News Africa Extended

News Africa Extended

Libya: IS attacks repelled in battle for Sirte

Posted: 15 Jun 2016 05:48 AM PDT

Forces backed by Libya's unity government said they had consolidated positions on the edge of Sirte.

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Tripoli - Forces backed by Libya's unity government said on Wednesday they had consolidated positions on the edge of Sirte, repelling sniper, tank and mortar attacks as they seek to oust Islamic State from its North African stronghold.

Fighting resumed on Wednesday near Sirte's port, which government-backed forces captured last week.

There have also been intense clashes in the “700” neighbourhood and around the Ouagadougou conference hall, just south of a 5km by 5km area still controlled by Islamic State, security sources said.

The campaign in Sirte is led by brigades from the western city of Misrata that are aligned with Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).

They launched a counter-attack against Islamic State just under a month ago, rapidly recapturing positions on the coastal road west of Sirte and advancing to the outskirts of the city.

A brigades' statement on Wednesday said they had “resisted Islamic State attacks that used mortar fire and tanks backed by snipers positioned on tall buildings”.

They said they had been working to clear areas now under their control from mines and explosives and were preparing to launch a radio broadcast that would “respond to the widespread lies and deceptions of Daesh (Islamic State)”.

Five brigade members were killed and more than 30 wounded on Tuesday, officials said.

More than 120 have died in the past month's fighting, with more than 500 wounded.

The brigades say they have inflicted heavy losses on Islamic State, though the militant group is still thought to have hundreds of fighters inside Sirte.

Most of Sirte's residents have fled, with dozens more families leaving the city last week as the GNA-backed forces advanced.

The GNA is meant to replace two competing governments that were set up in Tripoli and eastern Libya in 2014 during a conflict between loose alliances of rival armed factions.

Islamic State exploited the political turmoil to start building a presence in Libya the same year. It took full control of Sirte in 2015, but has struggled to retain territory elsewhere in the country.

The GNA has been gradually trying to extend its authority since arriving in Tripoli in March. It has received backing from many groups in western and southern Libya, but has struggled to win support from key figures in the east.

Western powers see the GNA as the best chance of uniting Libya's factions and defeating Islamic State, and have been providing intelligence assistance to the brigades advancing on Sirte.

Reuters

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Persons with albinism ‘do not require pity ‘

Posted: 15 Jun 2016 03:04 AM PDT

Nominated Kenyan MP for Special Interest Groups, Mwaura Isaac, has said that persons with albinism do not require pity or tokenism.

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Nairobi - Nominated Kenyan Member of Parliament for Special Interest Groups, Mwaura Isaac, has said that persons with albinism do not require pity or tokenism, but rather implementation of their rights.

Mwaura said that it was the duty of each person living with albinism to claim his or her rightful place in society by challenging the deadly stigma that comes with living with albinism.

Mwaura was speaking to hundreds of members of the Albinism Society of Kenya (ASK) in Nairobi as they celebrated the International Albinism Awareness Day on Monday at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.

“We must activate our rights as enshrined in the Constitution. Each one of us must challenge the stigma we face,” said Mwaura.

Mwaura is the first person with albinism in Kenya to become a Member of Parliament. He was nominated into the legislature by his party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), in 2013 to represent special interest groups who have been marginalised for years.

He castigated members of society who continually call albinos derogatory names, saying that such names as “zeruzeru” should be banned as they added to the marginalisation albino people already faced.

A judge of the High Court, Justice Mumbi Ngugi, supported Mwaura’s remarks, saying that persons with albinism must demand their rights and not beg for them.

“We are people first. We just happen to have albinism,” said Justice Ngugi as she urged the government to expand its programme to the grassroots where people with albinism desperately needed basic services such as healthcare.

“If we don’t protect the most vulnerable in society, we cannot protect anyone,” said Justice Ngugi, herself a person with albinism.

Although there are no official records of the number of people with albinism in Kenya, one report released in 2014 said estimates run in the tens of thousands.

Speaking to the African News Agency (ANA) at the event, Dr Prabha Choksey, the founder and trustee of the Dr. Choksey Albinism Foundation, said that there was a need to urgently reach out to children in particular with albinism as they were the most vulnerable in the group.

Choksey, who is a world renowned eye specialist, said that provision of appropriate eye glasses and other visual aids before the age of seven could help improve and preserve the sight of children with albinism.

She said: “Contrary to popular myths and misconceptions, people with albinism are not blind and they should not be sent to schools for the blind but should be integrated into regular schools after being provided with the right eye care.”

Choksey said that society must be educated to understand that albinism was not a curse but a defect in skin pigmentation.

“Albinism is a genetic condition characterised by lack of pigment Melanin in the skin, hair and eyes,” said Choksey, adding that the Melanin pigment helps absorb ultra violet radiation from the sun.

She said a lack of melanin in the skin and hair made persons with albinism appear light skinned and with blond hair.

“Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight without skin protection can lead to the development of skin cancer which if left untreated can be fatal,” said Choksey.

The Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Social Support Susan Mwachache said that the government had set aside Ksh 100 million in support of programmes to empower and protect persons with albinism.

Mwachache said that Kenya had taken policy and legislative steps to improve the lives of PWA, including proactive actions such as the provision of free sunscreen lotions, hats and protective clothing, as well as offering eye solutions.

She said that an affirmative action programme in the public service of employing at least five percent of PWA was wanting, as was affirmative action in giving opportunity to PWA in government procurement tenders.

She said the government was concerned about the continued attacks on PWA and urged citizens to treat them with respect.

A report titled “The human rights of persons with albinism in Kenya” released by a consortium of four NGOs noted that: “Persons with albinism in the country continue to suffer from stigma and discrimination particularly in the education system where they are often mocked for their appearance and their low vision remains unaccommodated.

“The result causes a high dropout rate amongst PWA. This, in turn, leaves most of them unskilled and unequipped for jobs and relegates them to menial jobs, including jobs that expose them to the sun and subsequently to skin cancer which is the primary killer of persons with albinism in the region of Sub Saharan Africa.”

On affirmative action, the report noted that the constitution of Kenya provided that at least 5% of members of elected and appointed bodies should be persons with disabilities.

“This has led to the appointment of a few high profile PWA including one Member of Parliament, Hon Isaac Mwaura, one judge of the high court, Madam Justice Mumbi Ngugi, and two county assembly representatives,” said the report.

The United Nations, in marking the day, said that in some communities, erroneous beliefs and myths, heavily influenced by superstition, put the security and lives of persons with albinism at constant risk.

The UN said that on 18 December 2014, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming, with effect from 2015, 13 June as International Albinism Awareness Day.

– African News Agency

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South Sudan ‘violence continues’

Posted: 15 Jun 2016 03:01 AM PDT

Aid workers in South Sudan have suffered an increase in attacks, the UN warned.

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Juba - Aid workers in South Sudan have suffered an increase in attacks in recent weeks, the UN warned on Wednesday, with three killed in May since the formation of a unity government.

Violence continues despite efforts to end a civil war that broke out in December 2013, a conflict that has now seen 55 aid workers killed.

“Violent incidents - including shooting, ambushes, assaults, harassment and robberies - increased during May,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

The three were killed in the Central and Eastern Equatoria regions, areas that escaped the worst of the violence in the war but that have now seen an increase in conflict.

This year, at least 29 aid worker vehicles have been stopped and robbed, and 74 aid agency compounds or offices looted, the UN added.

Civil war erupted in South Sudan in December 2013 but rebel chief Riek Machar returned to the capital in April as part of a peace deal which saw him become vice-president, forging a unity government with President Salva Kiir.

But fighting continues between multiple militia forces who now pay no heed to either Kiir or Machar.

UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous, speaking to reporters on Monday in Juba after a four-day visit to South Sudan, spoke hopefully of a “new page” for the troubled country.

But he also warned of “spoilers” on both sides wanting to “throw a spanner in the works” of the peace process.

More than 158 000 civilians remain in UN-guarded camps across the country, down from a peak of more than 200 000 at the height of the war.

AFP

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Congo’s general detained over coup allegations

Posted: 15 Jun 2016 02:55 AM PDT

Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, who ran unsuccessfully against President Denis Sassou Nguesso in a disputed election, has been detained, his lawyer said.

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Brazzaville - Congo's security services on Tuesday detained General Jean-Marie Michel Mokoko, who ran unsuccessfully against President Denis Sassou Nguesso in a disputed election in March, his lawyer told AFP.

The general has been accused of discussing plans to remove Sassou Nguesso from power with a French intelligence agent in a video filmed in 2007.

“He has been detained for questioning at the DGST (security services),”Mokoko's lawyer Yvon Eric Ibouanga said.

He added that the investigation against Mokoko, who was military chief of the oil-rich African nation from 1987 to 1993, was still at the “preliminary” stage.

Witnesses said Mokoko was escorted to DGST offices by several police officers.

He had quit as a peace and security advisor to Sassou Nguesso in February in order to challenge the strongman's 32-year grip on power.

The general took less than 14 percent in the March 20 election, which returned Sassou Nguesso to the presidency with more than 60 percent of the vote.

The opposition charged that the poll was marked by “massive fraud”.

Mokoko had already been questioned over the video on the eve of the election.

He has been living under surveillance at his home in central Brazzaville since the vote.

AFP

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AU endorses extension of Darfur mandate

Posted: 15 Jun 2016 02:53 AM PDT

The AU Peace and Security Council has endorsed a recommendation to extend the mandate of the UNAMID for another 12 months.

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Kampala - The African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council has endorsed a recommendation to extend the mandate of the AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), Sudan, for another 12 months until 30 June 2017.

The United Nations’ top peace keeping official, Herve Ladsous, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations advised the UN Security Council to follow suit.

Ladsous told the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday that, following a recent assessment of the situation in Darfur, from 1 July 2015 to 15 May 2015 which showed little progress, the mandate of the AU-UN should be extended for another year without changes to its priorities or its authorised troop and police ceiling.

The assessment was contained in the Special Report of the Secretary-General and the Chairperson of the AU Commission on UNAMID.

The report provided an analysis of military and police components, and presented recommendations on how to improve the operational effectiveness of UNAMID, as well as an update on the status of tripartite discussions on the exit strategy of the organisation among the AU, UN and Sudan’s government.

Ladsous said the sectarian violence emanating from disputes over access to land, water and grazing areas remained a major cause of insecurity in Darfur.

While direct clashes between the government and armed movements had subsided, fighting with the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid (SLA/AW) in Jebel Marra, which rejects any negotiations with the Sudanese government, has continued.

As many as 2.6 million people remain displaced across Darfur. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported 80 000 verified displaced persons since the resumption of fighting in Jebel Marra in mid-January.

Up to 127 000 displaced persons were yet to be verified. Further, 1.6 million civilians continue to reside in some 60 camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region.

UNAMID continued to face considerable challenges in its relations with the Sudanese government, which impeded the implementation of its mandate.

These included denials of access and freedom of movement, particularly to conflict areas such as Jebel Marra, and denials and delays in the issuance of visas and the clearance of shipment containers at Port Sudan.

Given the current situation in Darfur, the assessment concluded that the strategic priorities of UNAMID and their corresponding benchmarks remain valid.

“Within this framework, the [AU] Chairperson and the [UN] Secretary-General therefore recommended UNAMID focus its activities on first protecting the displaced population and second addressing more comprehensively inter-communal violence,” said Ladsous.

“In a situation of continuing armed conflict, inter-communal violence and attacks against civilians, the current security conditions in Darfur are not conducive to a large-scale return of IDPs to their places of origin.”

A review of the effectiveness of the military and police components recommended for the current number of military and police personnel to be retained.

However, within the existing capabilities, UNAMID should enhance its overall flexibility by reinforcing troops at sites of greater operational significance while reducing or closing others.

The Mission could also create a highly mobile reserve military capability and an increased field presence of police officers.

– African News Agency

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More Burundi schoolchildren sent home

Posted: 15 Jun 2016 02:52 AM PDT

More Burundi schoolchildren have been sent home for deliberately scribbling on pictures of President Pierre Nkurunziza.

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Bujumbura - More Burundi schoolchildren have been sent home for deliberately scribbling on pictures of President Pierre Nkurunziza.

This week 234 pupils of the Gahinga High School in the commune of Gisuru in Ruyigi Province (eastern Burundi), were sent home because some of them were suspected of defacing pictures of the head of state in their textbooks.

Speaking to the African News Agency (ANA) the provincial director of education, Guillaume Kwizera, said: “They refused to denounce the authors of the crime. So, we decided to send them all home while investigations are launched. They will not be allowed to return to school until the investigations are over”.

Kwizera said pictures of Nkurunziza in 27 textbooks books had been scribbled over.

This was an “irresponsible act,” said Kwizera, adding: “Those who did it have to be punished”.

Two weeks ago, 11 pupils of two secondary schools in the town of Muramvya province in the centre of Burundi were arrested and put in jail for the same offence.

During the operation by police and intelligence agents, two persons were injured by police bullets.

The high court of Muramvya on Monday confirmed the detention of the five pupils aged 18 years or older.

Last week it ordered the conditional release of the six minors.

A similar incident occurred a month ago in Ruziba zone, 32km south west of Bujumbura.

More than 300 high school students were expelled, but were allowed to return seven days later.

The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) says it is deeply concerned about the arrests and expulsions from schools of children.

In a statement UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Leila Gharagozloo-Pakkala said that all children in Burundi had the right to pursue their education and attend their upcoming exams in a neutral, safe and protective environment.

“Schools should be respected as zones of peace and safe havens for children,” said Gharagozloo-Pakkala.

She called on all parties to immediately ensure full respect of children’s right to education and their protection from violence.

The scribbling of the President’s pictures seems to be an expression of frustration by pupils against a new education system the government has just introduced.

The scribbling started about the time when the first contingent of pupils who had started with the new education system were at the end of the first cycle of basic secondary education (three years after primary school). At this stage, they have to do a test which determines whether they move forward to a second cycle.

Those who fail have to leave school to receive vocational training.

Some pupils told ANA they thought this was a bad system which was unfairly curtailing their academic education.

They blame Nkurunziza as he introduced the new education system.

– African News Agency

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Boko Haram kidnaps 3 women near Chibok

Posted: 15 Jun 2016 02:50 AM PDT

Boko Haram jihadists killed at least four villagers and kidnapped three women near the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok.

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Maiduguri, Nigeria - Boko Haram jihadists killed at least four villagers on Tuesday and kidnapped three women near the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok where the group snatched more than 200 girls two years ago, residents and survivors said.

Boko Haram fighters attacked the Kautuva village at dawn, set houses ablaze and fired on residents, according to villagers and a member of a vigilante group working with the army.

“Some of us were lucky to survive and ran to Chibok,” said a man who gave his name as Ali Pagu.

Another resident said the jihadists had kidnapped three women.

Kautuva lies near Chibok, a town from where Boko Haram seized 276 girls from a school in April 2014, part of a seven-year-old insurgency to set up an Islamic state in the north. It has left about 15 000 people dead and more than 2 million displaced.

In May, authorities said a first of the missing Chibok girls had been found, and President Muhammadu Buhari vowed to rescue the rest of them.

Dozens of the girls escaped in the initial melee in 2014 but more than 200 remained missing. Parents accused former president Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's leader at the time of the kidnappings, of not doing enough to track down the girls and bring them home.

Boko Haram, which last year pledged loyalty to the radical group Islamic State, has kidnapped hundreds of men, women and children in their campaign to carve out an Islamist caliphate.

Under Buhari's command and aided by Nigeria's neighbours, the army has recaptured most territory once lost to Boko Haram, but the group still regularly stages suicide bombings.

Reuters

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