Category: General

OUAGADOUGOU— The military junta in Burkina Faso wants to stay in office for two-and-half years to prepare the country for a return to democracy, a government commission has proposed.

The proposal comes at a time the Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba junta is under pressure from the regional bloc, ECOWAS, to present a transitional plan.

The commission also recommended the establishment of a small government and legislative body – with a maximum of 20 and 50 members respectively.

Burkina Faso joins Mali and Guinea, as West African countries that have been suspended by ECOWAS and the AU following military takeovers.

Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba is the leader of the junta that overthrew President Christian Roch Marc Kabore.

Until his ‘rise’ to the position of coup leader, Damiba’s last held post as a Lieutenant Colonel of the army was head of security for the capital, Ouagadougou (the country’s third security region).

He had only been handed that post in December 2021 by outgone President Kabore in a move analysts said was to retain support of the military at the time.

From Ouagadougou security chief, Damiba was announced on Monday evening as leader of the junta known as “Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration, or MPSR.”

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Police in the Central African Republic have detained four French soldiers who are with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country (MINUSCA). The arrests sparked false rumors that France had attempted to assassinate the C.A.R.’s president.

The French military personnel were arrested Monday at the airport in Bangui.

The four men were in the security escort of French general Stephane Marchenior, the U.N. peacekeeping mission chief of staff.

Marchenior was at the airport for a time Monday before C.A.R. President Faustin Archange Touadera was due to return from a trip to Belgium.

After Marchenior departed, the four soldiers were arrested. President Touadera’s plane landed a half-hour following the arrests.

The soldiers remained in custody Tuesday, and police have not given a reason for their arrest.

However, pictures of the French soldiers, their U.N. identifications and their military equipment have flooded social media accounts across Africa, along with a message accusing France of attempting to assassinate Touadera.

A Central African website known for its ties with Russian interests in Bangui was among the sites posting the allegations.

The French Embassy in Bangui and the U.N. mission in the C.A.R. condemned what they called a “misinformation campaign.”

The U.N. statement said: “MINUSCA regrets this incident and condemns it’s instrumentalization on social media in an attempt to manipulate public opinion. It firmly rejects the accusations of attack against state security.”

C.A.R. authorities have refused to comment on the incident.

Source: Voice of America

U.N. and international aid agencies are racing to minimize the impact of Tropical Storm Emnati, which is expected to hit eastern Madagascar early Tuesday evening local time.

Emnati is the fourth powerful storm to strike Madagascar in as many weeks. It is likely to have a devastating effect on thousands of people who still are reeling from the impact of Tropical Cyclone Batsirai, which struck central Madagascar on February 5.

Batsirai affected an estimated 270,000 people. The United Nations reports 20,500 homes were destroyed, flooded, or damaged, rendering some 21,000 people homeless.

The World Meteorological Organization predicts Emnati will produce destructive wind speeds of between 150 and 200 kilometers an hour. While this is dangerous, WMO spokeswoman, Clare Nullis says one of the biggest threats is water, the heavy rainfalls that kill.

“You know, there is a risk they will cause flash flooding and landslides in the region. And, as you said, this region has been hit by successive tropical storms. You know, it is flooded. The land is water-logged. It cannot absorb any more water. So, any more rainfall at this stage is just one drop too many,” she said.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs previously had sent several disaster management experts to Madagascar to respond to Cyclone Batsirai. OCHA spokesman, Jens Laerke, says additional staff from the region is being deployed in the country in anticipation of Emnati.

“We are in a race against time to protect those who dealt with the fury of the first three extreme weather events from the impact of Emnati… The response covers health consultations, distribution of cash and hot meals to displaced families, restoration of access to clean water, and provision of shelter items to support families to return home,” he said.

OCHA is providing $2.5 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund. The money will be used for food and cash assistance, emergency healthcare, shelter, and other essential relief.

The World Food Program also has deployed additional teams to respond to Emnati. The agency says it is providing food rations to more than 3,500 people who have sought refuge ahead of the cyclone.

WFP says information technology experts also have been deployed in the area for immediate intervention.

Source: Voice of America

Somalia’s al-Shabab militant group has an annual budget of $24 million to spend on purchasing weapons, a new report finds.

The report by a Mogadishu-based research group, the Hiraal Institute, said the group uses various methods to procure weapons, including direct purchases from local black markets, and from arms traders contracted to buy and deliv¬er weapons from abroad, mainly Yemen.

Hiraal said the acquisition of firearms, ammunition, explosives and other lethal capacity weapons remains a priority for al-Shabab, with nearly a quarter of its budget going to such transactions.

“Out of an annually planned expenditure of approxi¬mately USD 100 million, al-Shabab’s annual planned ex¬penditure on arms procurement is assessed to be USD 24 million, budgeted monthly at USD 2 million,” the report said.

Samira Gaid, the executive director of Hiraal Institute, told VOA Somali that during research they had access to al-Shabab’s annual budget documentation. They have also interviewed former al-Shabab members, clan leaders, business owners, government officials and other sources who have knowledge of how the group functions.

“Just like the FGS [Federal Government of Somalia], the biggest chunk of its resources is currently being spent on security-related expenses; these, of course, include wages and operational costs,” Gaid said. “The group also manufactures certain types of ammunition and explosives, and a certain amount of its budget goes towards that.”

Al-Shabab has recently increased its attacks in Somalia as parliamentary elections continue at a sluggish pace. Since last week, the group has carried out multiple attacks in Mogadishu and the towns of Bosaso and Beledweyne.

On Monday, the group claimed responsibility for a roadside explosion, which targeted a convoy escorting Said Abdullahi Deni, the president of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland. Deni survived the attack, but two of his soldiers were killed and four others injured.

On Saturday, al-Shabab also claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Beledweyne in which 15 people were killed and at least 20 others injured.

To finance its operations, al-Shabab has a sophisticated extortion system which it uses to collect money from the business, agricultural, and livestock sectors, according to a 2021 United Nations report by the Panel of Experts on Somalia.

Al-Shabab as well as Islamic State militants have been collecting extortion money from businesses in Mogadishu for years. Last month, death threats from Islamic State led to the closure of some businesses that refused to pay extortion money. The stores later reopened after the government deployed security forces. Police also told the businesses they would not have the stores closed except on orders from the government.

The store closures forced Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble to instruct Interior Security Minister Abdullahi Mohamed Nor and the security agencies to come up with a plan to counter the terrorist threats and harassment of traders at Somalia’s biggest market.

The U.N. Panel of Experts report on Somalia estimated that al-Shabab now operates around 100 checkpoints throughout the country. In one of the most profitable checkpoints north of Kismayo town, which sees an average of 30 trucks pass through in a 24-hour period, the panel reported that al-Shabab collects an estimated $15,000 to $30,000 per day.

Hiraal recommended the implementation of several measures aimed at disrupting al-Shabab’s weapons purchases, including the targeting of key militant explosive experts, targeting individuals involved in the arms trade and countering arms imports from the Gulf of Aden.

Source: Voice of America

A group of men gathered around a burning gay flag in Dakar Sunday and chanted: “Senegal will never accept homosexuality.” Others held signs that read: “Senegal says no to homosexuality” and “We demand an end to the LGBT agenda.”

They were among the thousands that flocked to Place de l’Obélisque to call for harsher penalties for sexual minorities, often referred to as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer) people.

The event was organized by ultra-conservative Muslim groups who say homosexuality is being imposed on them by the West and threatens their traditional values.

LGBTQ people and numerous medical associations contend that sexual orientation and gender identity are innate and cannot be “imposed” or changed. A U.N. panel in 2018 flatly rejected the notion that homosexuality is a Western phenomenon, writing: “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people exist everywhere, in all countries, among all ethnic groups… . Claims that same-sex attraction and transgender identity are Western are false.”

Senegal is a 95% Muslim country that already prohibits any “indecent or unnatural acts between individuals of the same sex,” as is written in the penal code. Offenders can be punished with up to five years in prison and a fine of between 100,000 to 1,500,000 CFA – about $2,500.

Some anti-gay activists want even harsher penalties against sexual minorities, up to 10 years in prison.

A proposed bill that would have increased the prison sentence for homosexual acts to between five and ten years was rejected by lawmakers in January.

“We simply want the government to criminalize homosexuality just like they criminalized rape, like they criminalized cattle theft,” said Ngoné Dia, a university student. Dia heads the women’s department at And Samm Jikko Yi, the collective of Islamic associations that organized the event. From Wolof, the name translates to: “Together for the Safeguarding of Values.”

“We want them to be imprisoned, even if it’s forever,” she said. “Senegal is a homophobic country and we’re proud to say it.”

Homosexuality is criminalized in more than half of African countries. Many of these laws date back to colonial times, when British and Arab communities brought with them anti-homosexual values.

But anthropologists have found evidence of homosexuality throughout pre-colonial Africa.

In Senegal, for example, the góor-jigéen, meaning “man-woman” in Wolof, used to be an accepted and even celebrated community in Senegalese society.

In 1935, English anthropologist Geoffrey Gorer wrote: “They do not suffer in any way socially… on the contrary, they are sought after as the best conversationalists and the best dancers.”

Fast forward to today and the Senegalese see homosexuality as a Western import.

“The Europeans, they mistreated our grandparents with slavery. But now the African youth, we’re awake, we know what we want and it’s now our turn to make our own decisions,” said Ibrahima Cisse, a construction worker who attended Sunday’s rally.

He held a sign in Wolof that translates to: “If you catch a homosexual, kill them.”

“Westerners need to understand that this is Africa, this is Senegal, and they should keep their problems to themselves. We don’t want that here,” he said. “I’m not alone – all of Senegal is against this. So if they show themselves, all of Senegal will kill them.”

Cisse said he hadn’t yet killed any gays, but was prepared to do so in the event he found one.

When visiting Senegal, some Western leaders have urged local lawmakers to ease restrictions on sexual minorities.

During a 2020 visit with Senegal’s president Macky Sall, for example, Canada’s Justin Trudeau made headlines when he raised the issue of the criminalization of homosexuality.

Sall later told journalists that “we’re comfortable with our laws.”

In its 2020 global human rights report, the U.S. State Department criticized Senegal for “violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex persons” and the “existence or use of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults.”

Last May, And Samm Jikko Yi, the Muslim collective, held a demonstration similar to Sunday’s rally that also drew thousands of protesters. In the weeks that followed, LBGTQ activists reported a rise in assaults.

In addition to physical persecution, sexual minorities in Senegal also face difficulties finding employment, said Souleyman Diouf, the president and founder of the LGBTQ rights group Free Senegal. Diouf identifies as bisexual and uses a fake name to protect his identity.

He says he survived two assassination attempts, which led him seek refuge in France. But he still receives messages from people who threaten his infant daughter who is still in Senegal.

The problem is that the youth are being radicalized by terrorist organizations whose influence has spread rapidly throughout the Sahel, he said.

“I risk being assassinated, I maybe risk being assassinated in Europe. It’s just a matter of time for people like me,” he said. “But that won’t stop us from raising our voices to say that what’s happening in Senegal falls within the framework of terrorism – not, in fact, within the framework of a major religion.”

If Senegal continues down this path, he said, sexual minorities could face genocide.

“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “It’s very unfortunate.”

Source: Voice of America

Russia has drawn the world’s attention with its aggressive stance toward Ukraine. The former Soviet power has been rebuilding ties with Africa more quietly, strengthening economic and military cooperation, but also raising Western concerns about its tactics and goals there.

Russian flags waved in Burkina Faso’s capital following January’s military coup in the West African nation. A statue unveiled in the Central African Republic last fall shows local soldiers, backed by Russian fighters, protecting civilians.

Those are the more obvious symbols of Russia’s resurgent presence on the continent. Africa is a foreign policy priority, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the first Russia-Africa summit of political and business leaders in 2019.

“We are not going to participate in a new ‘repartition’ of the continent’s wealth,” he said. “Rather, we are ready to engage in competition for cooperation with Africa.”

A second summit is planned for St. Petersburg in October. The first, at the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, generated diplomatic agreements and billions of dollars in deals involving arms, energy, agriculture, banking and more, said the organizer, the Roscongress Foundation.

Moscow has been building new ties and refreshing alliances forged during the Cold War, when the former Soviet Union supported socialist movements across Africa. After the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, it largely withdrew from the continent.

Since at least 2007, especially in the last few years, Russia has been increasing military and other economic involvement in Africa. The 2019 summit produced contracts with more than 30 African countries to supply military armaments and equipment. Businesses, including state-backed commercial interests, have invested heavily in security sectors, technology and industries that extract natural resources such as oil, gas, gold and other minerals.

Rusal is a company that excavates minerals for aluminum in Guinea and nuclear group Rosatom seeks uranium in Namibia. Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond mining company, has pushed to expand operations in Angola and Zimbabwe, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“Russia is clearly interested, in search of new economic markets and geopolitical influence in Africa,” said Tatiana Smirnova, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Quebec’s Centre FrancoPaix and an associate with the University of Florida’s Sahel Research Group. “It’s important for Russia.”

Trade between Russia and African countries has doubled since 2015, to about $20 billion a year, African Export-Import Bank President Benedict Oramah said in an interview last fall with Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency, cited by the Russia Briefing investment news site. He said Russia exported $14 billion worth of goods and services and imported roughly $5 billion in African products.

However, Africa does more business with other countries, notably China, its biggest trading partner in recent years.

Russia’s overtures in recent years offer cooperation without the “political or other conditions” imposed by Western countries, Putin has said.

“Russia provides, as did the Soviet Union before, an alternative vision for African nations” based on “this common anti-Western critique,” said Maxim Matusevich, a history professor who directs Russian studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

However, while the Soviets tried to sell socialist ideas of modernization in Africa, Russians today “are not offering any ideological vision,” he said. “What they’re essentially doing is they’re contracting with African elites on a one-on-one basis. … They insist on the importance of sovereignty and contrast that with the West, which is trying to impose its values, such as transparency, honest governance, anti-corruption legislation. Again, I’m not saying the West is always sincere doing that, but that’s the official message – and they [Russians] are not doing any of that.”

Shifting dynamics

The spread of militant Islamist extremism and other violence in Africa has created more openings for Russian military involvement. For instance, five nations in the volatile Sahel region – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger – solicited Moscow’s military support in 2018. Russian fighters also have been engaged in Mozambique and Angola.

France’s planned drawdown of troops from Mali, its former colony and partner in the fight against jihadists since 2013, leaves still more room.

Last Thursday, France and its security partners announced they would exit Mali, citing “multiple obstructions” by the military junta that took power in 2020. France will redeploy its 2,400 troops elsewhere in the Sahel.

Private military contractors also are helping advance Moscow’s agendas in Africa, Western observers say. These include fighters in the shadowy Wagner Group, allegedly controlled by Putin associate Yevgeny Prigozhin. Putin has denied any connection with the group.

“It’s not the state,” Putin said. “… It’s private business with private interests tied to extracting energy resources, including various resources like gold or precious stones.”

Those private fighters operate in parallel with the Kremlin, said Joseph Siegle, who directs research for the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, part of the U.S. Defense Department. He said they are part of Moscow’s tool kit to prop up weak African leaders in exchange for economic or other advantages.

“Every place we’ve seen Wagner deployed around the world and in Africa – be it Libya, Sudan, Mozambique, Central African Republic – it has been a destabilizing force,” Siegle said. “What Russia has been doing has been deploying mercenaries, disinformation, election interference, arms-for-resources deals, opaque contracts … aimed at capturing wider influence.”

That influence can protect Russia’s interests in international circles, Matusevich said, citing Russia’s 2014 seizure of the Crimean Peninsula.

“We know that in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, when Russia was sanctioned in the United Nations, a lot of African nations abstained from the vote,” he said. “So, they are gaining diplomatic support and alternative diplomatic blocs that they can count on.”

The United Nations is investigating reports of “grave” human rights abuses in the Central African Republic, allegedly committed by private military personnel. Meanwhile, Russian mercenaries are glorified as public protectors amid a coup attempt in the 2021 Russian film The Tourist. The movie, set in the Central African Republic, reportedly was funded by Putin ally Pregizhin.

Security concerns

In Mali, the leaders of a 2020 military coup brought in Russian military trainers – and what U.S. and French authorities say are Wagner mercenaries.

Some in Mali welcomed them by waving Russian flags, reflecting not only the country’s historic ties with the former USSR but also public impatience over continued insecurity, said Niagalé Bagayoko, a Paris-based political scientist who chairs the African Security Sector Network. The organization seeks security and justice reforms, and is among advocates for more protections for civilians in the Sahel and more transparency and accountability for military operations there.

“In 2013, the whole Malian population [was] enthusiastic when the French arrived … today they are rejecting their presence,” Bagayoko said.

“To be honest, I would not be very surprised if, in two years or so, the same could happen with the Russian presence,” she said.

African countries are showing a willingness to look beyond a single foreign partner in their efforts to find stability and security, she said. “There is the realization … that being only engaged with single actors …. is restricting the possibility for diplomacy, but also for military apparatus.”

Russia is not the only foreign government trying to broaden influence in Africa, home to vast resources including a surging youth population.

The White House plans a second U.S.-Africa leadership summit later this year, following up on an initial Washington gathering in 2014 and the European Union has announced a new $172 million investment in infrastructure, countering China’s Belt and Road initiative.

Source: Voice of America