NEWS - The African Mirror

Oct

20

2021

Nigerian army says 24 Islamist insurgents killed

NEWS

NIGERIAN troops killed 24 suspected Islamist insurgents in two attacks in the northeast and recovered some weapons, the army said on Tuesday. Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have been fighting the Nigerian armed forces for more than a decade in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. Major General Christopher Musa, commander of the anti-insurgency task force, told Reuters that soldiers killed 16 Boko Haram insurgents a few kilometres from Maiduguri city, the capital of Borno state. Musa said that during the encounter with the insurgents two gun trucks were…

Oct

20

2021

By The African Mirror

Dutch put Eritrean trafficker on most wanted list

NEWS

DUTCH prosecutors have put Eritrean trafficker Kidane Zekarias Habtemariam on their most wanted list and want to try him for crimes related to his alleged people-smuggling ring. Kidane was sentenced to life in prison by a court in Ethiopia in absentia in June for starving and torturing African refugees and migrants headed for Europe in warehouses in Libya. The Dutch public prosecutor's office said an investigation revealed that Kidane's organisation "abuses, extorts, kidnaps and rapes Eritreans" who want to reach the Netherlands. The refugees and migrants are mistreated in camps in Libya while relatives living in the Netherlands are blackmailed,…

Aug

01

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africans push back against 5G towers in their backyards

NEWS

KIM HARRISBERG TENS of thousands of South Africans have written complaints to the government over a new policy that would let mobile networks build cellphone infrastructure like 5G towers on private land, which they say could devalue their property. Since communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams gazetted the policy last week, dissent has poured in through the website Dear South Africa, which collects online submissions to challenge or co-form policies before they become law. "There are concerns about radiation, about the resale value of properties and about this being used as an excuse to expropriate land without compensation," the group's founder, Rob…

Aug

01

2020

By The African Mirror

U.N. to train Botswana traditional leaders to fight gender-based abuse

NEWS

KELETSO THOBEGA DOZENS of traditional leaders in Botswana will take part in a U.N. training programme that aims to help them tackle high rates of gender-based violence in the country, officials and leaders said on Friday. Nearly 70% of women in the southern African nation have experienced physical or sexual abuse - more than double the global average, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF). As women's rights campaigners warn of a spike in domestic abuse due to coronavirus restrictions that have trapped women indoors with their abusers, traditional leaders welcomed the initiative and the opportunity to help. "No…

Aug

09

2020

By The African Mirror

Gunmen kill six French tourists, two Nigeriens in Niger – governor

NEWS

GUNMEN on motorcycles have killed six French tourists and two Nigeriens in a wildlife park in Niger, a senior official said. The attackers struck in a giraffe reserve in the West African country's Kouré area, the governor of Tillaberi, Tidjani Ibrahim Katiella, told Reuters. The two Nigeriens were working as the tourists' guide and driver, AFP news agency reported. The French foreign ministry said it was making checks into reports of the attack. There was no immediate comment from the government in Niger. The French government warns people against travelling to large parts of Niger where militant groups including Boko…

Aug

09

2020

By The African Mirror

UK armed forces asked to help deal with migrant boats crossing Channel

NEWS

ESTELLE SHIRBON BRITAIN's armed forces have been asked to help deal with boats carrying migrants across the Channel from France, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday after a spate of arrivals on the southern English coast. Taking advantage of a spell of hot weather and calm sea conditions, hundreds of people including children and pregnant women have made the dangerous 33-km crossing in recent days, many in overloaded rubber dinghies and other small vessels. The Defence Ministry said it had received a formal request from the Home Office, or interior ministry, to assist the UK Border Force with its operations…

Aug

09

2020

By The African Mirror

Ugandan presidential hopeful says police used bullets to disperse supporters

NEWS

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA UGANDAN pop star and presidential hopeful, Bobi Wine, said some of his supporters were injured on Saturday after police fired teargas and live bullets to disperse a crowd in the country's east. Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is seeking to end the 34-year-rule of ageing President Yoweri Museveni in polls due to be held early next year. Police spokesman Fred Enanga did not reply to Reuters' repeated calls seeking comment. In a post on his Facebook account, Wine said he had travelled to the eastern Ugandan town of Mbale to appear on a radio talk show…

Aug

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Blast rocks military base in Somali capital, at least eight dead

NEWS

ABDI SHEIKH A huge blast has rocked a military base in Somalia's capital Mogadishu near a stadium, killing at least eight people and injuring 14, emergency workers said. Soldiers opened fire after the explosion which sent clouds of smoke into the sky, said Halima Abdisalan, a mother of three who lives near the area. "We ran indoors in fear," she told Reuters. "Soon I could see a military pickup speeding and carrying many soldiers covered with blood. I do not know if they were all dead or injured." Army officer Major Abdullahi Mohamud said it was an attack. "It must…

Aug

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Egypt’s sex assault accusations spotlight social stigmas

NEWS

MAI SHAMS ELDIN WHEN dozens of Egyptians began posting accounts of sexual assault on social media last month, activists sensed a "#MeToo" moment in a nation where women have long felt disadvantaged. Like high-profile trials in the United States where the now global women's rights hashtag took off, prosecutors launched charges in Egypt's best-known recent case: a student from a wealthy background facing multiple accusations. To encourage victims to come forward, the government approved a bill to better protect their identity. Yet when the administrator of the Instagram page that attracted the first testimonies tried to expose a second high-profile…

Aug

08

2020

By The African Mirror

Rhino poaching in Namibia down 63% on tougher policing, penalties

NEWS

NYASHA NYAUGWA RHINO poaching fell 63% year-on-year in Namibia, the ministry of environment said on Friday, citing intensified intelligence operations by authorities and tougher sentences and fines for poachers. Elephant poaching, which takes places to a lesser extent, also decreased, with 2 incidents reported this year compared with 13 in 2019, the ministry said. The southern African nation is home to the second-largest white rhino population in the world after South Africa, the non-profit organisation Save the Rhino says. Namibia also holds one-third of the world's remaining black rhinos. Rhino poaching has plagued the southern Africa region for decades, especially…