Africa News and Discussions

[weatheriscool]

A drone attack on an open market has killed at least 43 people in Sudan as rival troops battle
Source: AP

By SAMY MAGDY
Updated 7:57 PM CDT, September 10, 2023

CAIRO (AP) — A drone attack Sunday on an open market south of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, killed at least 43 people, activists and a medical group said, as the military and a powerful rival paramilitary group battle for control of the country.

More than 55 others were wounded in the attack in Khartoum’s May neighborhood, where paramilitary forces battling the military were heavily deployed, the Sudan Doctors’ Union said in a statement. The casualties were taken to Bashair University Hospital.

The Resistance Committees, an activist group that helps organize humanitarian assistance, posted footage on social media showing bodies wrapped in white sheets in an open yard at the hospital.

Sudan has been rocked by violence since mid-April, when tensions between the country’s military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, burst into open fighting.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/sudan-war-mi ... 5bc5965fc9

[weatheriscool]

Nigeria hit by widespread blackout in 'total system collapse'
Source: BBC

Nigeria has been hit by widespread power cuts following a "total system collapse", electricity distribution companies say.

Levels of power being generated fell to zero megawatts early on Thursday.

Some supplies have been restored but only a tiny fraction of normal consumption in Africa's most populous country.

Power supplies are often erratic in Nigeria, despite its role as a major oil and gas producer.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66810202

[caltrek]

In Conflict-ravaged Sudan, a Young Artist Uses Photography to Inspire Hope
by Violet Ikong
September 6, 2023

Introduction:

(Amjambo Africa!) These days, when 32 year old Noory Taha is not at his food stall making and selling falafel, he is out on the streets and markets of his hometown of Karima, in Sudan’s Northern State, looking for images to capture with his cameras. Until late April, that’s what he was doing in Khartoum, Sudan’s capital city, which is 273 miles by road from Karima. He’d lived in Khartoum since 2016, photographing and documenting the daily activities of people on the streets.

But then fighting between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out on April 15 in Khartoum and the Darfur region. At first Taha believed the conflict “…was just another bad day for the guys in power and that it [the fighting] would end soon.” Like so many others, he went into hiding in the capital, reasoning that the fighting would pass – after all, over the years Sudan had been the epicenter of several wars and many conflicts.

However, by the time the conflict had continued for more than a week, Taha realized the fighting was not going to stop anytime soon, so he and his wife fled to Karima with their 10-month-old daughter, Shama. Among the few personal belongings he carried were his cameras. Two months passed without Taha taking a single photo. He was consumed by the need to find a job to support his family, and he was dispirited.

While combing the streets for a job he saw many people like himself, who had been affected by the conflict, but still out buying and selling with hopeful smiles on their faces, not giving up in the face of the difficulties posed by the conflict. Inspired by what he saw, he picked up his cameras again.

View a selection of Taha’s photographs and read more here: https://www.amjamboafrica.com/in-confl ... e-hope/

[Time_Traveller]

South African anti-migrant ‘vigilantes’ register as party for next year’s polls

Tue 26 Sep 2023 06.30 BST

An anti-migrant vigilante organisation in South Africa has registered as a political party and plans to contest seats in next year’s general elections.

Operation Dudula, whose name means “to force out” in Zulu, wants all foreign nationals who are in the country unofficially to be deported.

The party, which first emerged in Johannesburg’s Soweto township after riots in 2021, claims to have widespread support, with a formal presence in seven of South Africa’s nine provinces. It claims to be planning to stand candidates in 1,500 of the country’s 4,468 voting districts.

Many Operation Dudula followers have faced allegations of hate speech and physical violence. They have staged protests outside embassies, turned people away outside hospitals to prevent foreign nationals from accessing state medical services, and conducted door-to-door searches of businesses in poorer areas demanding to see identity documents.

In August, Philani Gumede, a 36-year-old from Durban, was convicted of hate speech after sending a voice-note to members calling on them to evict foreigners from businesses in the city. Nomalungelo Ntshangase, a regional court prosecutor, told the court that this had led directly to xenophobic attacks and looting.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-deve ... stract.com

[caltrek]

We Asked 1,000 Zimbabweans What they think of China’s Influence on Their Country − Only 37% Viewed It Favorably
by Dr. William Hatungimana and Dr. Haruka Nagao
September 28, 2023
Introduction:

(The Conversation) China has big ambitions in Africa. Between 2000 and 2020, the economic superpower loaned African governments US$159 billion to build railroads, highways, stadiums and bridges.

Complementing those loans, foreign direct investment by Chinese-owned businesses that operate in Africa and employ Africans have grown from $75 million in 2003 to $5 billion in 2021.

China’s investment and influence in the region has garnered both recognition and criticism from scholars as well as Western media. Some see a mutually beneficial relationship that improves infrastructure and economic development for African countries. Others warn that China’s presence and noninterference policy is a guise for its intent to “colonize” Africa.

As professors of political science who study Africa-China relations, we’ve seen how the arguments on either side rarely factor in how the African public feels about China’s involvement on the continent. So in March 2023 we asked 1,000 urban professionals in Zimbabwe – 64% were college educated; 94% lived in urban areas – for their opinions on China’s economic and political influence on their country. Our study is currently under journal review.

Conclusion:

We believe the discussion surrounding China’s presence in Africa should be democratized by taking public opinion more seriously. Although China might win the hearts of African elites through economic investments, critical voices exist among the public, especially among those negatively affected by China’s presence. The public will ultimately decide the extent of China’s endeavors in African countries through the influence they exert on their elite representatives.

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/we-asked- ... y-206381

caltrek’s comment: That would be a bit of a switch: Communists appealing to the elite, while “the West” succeeds in appealing to the masses.

[Powers]

^ Not surprising given that demographic.

So in March 2023 we asked 1,000 urban professionals in Zimbabwe – 64% were college educated; 94% lived in urban areas

[caltrek]

Angola Bets On Critical Minerals and the Lobito Corridor
by Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
September 30, 2023

Introduction:

(Eurasia Review) The African continent has many, many natural resources, which are highly coveted by the rest of the globe, including critical minerals (CMs). Angola, a country already known for its oil wealth, will soon have a more significant role in the global race to access critical minerals.

A Critical Mineral-Rich Angola

The Angolan government is certainly openly showcasing its wealth of critical minerals. Case in point, the 2nd Angolan Mining Conference & Exhibition (AMC) will take place this upcoming 22-23 November. The conference is not too subtle about its objectives; it is titled “Developing Angola’s mineral resource potential to supply critical minerals for a global clean energy transition.” According to media articles about the upcoming AMC expo, “in the next half-decade, Angola is planning to start the production of neodymium and praseodymium, which are used in the manufacturing of batteries for electric cars, as well as copper and niobium. Angola possesses 36 of the 51 most critical minerals in the world, including chromium, cobalt, graphite, lead, lithium, and nickel.” In other words, Angola has the resources to be a major player in CM production.

Scott Morgan, a longtime analyst of African affairs, explained, “it’s a sign that Angola is seeking other revenue sources than just petroleum.”

While Luanda is touting its CM wealth, there are criticisms about African mining policies. African governments “have increasingly restricted or banned mineral exports in recent years in a bid to boost processing and retain more of the gains,” explains an analysis for Context. It makes sense that governments want international industries to set up refining and processing plants in African soil to boost technological development and local employment. It remains to be seen if this (risky) strategy will be successful.

Japan and Angola

China is known for controlling the production several critical minerals and rare earth elements, which has become a growing concern for some states. Many governments want to be independent of Beijing to access critical minerals and rare earth elements; thus, new, more reliable suppliers are being sought.

Read more here: https://www.eurasiareview.com/30092023 ... alysis/


Angola

[caltrek]

Africa’s Eswatini, One of the Last Absolute Monarchies, Holds an Election
by Gerald Imray
September 29, 2023
Introduction:

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP via Courthouse News) — The small southern African nation of Eswatini held elections Friday to decide part of the makeup of its Parliament, even as its extremely wealthy king retains absolute power, political parties are banned and elected representatives can merely advise a monarch whose family has reigned supreme for 55 years.

Eswatini, wedged between South Africa and Mozambique, is the last absolute monarchy in Africa and one of the few remaining in the world. King Mswati III, 55, has been the monarch since 1986, when he became ruler days after his 18th birthday. His father was king for 82 years before him, although Eswatini only gained independence from Britain in 1968.

It was formerly known as Swaziland.

Parliamentary elections are held every five years. Candidates for the lower chamber, the House of Assembly, and for the Senate cannot belong to political parties, which were banned in 1973, and are nominated at a local level before they face a popular vote.

Mswati III appoints a minority of House of Assembly members, and the majority are elected. He appoints a majority of the Senate, the prime minister and other key members of the government.

Read more here: https://www.courthousenews.com/africa ... parties/


Eswatini

[caltrek]

Peace in Sudan is Elusive
by Hyeran Jo

Introduction:

(The Conversation) More than five months have passed since intense fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group also known as the RSF. In that time, more than 7,000 people have been killed and nearly 4 million others displaced. The conflict is still ongoing, with little evidence of resolution.

The clashes were sparked by a disagreement over how the RSF, led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, more commonly known as Hemedti, could be integrated into the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan.

Sudan is the third-largest country by area in Africa. It is also home to the Nile River basin, is mineral rich and strategically located on the Red Sea, close to the Middle East. So this conflict comes with heavy security and economic ramifications for the region and beyond.

Conclusion:

Despite the challenges ahead, Sudan cannot be ignored. However, a lasting resolution requires multiple measures that can augment each other. The lack of external interference, plus an impartial mediator and U.S. leverage, will be essential ingredients for mediation to move forward. And the mix of measures must be applied with the right timing and with the right actors involved.

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/peace-in-s ... -212926


Sudan

[caltrek]

Accused Sudanese Militia Leader Denies Involvement in Darfur Atrocities
by Molly Quell
October 19, 2023

Introduction:

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (Courthouse News) — Defense lawyers told the International Criminal Court on Thursday that their client was working as a pharmacist during the ongoing conflict in Sudan and played no role in any atrocities.

Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, has been charged with 31 counts of murder, pillaging, rape and torture by the world’s only permanent court for atrocity crimes, but he denies all of the charges against him.

Abd-Al-Rahman was “not a member of the government … not a general … not a politician,” defense attorney Cyril Laucci told The Hague-based court. His client sat expressionless behind him in a black suit and a checked blue shirt.

Rather, he operated a small pharmacy in a market in a remote Sudanese village, Laucci said, and was too insignificant to play a role in the conflict.

Prosecutors say the 74-year-old helped to recruit and organize for the Janjaweed militia, which engaged in an ethnic cleansing program and specifically directed attacks against four villages — Kodoom, Bindisi, Mukjar and Deleig — between 2003 and 2004.

Read more here: https://www.courthousenews.com/accused ... cities/

[caltrek]

Angry Egyptians Denounce Staged Pro-Palestine Rallies Amid Israel-Hamas War
October 21, 2023

Introduction:

(Al Jazeera) Cairo, Egypt – On a sunny Friday in Cairo, buses waving both the Palestinian and the Egyptian flags arrive at El-Nasr road in the district of Nasr City.

The Friday prayer has ended and, with it, the only moment of silence that the Egyptian capital ever regularly witnesses.

Protest chants are about to fill the air, as the bus doors swing open and a crowd of mostly young men hit the pavement, holding aloft the flags and portraits of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Critics say el-Sisi’s administration has been organising staged protests like this one to rally support for his embattled government, by piggybacking on public sympathy for Palestinians as the death toll from Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip ticks higher.

The bus itself is emblazoned with the logo of el-Sisi’s The Nation’s Future party. Event organisers, believed to be undercover police officers, start to direct the protest participants, telling them where to go and what to chant.

Read more here: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/202 ... -protests

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

More than 800 Sudanese reportedly killed in an attack on a Darfur town, the UN says

"CAIRO — Fighters from a paramilitary force and their allied Arab militias rampaged through a town in Sudan's war-ravaged region of Darfur, reportedly killing more than 800 people in a multiday attack, doctors and the U.N. said.

The attack on Ardamata in West Darfur province earlier this month was the latest in a series of atrocities in Darfur that marked the monthslong war between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF.

...........

The Darfur Bar Association, an advocacy group, accused RSF fighters of committing "all types of serious violations against defenseless civilians" in Ardamata. It cited an attack on Nov. 6 during which the RSF killed more than 50 people including a tribal leader and his family.

The UNHCR said more than 800 people have been reportedly killed and 8,000 others fled to neighboring Chad. The agency, however, said the number of people who fled was likely to be an underestimate due to challenges registering new arrivals to Chad."

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/12/12125246 ... -the-un-sa

[caltrek]

Ghana Reparations Summit Calls for Global Fund to Compensate Africans for Slave Trade
November 16, 2023

Introduction:

ACCRA, Ghana (AP via Courthouse News) — Delegates at a reparations summit in Ghana agreed Thursday to establish a Global Reparation Fund to push for overdue compensation for millions of Africans enslaved centuries ago during the transatlantic slave trade.

The Accra Reparation Conference adds to the growing demands for reparations after about 12 million Africans were forcefully taken by European nations from the 16th to the 19th century and enslaved on plantations that built wealth at the price of misery.

Centuries after the end of the slave trade, people of African descent around the world continue “to be victims of systemic racial discrimination and racialized attacks,” concluded a recent report by a special U.N. forum which supported reparations as “a cornerstone of justice in the 21st century.”

“It is time for Africa — whose sons and daughters had their freedoms controlled and sold into slavery — to also receive reparations,” said Ghana’s President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo at the conference, attended by senior government officials from across Africa as well as the diaspora community.

Slave reparations have become an issue the world “must confront and can no longer ignore,” said Akufo-Addo, calling out the British and other European nations who enriched themselves during the slave trade while “enslaved Africans themselves did not receive a penny.”

Read more here: https://www.courthousenews.com/ghana-r ... e-trade/

[caltrek]

Sierra Leone Government Declares Curfew After Repelling a Barracks Attack
November 26, 2023

Introduction:

(DW via MSN) Sierra Leone's government said on Sunday that unidentified gunmen attacked a military barracks and tried to break into an armory at the site in the capital, Freetown.

"In the early hours of Sunday, some unidentified individuals attempted to break into the military armory at the Wilberforce barracks. They have been rebuffed," Information Minister Chernor Bah said in the statement.

The government said security forces were again in control of the situation but it nevertheless said it was issuing stay-at-home orders across the country.
"A nationwide curfew has been declared with immediate effect ... We strongly advise citizens to stay indoors," the statement said.

Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/s ... snnews11


Sierra Leone

[caltrek]

The Lifting of The Arms Embargo On Somalia

(Namibia Press Agency via MSN) Somalia's president welcomed yesterday's decision by the UN Security Council to fully lift an arms embargo on the Somalian government while maintaining a ban on sales to the country's Islamist militants.The United Nations in 1992 imposed an embargo on all arms deliveries to Somalia, though in recent years the Security Council has eased restrictions on sales to the central government.'From now on, our country is free to purchase any sort of weapon we want from the world,' Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in a declaration late yesterday. 'Weapons in government hands will not pose a threat to our people and the world.'Friday's UN decision maintained the embargo on supplying weapons to the Islamist Al-Shabaab and other rebel groups.'

Read more here: https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/r ... lia-oped/

[caltrek]

The Lifting of the Arms Embargo on Somalia - Continued

What follows is from an analysis by Dr. Suleiman Walhad published December 4, 2023:
Introduction:

(Eurasia Review) The Somali State is a construct of the Somali people who have lived in this important and prominent part of the African continent for thousands of years and from which they spread to other parts and still continue to do so to this day. This peninsula was not as parched as it looks today. It was a leopard-colored landscape of patches of forests, savannah and mountains bounded by a long coast from Bab El Mandab to the River Tana Estuary in Kenya. Europeans have reshaped it in their own fashion towards the end of the nineteenth century to create the current construct, although Somalis corrected it partially when the Ex-British Somaliland Protectorate and the Italian administered UN Trust Territory of Somalia got their independence and united to create the present Somali state in 1960. This is what the world today knows as the Somali state, but Somalis have a different definition of the Somali state for in their mindset, the Somali state still consists of the country of Djibouti, the eastern third of Ethiopia and the northern third of present-day Kenya.

Further Extract:

The lifting of the arms embargo from Somalia is momentous and significant in the recovery march of the country. It not only strengthens the country’s national forces but also sends a strong message to the enemies of the nation both from within and from without that the game has changed. The lifting of the arms embargo indicates that Somalia is no longer alone, and the world’s major powers are showing their confidence in the federal government of Somalia’s growing ability to manage its own security affairs. We should remember that the embargo has been in place since 1992, almost a third of a century during which the country was unable to raise its army and national security services, and indeed, raise its head up.

Read more here: https://www.eurasiareview.com/0412202 ... lia-oped/


Somalia

[wjfox]

Somalia officially admitted into EAC

Friday November 24 2023

Somalia has been admitted as the eighth member of the East African Community on Friday November 24, 2023, just over a year after the latest entrant, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was admitted into the bloc.

Mogadishu’s admission into the bloc was approved by the region’s leaders during the 23rd ordinary summit of the heads of state held in Arusha, Tanzania, on the same day, after successful negotiations that lasted close to a year.

The outgoing chairperson, Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye said the heads of state agreed to formally admit Somalia into the bloc, after the lengthy closed-door meeting which lasted more than five hours.

Somalia first expressed interest in joining the EAC in 2012 but was turned down due to its internal troubles with Al Shabaab and lack of a stable legal and political environment at the time.

However, Mogadishu’s hopes of joining the regional bloc were rekindled when equally troubled South Sudan was admitted in 2016, and later DRC, which also has multiple conflicts within its borders, in 2022.

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/ne ... ac-4444168

[caltrek]

Diaspora Communities Improve Lives in Africa with Remittances, but Sometimes That Comes at Great Personal Cost
by Anthony Akaeze
December 24, 2023

Introduction:

(Baptist News Global) In this season of giving, some African expatriates are weary of being asked for financial assistance from people who assume they’ve got money to spare.

One such person is Asisat Oshoala, a Nigerian soccer star based in Barcelona, Spain. In a recent Snapchat post, she gave a stinging rebuke to people who pester her with demands for assistance. Her post elicited diverse comments on social media and was published by Pulse, a lifestyle and entertainment medium.

Oshoala is a six-time African footballer of the year who boasts a massive social media following. She expressed frustration with those who ask her to contribute to their various needs, such as when a baby is born or a wedding is planned.

Oshoala is not the only African diaspora member who’s irritated by excessive financial demands from people in her home country. Many other Africans in different parts of the world feel similar pressure. In fact, it’s one issue members of the African diaspora communities across the world grapple with on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

While assisting family members and friends back on the continent is something many African immigrants are drawn to do because of their knowledge of the socio-economic conditions there, many find the engagement overwhelming, frustrating and annoying, particularly when they themselves are not finding life easy abroad.

Read more here: https://baptistnews.com/article/author ... y-akaeze/