Day: December 4, 2021

GENEVA — The U.N. refugee agency has expressed outrage at the sharp rise in deadly attacks by armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri and South Kivu provinces.

Dozens of people have been killed and scores wounded in the last month in a series of raids on sites harboring displaced people. The latest incident took place Sunday at Ndjala, a site for displaced people in the Drodro health zone in Ituri province.

Local authorities say 10 women, and nine children were killed and 11 people wounded. They say men used guns, machetes and knives during their killing spree.

A spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, Boris Cheshirkov, says the attack was preceded by a series of grisly assaults against unarmed civilians who were displaced by previous atrocities.

"And what we have seen just in the span of several weeks is an increase in the number and frequency of attacks," Cheshirkov said. "And these are brutal attacks. At the end of these attacks, we have the bodies of women, of children, of families. And whole communities are torn apart.”

About 120 armed groups reportedly operate in eastern DRC. Media reports put the blame for the recent attacks on fighters from the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, known as CODECO.

The group is composed mainly of people from the Lendu farming community. Decades of inter-communal, ethnic conflicts between Lendu agriculturalists and Hema pastoralists have resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.

Cheshirkov says the recent clashes have uprooted thousands of people living in locations that are housing displaced people. For example, he notes a deadly attack on November 21 in villages in Drodro and Tche forced some 20,000 inhabitants to flee for safety to Rhoe, a site near a U.N. military base.

"The site doubled in size from 21,000 to 40,500 people in just 48 hours, forcing the newly arrived families to sleep in the open," Cheshirkov said. "The main needs are food, shelter and health care, as well as psychosocial assistance.”

??he UNHCR is calling on all parties to stop the attacks on displaced communities and to treat those facilities as sanctuaries for people who are forced to flee their homes.

The agency is appealing for greater financial support, adding it has received only 52 percent of the $205 million needed for its lifesaving operation in the DRC.

Source: Voice of America

CAIRO — A Sudanese pro-democracy group has condemned comments by the U.N. chief urging citizens to support a deal that reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, so the country can have "a peaceful transition towards a true democracy."

The Sudanese Professionals' Association, which was at the forefront of the uprising against former autocrat Omar al-Bashir, rejected late Friday Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's comments as a "moral and political failure."

Hamdok was deposed as part of the Oct. 25 coup by military leaders that brought international criticism and disrupted Sudan's fragile transition to democracy. He was reinstated last month amid international pressure in a deal that calls for an independent technocratic cabinet under military oversight.

The SPA said Guterres' comments were seen as a "justification for violence" against coup protesters who vowed to continue their street demonstrations against the deal, despite deadly violence by security forces.

The United States, its allies and the United Nations have condemned the use of excessive force against protesters who have since taken to the streets en masse. Dozens of protesters were killed and hundreds of others were wounded since the Oct. 25 coup.

The agreement, signed on Nov. 21, has angered Sudan's pro-democracy movement, which accuses Hamdok of allowing himself to serve as a fig leaf for continued military rule.

Guterres told a news conference Wednesday that he understands "the indignation" and outrage of Sudanese who have seen the military coup and don't want any solution involving the military.

"But I would like to appeal for common sense," he said. "We have a situation which is, yes, not perfect, but which could allow for a transition towards democracy."

The U.N. chief warned that calling into question the solution that led to Hamdok's reinstatement "would be very dangerous for Sudan."

The SPA said it would continue peaceful protests until the establishment of a "full civilian" government to achieve the democratic transition.

Hamdok's reinstatement is the biggest concession made by the military since the coup but the takeover has left the country's transition to democracy mired in crisis.

Since his appointment in 2019, Hamdok has been the civilian face of the government and one of the pro-democracy movement's most respected figures. But Sudan's key pro-democracy groups and political parties have said the deal that reinstated him falls short of their demands for full civilian rule.

Coup architect Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling Sovereign Council, meanwhile said the deal was "a true start" for the democratic transition.

He told the Saudi Arabia-owned satellite news network al-Arabian in an interview aired late Fridayn that the military has sought to establish a broader consensus with a "new political charter," that will be announced soon.

"I am optimistic that most of the political forces will sign the new agreement," he said. "It will be open to include all political forces that want to complete the democratic transition."

Burhan has asserted that Hamdok has "full authority" to appoint his technocratic cabinet as stated in the November deal reinstating Hamdok.

"We just want him to have independent figures that don't have political affiliations. ... Other than that, there are no restrictions on him," Burhan said.

Source: Voice of America

BEIJING — After a blessing by Buddhist monks, Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh on Friday rode the first run of a $5.9 billion Chinese-built railway that links isolated, mountainous Laos with southern China in an effort to increase trade.

Both governments tout the 1,035-kilometer (642-mile) line from the Lao capital, Vientiane to Kunming in China's poor southwest as a boost to economic growth. But it leaves a debt that foreign experts warn Laos, a country of 7 million people wedged between China, Vietnam and Thailand, might struggle to repay.

The railway is one of hundreds of projects under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative to build ports, railways and other facilities across Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Poor countries welcome the initiative, but some complain they are left owing too much to Chinese banks.

The first train pulled out of Vientiane following an inauguration ceremony conducted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Lao counterpart, Thongloun Sisoulith, over a video link from their capitals, the Lao news agency reported.

On Thursday, saffron-robed Lao monks conducted a ceremony for the railway, according to the Lao news agency.

The railway is to carry only freight across the border for now due to curbs on passenger travel imposed to contain the coronavirus.

The Kunming-Vientiane railway is a link in a possible future network connecting China with Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore. That would give southern China more access to ports and export markets.

Chinese contractors are building a high-speed rail line from the Thai capital, Bangkok, to the Lao border. That won't be completed until 2028 and will leave a gap between the border and the line to China.

Borrowed money makes up 60% of the railway's investment. Foreign experts say that is unusually high for an infrastructure project and increases the risk that the railway might fail to generate enough revenue to repay its debt.

Laos has been one of the world's fastest-growing economies over the past decade but still is among the poorest. Its average economic output per person more than doubled since 2010 but stands at $2,600.

Source: Voice of America

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA — Somalia’s annual Mogadishu International Book Fair has resumed following the suspension of the event last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Restrictions were applied to the invitation-only event this year in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The sixth edition of the Mogadishu book fair was a big distraction for residents of the capital, Mogadishu, away from the political tension linked to disagreements over the ongoing parliamentary elections in the country.

This year’s book fair was limited to a few people, especially authors, due to the coronavirus pandemic. But according to the founder of the fair, Mohamed Diini, organizers are already working to accommodate more people next year.

"In essence, we \really are doing about 10% of what we did and, ultimately, we just wanted to do something, even if it is little so that next year, we can go back to our previous state, Insha Allah,” Diini said.

Selected students from Mogadishu schools were invited this year to the children’s corner, where they enjoyed reading, storytelling and cultural tales.

Hanan Abdi Tahlil from Mogadishu International School is one of them.

She said she is very happy and excited to take part in the Mogadishu book fair this year, adding that they enjoyed storytelling from Cigaal Shidaad and Wiil Waal fictional tales among others. She also said she was looking forward to attending next year.

Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, who is busy resolving an electoral-related stalemate, congratulated the organizers of the book fair.

In a tweet, the prime minister stressed the need to encourage the pen and the book to replace arms and tribalism.

Source: Voice of America

BANJUL, GAMBIA — Election officials started counting marble votes Saturday in Gambia after the polls closed in the country's first presidential election in decades that did not include former dictator Yahya Jammeh, a milestone seen as a test of democracy in the West African country.

Long lines of Gambians came to vote to exercise their democratic rights as demands for justice in the post-Jammeh era rise. Nearly 1 million registered voters were expected to drop marbles into one of six ballot bins, each adorned with the face and name of a candidate.

The candidates include incumbent President Adama Barrow, who defeated Jammeh in 2016 as an opposition leader.

Barrow's challengers are former mentor and head opposition leader Ousainou Darboe of the United Democratic Party; Mama Kandeh of Gambia Democratic Congress; Halifa Sallah of the People's Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism; Abdoulie Ebrima Jammeh of the National Unity Party; and Essa Mbye Faal, former lead counsel of Gambia's truth commission, who was running as an independent.

"We will never lose this election," Barrow said after voting in Banjul. "I am a leader who is focused on development, and that development will continue in this country. I know in the next 24 hours my people will be celebrating in the streets."

Barrow stressed the Independent Electoral Commission must remain impartial.

Darboe voted in Fajara, a neighborhood in Bakau, near the capital, using a walker because of health problems. Flanked by a huge escort, including his wives, he added his voice to calls for peaceful elections.

"We all win if there is peaceful election," he said.

Independent Electoral Commission presiding officer Musa Mbye told The Associated Press that there were no major problems during the vote. IEC Chair Alieu Mommar Njie said election results would be announced by Monday.

After polls closed, several officials started the counts by laying the marbles on wooden boards to mark 100 to 200 votes per board. Political party representatives and polling station heads also sign off on the vote count. This year, it will also then be put into an app developed for Gambia's election tracking, aptly called Marble.

All the presidential candidates vowed to strengthen the country's tourism-dependent economy amid the coronavirus pandemic so fewer Gambians feel compelled to travel the dangerous migration route to Europe.

While the 2016 election that removed Jammeh from power after 22 years saw Gambians go from fear to elation, many are still not satisfied with the progress the nation has made.

"Since President Barrow came to power, the prices of food commodities kept rising. The average Gambian lives in poverty, so we want a candidate to be elected to address this problem," Kebba Gaye, 23, said in the town of Wellingara. "We youths want to elect a leader that will respect and value our votes. A leader that will create employment for us."

In a nearby neighborhood, Marietou Bojang, 24, agreed on the need for change, saying people don't have enough to eat.

"I am voting because myself and other women are suffering silently. A bag of rice has drastically gone up," she told the AP, adding that not enough has been done to fight corruption.

Many Gambians want certainty that the new leaders will bring the tiny West African nation of about 2.4 million toward peace and justice.

Jammeh, who seized power in 1994 in a bloodless coup, was voted out of office in 2016. After initially agreeing to step down, Jammeh resisted, and a six-week crisis saw neighboring West African countries prepare to send in troops to stage a military intervention. Jammeh was forced into exile and fled to Equatorial Guinea.

Jammeh's two-decade rule was marked by arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances and summary executions that were revealed through dramatic testimony during Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission hearings that lasted for years.

Last week, the commission handed its 17-volume report to Barrow, urging him to ensure that perpetrators of human rights violations are prosecuted. Barrow said he would do that.

Still, many Gambians feel betrayed after Barrow's National People's Party reached a deal with the top figures of the former ruling party, despite Jammeh's split with that party.

Links to Jammeh are not only an issue for the current president. Opposition candidate Kandeh has been supported by a breakaway political faction that Jammeh formed during his exile in Equatorial Guinea. While Kandeh has kept silent about Jammeh's possible return to Gambia, his allies are unequivocally saying that Jammeh would come back if they emerged victorious from the election.

Of the other candidates, Sallah and Darboe are established politicians, but they faced challenges from newcomers Faal and Ebrima Jammeh, who are making waves in urban areas.

Source: Voice of America