Category: Key Issues

Mozambican forces backed by Rwandan troops on Sunday said they had driven out jihadists occupying the key port town of Mocimboa da Praia in the gas-rich north of the country.

Mozambique’s defense ministry confirmed an earlier tweet by Rwanda’s army that the joint force had wrested control of the town on Sunday morning.

They now control government buildings, the port, airport, hospital, and other key installations, Colonel Omar Saranga, a ministry spokesman, told a press conference in the Mozambican capital, Maputo.

The port town, from where the first Islamist attacks were staged in October 2017, has since last year become the de facto headquarters of the Islamic State-linked extremists, locally referred to as al-Shabab.

Mocimboa da Praia “was the last stronghold of the insurgents” and its recapture marks “the end of the first phase of counter-insurgency operations,” Colonel Ronald Rwivanga, a spokesman for the joint military force, said in a text message.

Mozambican forces have been struggling to regain control over the northern Cabo Delgado province, site of one of Africa’s biggest liquefied natural gas project, a $20 billion site operated by French energy major Total.

Rwanda sent 1,000 troops last month to shore up the Mozambican military.

Last week they claimed their first success since deploying, saying they had helped the Mozambican army regain control of Awasse, a small but also strategic settlement near Mocimboa da Praia.

At least 800,000 people have been uprooted from their homes by the violence ravaging the region, with more than 3,100 killed, half of them civilians, according to conflict tracking organization ACLED

“We will continue with security operations to completely pacify those areas and allow Mozambican and Rwandan forces to conduct stabilization operations” to enable people to return home and businesses to open, Rwivanga said.

After initially resisting outside help, Rwandan troops deployed on July 9 following an April visit to Kigali by Mozambican leader Filipe Nyusi.

They were followed weeks later by forces from neighboring countries, which are deploying under the aegis of the 16-member regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Botswana, whose President Mokgweetsi Masisi, has been outspoken on the urgent need for regional stability, became the first SADC country to send in troops on July 26.

Regional powerhouse and immediate neighbor South Africa announced on July 28 it would deploy 1,495 soldiers.

A day later, Zimbabwe unveiled plans to dispatch 304 non-combat soldiers to train Mozambique’s infantry battalions.

Angola then deployed 20 specialized military air force personnel while Namibia will contribute N$5.8 million (about $400,000) toward the anti-insurgency offensive.

Masisi and Nyusi will on Monday formally launch the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM) in Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province.

The European Union on July 12 formally established a military mission for Mozambique to help train its armed forces battling the jihadists.

Former colonial ruler Portugal is providing training for Mozambican troops, with Lisbon’s military instructors expected to make up half of the new EU mission.

Mozambique’s northernmost province of Cabo Delgado, which borders Tanzania, has been troubled by the jihadist insurgency since 2017.

Last year the militants had grown bolder, escalating attacks as part of a campaign to establish an Islamist caliphate.

In March this year, they attacked n the coastal town of Palma, killing dozens of people and triggering an exodus that included employees from the Total project, forcing the company to halt work.

Source: Voice of America

Several hundred people marched in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, on Thursday to protest the military junta which took power after the country’s long-serving leader died while fighting rebels.

The Transformers party and civil society groups had called for people to come out against “the confiscation of power” by the Transitional Military Council (CMT) that has ruled the poor Sahel country since the death of president Idriss Deby Itno in April.

The council is headed by Deby’s son.

The protesters called for a national conference to overhaul the junta’s charter and restore democracy in the former French colony.

The CMT announced late Thursday that it would hold a national dialogue in November and December.

In a statement, the junta also said it would organize a constitutional referendum and “free and transparent general elections responding to the legitimate aspirations of the Chadian people.”

The CMT is led by 37-year-old four-star general Mahamat Idriss Deby, who has consolidated nearly all powers around himself and 14 generals who were close to his father.

“We are marching to demand that democracy and justice — the hallmarks of true peace — be reestablished,” said a 22-year-old protester who gave his name only as Narcisse, brandishing a sign reading “No to the monarchy.”

Security forces were massively deployed along the 3-kilometer route on a central avenue of the capital, but the protest was largely peaceful.

Some protesters expressed anti-French sentiment with signs reading “France out of Chad” and by burning French flags.

French President Emmanuel Macron met with the new rulers while attending Idriss Deby Itno’s funeral — the only Western head of state to make the journey.

“France has to choose the Chadian people as its partner in dialogue, not just a small group of individuals,” said Max Loalngar, spokesperson for opposition group Wakit Tamma. “Otherwise it will be the eternal enemy of the Chadian people.”

The junta earlier promised elections after an 18-month “transition” that could be extended, while dissolving parliament and repealing the constitution.

It authorized the protest Wednesday after changing the proposed route.

Opposition marches that went ahead on April 27 despite an official ban turned violent in N’Djamena and in the south of the country.

While the authorities said six people had died, a local NGO put the death toll at nine.

More than 600 people were arrested.

The junta has authorized several demonstrations in support of the military regime, but did not approve an opposition march until July 12.

In that instance, organizers canceled the march after authorities changed the route.

Source: Voice of America

An independent inquiry into the car bomb murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia found on Thursday that the state had to bear responsibility after creating a “culture of impunity.”

Caruana Galizia was killed in a massive explosion as she drove out of her home on October 16, 2017.

Prosecutors believe top businessman Yorgen Fenech, who had close ties with senior government officials, masterminded the murder. Fenech, who is awaiting trial for association to murder, denies all responsibility.

Three men suspected of setting off the bomb were arrested in December 2017. One has since pleaded guilty as part of a plea bargain and is serving a 15-year jail term. The other two are awaiting trial. The self-confessed middle-man has turned state witness and was granted a pardon.

The inquiry, conducted by one serving judge and two retired judges, found that a culture of impunity was created by the highest echelons of power within the government of the time.

“The tentacles of impunity then spread to other regulatory bodies and the police, leading to a collapse in the rule of law,” said the panel’s report, which was published by Prime Minister Robert Abela.

It said the state failed to recognize the real and immediate risks to Caruana Galizia’s life and failed to take reasonable steps to avoid them.

It was clear, the inquiry board said, that the assassination was either intrinsically or directly linked to Caruana Galizia’s investigative work.

Former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat resigned in January 2020 following Fenech’s arrest. He was never accused of any wrongdoing. Media later also revealed close links between Fenech, ministers, and senior police officers.

The judges called for immediate action to rein in and regulate the links between politicians and big business.

Abela said in a tweet that the report required “mature” and objective analysis. “Lessons must be drawn and the reforms must continue with greater resolve,” he said, without elaborating.

The inquiry heard evidence from the police, government officials, the Caruana Galizia family and journalists, among others.

Source: Voice of America

The top United Nations humanitarian official began his first official visit to Ethiopia Thursday amid a humanitarian crisis resulting from conflicts and natural disasters in the region.

“Humanitarian needs in the country have increased this year as a result of the armed conflicts in Tigray and Benishangul-Gumuz, intercommunal violence in parts of Afar, Somali and SNNP regions, and drought in Somali, Oromia and Afar regions,” U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said in a statement.

Griffiths is visiting Ethiopia for six days during which he is expected to meet with senior government officials and representatives of humanitarian and donor programs.

According to the statement, he plans to visit the embattled northern Tigray region to hear first-hand accounts from affected civilians and to see the challenges humanitarian workers are confronted with.

Some 5.2 million people in the Tigray region, about 90% of the population, need humanitarian assistance, the U.N. said.

The U.N. also said more than 90 of its agencies are responding to the country’s humanitarian crisis, along with national and global non-governmental organizations and government agencies.

Griffiths’ visit began Thursday, the same day that hundreds of Eritrean refugees protested in Addis Ababa calling for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to relocate family and friends they say are trapped in two refugee camps due to fighting in the Tigray region.

The UNHCR said this week it lost access to the camps on July 14.

The U.S. said earlier this week it was concerned about the well-being of Eritrean refugees in Tigray.

Source: Voice of America

Rights groups are urging Morocco not to extradite to China a Uyghur activist who was arrested after arriving on a flight from Turkey.

The nongovernmental group Safeguard Defenders said Yidiresi Aishan was taken into custody in response to an Interpol Red Notice issued at China’s request.

The charges against Aishan are not clear.

Morocco’s General Directorate for National Security said Tuesday the Interpol notice was linked to suspicions that Aishan belonged to “an organization on the lists of terrorist organizations.”

Amnesty International said Aishan faces “arbitrary detention and torture if he is forcibly returned to China.”

“Deporting Idris Hasan to China, where Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities are facing a horrifying campaign of mass internment, persecution and torture, would violate international law,” Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Program director, Joanne Mariner, said in a statement.

The World Uyghur Congress also demanded Moroccan authorities halt any deportation procedures. Eric Goldstein, Human Rights Watch deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa region, described the Interpol system as “tainted” and said Aishan should be given a lawyer to fight extradition.

Aishan had been living in Turkey working as a web designer and activist since 2012. He flew from Istanbul to Casablanca on July 19.

Source: Voice of America