NEWS - The African Mirror

Jul

09

2022

Nigeria recaptures 27 inmates after jail attack claimed by Islamic State

NEWS

NIGERIA'S security forces recaptured 27 inmates who fled from a prison in the capital in Abuja following an attack claimed by Islamic State, the correctional service said. Islamic State claimed responsibility for Tuesday's raid on the Kuje prison, which freed around 440 inmates, among them Islamist militants, raising fears that insurgents are venturing from their enclaves in the northeast. Three of the attackers were killed in the encounter while several others escaped with bullet wounds, a Nigerian Correctional Service spokesperson said in a statement. The prison attack has raised questions about the security of Nigeria's correctional facilities, especially those holding…

Jul

06

2022

By The African Mirror

Catholic priest abducted in Nigeria, diocese says

NEWS

A Nigerian Catholic priest was abducted from his rectory in the town of Zambina in the northern state of Kaduna in the early hours of Monday, the local Catholic diocese said. It said parishioners went to look for Father Emmanuel Silas after waiting in vain for him to conduct the morning mass. It is not clear who carried out the abduction. Armed gangs are rife across Nigeria's northwest where they rob or kidnap for ransom, and violence has been increasing, where thinly stretched security forces often fail to stop the attacks. The latest kidnap comes after gunmen last week abducted…

Jul

08

2022

By The African Mirror

Nine killed including five Sudanese in bus crash in southern Egypt

NEWS

NINE people including five Sudanese citizens were killed and 43 people were injured in a road collision in southern Egypt early, a senior health ministry official said. Of those injured, 40 were thought to be Sudanese, though identification procedures were ongoing, said health ministry undersecretary Ehab Hanafi. Witnesses told Reuters the bus came from Sudan and was heading for the southern Egyptian city of Aswan. The bus veered off the road and overturned after colliding with a truck, two security sources said.

Jul

08

2022

By The African Mirror

Burkina Faso’s ousted ex-president Compaore returns for summit

NEWS

BURKINA FASO'S ex-president Blaise Compaore returned from exile, almost eight years after he was toppled in an uprising, to take part in a meeting with interim president Paul-Henri Damiba and other former leaders. Compaore, 71, has returned to the West African country despite being convicted in absentia in April to life in prison for complicity in his predecessor Thomas Sankara's murder. Lawyers for Sankara's family have demanded that Compaore be arrested on arrival, although Burkinabe media have speculated in recent days that he could be granted a pardon. Ivory Coast, where he took refuge in 2014, has repeatedly refused to…

Jul

08

2022

By The African Mirror

East Congo clashes resume after de-escalation agreement with Rwanda

NEWS

CLASHES broke out in eastern Congo between the military and M23 rebels, a civil society and a rebel source said, a day after the presidents of Congo and Rwanda agreed to de-escalate diplomatic tensions over the insurgency. The M23, which Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting, began a major offensive in the eastern borderlands at the end of March, seizing an important border post and other towns despite army efforts to stop its advances. Rwanda denies backing the M23 and has in turn accused Congo of fighting alongside another armed group intent on seizing power in Kigali. Rwandan President Paul Kagame…

Jul

08

2022

By The African Mirror

Over 440 inmates on run after raid on Nigerian prison

NEWS

ABRAHAM ACHIRGA ISLAMIC STATE claimed responsibility for a raid on a Nigerian prison in the capital Abuja which freed around 440 inmates, raising fears that insurgents are venturing from their enclaves in the northeast. Shuaib Belgore, permanent secretary at the interior ministry, told journalists outside the Abuja prison - which has 900 inmates - that a security officer was killed during Tuesday night's raid and three others were injured. He said suspected Boko Haram attackers came for members who were held in the prison. "They came specifically for their co-conspirators, but in order to get them ... some of them…

Jul

08

2022

By The African Mirror

South Africa mourns the 21 victims of tavern tragedy

NEWS

JOHNNIE ISAAC SOUTH African mourners gathered in the coastal city of East London to grieve the still-mysterious deaths of 21 teenagers in a poorly ventilated local tavern 10 days ago. Dressed in black, they sang and danced to solemn gospel songs in front of the coffins of 19 of the victims, the youngest of whom was a 13-year-old girl, Thembinkosi Silwane. All were empty, the funeral parlour said, as police were still investigating the deaths - the remaining two were buried separately by their families. "Our hearts are broken. There are parents who will not get to hug or kiss…

Jul

07

2022

By The African Mirror

Tunisian judge freezes bank accounts of former parliament speaker, ex-PM

NEWS

TAREK AMARA A Tunisian judge has ordered a freeze on the financial assets of the former speaker of the country's dissolved parliament, Rached Ghannouchi, former prime minister Hamadi Jebali and several other people, an official told Reuters. He added that the list of people included Ghannouchi's son Moadh Ghannouchi and son-in-law Rafik Abdessalem, who was a former foreign minister. Tunisia's Rached Ghannouchi, head of the moderate Islamist Ennahda and speaker of the parliament, attends an interview with Reuters in Tunis, Tunisia, on March 31, 2022. REUTERS/Jihed Abidellaoui "There is an order from the anti-terrorism judge to freeze the bank accounts…

Jul

07

2022

By The African Mirror

DRC and Rwanda agree at Angola summit to de-escalate tensions

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame have agreed at a summit in Angola to de-escalate tensions from a rebel insurgency, the Congolese presidency said. Diplomatic tensions have risen sharply between the neighbours since the M23 rebel group began a major offensive in Congo's eastern borderlands at the end of March. Congo has accused Rwanda of backing the group. Kigali denies this, and in turn, has accused Kinshasa of fighting alongside another armed group intent on seizing power in Kigali. Angolan President Joao Lourenco was appointed by the African Union to mediate talks, and…

Jul

07

2022

By The African Mirror

Tunisian opposition leader faces money laundering allegations

NEWS

TUNISIA'S main opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi has been summoned by a judge over money laundering allegations, his Ennahda party said accusing the authorities of targeting him for political reasons. The July 19 summons is to answer questions about the allegations, which Ennahda say are untrue and a result of "distortion and fabrication". Reuters could not immediately reach a judiciary spokesperson. Ghannouchi has emerged as the loudest critic of Kais Saied since the president seized broad powers last year, moved to rule by decree and ousted the elected parliament in which the Ennahda leader is the speaker. Earlier this year, Saied…