NEWS - The African Mirror

Feb

08

2021

Suspected Islamists kill 10 in eastern DRC

NEWS

ERIKAS MWISI KAMBALE SUSPECTED Islamists killed 10 people in a raid on a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and kidnapped several others, local authorities and a witness said. The attack, in which assailants used machetes, occurred in the village of Mabule, around 25 km (16 miles) south-east of Beni, the sources said. "They killed 10 people here without any reason," said Muhindo Mbela, a survivor of the massacre. It was not yet clear who carried out the attack, though local authorities blamed the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed group active in eastern Congo since the 1990s.…

Feb

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Al Jazeera journalist freed after 4 years in detention

NEWS

EGYPTIAN authorities yesterday released Mahmoud Hussein, an Egyptian journalist working for Qatar's Al Jazeera television network who had been held in pre-trial detention for more than four years, his brother and lawyer told Reuters. Hussein, who was detained in December 2016 after arriving Cairo from Doha for a vacation, was being held on charges of spreading false news, joining a banned group and receiving foreign funds. He was released several weeks after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt agreed in January to restore diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar severed in 2017 over allegations that Qatar…

Feb

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Sudan’s warning on Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam

NEWS

KHALID ABDELAZIZ ANY unilateral step by Ethiopia to fill its hydropower project, called the Renaissance Dam, in July would directly threaten Sudan's national security, Sudanese Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Yasser Abbas has said. Sudan is also proposing a mediation role for the United States, European Union, United Nations and African Union as a way of breaking the deadlock in talks about the dam between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia, Abbas told Reuters in an interview. His comments come at a time of increased tension between Sudan and Ethiopia over disputed farmland near their shared border. This is on top of…

Feb

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Thousands protest in Tunis despite police blockade

NEWS

TAREK AMARA THOUSANDS of protesters backed by Tunisia's powerful labour union gathered in central Tunis yesterday in the country's biggest demonstration for years, defying a police lockdown that blocked roads in a large area of the capital. The rally was held to mark the anniversary of the 2013 killing of a prominent activist and to protest against police abuses that demonstrators say have imperilled freedoms won in the 2011 revolution that triggered the "Arab Spring". Riot police deployed cordons around the city centre, stopping both cars and many people from entering the streets around Avenue Habib Bourguiba as thousands of…

Feb

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Libya power brokers welcome accord

NEWS

LIBYA’S parallel eastern administration has welcomed the announcement of a new interim government to unite the country but added it would only cede power if the eastern-based parliament approved. Yesterday’s qualified statement of support - leaving scope to oppose the move later - illustrates the challenges that may face U.N.-led efforts to find a political solution to a decade of chaos, division and violence. Libya has been split between east and west since 2014, with the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, and a rival administration in Benghazi backed by Khalifa Haftar's eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA).…

Feb

07

2021

By The African Mirror

C.A.R extends state of emergency for 6 months

NEWS

The Central African Republic (CAR) has extended a state of emergency for six months as it combats rebel groups, the government has announced. The CAR army, backed by United Nations, Russian and Rwandan troops, has been battling rebels who are trying to overturn a Dec. 27 election in which President Faustin-Archange Touadera won re-election. The state of emergency, initially declared on January 21, allows the military to detain suspects without going through a prosecutor. "The government asked the National Assembly (to extend it), and it accepted," government spokesman Ange Maxime Kazagui said. "We are in a state of war, and…

Feb

07

2021

By The African Mirror

Chad police confront protesters as Deby nominated for sixth term

NEWS

POLICE in Chad fired tear gas and made several arrests as hundreds protested at President Idriss Deby's nomination yesterday to run for a sixth term in April. Deby, 68, who came to power in the 1990 rebellion, pushed through a new constitution in 2018 that reinstated term limits but would let him stay in power until 2033. His opponents accuse him of trying to create a monarchy. "The people's confidence has a sacred value for me," Deby, who took the title of field marshal last August, said as he accepted the nomination of his Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) party. In…

Feb

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Political pressure, fraud in multi-billion COVID-19 contracts

NEWS

A probe into public spending on coronavirus in South Africa has found evidence of political pressure, price inflation, and fraud in many of the contracts, fuelled by an "insatiable pursuit of self-enrichment", a report showed on Friday. The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) launched the probe in July after a flood of whistleblower submissions alleging irregularities in the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) and hospital supplies like beds and wheelchairs. The investigation found evidence of tax fraud, the use of shell companies to win multiple contracts, instances of price inflation of up to 500%, and political pressure put on managers…

Feb

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Tunisian union calls for four ministers to quit as way to end crisis

NEWS

TUNISIA’S powerful UGTT labour union has called for four proposed new cabinet ministers to stand aside as a step towards resolving a political crisis. Parliament last week approved a cabinet reshuffle put forward by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi with 11 new ministers. But President Kais Saied rejected the reshuffle, saying four of the appointments were believed to have conflicts of interest. The dispute is causing a political logjam as the government struggles to combat the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. Protests have been going on for nearly three weeks over the political and social crisis. "A concession must take…

Feb

06

2021

By The African Mirror

Dominic Ongwen and the Lord’s Resistance Army

NEWS

BEN PARKER DOMINIC Ongwen could face decades behind bars after his conviction today at the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes – committed arguably by a victim of extreme child abuse. Ongwen was aged about 10 when he was abducted, around 1993, by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, rising to become a commander in the Ugandan armed group, notorious for its abuses against civilians. Specific attacks on civilians and displaced people’s camps formed the core of the legal case against Ongwen, which began in December 2016. Ongwen faced charges including “murder and attempted murder; torture; sexual slavery; rape; enslavement;…