AFRICA DIPLOMATIC

ECOWAS delegation visit to Mali

A delegation from the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is expected to arrive in Bamako on Saturday, August 22 after the bloc held an emergency summit on the situation in Mali. Monument de l’indépendance : Chant de l’hymne national #Manif21Aout #CriseSocioPolitique #CNSP #Mali pic.twitter.com/0yN8i421Wk — KONATE Malick (@konate90) August 21, 2020 ECOWAS…

France to pursue Barkhane operation in Sahel

France will pursue its military counter terrorist operations in Mali against Islamist insurgence despite the ousting of the country’s President two days ago by a coup d’état, the French armed force minister Florence Parly announced. L’opération Barkhane, demandée par les Maliens et autorisée par le Conseil de Sécurité de l'ONU, se poursuit. Les militaires français…

Nigeria: jihadists abdicted hundreds of displaced

Insurgents from the Islamic State group West Africa Province (ISWAP), affiliated to Boko Haram, attacked Kukawa in the Lake Chad region late on August 18, seizing hundreds of people who had just returned to their homes after spending nearly two years in displacement camps, said Babakura Kolo, head of a local militia. https://twitter.com/afpafrica/status/1296046342448578560?s=21 “The terrorists…

Mali officers propose civil transition

After months of civil unrest, and absence of any meaningful response to the demands of the people, Mali military took the lead announcing their plan to nation on moving towards a civil and political transition. #Mali : vers une transition civile et politique. Les accords internationaux seront respectés y compris l'accord avec les rebelles Touaregs….

EU condemns coup d’état in Mali

“The European Union condemns the coup d’état attempt underway in Mali and rejects any anti-constitutional change. This can in no way be a response to the deep socio-political crisis that has hit Mali for several months” the statement of the European Union top diplomat Josep Borrell on events in Mali. L’UE condamne fermement la tentative…

Mogadishu Elite Hotel blasts left 43 injured

At least 16 people were killed in an suicide bomb atttack on Sunday, August 16, by the Islamist group al Shabaab on a seaside hotel in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, according to government spokesman Ismail Mukhtar Omar. The toll includes 11 victims and five assailants, Omar underlind in a Tweet late on Sunday. At least 16…

Car bomb Mogadishu Hotel attack

The gunmen stormed a hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, following a huge explosion on its premises, witnesses and police said. Presumabley the assault has been undertakien in attempt to assassinate the Somali education Minister, experts said. At least one person has been killed in Mogadishu, Somalia, in an attack after a car bomb went off…

Burundi demands $43bn reparations for colonialism

Burundi wishes Belgium and Germany to pay $43 billion in reparations for harm done during decades of colonial rule. The move follows similar calls for compensation by the Democratic Republic of Congo after Belgian King Philippe in June offered his “deepest regrets” over his nation’s colonial past in the Congo. Le roi Philippe exprime au…

Mozambique troops attempt to regain Mocimboa da Praia

Mozambique security forces were engaged in a heavy battle with Islamist insurgents to regain control of a strategic port Mocimboa da Praia in a gas-rich northern province, Defence Minister Jaime Neto said. Mozambique’s security and defence forces (FDS) are “trying to control” a "tense and fluid” situation in Mocimboa da Praia after “successive waves of…

IS captures Mozambique LNG port

Islamist insurgents have captured a strateguc port for LNG in the far northern Mozambique town of Mocimboa da Praia, close to the site of natural gas projects worth some $60 billion, local media reported. (Image above: illustration). Islamist insurgents have captured a heavily-defended port in the far northern Mozambique town of Mocimboa da Praia, close…