Day: August 16, 2021

The commander of U.N. peacekeeping forces in the Central African Republic says rebels there continue to challenge authorities and threaten neighboring countries like Cameroon. General Daniel Sidiki Troare made the comments during a weekend visit to Cameroon for talks with defense officials.

The U.N. Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission, MINUSCA, says the situation in the Central African Republic remains fragile.

General Daniel Sidiki Troare is the Burkina Faso-born force commander of MINUSCA. He said rebel attacks and human rights violations on C.A.R. civilians and institutions are frequent.

He said the fundamental objective of the U.N. peacekeeping mission is to protect civilians, U.N. Mission staff and offices, the country’s state institutions and restore definitive peace is facing lots of challenges. He says he is visiting Cameroon because more cooperation is needed between U.N. troops and Cameroon’s military to stop rebel advances and bring back order to the C.A.R.

Troare spoke in Cameroon where he was visiting as the head of a MINUSCA delegation. MINUSCA reports that since August 1, it documented 18 incidents of abuse and cases of human rights violations perpetrated by rebels. Thirty victims of the abuses are receiving psychosocial care in Bangui.

In July, another 20 people reported abuses in the C.A.R. capital Bangui. More than 25 C.A.R. communities suffered bloody attacks from rebels.

MINUSCA reports that in July, 5,500 wounded civilians received health assistance in its hospitals.

Troare said C.A.R. rebels facing reprisals from U.N. peacekeepers hide on both sides of the Cameroon border.

Joseph Beti Assomo is Cameroon’s defense minister.

Assomo said Cameroon will be sending 800 troops to the C.A.R. in September because Cameroon faces insecurity when attacks occur in C.A.R. He said when rebels block the road linking Cameroon’s coastal commercial city Douala and Bangui, economic activity declines and thousands of transporters are deprived of their source of livelihoods.

Assomo said since December when post-election violence erupted in the Central African Republic, rebels have blocked the road linking Douala to Bangui at least six times. He said the number of people displaced within the C.A.R. rose from 300,000 in December to 500,000 in July. Assomo however said that many of the displaced have returned to safe localities.

Assomo and Troare did not say where in the C.A.R. that Cameroon’s troops will be deployed. But Assomo said they will be expected to secure the border. He said Cameroon has deployed several hundred additional troops to its eastern border to stop rebels from entering Cameroon.

Violence in the C.A.R. degenerated into an armed conflict in 2014 when a coalition of armed groups known as the Seleka overthrew then-President Francoise Bozize.

Cameroon shares a 900-kilometer boundary with the Central African Republic and hosts 300,000 refugees from the neighboring country.

Source: Voice of America

Supporters of Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema celebrated Monday after Hichilema was declared winner of the country’s presidential election, receiving a majority of the vote and avoiding a runoff election.

Representatives of Hichilema’s UPND alliance at Lusaka’s Mulungushi Conference Centre erupted in jubilation upon hearing the news, popping open champagne bottles and tossing a soccer ball.

Outside, UPND alliance supporters gathered on the main street leading up to the conference center, honking car horns and blowing vuvuzelas to celebrate the victory.

Lusaka resident Myriam Mungu was among those celebrating. She said expectations are high, adding that if Zambians work together with the incoming administration, things will improve.

“I am so happy because just like it is a morning, everybody is happy in the morning, it is a new dawn,” she said. “I’m so hopeful, change is here. I never thought this day will come but look at us, we are here. That’s why I am happy.”

Resident Joseph Chanda called on the incoming leadership to quickly tackle what he said is the high unemployment rate among the youth.

“This is a big achievement especially for the young people of Zambia,” he said. “Right now unemployment is very high in the country and the economic performance hasn’t been as good over the last five years, more especially over the last year during the covid year.”

Zambia’s electoral commission said Monday that Hichilema had won more than 2.8 million votes, with Lungu taking 1.8 million votes. The 59-year-old Hichilema, a wealthy businessman and leader of the United Party for National Development, is claiming the presidency on his sixth try.

Political analysts said the contest was a referendum on outgoing President Edgar Lungu’s leadership. They said the uneven enforcement of the Public Order Act, which regulates public gatherings, a clampdown on civil liberties and free speech, and the challenging economic conditions were some of the reasons for the president’s defeat.

Zambia’s economy, which has been saddled by falling prices of copper, its chief export, became the first African nation during the COVID-19 pandemic to default on its sovereign debt last year.

Lungu was seeking a second term in office, having defeated Hichilema in the 2016 elections. He boasted of the many infrastructure projects his government has undertaken during his tenure.

Lungu denounced the election as “not free and fair” Saturday after the first round of votes had been released, alleging acts of violence against his supporters and members of his ruling Patriotic Front party. However, government forces blocked Hichilema from campaigning in several areas, while activists accused the government of harsh restrictions on public demonstrations.

Gary Nkombo, leader of the UPND alliance representatives at the National Results Centre, said Hichilema’s victory was a long time coming. He promised the incoming administration will reform the public order act.

“So I must tell you now that there’s gonna be a breath of fresh air in this country, because we mean well for the development of this country,” he said.

The incoming government’s task will be to come up with ways to restructure the country’s debt, Nkombo said: “in order to give fiscal space to other sectors of the economy.”

Source: Voice of America