At least 14 people were killed in an overnight attack on a displaced persons camp in east Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province, the latest violence in an area overrun by militants, the army and a civil society leader said on Tuesday.   

Rebels raided a site outside the eastern town of Fataki where hundreds of civilians have sought refuge in recent months, killing 14 people including children, army spokesman Jules Ngongo Tsikudi said.   

Civil society leader Dieudonne Lossa gave a provisional death toll of 15 and blamed a militant group known as CODECO, accused of staging another attack on a nearby artisanal mining site on Sunday that killed at least 35. 

Reuters was not able to reach CODECO for comment on Tuesday.  

The group is one of several armed militias, including an Islamic State affiliate, wrangling over land and resources in Congo’s mineral-rich east – a conflict that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions over the past decade.   

Congo’s government declared martial law in Ituri and neighboring North Kivu province a year ago in an effort to quell the violence. But deadly raids have surged since then.   

CODECO is renowned for targeting civilians, killing 18 people at a church last month and another 60 at a displaced persons camp in February.   
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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country is poised to take advantage of the growing demand for platinum group metals, as Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have forced mining investors to look to Africa. 

Ramaphosa’s comments came this week at the Investing in African Mining Conference in Cape Town.

Mining analyst Peter Major said while it’s unfortunate to say, the war in Ukraine is helping South Africa’s economy. 

“We produce half of the world’s palladium and we produce 75% of the world’s platinum and we produce about 90% of the world’s rhodium,” Major said. “Because the world is restricting the platinum and palladium they get from Russia, it’s squeezing the price up so we’re in a great position.” 

South Africa is also a major coal producer, and Major notes coal prices are on the rise.  

“We were lucky to get $100 a ton for our coal, now we’re getting $300 a ton,” he said. “And we’re only exporting coal as much as we did in 1994 because our infrastructure is so bad. But at least we’re getting three times the price than we would’ve been getting.” 

Henk Langenhoven, chief economist for the Minerals Council that represents South African mines, said the sharp rise in oil prices will likely move some countries toward green energy more quickly. This, he said, will further drive up demand for platinum and palladium used in the manufacture of zero-carbon emitting power plants.  

He also downplayed South Africa’s poor ranking in the 2021 Fraser Institute’s Index, where the country was ranked as one of the 10 worst mining investment nations in the world. 

“It doesn’t reflect what we see financially,” he said. “Financially the companies are doing very well because of the commodities windfall.” 

Langehoven added that to properly take advantage of the mining opportunities, southern African countries need better transportation networks. But, he said, there has been progress particularly between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Congo.

“There’s a lot of work and investment going on to be able to come south or to come through the west coast through Namibia or Dar es Salam,” Langehoven said. “So, a lot of that infrastructure is starting to be put in place and having an impact. You see quite dramatic shifts in volumes of tonnage going, for example, to Windhoek.” 

He said Ramaphosa’s speech at the mining conference demonstrated the South African government’s commitment to fixing similar problems.  

“One is electricity of course, that we’re not going to solve it immediately. We’re trying to augment as fast as we can,” Langehoven said. “The other one is transport; the rail and harbor systems. The third issue is trying to streamline and simplify the policy issues to get implementation faster.”

The presidents of Botswana and Zambia and the prime minister of Democratic Republic of Congo are among those attending the conference, which runs until Thursday.  Also attending is Jose Fernandez, the U.S. undersecretary for economic growth, energy and the environment. Fernandez is the highest-ranking U.S. official ever to attend the conference. 
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised food production concerns in countries that depend on the region’s exports of fertilizers, such as Ghana. To cope with the shortage, Ghanaian authorities are urging farmers to use locally produced chicken droppings and compost instead as fertilizer. For VOA, Senanu Tord reports from Abukrom, Ghana
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Floyd Mayweather arrived in Nigeria’s capital Sunday evening and met with organizers of this week’s exhibition match in Dubai as well as boxing fans and journalists.

He held a news conference alongside his opponent in his upcoming match, boxer Don Moore.

Mayweather said the visit to Nigeria was part of plans to promote the sport of boxing in Africa.

“It’s all about giving back. We’re working on Mayweather boxing gyms in Nigeria. We want to also build boxing camps for the young youths and children coming up. We’re going to continue to work together and hopefully someday we can find the next Floyd Mayweather from Nigeria,” he said.

Boxing in Nigeria has long been overshadowed by the rising popularity of sports like football. Public boxing gyms are underfunded and poorly equipped.

Nigeria’s boxing champion, Olanrewaju Durodola, says authorities need to step in and that Mayweather’s visit could spur a positive change in Africa.

“The problem in Africa is that we don’t have good promoters here. We have a lot of talented boxers. If he comes to Nigeria and has a big team and sets up all the things that we need, I think the Nigerian boxing will be very great,” he said.

Mayweather’s match Saturday will take place at Dubai’s Burj Al Arab hotel. It will be his first time back in the ring since retiring in August 2017.

Mayweather, who won 50 out of 50 matches during his career, has also visited South Africa, Morocco, and Egypt.

 
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When you think about places to get some rest, airplanes don’t normally come to mind. Aerotel is trying to change all that. Romain Chanson reports for VOA from northern South Africa, in this piece narrated by Carol Guensburg.
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Villagers along Cameroon’s northern border with Chad and Nigeria have been holding daily protests in front of government offices demanding that the military intervene and deploy troops in areas where attacks by Boko Haram have increased. Protesters say in the past three weeks alone, at least 35 villagers were killed after an alleged attack by the Islamist militant group

Village leaders blame Islamist fighters with the terrorist group Boko Haram for killing at least 35 people in the past three weeks and stealing livestock and food. They raised money for villagers to travel to the regional capital, Maroua to seek help from authorities.

Pastor Joseph Bayoha of the Evangelical Church of Cameroon in Tourou, a village on the border with Nigeria, said villagers came to tell the governor that a day hardly goes by without reports of Boko Haram fighters abusing or killing civilians and stealing their food and cattle.

Bayoha said villagers in Cameroon’s north want the government to immediately deploy troops to protect them and their property and bring back peace, adding they feel abandoned by Cameroon’s military and government to face Boko Haram alone.

Village leaders said Boko Haram infiltrated the northern towns of Kolofata and Amchide and the villages of Tourou, Gambarou and Kumshe.

Midjiyawa Bakari, Governor of Cameroon’s Far North region, told state broadcaster Cameroon Radio Television villagers have not been abandoned by the military as they claim.

He said Cameroon President Paul Biya considers the pleas for more troop deployments legitimate, and should be ready to collaborate with troops that are already on their way to reinforce the military’s presence along the border.

Bakari added that Biya ordered financial and material assistance to village militias that collaborate with troops in fighting the terrorist group Boko Haram. He did not give details on the assistance or how much money the militias would receive.

Bakari said many young people who defected from Boko Haram after the death of its leader, Abubakar Shekau, last year may be rejoining the group for lack of jobs.

He pleaded with them to be patient and said the government intends to provide subsidies to militants who surrender so they could do farming instead.

Cameroon’s military on Saturday dismissed local media reports claiming troops meant for the Far North were sent instead to fight rebels in the western regions.

The military said troops were on standby to protect civilians wherever and whenever the need arises.
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Public fetes celebrating the son of Uganda’s leader are raising concern he is aiming for the presidency after years of apparently being groomed to succeed his father, President Yoweri Museveni, who has held power since 1986.

Three events marking Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s 48th birthday have been held in recent days in the capital, Kampala, and his supporters in other parts of this East African country have staged lively rallies they said were in tribute to their future president.

The most recent event, Saturday’s thanksgiving ceremony, was attended by hundreds, including top government officials and military officers.

Kainerugaba, who commands Uganda’s infantry forces, has been increasingly assertive in Twitter posts in which he mentions his wish to rule Uganda. He spoke of increasing the sports budget in favor of young people when he “wins power in this country.” And he says he will announce his political program soon.

“The fact that all those who used to abuse me on a daily basis are now being forced to swallow their words by the people is great,” he said on May 2, referring to recent rallies where throngs of people wore T-shirts bearing his image.

Kainerugaba’s supporters say he offers Uganda the opportunity of a peaceful transfer of power in a country that has not had one since independence from British colonial rule in 1962. But opposition leaders, critics and others eager for change say his rise is leading the East African country toward hereditary rule.

Kainerugaba’s birthday celebrations should be seen as a formal introduction of “the crown prince and heir to the Ugandan throne,” critic Muniini K. Mulera wrote in a column in the local Daily Monitor newspaper. Museveni “has entered his last lap of a long walk towards the realization of a fifty-year-old dream to create dynastic rule,” he wrote.

Kainerugaba also faces legal scrutiny. Because Ugandan law prohibits a serving military officer from engaging in partisan affairs, some say Kainerugaba has already crossed the line. They point out that other army officers who discussed politics were humiliated.

A Ugandan attorney last week filed a petition with the Constitutional Court seeking a declaration that Kainerugaba’s political activities are unlawful. That petition also seeks to have Kainerugaba prosecuted for alleged treason, charging that his activities are destabilizing.

Kainerugaba joined the army in the late 1990s, and his rise to the top of the armed forces has been controversial, with critics dubbing it the “Muhoozi Project” to prepare him for the presidency.

Museveni and Kainerugaba himself have denied the existence of such a scheme, but it appears a transition is now underway as Museveni, 77, serves what could be his last term without a recognizable successor within his government.

Museveni has not said when he would retire. He has no rivals within the ruling National Resistance Movement party, the reason many believe the military will have a say in choosing his successor.

Most of the heroes of the jungle war that ended years-long civil strife and launched Museveni’s presidency have since died or been retired from the army, putting authority in the hands of young military officers who see Kainerugaba as their leader.

Kainerugaba, the pillar of his father’s personal security apparatus, is now the de facto head of the military, with his allies strategically deployed in command positions across the security services, according to observers.

Kainerugaba’s associates describe him as a dedicated military officer who often eschews ostentatious displays of power and wealth. He attended military schools in the U.S. and Britain before taking charge of a presidential guard unit that has since been expanded into an elite group of special forces.

A taciturn man, Kainerugaba lacks the public charisma and folksy style of Museveni, who has kept power in part by striking deals with his political rivals and even convincing some to serve in his government.

Museveni, a U.S. ally on regional security, is often credited with restoring Uganda to relative peace and security. But in recent years he has faced growing criticism over rights abuses against opposition supporters.

Bobi Wine, the popular singer who challenged Museveni in elections last year, accuses Kainerugaba’s security agents of torture. Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, has repeatedly urged the U.S. to cut support for Uganda’s military.

Some analysts say that Museveni is unlikely to retire at all but could use his remaining years to pave the way for Kainerugaba to succeed him.

Uganda’s next presidential elections are due in 2026.

Although a Kainerugaba presidency is not inevitable, he could build “a critical mass of support” among soldiers and businesspeople to eventually take power, said Nicholas Sengoba, a political analyst based in Kampala. Kainerugaba’s public events, he said, are aimed at “testing the waters” as Museveni gauges public support for family rule.

“The son helps the father to consolidate,” he said. “The father helps the son now because he’s in charge.”
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An Islamic State affiliate in Egypt on Sunday claimed responsibility for an attack that targeted a water pumping station east of the Suez Canal, killing at least 11 soldiers. 

At least five other soldiers were wounded in Saturday’s attack, according to the Egyptian military. It was one of the deadliest attacks on Egyptian security forces in recent years. 

Thousands of people attended separate funerals for the dead Sunday. 

President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, meanwhile, presided over a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which includes the military’s top commanders, to discuss the consequences of the attack, his office said without offering further details. 

The extremist group announced its claim of the attack in a statement carried by its Aamaq news agency. The authenticity of the statement could not be verified but it was released on Telegram as similar claims have been in the past. 

The attack took place in the town of Qantara in the province of Ismailia, which stretches eastwards from the Suez Canal. 

Militants attacked troops at a checkpoint guarding the pumping facility, then fled the site. The military said troops were pursuing the attackers in an isolated area of the northern Sinai Peninsula. 

Egypt is battling an Islamic State-led insurgency in the Sinai that intensified after the military overthrew an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013. The militants have carried out scores of attacks, mainly targeting security forces and Christians. 

The pace of militant attacks in Sinai’s main theater of operations and elsewhere has slowed to a trickle since February 2018, when the military launched an extensive operation in Sinai as well as parts of the Nile Delta and deserts along the country’s western border with Libya.
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Ami Sana hangs a tattered tarp for a bit of shade where she can rest on a break from pounding stones under the scorching sun.

“The work is hard. It makes my body weak, but what else can I do?” she asked.

The mother of six is one of two million people displaced by Burkina Faso’s rapidly rising Islamic extremist violence, according to the U.N.

Amid the clamor of clanging pickaxes and falling rocks, Sana has found work in the Pissy granite mine on the outskirts of Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou.

Lifting heavy rocks and hammering them into gravel to sell to construction companies is tough work that doesn’t earn her enough to adequately feed or educate her children, Sana said. But it’s the best work that she could find.

The rush of civilians from rural villages plagued by extremist violence has put pressure on Burkina Faso’s cities.

“Some of the host cities have doubled or tripled in size in the past three years, and their infrastructures are often stretched to a breaking point,” said Hassane Hamadou, country director for the Norwegian Refugee Council.

“Schools can’t absorb all the new children, water points can’t provide enough for all. Hundreds of thousands are left without access to an education, clean water or healthcare as a result,” he said.

The influx of displaced people is causing competition among the approximately 3,000 people working at the granite mine. At least 500 displaced people started working at the mine last year, making it harder for the original miners to earn a living, said Abiba Tiemtore, head of the site.

“With more people, it’s hard to collect as many rocks and it’s impacting our daily income,” she said. Miners who used to make approximately $1 a day say they are now lucky if they make 80 cents.

When it seized power in January, Burkina Faso’s ruling junta vowed to stamp out extremist violence, but it has done little about the swelling numbers of displaced.

The government has a responsibility to provide the swelling numbers of displaced with those social services, said Alexandra Lamarche, senior advocate for West and Central Africa for Refugees International.

The minister of humanitarian affairs did not respond to a request for comment on the situation.

So far, the junta has not succeeded in stemming the extremist violence. In January, 160,000 people were newly displaced, the second-largest monthly increase in three years, according to a report by international aid groups. Hard-hit areas like the Center North region, which hosts Burkina Faso’s largest displaced population, are buckling under the pressure.

“The impact of people moving from their farms into big cities is disorientation (and) the increase of poverty (and) fear,” said Abdoulaye Pafadnam, former mayor of Barsalogho, one of the main towns in the Center North region.

The violence is cutting off access for aid groups to reach people in need. Roads that were safe to travel six months ago are lined with explosives and the United Nations had only one helicopter until recently to transport people and aid across the country.

The pressure on cities has also started creating rifts between some host and displaced communities. In the northern town of Ouahigouya, people sheltering in a crowded displacement camp said locals chase them from the forest if they try to chop wood for cooking, accusing them of trying to destroy it.

With no end to the jihadi violence in sight, the numbers of Burkina Faso’s displaced are expected to continue flooding urban centers where they’ll be hunting for jobs.

“I worry that I have no means to take care of my children,” said Fati Ouedraogo, a displaced mother of 10 in Ouahigouya. “When the children are crying, I don’t know what to do.”
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Raiders killed at least 35 people, including a baby, in an attack on a gold mine in Ituri, in the strife-torn northeast of Democratic Republic of Congo, local sources said Sunday.

One local official, Jean-Pierre Bikilisende, of the rural Mungwalu settlement in Djugu, Ituri, said the CODECO militia had carried out the attack on the artisanal mine.

Bikilisende said the militia had attacked the Camp Blanquette gold mine and that 29 bodies had been retrieved, while another six burned bodies had been found buried at the site.

Among the dead was a 4-month-old baby, he added.

“This is a provisional toll,” he said, as there had been other people killed whose bodies had been thrown down the mine shafts.

Several other civilians had been reported missing, he said, adding, “The search continues.”

Camp Blanquette was set up in a forest, far from the nearest military outpost, so help came too late, Bikilisende said.

Cherubin Kukundila, a civil leader in Mungwalu, said that at least 50 people had been killed in the raid.

Several people were wounded, nine of them seriously. They were being treated at Mungwalu hospital, he told AFP.

During their attack, the raiders had ransacked shops, carried off what the miners had dug out of the mine and burned down houses, he added.

The Camp Blanquette mine lies 7 kilometers from Mungwalu.

CODECO, the name for the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, is a political-religious sect that claims to represent the interests of the Lendu ethnic group.

The Lendu and Hema communities have a long-standing feud that led to thousands of deaths between 1999 and 2003 before intervention by a European peacekeeping force.

Violence then resumed in 2017, blamed on the emergence of CODECO.

CODECO is considered one of the deadliest of the militias operating in the east of the country, blamed for a number of ethnic massacres in the province of Ituri.

It has been held responsible for attacks on soldiers and civilians, including those fleeing the conflict and aid workers.

Its attacks have caused hundreds of deaths and prompted more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes.

Ituri and neighboring North Kivu province have been under siege since May last year. The army and police have replaced senior administrators in a bid to stem attacks by armed groups.

Despite this, the authorities have been unable to stop the massacres regularly carried out on civilians.
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World Red Cross Day, May 8, has been observed in Cameroon with hundreds of Red Cross workers in towns and villages across the central African state asking for greater recognition and protection by their communities. The humanitarian workers say although they have not reported deaths, Red Cross workers are often victims of battery, Boko Haram terrorism, and separatist violence.

Hundreds of people, including beneficiaries of Red Cross services, humanitarian workers and government officials, assembled at the Yaoundé-headquartered Cameroon Red Cross Society to celebrate the 2022 World Red Cross Day.

Among them was Aliou Alim, a Red Cross volunteer who has worked in the northern town of Banyo, on Cameroon’s border with Nigeria.

Alim said in March he and seven colleagues were taken captive by people they were encouraging to take COVID-19 vaccines in Banyo. He said they were freed after local government officials explained to their captors that Red Cross workers are out to save lives.

Alim said every Cameroonian should be informed that the Red Cross serves humanity. He says besides protecting Red Cross workers, protagonists in conflict zones and civilians should respect and protect the Red Cross emblem, bearing in mind that humanitarian workers are there to rescue people in need and save lives.

Alim said many people along Cameroon’s border with Nigeria do not know the importance of Red Cross workers and very often refuse to collaborate with them. He said there is a misconception that the Red Cross emblem signifies adherence to a Western occult group trying to recruit Cameroonian followers.

The Red Cross says such allegations are unfounded and spread by people who are ignorant of Red Cross activities.

The government says Red Cross workers have been of great help saving lives in the central African state’s trouble spots. The government says the Red Cross has provided humanitarian assistance to several thousand of the 750,000 people fleeing the separatist crisis in the country’s English-speaking western regions.

Red Cross workers have also assisted about a third of the close to 3 million people displaced by Boko Haram terrorism in Cameroon and its northern neighbors, Chad and Nigeria, the government says.

Cecile Akame Mfoumou, the president of the Cameroon Red Cross Society, said close to 70,000 people volunteer or work as staff for the organization.

She said Cameroon needs more humanitarian workers to help people suffering as a result of conflicts generated by environmental challenges and climate change, Boko Haram terrorism on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria, the spillover of the crisis in the neighboring Central African Republic, and the separatist crisis in Cameroon’s western regions that have claimed close to 3,300 lives. She said she is encouraging Red Cross workers to be determined in their efforts to save lives, despite the challenges they face.

Cameroon says it will protect all humanitarian workers and asks communities to understand that the workers are there to help people in need.

Mfoumou said scores of Red Cross workers have complained of battery and restrictions in carrying out humanitarian activities in Cameroonian trouble zones. The Red Cross says many of its workers were chased by separatists from the English-speaking regions, but it does not report cases of killings.

World Red Cross Day is an annual celebration when people pay tribute to the organization for its contribution to helping those in need. The day also marks the birthday of Henry Dunant, who founded the International Committee of the Red Cross and received the first Nobel Peace Prize.
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Eleven Egyptian soldiers were killed on Saturday attempting to thwart a “terrorist” attack on the Suez Canal zone abutting the Sinai peninsula, a hotbed of jihadist activity, the army said.

It was the heaviest loss of life the army had suffered in years in its long-running campaign in and around the Sinai against militants loyal to the Islamic State group.

Five soldiers were also wounded in the firefight on the eastern bank of the canal, the army said, adding security forces were “continuing to chase the terrorists and surround them in an isolated area of the Sinai.”

“These terrorist operations will not defeat the determination of the country and the army to continue uprooting terrorism,” President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi pledged on Facebook.

Washington condemned the “terrorist attack in the Sinai targeting members of the Egyptian military” and expressed its condolences to the victims’ families.

“For decades, the United States has been and remains Egypt’s strong partner in confronting terrorism in the region,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement.

Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has been gripped by an armed insurgency for more than a decade, which peaked after the ouster of late Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013.

In February 2018, the army and police launched a nationwide operation against militants focused on North Sinai.

More than a thousand suspected militants and dozens of security personnel have been killed since the start of operations, according to official figures.

In November, Egypt agreed with Israel to boost its troop numbers around the border town of Rafah to quell IS militants.

In August, the army said 13 militants had been killed and nine of its soldiers were “killed or wounded” during clashes in the Sinai, without indicating when the fighting had taken place.

In recent years, pipelines carrying Egyptian oil and gas to neighboring Israel and Jordan have been the primary targets of insurgent attacks.
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In a bid to protect coastal communities from climate change and encourage investment, African nations are increasingly turning to mangrove restoration projects, with Mozambique becoming the latest addition to the growing list of countries with large scale mangrove initiatives.

Mozambique follows efforts across the continent — including in Kenya, Madagascar, Gambia and Senegal — and is touted as the world’s largest coastal or marine ecosystem carbon storage project. Known as blue carbon, carbon captured by these ecosystems can sequester, or remove, carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a faster rate than forests, despite being smaller in size.

Mozambique’s mangrove restoration project — announced in February alongside its UAE-based partner Blue Forest Solutions — hopes to turn 185,000 hectares (457,100 acres) in the central Zambezia and southern Sofala provinces into a forest which could capture up to 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide, according to project leaders.

“Blue carbon can be utilized not only to sequester tons of carbon dioxide but to also improve the lives of coastal communities,” Vahid Fotuhi, the Chief Executive officer of Blue Forest, told the Associated Press. “There are around one million hectares of mangroves forests in Africa. Collectively they’re able to sequester more carbon dioxide than the total annual emissions of a country like Croatia or Bolivia.” He added these projects would create green jobs and promote biodiversity.

Africa’s major mangrove forests have been decimated in recent decades due to logging, fish farming, coastal development, and pollution, leading to increased blue carbon emissions and greater exposure of vulnerable coastal communities to flooding and other threats to livelihood.

But the continent’s growing attention on mangrove restoration can be attributed in part to the successful Mikoko Pamoja project, initiated in 2013 in Kenya’s Gazi Bay, which protected 117 hectares (289 acres) of mangrove forest and replanted 4,000 trees annually, spurring other countries to also address their damaged coastal land and recreate its success.

Mikoko Pamoja, Swahili for ‘mangroves together’, centered its efforts around protecting the small communities in Gazi and Makongeni villages from coastal erosion, loss of fish and climate change. It was dubbed the “world’s first blue carbon project” and earned the community of just 6,000 global fame, accolades, carbon cash and greater living standards.

“Mikoko Pamoja has led to development of projects in the community, including installation of water,” Iddi Bomani, the village chairperson of the Gazi community, said. “Everyone has water available in their houses.”

“It especially leads to improved livelihoods through job creation when done by communities,” Laitani Suleiman, a committee member of the Mikoko Pamoja, added.

Several other projects have come to fruition since. In Senegal, 79 million replanted mangrove trees are projected to store 500,000 tons of carbon over the next 20 years. Neighboring Gambia launched its own reforestation effort in 2017, with Madagascar following suit with its own preservation project two years later. Egypt is planning its mangrove restoration project ahead of hosting the United Nations climate conference in November this year.

The projects have sparked a clamor for the sale of carbon credits, a type of permit that allows for a certain amount of emissions as remuneration for forest restoration or other carbon offset projects. Gabon was offered a recent pay package of $17 million through the Central African Forest Initiative due to its protection efforts, but complaints persist on the low prices offered to African governments.

“Africa remains excluded from a lot of financing available under climate change,” Jean Paul Adam, head of the climate division at the Economic Commission for Africa, said, adding that a lack of financing means nations on the continent are unable to build up their resilience to climate change.

He added that “nature-based solutions and advocating for a fair development price of carbon” would propel the African economy.

And the benefits of reforestation can be significant, according to Coral Reef Alliance’s Marissa Stein.

“Restoring and protecting our marine habitats plays a key role in maintaining the health of our planet,” she said, adding that mangroves alone store up to four times more carbon per hectare than tropical rainforests. The Global Mangroves Alliance also estimates that mangroves reduce damages and flood risk for 15 million people and can prevent over $65 billion of property damage each year.
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Ethiopian officials in the northern Amhara region of Ethiopia say Tigrayan forces have attacked hospitals and sabotaged water supplies in November 2021, acts that could be considered war crimes. For VOA, Henry Wilkins reports from Hayk, Ethiopia.
Camera: Henry Wilkins Producer: Bakhtiyar Zamanov
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Moroccan police said Friday they had arrested a suspected Islamic State group member, in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, who was implicated in plotting “acts of terrorism.” 

The announcement came ahead of the opening next Wednesday in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh of a conference of member countries in the U.S.-led coalition against IS. 

The suspect, based in the kingdom’s northeastern Berkane region, was implicated in the “preparation of a terrorist plot aimed at delivering a serious blow to public order,” Morocco’s counterterrorism police, the Central Office of Judicial Research, said in a statement. 

“The outlines of his terrorist conspiracy were unmasked on the basis of research and technical investigation carried out jointly with the FBI,” it added. 

This operation “is further evidence of the persistent dangers of the terrorist threat that hangs” over Morocco and “the importance of bilateral cooperation … with the United States in the fight against terrorism.” 

The suspect, a 37-year-old engineer, “ran a closed user group dedicated to extremist goals and projects and aimed at recruiting and drawing in sympathizers,” the statement said. 

His objective was to carry out attacks against Moroccan and foreign dignitaries on Moroccan soil, it alleged. 

Morocco has been spared the jihadi violence that has shaken other Middle East and North African countries in recent years, but the security services regularly report arrests of suspects in operations targeting militant cells. 

Since 2002, the police say they have arrested more than 3,500 suspects in terrorism-linked cases. 
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Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch.    

Some civilians evacuated from Mariupol steel plant, surrounding areas 

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross were able to evacuate nearly 500 civilians in two humanitarian operations this week in southern Ukraine. One hundred people, including 17 children, who had been sheltering for weeks in the tunnels and basements of the mammoth Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, got out May 2. Others were evacuated from Mariupol, Manhush, Berdiansk, Tokmak and Vasylivka, and were receiving humanitarian assistance in Zaporizhzhia. A few dozen evacuees chose to remain in Mariupol to search for their relatives. A third operation was underway at the end of the week. 

Evacuation of Civilians from Mariupol Steel Plant Under Way Friday 

Accountability for war atrocities 

Several countries, as well as the International Criminal Court, are assisting Ukrainian prosecutors in collecting, documenting and preserving evidence of war crimes carried out since Russia’s invasion February 24. They are using 21st century technology to find perpetrators and bring them to justice. 

A Trove of Digital Evidence Documents War Crimes in Ukraine 

Ukraine’s traumatized generation 

The U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, said Friday that millions of children in Ukraine have suffered psychological trauma after more than two months of relentless bombing and shelling, a lack of food, the inability to go to school, and the loss of other essential services. 

UNICEF: Ukraine War Has Devastating Psychological Impact on Children 

Aid trickling into Northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region 

Despite a March 25 cease-fire in northern Ethiopia, aid groups said they are struggling to get food and medicine to those in need. Even outside the worst-affected areas in Tigray, which are off limits to reporters, providing aid is fraught with risks and challenges. 

As Tigray Aid Blockade Continues, Nearby Areas Also in Desperate Need of Food, Medicine 

WHO: Nearly 15 million COVID-related deaths worldwide 

The World Health Organization said Thursday that the COVID-19 pandemic directly or indirectly caused 14.9 million deaths worldwide from Jan. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2021. Known as “excess mortality,” the figure represents the number of people who died versus the number who would have been expected to die had there not been a pandemic. 

COVID Caused 14.9 Million Excess Deaths Globally: WHO 

In brief 

— Secretary-General Antonio Guterres traveled to West Africa this week, making stops in Niger, Nigeria and Senegal. One of the aims of his trip was to see and hear firsthand about the impacts the war in Ukraine is having on food security in the region. On Monday, the U.N. chief will be back on the road, making a two-day visit to Moldova to meet with Ukrainian refugees. 

— A recent upsurge in fighting between South Sudanese armed groups has led to the deaths and injuries of dozens of people, the rapes and abductions of multiple women, and the burning and looting of homes. The U.N. says some 40,000 people have been forcibly displaced from their homes and are in need of shelter and other assistance. South Sudan’s humanitarian situation is severe, with nearly 7 million people needing assistance, but funding is scarce. The U.N. says it has received only 8% of the $1.7 billion needed this year. 

Quote of note 

“People would first drive for three days and then go on foot. Children, strollers, some carrying kids on their shoulders. Oh God, it’s so tough when I think about it. We were driving on the highway. It’s such a nightmare, there was so much shooting and shelling. I don’t know how the woman who was driving the car we were in, I don’t know how she managed, but we finally arrived to Manhush.” 

— Tetiana Prykhodko tearfully describing to VOA’s Yaroslava Movchan how she fled from the besieged city of Mariupol to the town of Manhush, ultimately arriving at a center for displaced persons in Dnipro, where they met. 

What we are watching next week 

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield heads to the Syrian-Turkish border Monday. She will visit the Bab al-Hawa border crossing which connects southern Turkey with northwestern Syria and is the sole remaining international crossing that humanitarians can use to get vital aid to millions of civilians living in non-government-controlled areas. Russia has wanted to shutter this crossing for some time, arguing that aid moved across lines of conflict inside the country and controlled by Damascus is sufficient. The U.N. Security Council will have to decide in early July whether to continue access via Bab al-Hawa or end it. Several countries, including the United States, would like to see cross-border access expanded. Thomas-Greenfield will then continue to Brussels to attend an EU pledging conference for Syria where she is expected to announce new humanitarian support for the people of Syria and countries hosting Syrian refugees. 

 
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U.N. officials warn that soaring prices of food, fuel, fertilizers, and other commodities due to the Russia-Ukraine war could have a profound destabilizing impact on the African continent. 

Africa is still reeling from the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has plunged some 50 million people into extreme poverty. The continent is also tackling crises generated by climate change, conflict, and political unrest.

Added to this toxic mix is now the war in Ukraine. 

Ahunna Eziakonwa, the U.N. Development Program’s assistant administrator and regional director for Africa, said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is reverberating badly on the continent.

“Things that really was stunning for the continent and a rude awakening is how much it depends—almost 90% dependence on external sources of goods for what it needs to keep its population alive. Food and medicine,” she said.

Eziakonwa said the impact of soaring inflation due to price hikes of food, fuel, fertilizer and other commodities will soon begin to bite. She said Africa’s reliance on imports of food and other goods from Russia and Ukraine will create another front of discontent and possibly unrest in a growing number of nations.

UNDP-Africa Senior Economist Raymond Gilpin said rising inflation is putting several large investments on hold across the continent. He cited as examples the development of a huge steel mill complex in Nigeria and fertilizer plants in Angola.

Golpin warned tensions are rising in hot spots such as the Sahel, parts of Central Africa, and the Horn of Africa as the Russia-Ukraine war begins to fester.

“Particularly in urban areas, low-income communities, which could spillover just to violent protests and … probably also violent riots,” he said. “Also, and countries that have elections scheduled for this year and next year are particularly vulnerable because this could become a trigger.”

UNDP officials are calling for global action to address the problems in Africa resulting from measures taken half a world away. They say the long-term consequences of this new global crisis pose great risks to peace and stability efforts on the continent.

These dangers, they note, come at a time when Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly half of global deaths caused by terrorism as seen in the record number of coups last year.
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Guinea’s military government this week announced plans to prosecute ousted President Alpha Conde and 26 of his former officials for murder, rape, kidnapping and other crimes. Guinea’s coup leader also proposed a three-year transition back to civilian rule. 

In 2010, Conde became Guinea’s first democratically elected president, but accusations of corruption and authoritarian behavior mounted throughout his time in office. Last September, after winning what critics said was an illegal third term, Conde was overthrown in a military coup.  

Conde had altered the constitution to allow himself to run for a third term, sparking violent protests and a deadly crackdown by police.  

The charges against Conde and his government were issued in response to a complaint filed by the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC) — the group that had led the protests.  

Gilles Yabi, director of the West Africa Citizen Think Tank in Dakar, said while it is important the proceedings shed light on Conde’s regime, he is concerned they risk being perceived as a political tool.  

“When it comes to the fight against impunity, in order for it to be credible it must not raise suspicion of political manipulation,” he said. “Given the current context in Guinea, that could be difficult.”

The other officials facing charges include former security officers, speakers of parliament and a prime minister.  

“It’s a bold move by the junta,” said Barka Ba, a West Africa political science researcher. “Do they have enough time and political legitimacy to conduct these proceedings? Because the people who are being charged are well respected and thought to be innocent. They will have a right to a defense.” 

Leaders of the West Africa bloc ECOWAS had called on Guinea’s military government to announce an “acceptable” plan to transition to civilian rule by April 25 or face immediate sanctions.  

Guinea’s interim president, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, a former special forces commander, missed the deadline. On Saturday, he said he was considering a transition period of more than three years.  

ECOWAS defense leaders are meeting May 6, 2022, to discuss security in the Sahel and could announce sanctions against Guinea’s military government.  

 
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Ajak Jok Ajak is perusing case files on a rainy afternoon in Nairobi.

The 28-year-old South Sudanese refugee – who grew up at the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya – never dreamed he would work one day as an intern at a major law firm.

Kenya has been hailed for passing a law giving hundreds of thousands of refugees living in the country better access to education and employment. While some refugees in Kenya are reaping the benefits of the 2021 legislation, many face challenges that include the government’s plan to shut down refugee camps by the end of June.

Ajak, now a law school graduate says thanks to Kenya’s Refugee Act, getting a job is much easier than it used to be.

“You had to obtain a research permit before you start research,” he said. “You had to obtain [an] internship permit before you start your internship – all those things. Now it means, you will not need another additional procedure, but just only your qualifications.”

The Refugee Act that was signed into law last year went into effect in February. Some 500,000 refugees who live in Kenya stand to benefit from the measure.

Jamin Kusuania, project manager at the International Rescue Committee in Nairobi, said the old policy restricted refugees’ movements.

“The biggest problem that refugees have had in this country since 1991 has actually been the incumbent policy where refugees are domiciled to live within particular camps,” Kusuania said. “And what we see in the Refugee Act of 2021 is that it moves toward removing that aspect of incumbent.”

Implementation of the Refugee Act has been slow. Speaking to VOA, Stanley Mwango from the Department of Refugee Services noted that parliament has not passed the regulation framework for the new law.

“The new law is part of the Kenyan government’s refugee integration program,” he said. “Refugee camps currently house more than 400,000 people, mostly from South Sudan and Somalia.”

Kenya’s government has said it will shut down the camps at the end of June, and previously cited security reasons. So far, there have been no evictions and relatively few people have left the sites voluntarily. For most of the refugees, home is the Dadaab camp, bordering Somalia, or Kakuma, which borders South Sudan.

Kenya has one of Africa’s largest refugee populations. Aid agencies say more work needs to be done. Kusuania said authorities need to be proactive in tackling the issues at hand. 

“The government will need to relook at the timelines that are actually in place, but also take cognizance of now the Refugee Act of 2021 and begin a rethink in terms of how then do we need to handle refugees in the country,” Kusuania said. “How do we need then to transition refugees from the camps? Because it needs to be a roadmap towards solutions.”

For Ajak, the new law couldn’t have come at a better time. After being held back because of his refugee status, the new law has allowed him to apply for admission as a lawyer at the High Court of Kenya and a job promotion.

“It has enabled the refugees to actually access certain services without them being restricted,” he said. “And that’s why you see some of us are very hopeful.”

Ajak has also left the camps and now lives in Nairobi. If the Refugee Act is put into action, more refugees like him may see their futures become brighter.
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An irate Chinese boss is screaming at his African workers as they take a lunch break, urging them to work harder or else the company won’t make any money. While intended to be funny, the new Egyptian TV commercial — since pulled for fear of offending Beijing — reveals widely-held African perceptions about the way Chinese companies on the continent treat their local staff.

Last month, a Rwandan court made a significant statement against the mistreatment of its citizens by sentencing mine manager Sun Shujun to 20 years in jail after a video of him whipping a tied-up worker went viral.

The case sparked outrage across the continent and even elicited a rare response from the Chinese Embassy in Kigali, which warned its citizens in Rwanda “to abide by local laws and regulations.”

The Rwandan incident is not the only example of recent Chinese rights abuses in Africa.  A report last year by the U.K.-based Business and Human Rights Resource Center found 181 human rights allegations connected to Chinese investments in Africa between 2013 and 2020, with the highest number of incidents in Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Last year a Kenyan waiter was awarded more than $25,000 in damages after he was whipped by his Chinese restaurant boss. The abuse was captured on video and showed the boss laughing while the waiter begged for forgiveness. A Kenyan court found the man had also suffered “continuous sexual harassment, corporal punishment, verbal abuse and confinement” while working at the restaurant.

There have also been reports of Chinese employers mistreating locals who worked on a Chinese-built railway in Kenya documented in 2018 by The Standard newspaper. Separately, a Chinese trader was deported in a highly publicized case after using racial slurs against Kenyans, including calling the president “a monkey” in 2018.

Due to its massive mineral wealth and large number of Chinese-managed mines, the Democratic Republic of Congo is another country where rights abuses are regularly recorded. On Wednesday, a Congolese investigative journalist released a report detailing how small-scale Chinese cobalt miners are using child labor.

Josue Kashal, a lawyer from Congolese NGO Le Centre d’Aide Juridico-Judiciaire, represented a local mine worker earlier this year who was injured in an accident at China Molybdenum’s Kisanfu cobalt and copper mine. A landmark decision by the court ordered the mine to pay the worker’s hospital costs and lost wages.

“There are lots of violations of workers’ rights,” he told VOA, adding that local miners in DRC are paid small salaries and have shoddy protective equipment.

In Zimbabwe too, abuses by Chinese employers of local workers have been recorded, with one of the most egregious examples in 2020 when a Chinese employer, Zhang Xuen, shot and seriously injured two Zimbabwean workers after a wage dispute at a mine in the town of Gweru. Zhang was charged with attempted murder and the case is still pending.

The Chinese national was taken to court and the embassy in Harare said it was “highly concerned” about the shooting but stressed it was “an isolated incident.” The embassy statement continued, “any possible illegal acts and persons who violate the law should not be shielded.”

Shamiso Mtisi, deputy director of the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), disagrees with the embassy’s statement saying the incident was isolated. He said there is a pattern of abuse by Chinese employers in Zimbabwe.

“ZELA is aware of several cases of abuse of Zimbabwean workers by Chinese employers, and this happens on a regular basis at some of the Chinese mining companies,” he told VOA. “I think the problem is they see themselves as superior.”

Mtisi said workers at Chinese-owned mines in the country are paid low wages and given poor personal protective equipment. However, he noted, it falls on the Zimbabwean government to uphold workplace standards and protect its nationals, and he says they are failing to do so because China is the country’s largest foreign investor.

“The challenge is the Chinese appear to be getting some protection either from government or some politicians, so they normally get away with it,” he said.

With Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s trademark Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese are huge players on the continent. Rival superpower the United States is increasing vying for influence with African leaders who favor Beijing’s no-strings-attached approach, providing loans without judging countries’ human rights issues.

But the public raft of abuses by Chinese employers on the continent have prompted the Chinese government to respond.

The Chinese Embassy in Namibia published a guide this week for Chinese expats in the southern African country on its WeChat page informing them of best practices while working abroad and how to avoid transgressions.

It included advice on how to handle wage disputes with local workers, not brandishing firearms to threaten staff, not “intimidating or coercing” striking workers, and always handling such matters by involving local authorities instead of taking things into one’s own hands.

And it seems some Chinese citizens living on the continent are also worried about the behavior of their compatriots. An anonymous man blogging under the name “Africa Bob,” who says he’s a business owner in Rwanda, took to Weixin to express his disgust over the recent whipping case and Sun Shujun’s actions.

“In this matter, Mr. Sun from China is indeed doing something wrong. We are now in another country, and the first thing we should do is abide by local laws and regulations,” he wrote. But he continued by writing, “the sentence is really too high.”

“Africa Bob” then wrote a list of good behavior tips for Chinese nationals living on the continent, urging his compatriots not to be racist.

“There are so many outstanding people in Africa … There are many excellent people, how can you arbitrarily say that Africans are not diligent?” he said. “I hope that one day we (Chinese) can be respected in Africa … and this requires the efforts of every Chinese in Africa.”
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A powerful government-backed Libyan militia on Thursday rejected accusations of killings, torture and forced labor, insisting it upholds the law and threatening to sue Amnesty International for its report.

Amnesty on Wednesday had accused the Stability Support Authority (SSA) of a string of abuses, including “unlawful killings, arbitrary detentions, interception and subsequent arbitrary detention of migrants and refugees, torture, forced labor, and other shocking human rights violations.”

The SSA said it “upholds Libyan law” and holds its members accountable for “any illegal act.”

The group also said it “reserves the right to sue Amnesty International for defamation and slander against the Libyan state and its official institutions.”

The SSA, created under a decree by former Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj in January 2021, is led by Abdel Ghani al-Kikli, one of the most powerful men in the North African country’s capital, Tripoli.

Amnesty said al-Kikli, known as “Gheniwa,” had been appointed despite a “well-documented history of crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations committed by militias under his command.”

Libya plunged into violent lawlessness in 2011 with the NATO-backed revolt that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Armed groups have vied for control of territory as a string of interim governments have come and gone.

Many such groups have been integrated into the state, partly in order to access a share of the country’s vast oil wealth, and rights organizations have often accused them of abuses.

The country is now once again split between two rival governments.

In March, United Nations investigators said that serious rights violations including possible crimes against humanity were continuing with impunity across much of the country. 
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While South Africa’s African National Congress-led government has refused to condemn Russia’s war on Ukraine — preferring to take a neutral stance and calling for mediation — the Democratic Alliance Party’s John Steenhuisen isn’t mincing his words.

He said seeing the destruction of the towns on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, was heartbreaking.

Steenhuisen said besides showing Ukraine’s citizens that there are South Africans who care, he also went there to build networks, which could help him make informed decisions.

“To put it in perspective, one out of every three slices of bread in Africa and the Middle East comes from grain in this region,” Steenhuisen said. “Cooking oil, they’re the number one producers of cooking oil and fertilizers, which are essential to growing of crops in our own country. There’s been a 300% increase in fertilizer costs in South Africa, which is going to have a huge impact on domestic food security as well. And that’s obviously also tied in with rising fuel prices as a result of the instability in the region.”

The leader of the Democratic Alliance said Africa is particularly vulnerable because of the high levels of poverty.

“There are 30 million South Africans who live below the poverty line,” Steenhuisen said. “And that’s obviously exacerbated by an almost 50% unemployment rate.”

Not everyone was pleased with Steenhuisen’s visit. Critics said he seemed more interested in far-off conflicts than those happening in South Africa and the rest of the continent.

“Well, I would say that those criticisms are frankly a little bit childish,” Steenhuisen said. “Firstly, I have been to conflicts in Africa. I spent some time in Somaliland. I’ve been to Mozambique.”

Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, welcomed Steenhuisen’s visit.

“I think it is important from Ukrainian point of view to receive a message that some South African people are supporting Ukraine,” Abravitova said. “It will also give some impetus to other political parties not only in South Africa but in Africa in general to have dialogue with Ukraine.”

When asked whether she would like to see South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, visit, she said, “Of course, yes.” She added that, during a recent telephone conversation with her president, President Ramaphosa said he would visit.

“And I believe this visit will happen as soon as the security situation allows,” Abravitova said.

South Africa’s Department of International Relations said it was not commenting on Steenhuisen’s visit to Ukraine at this time.

Questions sent to the spokesperson for the ruling African National Congress, Pule Mabe, about Steenhuisen’s allegations that the ANC-led government is not neutral but siding with Russia, were not answered. Neither were several phone calls to Mabe.
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Kenya’s Marsabit county is one of the country’s popular tourist attractions, but unrest generated by ethnic conflicts in the region is paralyzing economic activities, said Nuno Galma, a driver in the town. 

“My business is affected whenever the bandits attack our town. As a businessman when I hear gunshots, I have to run.” 

Kenyan authorities said two major ethnic groups in the county, whose source of livelihood is pastoralism, fight over natural resources. Both groups access illegal firearms smuggled from neighboring Ethiopia. 

The state declared a 30-day dusk to dawn curfew to crack down on illegal firearms and ammunition. Bruno Shioso is a Kenya police spokesperson. 

 “We have heightened surveillance because it has been declared a deserted area,” Shioso said. “We have increased the number of police. We are happy because leaders in the area are now talking, they are coming out to talk, so we believe as we continue with our work the leaders in the area will also preach peace.”   

 Security expert George Msamali said conflicts across the border in Ethiopia are sparking the unrest in Marsabit, especially because of the unsecured border, which he said enables people to smuggle weapons. 

“Remember some communities have families across the border and the Kenya-Ethiopia border is so porous so, you’ll find that people moving from Ethiopia joining their kinsmen in Kenya and fighting against the other clan,” Msamali said. “It’s easy dfor them to smuggle weapons from Kenya into Ethiopia and vice versa.” 

 Dozens of people have been killed in recent months in what authorities said amounts to a political struggle to control resources.   

Kenya Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said the security operation in Marsabit may be extended until the state can get rid of illegal weapons in the region. 

 
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Islamic extremist rebels have killed at least seven people in an attack in northeast Borno state in Nigeria, witnesses told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 

The rebels attacked Kautukari village in the Chibok area of Borno on Tuesday evening, said residents. The attack happened at the same time that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in the state to meet with survivors of jihadi violence. 

The Chibok area is 115 kilometers (71 miles) away from Maiduguri, the state capital, where Guterres met with former militants being reintegrated into society and thousands of people displaced by the insurgency. 

“They came in large number with superior firepower (and) took over the community,” said Hassan Chibok, a community leader. Troops from a nearby military base were deployed to repel the attack but “the damage had been done,” Chibok said, adding that “casualties are up to 10.” 

Another resident Yana Galang said at least seven people were killed in the latest violence before the Nigerian military intervened. 

Nigerian police did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of the attack. 

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with 206 million people, continues to grapple with a 10-year-old insurgency in the northeast by Islamic extremist rebels of Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province. The extremists are fighting to establish Shariah law and to stop Western education. 

More than 35,000 people have died and millions have been displaced by the extremist violence, according to the U.N. Development Program. 

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said earlier this week that the war against the extremists is “approaching its conclusion,” citing continued military airstrikes and the mass defection of thousands of the fighters, some of whom analysts say are laying down their arms because of infighting within the jihadi group. 

The violence, however, continues in border communities and areas closer to the Lake Chad region, the stronghold of the Islamic State-linked group, ISWAP. 

“Things are getting worse” in Kautukari village in Chibok and adjourning areas closer to the forest, said community leader Chibok, saying the extremists’ presence near the forest is a contributing factor. 

 
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