident. “It is serious because these kinds of explosions resemble that of a terrorist and here in Beni we have never seen such things. Today it is a bar, church and market. We don’t know if tomorrow it will be a school. May God help us.”

The ADF originated in neighboring Uganda and has been a threat in eastern Congo for more than 20 years. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for some attacks carried out by ADF rebels, but the exact relationship between the groups is not clear.

A Congolese military campaign was launched against the rebels last year, and fighters have since dispersed and fled into various parts of eastern Congo, where dozens of armed groups fight over control of the mineral-rich territory.

The rebels have responded to the military offensive with increased attacks, especially in Beni and the surrounding area.

 

Source: Voice of America

MOSCOW – The Kremlin on Monday strongly rejected claims that Russian military instructors in the Central African Republic have been involved in killing civilians and looting homes.

During a heated discussion at the U.N. Security Council last week, the United States, Britain and France accused Russian military contractors of committing human rights abuses in the conflict-stricken country. On Sunday, The New York Times cited a report to the Security Council that accused the Russians of killing civilians and looting homes during fighting earlier this year.

Asked about the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov categorically denied the assertion.

“Russian military advisers couldn’t take part and didn’t take part in any killings or lootings,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. “This is yet another lie.”

The mineral-rich Central African Republic has faced deadly interreligious and intercommunal fighting since 2013. A peace deal between the government and 14 rebel groups was signed in February 2019, but large-scale violence has continued.

The country’s Russia-backed president, Faustin-Archange Touadera, won a second term in December’s election, but he has continued to face resistance from rebel forces linked to former President Francois Bozize. Russia has deployed military advisers in CAR training its military at the invitation of the government.

Last week, the U.S., Britain and France accused Russian personnel in CAR of committing abuses against civilians and obstructing U.N. peacekeeping — accusations Russia angrily denied.

The Western powers linked the Russian personnel in CAR to the notorious Wagner Group, a private security company allegedly tied to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman who has been indicted in the United States on charges of meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Companies linked to Prigozhin also have reportedly secured lucrative mining contracts in CAR. In 2018, three Russian journalists were killed in CAR while investigating Wagner’s activities there, and no suspects have been found.

Prigozhin earned the nickname “Putin’s chef” for hosting Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign guests at his restaurant and catering important Kremlin events.

 

Source: Voice of America