Day: June 29, 2022

DAKAR— At least 14 migrants died when a boat caught fire in south Senegal, a local mayor and a health official said.

“We have been able to recover 14 bodies,” David Diatta, the mayor of the coastal town of Kafountine in Casamance, said after the fire on Monday.

“The toll will likely rise,” he added.

The town’s chief nurse, Bourama Faboure, said that 21 people had been injured, including four who suffered second-degree burns.

The dugout had been carrying about 140 people, nearly 90 of whom survived and were able to be identified.

“There were Guineans, Nigerians, Gambians and Senegalese,” Diatta said.

But the search continued for those still missing, he said.

“The survivors are saying that the fire was started by someone smoking a cigarette where the fuel was kept,” the mayor said.

He described how he spoke to one father came from Nigeria to Senegal via Gambia and was “traumatised” by what had happened.

“He still hasn’t found his wife and children,” the mayor said.

“There is no doctor here, only nurses. And we don’t have a morgue so we have to bury the bodies immediately,” Diatta said.

“Their families will never know if they are dead or not.”

Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Many migrants set off from Senegal to try to reach the Spanish Canary Islands as a gateway into Europe.

The fire comes after at least 23 African migrants died when around 2,000 migrants stormed the heavily fortified border between the Moroccan region of Nador and the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Friday.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

The African Union called for restraint Wednesday after clashes between Ethiopia and Sudan in a disputed border area. The tensions broke out after Sudan accused Ethiopia of executing seven of its troops, which Ethiopia blamed on a local militia.

The statement appealed for “complete refrain from any military action, whatever its origins,” and called for dialogue between Sudan and Ethiopia to resolve any dispute.

Sudan on Tuesday captured Jabal Kala al-Laban, an area on the border, after using heavy artillery a Sudanese military source told Reuters.

Shawgi Abdulazim, a Sudanese political analyst, said a broader conflict is unlikely because both countries are politically and economically fragile and a conflict could have disastrous effects.

He said if war happens, it will affect the humanitarian situation in both countries, resulting in an influx of refugees and displaced people. It would also further impact the situation in Djibouti, Somalia, and South Sudan amid an expected hunger crisis in the region.

Sudanese journalist Abdelmoniem Abuedries doubts the conflict will escalate.

“I don’t think this will lead to broader conflict, it will continue to be small clashes here and there,” he said. “Always these small clashes are happening at the beginning of the rainy season in this area, because the farmers start cultivating their farms.”

The clashes have taken place around the al-Fashaqa region, where land disputes between Sudanese and Ethiopian farmers have simmered for decades.

Source: Voice of America

In his first oral report since beginning his job as the United Nations special rapporteur on Burundi’s human rights, Fortune Gaetan Zongo appealed to Burundian authorities to grant him access to their country to properly discharge his mandate to investigate alleged violations in that country.

Zongo noted with satisfaction that since the start of his mandate on April 1, Burundi’s return to the international scene had begun with the lifting of sanctions by the European Union, the United States and others. In return, he said Burundi has begun interacting with international and regional actors.

Additionally, he said Burundi has made some progress on human rights. He noted that Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye has pardoned more than 5,000 people in detention and freed some journalists and civil society representatives, as well. He spoke through an interpreter.

“But despite this major progress achieved since 2020, additional efforts are still necessary in the area of fighting impunity, in beefing up institutions, notably in the justice sector, the police and the army,” Zongo said. “In protecting the enjoyment of public freedoms and expanding the democratic space through effective participation of civil society and the media.”

Zongo said he intends to fulfill his mandate in an impartial manner and will examine documents from all sources regarding the human rights situation in Burundi.

However, he noted he only has access to partial information, achieved through secondary sources. That, he said, could tarnish the credibility and neutrality of his effort.

“From the height of this tribune, I would like to request of the Burundi authorities the possibility of interacting with them — visiting this brotherly country in order to better understand the realities on the ground, the country’s opportunities, as well as the challenges and priorities of that country.”

Burundi’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Renovat Tabu, said Burundi has achieved major progress in implementing reforms and promoting good governance, social justice, and freedom of expression.

He said his country was aware of the crucial role played by the council in reinforcing, promoting and protecting human rights across the world. But he added that Burundi would not accept any mechanism or political attempts to interfere with the domestic affairs of sovereign states.

The comments effectively shut the door on Zongo visiting Burundi – at least for the time being.

Source: Voice of America

South Africa’s state-owned power company, Eskom, said some workers were returning to their posts Wednesday, amid a strike over pay issues that caused severe nationwide power cuts. The rolling blackouts have dealt a blow to South Africa’s already ailing economy.

Some of the striking workers who are members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) — have heeded the call to return.

But the exact number of those who have resumed duties is still unclear, as the workers walked off the job without approval. Eskom’s spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, said while some are back at work, there is still a high level of absenteeism.

He explained that despite the workers returning, the country remained on what is known as a Stage 6 alert regarding the outages.

“The system will still take some time to recover. As a result of the strike, maintenance work has had to be postponed and this backlog will take time to clear,” Mantshantsha said.

Stage 6, also known as loadshedding, means many areas are without electricity for at least six hours a day on a rolling basis. Eskom resorted to that stage only once before, for three days in December 2019.

The alert level is expected to go down in the coming hours.

Regular power cuts started in South Africa back in 2007 due to increased demand and aging coal power stations.

Energy analyst Chris Yelland said the strike, which started last week, simply aggravated an already bad situation.

“Eskom says that there were a number of units that had come off even before the industrial action but because of the industrial action, key people were not able to get access to the power stations,” Yelland said. “As a result, picketing at the power stations, intimidation, acts of violence and so people that needed to bring these units back on stream were not available.”

Workers from the two unions went on strike to demand pay increases of 10 and 12 percent. Union leaders will meet with Eskom on Friday to discuss the company’s latest offer, reported to be a 7 percent raise.

Meanwhile, Yelland is calling on the government to get rid of the regulations that give Eskom a near-monopoly over South Africa’s electricity market.

“And every effort should be made to remove all the restrictions that are preventing the private sector from building their own generation capacity. And that means domestic, commercial, industrial, mining, agricultural,” Yelland said. “They’ve all got to come to the table and be allowed to build their own generation facilities.”

If the government doesn’t act, he said, the blackouts will steadily worsen.

Economists, meanwhile, have warned of a ratings downgrade if the situation doesn’t change quickly.

Source: Voice of America

The top U.N. official for the Democratic Republic of the Congo said Wednesday that the resurgent M23 rebel group in the country’s east is well-armed and equipped, posing a growing threat to civilians.

“During the most recent hostilities, the M23 has conducted itself increasingly as a conventional army, rather than an armed group,” said Bintou Keita, head of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as MONUSCO.

“The M23 possesses firepower and equipment, which is increasingly sophisticated, specifically in terms of long-range fire capacities — mortars, machine guns, as well as precision fire against aircraft,” she said in remarks to the Security Council.

The M23 was defeated by Congo’s army (FARDC) and special MONUSCO forces in 2013. But in November 2021, its forces began to reemerge.

Congolese officials blame neighboring Rwanda, saying it supports the group, which claims to be protecting the Tutsi minority in eastern DRC. Rwanda’s government is Tutsi-led but denies any link to the rebel group.

At the Security Council, Congolese Ambassador Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja called for the M23’s unconditional withdrawal from the DRC. He also urged strong condemnation of those who support the group “beginning with the state of Rwanda and its president.”

“This is an unfounded accusation,” Rwanda’s envoy Claver Gatete responded.

MONUSCO has more than 16,000 troops and police in Congo’s east. But Keita warned they may soon be outgunned by the rebels.

“Should the M23 continue its well-coordinated attacks against FARDC and MONUSCO with increasing conventional capabilities, the mission may find itself confronted by a threat that goes beyond its current capabilities,” she said.

The United Nations has called on the group to cease all hostilities and disarm.

force

The resurgence of the M23 has led to a deterioration in relations between the DRC and Rwanda.

On May 27, the Congolese government declared M23 a terrorist movement, accused Rwanda of supporting the rebels and suspended RwandAir flights to the DRC.

At an African Union summit the next day, Senegalese President Macky Sall, chairman of the AU, met with the two presidents and offered Angolan President João Lourenço, chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, to mediate between them.

Last week, East African leaders agreed to deploy a regional security force to help restore order in the eastern Congo and ease tensions. Kenya is slated to lead the force, the size of which has not been announced.

The U.N.’s Keita told reporters she has been told the force’s headquarters will be deployed by the end of July, and troops will follow in August.

“I would urge East Africa Community leaders to prioritize dialogue-based approaches to the crisis,” U.S. envoy Richard Mills told the council. “The United States insists that the deployment of any additional force in eastern DRC must be closely coordinated with MONUSCO, and it must be conducted in conformity with the parties’ respective commitments under international law, including international humanitarian law.”

He said it must also be done in line with existing Security Council sanctions resolutions, and the council should be formally notified before it is deployed.

Source: Voice of America