Day: December 20, 2021

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Tigray Forces Announce Withdrawal From Afar, Amhara Regions

After months of fighting, forces of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front say they are withdrawing their forces to their home Tigray region.

The TPLF forces entered the neighboring Amhara and Afar regions after the Ethiopian government announced a unilateral ceasefire in June.

Speaking to Reuters, TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda said the move is to pave the way for the international community to take action regarding the situation in Tigray, and for the Ethiopian government to stop using TPLF forces advancement into Amhara and Afar as a pretext for continued war.

So, far the Ethiopian Authorities have not commented on the matter. But in Monday’s press briefing, the government communications service state minister spoke of the advance by government forces in North Wollo Zone of Amhara region.

In a letter addressed to the U.N. Secretary General, Tigray region head Debretsion Gebremichael also made several appeals. He asked the U.N. to enforce an arms embargo on both Ethiopia and Eritrea, and also enforce a no-fly zone, including drones, over the airspace of Tigray.

He also expressed his concern for the lives of ethnic Tigrayans living in other parts of Ethiopia. Gebremichael says, most Tigrayans across the country are being targeted and arrested while others still live in fear.

According to regional leader, the TPLF withdrawal is to settle the 13-month Tigray conflict which is taking the lives of civilians and inviting proxy war to the region.

Gebremichael also shared his concern about the situation in Northern and Western Tigray, where humanitarian conditions are dire.

The U.N. Security Council is due to discuss on Ethiopia in a session Monday. The U.N. undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths, is expected to brief the session, which is being held by the request of the United Nations and European nations.

The U.N. says the conflict in North Ethiopia has exposed over 400,000 people to famine in Tigray and made 9.4 million people dependent on aid.

Source: Voice of America

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Malawi’s Former President Criticizes Government on Arrests

Malawi's former president, Peter Mutharika, has accused President Lazarus Chakwera's government of political persecution in arresting former officials linked to the former leader. Mutharika made the comments Sunday at his first large rally of supporters since Chakwera defeated him in elections last year.

Thousands of supporters of Malawi’s opposition Democratic Progressive party (DPP) braved rain to attend a rally addressed by party leader Peter Mutharika and political ally Atupele Muluzi, leader of the opposition United Democratic front in Blantyre.

The rally was the first since Mutharika lost last year’s rerun presidential election to President Chakwera.

Mutharika told the gathering that it is concerning that the Chakwera government is only arresting officials of the former administration’s party in the fight against corruption.

Mutharika said this is a ploy to silence the opposition.

“Last week, we had plans to send my two officials who are experts in economics to address a conference and advise the government on how to turn around economic problems facing the country, but before the day came, they were arrested,” he said.

Mutharika was referring to the arrest of former Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamveka and former Reserve Bank Governor Dalitso Kabambe. They stand accused of attempting to falsify documents to get funding from the International Monetary Fund.

The two were released on bail after being arrested and charged with abuse of office.

Mutharika also accused Chakwera’s administration of targeting people from the southern region and particularly of the Lomwe tribe to which Mutharika belongs.

“Reverend Chakwera, you are the man God. I am pleading with you to stop ill-treating people from the southern region. And also, you should stop ill-treating people of the Lomwe tribe because they are innocent,” Mutharika said.

Responding to Mutharika’s remarks at the rally, a spokesperson for the governing Tonse Alliance, Maurice Munthali, told a local daily Monday that Mutharika's remarks are baseless.

Munthali also dismissed accusations of tribalism and political persecution, saying Mutharika should be the last person to say that because his administration was the champion of that.

George Phiri, a former lecturer in political science at the University of Livingstonia in Malawi, says Mutharika's claims about political arrests and tribalism are baseless because there is strong evidence that those who are being arrested are those who broke the law during their tenure of office.

“All I can say is that Malawi is not doing well ... when arrests are made of this kind, they don’t take the issues to court for prosecution so that we can justify what happened. That's what I can accuse not only the Tonse Alliance government, even Peter Mutharika’s government did the same and even other previous administrations did the same,” he said.

Phiri said, to prove Mutharika’s accusations wrong, the Chakwera administration should be sure to take all the cases involving officials of Mutharika’s political party to court for prosecution.

Source: Voice of America

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Covid-19: Africa’s cases surpass 9.14 mln – Africa CDC

ADDIS ABABA— The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has reached 9,143,184 cases as of late Saturday evening, according to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

The specialized healthcare agency of the African Union (AU) said the death toll across the continent stands at 225,890 and some 8,323,377 patients have recovered from the disease so far.

South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, and Ethiopia are among the countries with the most cases on the continent, said the Africa CDC.

South Africa has recorded the most COVID-19 cases in Africa with more than 3.2 million cases, followed by the northern African country Morocco with 952,628 cases as of late Saturday evening, the agency added.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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Five Civilians, One Soldier Killed in Latest Rebel Attack in Central African Republic

Five civilians and a soldier were killed in the latest attack by armed groups in volatile Central African Republic, plagued by fighting between rebels and the army, a local official said Monday.

Rebel fighters attacked army positions of Central African forces on Sunday in the town of Mann, some 600 kilometers (370 miles) northwest of Bangui, local sub-prefect Jean-Ulrich Sembetanga told AFP.

"The toll is five civilians killed, one Central African soldier and one rebel," Sembetanga said, blaming the powerful 3R (Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation) group, active in the northwest of the country and mainly made up of the Fulani ethnic group.

The news came hours after a report that 15 civilians were killed in the central east of the former French colony December 6 and 7.

The U.N. MINUSCA mission said Monday that others were mutilated in the attack some 400 kilometers east of Bangui, and that some 1,500 people were forced from their homes.

The organization added it had evidence of "cases of amputation, extortion and destruction of homes and the displacement of upwards of 1,500 people," pointing the finger of blame at a mainly Christian and animist militia known as the anti-Balaka.

MINUSCA added it "strongly condemns the recent violence deliberately targeting civilian populations."

Yearslong conflict

One of the poorest countries in the world, the CAR descended into conflict in 2013 when then-President Francois Bozize was ousted by a rebel coalition called the Seleka, drawn largely from the Muslim minority.

The coup triggered a sectarian bloodbath between the Seleka and anti-Balaka forces.

In December last year, rebels launched a new offensive against President Faustin-Archange Touadera's regime on the eve of presidential elections.

Touadera won reelection, and his army has now reconquered the lost territory — the United Nations and France say with key support from Russia's Wagner private security group — as well as crack Rwandan troops.

Moscow denies the allegations.

Touadera on October 15 decreed a unilateral cease-fire with a view to opening a dialogue with armed groups. The main groups responded by announcing they would abide by the truce.

But on November 28, some 30 civilians and two soldiers were killed in an attack in the northwest which authorities blamed on the 3R group.

Source: Voice of America

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Millions of Somalis Facing Conflict, Drought, Disease Need Lifesaving Assistance

The United Nations estimates 7.7 million people, half of Somalia’s population, will require humanitarian assistance and protection in 2022.It is appealing for $1.5 billion to assist 5.5 million of the most vulnerable among them.

Decades of conflict, recurrent climatic shocks, disease outbreaks, and increasing poverty, including the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are devastating the lives and livelihoods of people in Somalia.

They are facing acute hunger. Many are on the verge of famine because the rains have failed to fall for a third year in a row.U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula says 80 percent of the country is affected by drought.

Speaking on a video link from the capital Mogadishu, he tells VOA 169,000 people have abandoned their homes in search of water, food, and grazing land for their livestock.

“When I visited the countryside, I saw many dead animals," he said. "The people I met with, including one woman told me that she lost all her 200 goats, and two camels and her donkey and she and her three children are living under a tree…and the elderly people I met with told me they had not seen this level of drought since the 1970s and 80s.”

Abdelmoula says conditions in Somalia are dire. He expresses concern about a less than adequate response to the U.N. appeal given the fierce competition for funds. He says Somalia has been pushed to the back burner because of emerging crises elsewhere, especially Tigray in northern Ethiopia and Afghanistan.

He adds the international community would be making a big mistake were it to abandon Somalia.

“When this happened back in the 90’s, some serious consequences ensued. This includes mass migration, starvation and famine, the emergence of al-Shabab and the political instability and widespread piracy,” he said.

Recent projections indicate drought could displace up to 1.4 million Somalis in the coming six months, adding to the nearly 3 million people already displaced by conflict and natural disasters.

Humanitarian coordinator Abdelmoula says at least 1.2 million children under age five are likely to be acutely malnourished in 2022.He warns some 300,000 children projected to be severely malnourished are at risk of dying without imminent assistance.

Source: Voice of America