Airstrikes and artillery and rocket fire reported as clashes between armed forces and paramilitaries shows no sign of abating
Twenty-five civilians were killed in attacks in Khartoum over the weekend, as the violence showed no signs of abating after nearly five months of war.
Five civilians died on Sunday when bombs that “fell on their homes” in the Sudanese capital, a medical source said, a day after an airstrike in the south of the city killed at least 20.
Continue reading...Israeli PM also orders plan to remove all African asylum seekers after protests by rival groups of Eritreans
The Israeli prime minister has said he wants Eritreans involved in a violent clash in Tel Aviv to be deported immediately and has ordered a plan to remove all of the country’s African asylum seekers.
The remarks on Sunday followed bloody protests by rival groups of Eritreans in south Tel Aviv the day before that left dozens of people injured. Eritreans, supporters and opponents of Eritrea’s government, faced off with construction lumber, pieces of metal and rocks, smashing shop windows and police cars. Israeli police in riot gear fired teargas, stun grenades and live rounds while officers on horseback tried to control the protesters.
Continue reading...Anthony Mbare found his tied visa put him at mercy of his bosses. He is one of thousands who have come to plug shortages in adult social care
It is a bitter November night and Anthony Mbare is shivering in a car in rural Wiltshire, south-west England, waiting to see his next client.
It’s 3C and he has been here for almost two hours but he cannot turn on the heater because the car battery might die. A petrol-station coffee to warm him up is £3 he cannot afford. He blows on his hands, wriggles his toes and huddles under a blanket.
Continue reading...Demonstrators gather near base housing French soldiers as military junta accuses Paris of interference
Thousands of protesters rallied in Niger’s capital Niamey to call for the withdrawal of French troops, as demanded by a junta that seized power in June.
The demonstrators gathered near a base housing French soldiers on Saturday, after a call by several civic organisations hostile to the French military presence in the west African country.
Continue reading...Mohamed Kissi says forces approached and began fatal shooting after group strayed into Algerian waters
A Moroccan man has described how Algerian coastguard forces drew level with him and a group of holidaymakers who had accidentally strayed into the nation’s waters on jetskis before opening fire.
Mohamed Kissi said the incident took place at sunset on Tuesday when the four men travelling on two jetskis got lost after taking a wrong turn off the beach resort of Saïdia on Morocco’s north-east tip. The group was almost out of fuel when they unknowingly crossed the border into Algeria.
Continue reading...Officers seized power on Wednesday, placing the president, Ali Bongo, under house arrest
Gabon has reopened its borders, an army spokesperson said, three days after closing them during a military coup in which the president, Ali Bongo, was ousted.
Military officers led by General Brice Oligui Nguema seized power on Wednesday, placed Bongo under house arrest and installed Nguema as head of state, ending the Bongo family’s 56-year hold on power.
Continue reading...It was a chant that Luol Deng waited years to lead. He stood along the side of the South Sudan locker room after their run in the World Cup was over, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled the same thing, over and over.
“Where we goin’?” he shouted.
Continue reading...Violence broke out as Eritreans protested at event held by the country’s embassy in Tel Aviv
A dozen Eritrean asylum seekers have been injured by Israeli police gunfire in Tel Aviv after a demonstration against an Eritrean government event turned violent, police and medical sources said.
Clashes began on Saturday outside a venue in south Tel Aviv that was to host an event organised by the Eritrean embassy in Israel.
Continue reading...Mourners gather outside 80 Albert Street amid criticisms of government response and lack of support for victims and families
South African authorities were on Friday still searching for clues behind the cause of the most deadly fire in the country’s history, with at least 74 people confirmed to have died and dozens more being treated in hospital.
About 400 people are thought to have lived in informal settlements in the building at 80 Albert Street in central Johannesburg, which relied on illegal electricity connections for power and had no emergency exits. It is owned by the City of Johannesburg.
Continue reading...At least one man dead after group on holiday in Morocco enter Algerian territory off beach resort of Saïdia
Algerian authorities are believed to have shot dead at least one Moroccan tourist after a group of holidaymakers accidentally strayed into Algerian waters on jetskis, one of the survivors told Moroccan media.
Mohamed Kissi said that the group of friends on jetskis had got lost off the coast and strayed into Algerian waters when his brother, Bilal Kissi, was shot dead; another man, Abdelali Merchouer, was missing, presumed dead. The men were reported to have French-Moroccan dual nationality.
Continue reading...African Union suspends Gabon’s membership after General Brice Oligui Nguema and followers threw out re-elected president Ali Bongo
The general who overthrew Gabon’s 55-year Bongo dynasty will be sworn in on Monday as transitional president, the army has said, while the African Union’s peace and security council has decided to “immediately suspend” Gabon after the military coup this week.
Gabon’s opposition, meanwhile, has called for its candidate to be recognised as the winner of weekend elections.
Continue reading...Blaze at five-storey block puts spotlight on dangerous state of ‘hijacked’ city buildings occupied by vulnerable residents
Survivors of a fire that ripped through a building in Johannesburg described jumping out of windows to escape the flames, as questions were raised about the dilapidated and dangerous state of the informal dwellings housing poor economic migrants in the city.
The death toll rose to 74 on Thursday afternoon after the blaze that took hold shortly after midnight. Dozens more people were being treated for injuries in hospitals around the city. Twelve of those killed were children, the Gauteng health department said.
Continue reading...Seven children among dozens dead after blaze tears through building in South Africa’s largest city
At least 73 people, including seven children, have died in a fire in a multi-storey building in the centre of Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city, emergency services have said.
In one of the country’s worst such tragedies in living memory, emergency management services said a further 43 people had been injured in the blaze, which broke out early on Thursday.
Continue reading...Wagner boss apparently seen in Africa saying ‘everything’s fine’ as he addressed rumours about wellbeing
A newly released video of Yevgeny Prigozhin purports to show the Wagner group boss in Africa addressing rumours about his wellbeing and threats to his life, just days before his death.
“For everyone discussing whether I’m alive or not and how I’m doing. It’s currently a weekend in the second half of August 2023. I’m in Africa,” Prigozhin says in the short video published by the Grey Zone Telegram channel that is linked to Wagner group.
Continue reading...Data collected on behalf of president shows he was on course to win about 50% of the vote, as new leader announced by coup forces
The president of Gabon, who was ousted in a coup after elections on Saturday, was on course for a modest but clear victory, according to private polling conducted on his behalf.
The polling also showed that Ali Bongo was personally popular, even if his government and advisers were far less so. His ill-health was apparently not seen as a reason for him to stand aside.
Continue reading...Strong desire for change – even if it comes wearing combat fatigues – is feeding Africa’s series of putsches
The routine is now very familiar: the sudden putsch, the president confined, the nocturnal statement by new, camouflaged rulers. Today it is the turn of Gabon to wake up to find a military coup has brought sudden and unexpected political upheaval in a country that had been considered relatively stable.
On this occasion, the men in uniform introduced themselves as members of the Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions. If successful, the coup will be the eighth in west and central Africa since 2020 to lead to a violent – or at least coerced – change in regime. The most recent was last month in Niger.
Continue reading...Seizure of power announced on television, cancelling election results that gave president third term in office
Military officers in Gabon say they have taken power and put the president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, under house arrest, as the country becomes the latest in Africa to suffer an attempted coup, only weeks after mutinous troops seized power in Niger.
A group of military personnel appeared on state television to announce they were seizing power to overturn the results of a presidential election, seeking to remove a president whose family has held power for nearly 56 years. The officers introduced themselves as members of the Committee of Transition and the Restoration of Institutions.
Continue reading...Najla al-Mangoush had already been suspended after news of secret meeting with Eli Cohen was released
Libya’s foreign minister has fled the country after news of a secret meeting in Rome between her and her Israeli counterpart last week was released by the Israeli foreign ministry, causing a political outcry in Tripoli and two nights of street protests across the country.
Najla al-Mangoush had already been suspended by her Tripoli-based prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, on Sunday evening when news of the meeting broke. Officials initially claimed the meeting had been a chance affair and not planned.
Continue reading...Khaled Nezzar is to be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity during 1991-2002 Algerian civil war
Victims of the 1991-2002 Algerian civil war have been given hope that they will finally receive justice after the highly unusual announcement by Swiss authorities that a former Algerian minister of defence is to stand trial in Switzerland on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Khaled Nezzar is set to be the highest-ranking military official ever tried for war crimes under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to investigate and prosecute people suspected of having committed international crimes regardless of where they were committed, their nationality, or the nationality of the victims.
Continue reading...Twenty-year-old could face death penalty after anti-LGBTQ+ legislation was introduced this year
Ugandan prosecutors have charged a man with “aggravated homosexuality” under anti-LGBTQ+ legislation introduced this year that makes the offence punishable by death.
The law – considered one of the harshest of its kind in the world – also includes penalties for consensual same-sex relations of up to life in prison.
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