Authorities in Cameroon say anglophone separatists have joined forces with Nigerian militants to shut down nearly all trade across the two countries’ border. Cameroon depends on Nigeria for 70% of basic commodities and most of them are transported across the land border. Authorities say about 90% of trade has been halted as militants from both sides attack and abduct merchants.

Njume Peter Ambang is a lawmaker from Cameroon’s restive southwest region on the border with Nigeria. He said fighters within the past two months have taken control of many businesses, including palm oil plantations in Ndian, a division in the Southwest region. 

“Maritime business has collapsed. The oil business has all collapsed. Palm oil fields have been seized by the separatists. They harvest the crops, they mill and sell. These guys are working with area boys (armed groups) in Nigeria,” he said.

Ambang was speaking in the Ndian capital, Mundemba, Sunday during a meeting to plead with local fighters to drop their guns and stop harassing merchants.

Cameroon’s military says several hundred fighters chased from towns and villages during raids by government troops relocated to the border with Nigeria. The military says the fighters have killed at least two dozen merchants and abducted scores of others for ransom since January.

Capo Daniel is deputy defense chief of the Ambazonia Defense Forces, or ADF, one of the largest separatist groups in Cameroon.

He said many fighters have been deployed to the border with Nigeria but denies they fled intensive fighting with Cameroonian government troops.

Daniel said Cameroon’s separatists collaborate with Nigeria’s Eastern Security Network of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, a secessionist group that advocates for the creation of an independent state in eastern Nigeria.

Daniel said the Ambazonia and Biafra groups are collaborating to help each other and undermine government control of the border area.

“We want to put in place our own security network to regulate trade and to control the movement of goods and persons between Biafra and Ambazonia. We will no longer allow Cameroon and Nigeria to enforce their law on the border between Biafra and Ambazonia. We will put an end to the exploitation of the Biafra people as well as the Ambazonia people as we work in alliance with our counterparts across the border in Biafra land,” he said. 

Daniel said the ADF and IPOB have been able to stop both Cameroon and Nigeria from collecting revenue from the sales of basic commodities and cash crops including rice, maize, tubers, plantain and cocoa in border localities.

He also said fighters are punishing merchants who collaborate with the two governments by paying taxes or agreeing to be escorted by government troops.

Nigeria and Cameroon have promised to crush all separatists who do not surrender.

The two countries’ governments announced in February 2021 that they would work together to combat separatists and armed groups.

Cameroon this week said it deployed more troops to the border to protect civilians, merchants and their goods.
…

A Sudanese aid group says that tribal clashes on Sunday between Arabs and non-Arabs in the war-ravaged Darfur region have killed 168 people. 

Adam Regal, spokesman for the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur, says fighting in the Kreinik area of West Darfur province also wounded 98 others. 

He says the clashes first erupted Thursday with the killing of two people by an unknown assailant in Kreinik, around 30 kilometers (18 miles) east of Genena, the provincial capital of West Darfur. 

He says the militias known as janjaweed attacked the area early Sunday with heavy weapons and burned down and looted houses in the area. 

The clashes eventually reached Genena, where militias and armed groups attacked wounded people while they were being treated at the city’s main hospital, according to Salah Saleh, a doctor and former medical director at the hospital. 

Authorities have deployed more troops to the region since the fighting on Thursday left eight dead and at least 16 others wounded. 

Sudan’s Darfur region has seen bouts of deadly clashes between rival tribes in recent months as the country remains mired in a wider crisis following last year’s coup, when top generals overthrew a civilian-led government. 

The October coup has upended the country’s fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led the military to overthrow longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. 
…

Egypt released more than three dozen prisoners on Sunday, a week before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is typically a time of amnesty, a political party and state-run media said. 

Political activists and family members confirmed several high-profile detainees were freed. 

The Reform and Development Party said those freed had been political prisoners being held in pre-trial detention. The English edition of the state-run newspaper Al-Ahram said 41 prisoners in all were released. 

The government’s human rights body said in a statement only that there had been a release of individuals held in pre-trial detention but gave no details. 

The move came a week before the Eid holiday marking the end of Ramadan. It is typically a time when prisoners are released on presidential pardons, but the number of those freed was one of the largest in recent years. Thousands of political prisoners, however, are estimated to remain inside Egypt’s jails, many without trial. 

Among the released was political activist Waleed Shawky, his wife, Heba Anees, said on social media. She posted a picture of the couple hugging. 

Journalist Mohamed Salah was also released, activist Esraa Abdel Fattah said. And Nabeh Elganadi, a human rights lawyer, posted a picture with Radwa Mohamed, who was arrested after making videos posted on social media criticizing President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. 

Under broad counterterrorism laws, Egypt’s state prosecutors have often used vague charges to renew 15-day pretrial detention periods for months or years, often with little evidence. 

On Sunday, Sanaa Seif, the sister of one of Egypt’s most high-profile detained activists, Alaa Abdel Fattah, said her brother had faced new ill-treatment in prison and he was on the 22th day of a hunger strike. 

Meanwhile, new arrests are still taking place. On Saturday, the human rights lawyer Khaled Ali said several men in the country’s south had been arrested and accused of spreading lies after they sung a song about rising food prices in a video posted online. 

The government of el-Sissi — a U.S. ally with deep economic ties to European countries — has been relentlessly silencing dissenters and clamping down on independent organizations for years with arrests, detentions and jail sentences, and other restrictions. 

Many of the top activists involved in the 2011 uprising in Egypt are now in prison, most of them arrested under a draconian law passed in 2013 that effectively bans all street protests. 
…

Officials in southern Nigeria are investigating a site where more than 100 people have been reported killed following a powerful oil explosion.

The Imo state commissioner for information, Declan Emelumba, said officials are probing Friday’s fire and explosion at an illegal oil bunkering site, or ‘kpofire’ in the Egbema local government area. The boundary is between Imo state and the oil-rich Rivers state.

He said officials are also investigating the extent of deaths, injuries and damages. Many of those killed are burned beyond recognition. Most of them were workers at the illegal refinery.

On Sunday, emergency teams continued their response in the affected area.

The explosion, which local officials say is the deadliest in years, is raising concerns. Energy expert Odion Omonfoman said the high rate of poverty and deprivation in the region is the reason many locals are endangering their lives.  

“If you have a fuel station in a community, that community must have electricity, must have some form of energy source for cooking,” he said. “Until you start addressing the basic needs of people… and you’d be shocked …meeting their basic needs can make them go to this extreme length.”

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari described the incident as a “catastrophe and a national disaster.”

In a statement Sunday, Buhari offered his condolences to the families of the victims and said those responsible for the explosions must be caught and brought to justice.

Authorities are looking for the operator of the refinery.

Oil theft and pipeline vandalism have been reported in Nigeria for decades. Authorities say the country loses 150,000 barrels a day or up to $4 billion a year to these activities.

In January, authorities renewed a crackdown on illegal refineries that operated by tapping crude oil from pipelines owned by oil companies. Many suspects were arrested, and many sites shut down.

Samuel Nwanosike, a local government head in Ikwerre – one of the areas affected by the kpofire activities in the Rivers state, said it’s criminality that needs to be rooted out..

“Yes, lack of jobs is part of it but it’s not an avenue for you to go into criminality,” he said. “With the activities that have taken the lives of over 100 people like you’ve seen in Egbema is clearly a criminal activity and must be declared as such. In Ikwerre local government as we speak, all 285 illegal refinery spots that have been identified have been destroyed.”

Years of exploration activities by oil companies and illegal oil operators have tainted the environment in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, making farming and fishing nearly impossible.

Authorities have been trying to clean up hydrocarbons but the local chief in the Rivers state, Ibiosiya Sukubo, told VOA in January that the government was not doing enough.

“The government is only interested in the proceeds of the oil and gas, but they’re not interested in the people,” Sukubo said.

Experts say unless authorities and communities work together, illegal refineries will continue to put many more lives in danger.
…

Six soldiers are dead and 20 wounded after Malian Army bases in the central cities of Sévaré, Niono, and Bapho were simultaneously attacked this morning by suspected terrorists. An army press release says that the bases in the cities of Sévaré, Niono, and Bapho were attacked by “terrorists” in “kamikaze vehicles packed with explosives,” and that in addition to the casualties, a helicopter was damaged.

 
Sévaré is a town in Mali’s Mopti Region and the site of the former headquarters of the G5 Sahel, an intergovernmental task force with member states Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger.

The headquarters were moved to Bamako in 2018 after an attack which killed several people.

The Bapho military base is less than 20 kilometers from Ségou, Mali, a large regional and cultural capital more than 200 kilometers north of Bamako.

After an Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012, French forces intervened and took back control of the north in 2013. In the years since, insecurity has moved south into Mali’s central regions.

In February, France announced that it would withdraw its troops from Mali after increasing tensions between France and Mali’s military government.

Several governments have accused Mali of working with Russian Wagner mercenaries, a claim the Malian government denies. There have been several reports of unidentified white soldiers working with the Malian army in the Ségou and Mopti regions since February.  

 
…

More than 50 people were killed and many injured when an explosion rocked an illegal oil refinery in southeastern Nigeria, state officials and police said Saturday. 

The death toll may be more than 100, according to a report in the Lagos-based Punch newspaper. The fire was reported to have spread to nearby properties. 

The fire broke out Friday night and quickly spread to two fuel storage areas at the illegal crude oil refinery, causing the complex to be “engulfed by fire which spread rapidly” within the area, said Declan Emelumba, the Imo State commissioner for information. 

The immediate cause of the explosion and the extent of the deaths, injuries and damage were being investigated, Emelumba said. 

Multiple videos posted on social media showed a gruesome scene, with people’s charred remains reduced to skeletons and cinders. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify them. 

“A lot of people died. The people who died are all illegal operators,” said Michael Abattam, spokesperson for the Imo State Police Command. 

The Imo state government was looking for the owner of the refinery where the explosion occurred and declared him a wanted individual, an official said. 

Illegal refineries are common in Nigeria, where shady business operators often avoid regulations and taxes by setting up refineries in remote areas, out of sight of authorities. 

Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of crude oil but it has very few official refineries and as a result most gasoline and other fuels are imported, creating an opening for the illegal refinery operators. 

The practice is so widespread that is affecting crude oil production in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. 
…

Gunmen on Saturday attacked a police station in central Nigeria’s Kogi state and killed three policemen, an official said, as the Islamic State claimed responsibility and gave a higher toll.

The attackers stormed the police station in Adavi town and a fierce gunbattle ensued, state police spokesman William Ovye Aya, told AFP.

“The (police) Command lost three of its officers during the gun duel,” he said. 

Aya said although the “hoodlums” escaped with gunshot wounds, efforts were under way “to apprehend and bring them to book.”

He urged residents to report anyone with bullet wounds to the police.

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed responsibility in a statement on Telegram.

“Soldiers of the Caliphate attacked a police station,” it said, adding that five people were killed in the raid.

Criminal gangs and jihadists have staged repeated attacks in Kogi, breaking into jails to free detained colleagues and other inmates.

In February, police foiled an attack by gunmen on a police station in the town of Okene, killing one of them.

Last September, gunmen broke into a medium-security prison in Kabba, freeing more than 200 inmates, according to prison authorities. 
…

A new case of Ebola has been confirmed in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, the National Institute of Biomedical Research said Saturday, four months after the end of the country’s last outbreak.

The case, a 31-year-old male, was detected in the city of Mbandaka, capital of Congo’s Equateur province, the institute said. A health ministry spokesperson confirmed the discovery.

The patient began showing symptoms on April 5 but did not seek treatment for more than a week. He was admitted to an Ebola treatment center on April 21 and died later that day, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement.

“Time is not on our side,” said Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s Regional Director for Africa.”The disease has had a two-week head start and we are now playing catch-up.”

Mbandaka, a crowded trading hub on the banks of the Congo River, has contended with two previous outbreaks — in 2018 and in 2020. It is a city where people live in close proximity, with road, water and air links to the capital Kinshasa.

The WHO said that efforts to contain the disease are already underway in Mbandaka, and that a vaccination campaign will begin in the coming days.

Congo has seen 13 previous outbreaks of Ebola, including one in 2018-2020 in the east that killed nearly 2,300 people, the second highest toll recorded in the history of the hemorrhagic fever.

The last outbreak, also in the east, infected 11 people between October and December and killed six of them.
…

The Horn of Africa is suffering a historic drought that the U.N. says could result in starvation for as many as 20 million people.  In Ethiopia, more than seven million people are already short of something to eat, suffering compounded by the war in the north. 

A fourth consecutive year of failed rains is causing the worst drought in the Horn of Africa since 1981. Meanwhile, the U.N.’s World Food Program told VOA a combination of conflict in the north of Ethiopia and drought in the south, are set to be “catastrophic” for the country.

WFP spokesperson Clair Nevill said the worst effects could be averted if action is taken quickly, but that doesn’t look likely.

“In the 2016 to 2017 drought, this catastrophe was avoided through early action… In 2022, due to a severe lack of resourcing, there are growing fears that it won’t be possible to prevent the looming disaster,” he said.

A policy adviser for a major humanitarian donor to Ethiopia, who declined to be named, told VOA that the government’s focus was on the war and mobilization for it, so there was significant lag time in doing the assessments and putting in place the response mechanisms for the drought in the south. The adviser said the cost of that inattention was a huge loss of livelihoods, assets and livestock.

The adviser noted, however, that the regional and central governments have recently tried to pull together resources and are trying to address the needs in regions of the country like Somali and Oromia, particularly by rallying donors like the WFP. 

Aid agencies in Africa have also complained the crisis in Ukraine is drawing attention and money away from countries on the Arican continent.

The policy adviser added the damage caused by the delayed response is irreversible and it could take years, if it happens at all, for those affected to recover.

Aside from drawing attention from the drought, Ethiopia’s civil war has itself been a major cause of humanitarian crisis. In March, the government said it had called a humanitarian cease-fire and would allow aid into the northern region of Tigray, where it is fighting separatist forces.

William Davison, a senior analyst covering Ethiopia for the International Crisis Group, a Belgium-based research group, says “despite the humanitarian truce, there still seems to be around one convoy of aid reaching Tigray per week, so that is nothing like the unrestricted access for humanitarian agencies that’s needed.” “We should also note that there has been no move by the federal government yet to restore vital public services to Tigray including banking, telecoms and electricity,” he added.

The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the north, combined with those likely to be affected by the drought in the south, brings the total to almost 12.5 million Ethiopians in need of help, according to U.N. figures.

The National Disaster Risk Management Commission of Ethiopia, a branch of the Ethiopian government, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
…

Devastating floods in South Africa this week, as well as other extreme weather events across the continent linked to human-caused climate change, are putting marine and terrestrial wildlife species at risk, according to biodiversity experts. 

Africa has already faced several climate-related woes in the past year: the ongoing fatal floods follow unrelenting cyclones in the south, extreme temperatures in western and northern regions, and a debilitating drought which is currently afflicting eastern, central and the Horn of Africa. 

Conservation and wildlife groups say it’s critical to protect species from these climate change-related weather events. 

“Climate change is disrupting ecosystems and affecting the survival and suitability of species to live in their usual habitats,” said Shyla Raghav, who heads the climate change division at Conservation International. “Massive disruption to ecological stability will occur if adequate adaptation and mitigation measures are not implemented. There is need to incorporate climate proofing of our protected areas. That way we boost nature’s ability for resilience.” 

Multiple species, including Africa’s famed “big-five” land animals and other terrestrial and marine life, are vulnerable to significant population loss. Ornithologist Paul Matiku, who heads the biodiversity watch group Nature Kenya, says shifting rainfall patterns and increased temperatures are having serious consequences for bird populations. 

“Climate change causes seasonal variability in rainfall, temperature and food for birds. As such breeding aborts and bird populations automatically reduce over time,” Matiku said. “Wetland birds are affected by reducing water levels due to droughts. The Sahara Desert gets hotter, and some migratory birds die along their migratory routes due to high temperatures and dehydration.” He added that some birds are so weak from taxing migratory journeys that they are no longer breeding. 

Ecosystems that thrive along Africa’s popular white sandy beaches are also particularly vulnerable, according to Ibidun Adelekan, a geography professor at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Africa’s coasts are at risk of coral reef ecosystem collapse due to bleaching, potential saltwater intrusion on freshwater aquifers, and more intense tropical cyclones. 

Adelekan warned that greater damage to Africa’s coastal biodiversity will also have considerable consequences for populations in towns and cities along its shores. “Persistent deprivation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems by human actions is leading to increased vulnerability of coastal and island communities to climate impacts,” she told the Associated Press. 

Her concerns are echoed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who earlier this year cautioned that African coasts with “high proportion of informal settlements and small island states are exposed and highly vulnerable to climate change.” 

But scientists are hopeful that improved coastal management of marine protected areas and better restrictions on the fishing industry will curb impacts on marine biodiversity. 

“Our research indicates that the future of coral reefs will be much better if fisheries restrictions and protected areas are applied effectively throughout the region,” said Tim McClanahan, a senior conservation zoologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society, who studied over 100 locations in the western Indian Ocean. 

“While climate change may be outside of local control, the bad outcomes will be reduced if fisheries manage to reduce detrimental impacts on the coral reefs.” 

 
…

Members of Niger’s parliament on Friday voted in favor of allowing the deployment of foreign forces fighting jihadists in the impoverished Sahel nation.

After several hours of debate, the MPs voted 131-31 for the proposal.

Some activists had been campaigning against the presence of foreign troops, branding them as occupiers who would threaten national sovereignty. The outcome of the vote was in little doubt, however, with the parliament in Niamey dominated by allies of President Mohamed Bazoum.

In its battle against al-Qaida and Islamic State-linked jihadists, Niger has the support of several Western countries, including the United States and France, which have military bases in the capital and the Agadez region in the north.

“Entering into new partnerships in no way calls into question our sovereignty over the national territory,” said Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou.

The agreed-upon text “unequivocally indicates the openness of our country to conclude alliances” against jihadists, he said.

Niger “is practically surrounded by armed terrorist groups,” the head of government said.

He also referred to the ongoing withdrawal of the French anti-jihadist Barkhane force and the smaller Takuba force of European special forces from neighboring Mali.

Two jihadi insurgencies

The prime minister opened the door to increased collaboration with France, in particular.

According to the government document handed to MPs and seen by AFP, the current situation requires Niger and other countries to commit to “an effective fight against terrorism, in the framework of bilateral or multilateral cooperation, either current or in the future.”

“The special forces of friendly countries will be deployed … [and] installed on the territories of members of ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] facing the threat.”

These include Benin, Ghana, Niger and Ivory Coast, the document stated.

U.S. and French special forces are already operational in Niger, which has declared itself ready to host more. But their possible deployment in the other countries has not been officially mentioned previously.

According to the document, in Niger, “which already houses foreign troops’ bases, new sites will be set up nearer the theaters of operation” in Mali, where multiple jihadi groups operate.

“The locations and operational methods” of these forces will be discussed with Niger’s military hierarchy, it stated.

There was opposition to the parliamentary vote on Friday, but it failed to carry the day.

“We cannot give the government a blank check,” said opposition parliamentarian Soumana Sanda, while another mentioned “gray areas.”

France is reconfiguring its anti-jihadi forces in the Sahel after its relationship with Mali broke down following a military coup in August 2020.

Germany, which runs a logistics outpost in Niamey, has set up a center close to the border with Mali to train Nigerien special forces. Italy and Canada are also involved in special forces training.

The poorest country in the world according to the benchmark U.N. Human Development Index, Niger is facing two jihadi insurgencies. One is unfurling in the southwest of the country, coming from neighboring Mali, while the other is in the southeast, from Nigeria.

Criticism of the presence of foreign forces prompted Bazoum to announce in February that he would ask parliament to agree on any new “arrangements” with foreign partners to tackle the jihadists. 
…

Six people were killed Friday in a blast at a beachside Mogadishu restaurant, which was hosting Somalia’s police chief and legislators when the explosion occurred, an ambulance service said.

Government officials were unharmed in the blast, which sparked a fire inside the building, sending smoke into the sky as diners scrambled to safety.

“There was a blast in the restaurant presumably caused by a suicide bomber, but we are not sure so far [about] … the cause,” said police officer Mohamed Ali.

“The police commissioner was inside the restaurant when the blast occurred, but he is safe [as are] several legislators who stayed there,” he told AFP.

“Six people died and seven others were wounded in the blast,” Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of the Aamin Ambulance service, told reporters.

Al-shabab has claimed responsibility for the attack.

“Our special operations unit was responsible for the attack on government top officials including the police chief and apostate lawmakers, the attack has resulted in deaths and injuries among those at the scene in Abdul Aziz district,” the group said in a statement published on its Shahada News Agency.

The explosion was followed by sporadic gunfire, said Farah Dahir, a diner at a nearby restaurant.

“I can see several ambulances rushing [to] the scene now, but it is very difficult to know about what exactly happened. The whole area is sealed off by police now,” he told AFP.

Mortar attack

The explosion came days after a mortar attack targeted Somalia’s parliament during a meeting by newly elected lawmakers.

No lawmakers were harmed in Monday’s assault, which was claimed by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which has been waging an insurgency against the central government for more than a decade.

The Horn of Africa nation has seen a spate of attacks in recent weeks as it hobbles through a long-delayed election process to pick a new president.

Some parliamentary seats remain unfilled but sufficient lawmakers have been sworn in to move the election process forward, with both houses due to choose a speaker next week.

Somalia has not held a one-person, one-vote election in 50 years.

Instead, polls follow a complex indirect model, whereby state legislatures and clan delegates pick lawmakers for the national parliament, who in turn choose the president.

The election delays have worried Somalia’s international backers, who have warned that the chaos distracts from the fight against al-Shabab.

The al-Qaeda-linked militants frequently attack civilian, military and government targets in Somalia’s capital and outside.

The jihadists controlled Mogadishu until 2011, when they were pushed out by an African Union force, but they still hold territory in the countryside.

VOA’s Somalia service contributed to this report. 
…

The French military has accused Russian mercenaries of creating a mass grave and falsely blaming it on the French.

The French Army says it has drone video, seen by news agencies Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, of Russian mercenaries burying bodies near Gossi, Mali, where the French army withdrew from a military base this week.

Video of what appears to be a similar location circulated Thursday on Twitter, showing a blurred image of what are alleged to be bodies buried in the sand. The accompanying Twitter message says the departing French army left that scene behind in Gossi.

Speaking to AFP and AP, the French Army said the mercenaries created the site to circulate images and blame the French army to stoke anti-French sentiment in Mali.

The drone video was reportedly captured Thursday morning, but the French army left Gossi on Tuesday. France recently said it would withdraw its troops from Mali in a operation expected to take four to six months.

A Twitter account named “Dia Diarra” posted a video Thursday, including what appears to be bodies partially buried in the sand, with the caption, “This is what the French left behind when they left the base at Gossi. These are excerpts from a video that was taken after they left! We cannot keep silent about this!”

“Dia Darra” claims to be a Malian veteran and “patriot” and posts mostly pro-Malian military and pro-Russia content. The original profile photo used for the account could also be seen on the Russian social media website VK on an account of a man believed to be located in Colombia.

After that was pointed out by several Twitter users, the profile picture was changed to a photo of Malian President Assimi Goita. The account has been active since January 2022.

Many governments have accused the Malian army of working with mercenaries from the Russian company the Wagner Group which, critics say, has close ties to the Russian government.

Mali’s government denies the allegation, saying it works only with “Russian instructors.”

In March, Human Rights Watch reported that residents of Moura, in central Mali, said that hundreds of civilians were killed by the Malian army while working with “white soldiers,” who spoke a language not familiar to them.

VOA spoke to a man who saw 12 to 15 men killed and witnessed both Malian and white soldiers in the village during the five-day operation.
…

The editor-in-chief of South Sudan’s oldest English-language newspaper, the Juba Monitor, has been arrested for allegedly defying a court order to stop publication over alleged malpractice.   

Anna Namiriano was arrested Tuesday afternoon after not acting on an order issued last week by Juba’s Kator High Court to shut down the paper. She reportedly was being held at Juba’s central prison.   

The case involves a dispute between the newspaper’s management and the family of its late founder, veteran journalist Alfred Taban, who died in April 2019. Taban’s family had filed a lawsuit in 2020 against the independent newspaper’s managers and its publisher, Grand Media Africa, accusing them of mismanaging the paper’s ownership and resources. 

The family has sought restrictions on the newspaper’s activities until the case is resolved.   

Last week, the Kator High Court suspended the Juba Monitor’s activities, said Becu Pitia Lagu, an attorney representing the Taban family.   

“Anna deliberately refused to implement the court ruling which was passed on the date 13th of this month asking her to close down the newspapers, cease the activities of the company,” Pitia told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus.   

Lazarus Yuggu, an attorney representing Namiriano, said the court never informed his client or the publisher of the shutdown order. He called his client’s arrest illegal.   

“There is no reason why the judge issued that order,” Yuggu told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus. “There is no court contempt at all, because all of us were present at the court. I think this company is not actually a foreign company, whereby a judge may suspect [someone] of absconding or running away from the jurisdiction or something of that kind. The parties are present before the judge.”  

Yuggu said the paper’s management had already paid printing fees for a week in advance, so they continued publishing. “They just wanted to print for the one week that has been paid for,” the attorney said.    

Namiriano plans to appeal the court order, Yuggu said.   

The Juba Monitor was established in Juba roughly a decade ago after Southern Sudan seceded from the rest of Sudan. 
…

Former Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, who served as the country’s third president has died at the age of 90.

His death was announced Friday by his successor, incumbent Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who called him inspirational.

“Emilio Mwai Kibaki was a quintessential patriot whose legacy of civil responsibility will continue to inspire generations of Kenyans long into our future,” he said.

Kibaki’s served as president from 2002 to 2013, winning elections against Kenyatta and ending four decades of one-party rule.

He came to power promising to fight corruption and transform Kenya’s economy.

While Kibaki ushered in economic reforms, corruption continued.

His disputed re-election in 2007 against Raila Odinga, who accused him of rigging the outcome, led to street clashes and the deaths of more than 1,100 people.

But Kibaki was also hailed in 2010 for shaping a new constitution for Kenya and improving social services.

Kenyatta also praised the late president for transforming the country.

“The late former president’s administration conceptualized and spearheaded a transformation in crucial sectors such as education through the globally lauded free primary education program, infrastructure developments in transport and energy and the increasing the availability and the access to health care for his fellow Kenyans,” Kenyatta said.

At the end of two terms, Kibaki handed power to Kenyatta, who was elected in 2013, and retired from politics.
…

An aid group in Nigeria is helping hundreds of women living with disabilities to become their own bosses by learning how to make crafts and sell them. The group recently held a trade fair to showcase the products – as Timothy Obiezu reports from Abuja.
Camera: Emeka Gibson     
…

South Africa has recorded a sharp increase in COVID-19 infections, the highest rate in three months, raising concerns about a possible larger surge in the disease.

South Africa’s National Health Department reported 4,406 new COVID-19 cases in a 24-hour period ending Thursday. The number represents a considerable jump from the 2,846 cases reported the day before, and the previous seven-day average of 1,549.

Adrian Puren, executive director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases of South Africa, confirmed omicron as the dominant COVID-19 variant in the country and said no new variant of concern has been reported.

He said South Africa is not experiencing a new wave of COVID-19, noting that hospitalizations remain low.

“And as you know, hospitalizations, in other words severe cases, dramatic cases that end up in hospital, either in high care or ICU, I think will be the more appropriate proxy if you like, or indicator, that we have actually reached the fifth resurgence,” Puren said.

When asked how the pandemic is affecting South Africa compared with other countries, he noted that omicron caused high caseloads in Britain and the United States.

“We’re obviously experiencing differences” compared with those countries, “but that’s not to say that our next resurgence won’t resemble that,” Puren said. “And I think that’s the concern — that we need to really be prepared.”

He said even though South Africa plans to do away next month with the National State of Disaster restrictions adopted in the wake of COVID-19, other measures will be put in place. Those have been subject to public comment.

“So I think we’ll probably see a mixture of the things we had in place. So, for example, getting ventilation right. You know, I don’t think people are focused a lot on that. But I think that’s an area, especially for indoor events, offices, restaurants and so forth, that’s absolutely critical,” Puren said.

The main opposition party’s shadow minister for health, Michelle Clarke, said she would be asking parliament’s Health Committee to analyze the rise in numbers when it meets Friday.

“It’s expected during this time to start seeing the resurgence because you’re moving into the colder winter months. People are huddling more,” she said. “So you would see a spread of COVID happening because the environment changes. But if you look at the data that’s been produced within the clusters like, for example, old-age homes, schools, et cetera, it’s definitely not showing that resurgence in those clusters as yet.”

She added that while the party is happy for the sake of the economy that the National State of Disaster restrictions are ending, there had already been 170,000 objections to the new proposed restrictions. Those include unhappiness over the continued 50 percent capacity in venues like restaurants.
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The British government is facing strong backlash from opposition parties and human rights groups after announcing plans earlier this month to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda for processing, in a bid to deter migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats.

The British government says the prospect of being sent to Rwanda will deter migrants from embarking on the treacherous journey.

Record numbers

More than 4,500 migrants have crossed the English Channel from France to Britain in small boats this year, four times more than the total this time last year. There have been dozens of fatalities, including 27 migrants who drowned when their boat capsized off the northern French coast in November.

There is broad political agreement that the dangerous treks must stop, along with bitter debate about how that can be accomplished.

Britain’s latest plan is to fly migrants more than 6,000 kilometers to Rwanda, where they will be put in holding centers while their asylum claims are processed. Britain’s home secretary, Priti Patel, signed the policy alongside Vincent Biruta, Rwanda’s minister of foreign affairs, during a visit to Kigali earlier this month.

“The persistent circumventing of our laws and immigration rules and the reality of a system that is open to gain and to criminal exploitation has eroded public support for Britain’s asylum system and those who genuinely need access to it,” Patel told reporters. “Putting evil people, smugglers, out of business is a moral imperative. It requires us to use every tool at our disposal and also to find new solutions.”

“Working together, the United Kingdom and Rwanda will help make the immigration system fairer, ensure that people are safe and enjoy new opportunities to flourish. We have agreed that people who enter the U.K. illegally will be considered for relocation to Rwanda to have their asylum claims decided and those who are resettled will be given the support, including up to five years of training, with the help of integration, accommodation, [and] health care so that they can resettle and thrive,” the British home secretary said on April 14.

Britain has paid Rwanda an initial $156 million for a five-year trial plan. Britain will also pay Rwanda for each migrant the African nation accepts.

“This [plan] will not only help them, but it will benefit Rwanda and Rwandans and help to advance our own development,” Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta told reporters.

Bitter backlash

The policy has prompted a furious response in Britain and elsewhere. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby — the most senior cleric in the Anglican Church — criticized the policy in his Easter sermon. “Subcontracting out our responsibilities, even to a country that seeks to do well, like Rwanda, is the opposite of the nature of God,” Welby said.

Migrant support groups say Britain should not be outsourcing refugee processing to Rwanda, a country where London itself has flagged human rights concerns.

“We think it’s inhumane, it’s going to be very expensive, and it won’t be effective,” James Wilson, deputy director of the group Detention Action, told VOA. “The U.K. is a signatory to the refugee convention. We have a legal and moral obligation to be assessing any asylum claims to the U.K. in the U.K.”

Wilson said the government should provide safe routes for refugees to reach Britain. “A humanitarian visa system, so that those who have reached France and are looking to claim asylum in the U.K. and having some grounds for doing that would be able to apply for a visa to come to the U.K. to have their asylum claim considered. If we put that kind of scheme in place, which we think is entirely practicable, it would end the need for Channel crossings,” he told VOA.

Patel says Rwanda is “a safe and secure country with the respect for the rule of law and clearly a range of institutions that evolved and developed over time.” She also said Rwanda already has resettled almost 130,000 refugees from multiple countries.

UN objections

Britain says asylum-seekers should apply for refugee status in the first safe country they arrive in, including France. The United Nations disagrees. “There’s nothing in international law that says you have to ask in the first country you encounter,” said Larry Bottinick, a senior legal officer for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

“UNHCR understands the frustration of the U.K. government on that and is not in favor of Channel crossing, of course. We think there’s more effective ways and more humane ways to address this,” Bottinick told The Associated Press.

Australia lessons

Until 2014, Australia sent thousands of migrants to offshore processing centers in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific island of Nauru. Many asylum-seekers are still being held in these facilities. The policy failed to deter migrants, says analyst Madeline Gleeson, a senior research fellow at the Kaldor Center for International Refugee Law at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

“In the first year of offshore processing being in place, more people arrived in Australia by boat than at any other time in recorded history of asylum-seekers arriving that way,” she said.

Gleeson says Britain has indicated that only some migrants will be sent to Rwanda, and they are likely to be single men.

“If that is the case, what you might find is that the next boats coming across the Channel belonged to those groups which are not going to go to Rwanda — so you might see increased numbers of women and children coming on that boat,” she said. “And the concern there is if those boats sink or if they run into trouble, you’re likely to have a much higher human toll if there are more women and children on the boat.

“There will be a cap on how many people can go to Rwanda. And so, the U.K. risks running into the problem we found here in Australia, which is very quickly — within 12 weeks of this policy starting — we had already maxed out the full capacity offshore,” Gleeson told VOA.

There are further concerns the migrants sent to Rwanda will simply try again to reach Britain, thereby fueling the human trafficking gangs that operate from Africa to Europe and on toward the English Channel.
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Nigeria’s air force is investigating the crash this week of a training aircraft that killed two officers in northern Kaduna state. It was the fourth fatal air crash in the past year for Nigeria’s military, which has been struggling to fight terrorists and bandits and to acquire better aircraft.

Nigerian air force spokesperson Edward Gabkwet said in a statement Wednesday that the force had established a board to oversee the investigation.

The trainer aircraft crashed Tuesday near a base in Kaduna state, killing two officials on board. Nigerian Air Force Chief Oladayo Amao visited the base Wednesday and assured officers that accidents would be curbed.

But after four crashes in one year, the accident is raising major concerns.

Security analyst Senator Iroegbu said the crashes have affected the morale of the officers.

“The frequency is appalling, especially in a noncombatant situation,” Iroegbu said. “This is generally as a result of lack of maintenance or carelessness or mechanical faults. It affects also the morale of the armed forces and even in the populace, in their beliefs in the actions and capacities of the armed forces.”

20 deaths

At least 20 security personnel have been killed in air accidents since January 2021. Seven officers were killed in February of that year when a plane crashed near Abuja soon after reporting engine failure. And the then-NIgerian army chief, Ibrahim Attahiru, died along with 10 other top officials when their aircraft crashed in Kaduna state last May.

Beacon Security analyst Kabiru Adamu said past investigations were not made public and that affects accountability.

“To check the crashes, number one is to make sure investigations are thoroughly conducted and that their outcomes are studied and implemented,” Adamu said. “Part of the challenge is that we’re not hearing enough of the outcome of previous investigations, so we don’t know what led to those accidents, so corrective measures are rarely implemented.”

But retired Air Force officer Darlington Abdullahi argued that the results of investigations are not meant to be publicized, and that crashes do not hamper security operations.

“When the results of such investigations come out, they’re not public. They’re sent to the appropriate authorities to use with a view to preventing reoccurrence of such accidents,” Abdullahi said. “That does not cripple the system entirely because there are so many people who are in training and other aircraft will come in, but there are often lessons to learn.”

Last week, the U.S. approved a previously suspended arms trade with Nigeria worth nearly $1 billion. The deal calls for the U.S. to supply Nigeria with a dozen attack helicopters, as well as engines for the aircraft.
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Cameroon’s energy ministry has said Western sanctions on Russia have driven up the cost of fuel imports and led to a fuel shortage.  The lack of diesel fuels this week left hundreds of trucks taking goods to the neighboring Central African Republic and Chad stranded at the borders. 

Cameroon says thousands of buses, trucks and cars have been stranded in the central African country for two weeks by diesel fuel shortages.  The shortage has left them unable to deliver goods to Cameroon’s landlocked neighbors.

Brilliant Chaba, a 43-year-old truck driver, said his truck transporting computers imported by Chad’s government through Cameroon’s Douala seaport has been stuck in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde for three days because of lack of diesel fuel. He said he is not sure he will arrive in the Chadian capital, N’djamena, within a week as expected. Chaba said he is running short of money to settle parking fees for his truck, buy food and pay for his lodging in Yaounde.

Moise Vokeng, president of the Cameroon Professional Transporters Network, said transporters are surprised that the government of Cameroon has not been able to provide diesel in the country for close to two weeks. He said perishable goods are going bad on their way to Chad and the Central African Republic.  He added that the government should immediately import fuel, or the economic consequences of a fuel shortage will be difficult to contain.

Cameroon says Western sanctions on Russia imposed because of its invasion of Ukraine have created the fuel shortage. 

The sanctions hindered Cameroon’s trade with Russia, which normally supplies more than half of Cameroon’s gasoline imports. 

The government has not revealed the extent of the fuel shortage, but said it will import the necessary quantities from Africa and Europe. 

Simon Pierre Omgba Mbida, an international relations specialist at Cameroon’s External Relations Ministry, said most African countries will be victims of the war of influence between Moscow and European nations, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have disastrous consequences on Africa’s economy. He said some European countries erroneously think that the 57 member states of the African Union and the 27 member states of the European Union should take common positions on topical issues affecting the world. He said each African state, like European nations, has its interests that guide decisions it takes.

The United Nations says since the start of the year, oil prices have gone up by more than 60% and natural gas and fertilizer prices have more than doubled because of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The U.N. says the war risks tipping up to 1.7 billion people, over one-fifth of humanity, into poverty, destitution and hunger.
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Hundreds of Ethiopians reportedly have been been lined up for days outside the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa this week in hopes of being recruited to fight for Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine. But the embassy has dismissed claims it is recruiting foreign fighters and says the Ethiopians are there to show their solidarity with Russia.   

Witnesses say the embassy is not bringing the hopefuls inside but say staffers have come outside to take documents. 

Feleke Gebrekidan was among the Ethiopians who have spent long hours waiting outside the embassy. He has military experience, he said, having served in the Ethiopian military for over a decade.

He said the would-be recruits are former members of the Ethiopian army, who do not have jobs at the moment. Having heard that the Russian embassy is currently recruiting, he said he and other came with their credentials. He said he even brought the clearance he received after serving in the military.  

Feleke said he has been at the gate of the embassy for three days but has not managed to get inside. He said he plans to come back and try again.  

Tewodros Sime, who lives next to the Russian embassy in Addid Ababa, said he is not happy to see his fellow citizens volunteering for the war.   

“Why would I fight on behalf of a foreign nation?” he asked. “I was so angry when people poured in for registration to the embassy. Many did not show up when the Ethiopian ministry of defense was calling [men] to join our army. They are now bowing for Russians and I am so sad about it. We should prioritize peace in our country.”

Some of the volunteers are motivated by economics.  They are desperate to get a job, even a potentially deadly job overseas, because they are unemployed.

Also, most Ethiopians see Russia as a friendly nation politically.  In the 1980s, Ethiopia was under communist leadership, and there are thousands of Ethiopian military personnel who were trained in what was then the Soviet Union. 

Maria Chernukhina, the press attache for the Russian embassy in Addis Ababa,  speaking to VOA, acknowledged that some of those in line are carrying documents but said that this reflects their own willingness and hope. She said the Russian embassy is not recruiting people for any purpose, as that would not comply with its responsibility as a diplomatic mission.  

Since the war began, she added, Ethiopians have been calling and emailing the embassy to voice their solidarity with Russia. Chernukhina said the line outside the embassy is also part of that.  

Contacted by VOA, the Ukrainian embassy in Addis Ababa declined to say anything about the lines. The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
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Some of the worst flooding in South Africa’s history has left more than 400 people dead and some 40,000 displaced, dealing a devastating blow to the eastern city of Durban, which has a seaport that has also been badly affected.

With the port not fully functioning, there are supply chain concerns and China — South Africa’s biggest trading partner — and other nations, are likely to see their imports and exports disrupted.

Earlier this week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster because of the flooding — which he blames on climate change but which some critics blame on poor infrastructure and the fact that most of the people affected were living in makeshift shacks in informal settlements.

Ramaphosa stressed the importance of quickly fixing the situation at the port, saying, “The Port of Durban — which is one of the largest and busiest shipping terminals on the continent and which is vital to our country’s economy — has been severely affected.”

The road to the port, which handles some 13,000 heavy vehicles a day, has been severely damaged, he added.

On Tuesday, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan Pravin Gordhan visited the port, which has reopened, and concluded it would take more a week to clear some backlogs. The rail network to the site had been affected by landslides and still needs to be repaired, he said, adding that 9,000 containers have accumulated at the port and would be cleared in the next nine days.

Logs and debris also ended up in the harbor due to the floods, which he said had disrupted shipping.

One of the countries likely to be affected by problems at the port is China, said Cobus van Staden, senior China-Africa researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

“In relation to the situation in Durban, it’s very serious for the whole of China-Africa trade, rather than just for South Africa; this is because of the centrality of Durban port to Chinese exports,” he told VOA.

“About 20 percent of total China-Africa trade goes out through Durban and this includes resources like cobalt, copper and lithium coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe particularly,” he added.

Maersk, the world’s biggest container line, halted operations at the port last week and told VOA by email its warehouse had been affected and was still not operational. While vessel operations had resumed, the company said problems with road access were affecting all cargo entering or leaving the terminal.

“We continue to assess the damages and monitor the situation as it evolves, customers are being updated daily on the progress and the contingency plans so that we may get the supply chains moving again as quickly as possible,” it said.

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist for the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, told VOA he thought it would take some time before activities at the port were back to normal.

“There’s been great devastation by these excessive rains and it’s a major risk to commerce and all goods: automobile, agriculture and other sectors of the economy that are dependent on trade,” he said.
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A journalism center offers support and resources to Nigerian journalists exposed to trauma
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The Somali government and a U.S. company are locked in a dispute over the validity of an oil exploration agreement reached in February in Istanbul.  

Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed, Somalia’s minister of petroleum and mineral resources, and Richard Anderson, chief executive officer of Coastline Exploration Ltd., signed the agreement. But in separate statements, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as Farmaajo, and Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble rejected the deal, declaring it “null and void.” 

Both leaders cited government decrees and directives banning all ministries and government agencies from signing agreements with foreign governments and organizations until ongoing parliamentary elections are finalized. The elections are expected to conclude next month with the election of a new president. 

In addition, the government has instructed Attorney General Suleiman Mohamed Mohamud to investigate the contract and take appropriate legal measures.  

The government’s position is that the agreement is in contravention of a presidential decree dated August 7, 2021, and a Council of Ministers directive on December 6, 2018. The mandate of the current legislative and executive branches expired more than a year ago. The government said correct procedures have not been followed; therefore, the agreement is “null and void,” according to a February 21 letter sent by the Foreign Affairs Ministry to Coastline Exploration and obtained by VOA.  

Anderson disagrees with the letter and disputes the government’s interpretation of the legality of the agreement.  

“I won’t go into the legal details of the analysis, but we believe quite firmly that our PSAs (production-sharing agreements) we signed are legally valid and that they’re in full effect,” he said in an interview.  

VOA asked Anderson why the company ignored the Somali president’s decree and a letter from a joint parliamentary committee on natural resources that instruct government agencies not to enter agreements during the election period.   

“We did not ignore anything,” Anderson said. “Before we signed the PSAs in February, we consulted with the ministry and with the SPA (Somali Petroleum Authority), and we were assured that both the president and PM were aware of the process and they were fine with the signing.”  

He admitted Coastline Exploration did not directly communicate with either the president or the prime minister, but said the minister of petroleum and members of the SPA assured them that both leaders were aware of it. Ahmed, the petroleum minister, refused repeated VOA requests for an interview for this report.  

In an interview with VOA in February, Ahmed said the president knew about the signing, but the presidential palace denied his claim.  

Agreement details

Providing details of the agreement for the first time, Anderson said it was a “fair deal” for Somalia.  

“There is a 5% royalty that comes right off the top. Profit is split 50-50. There is a 30% income tax on whatever profits the contractor — i.e., Coastline — makes,” he said. There are various other financial benefits for Somalia in the agreement, he added.  

According to Anderson, all the terms of the PSAs, including the profit-sharing percentage, are fixed for its 30-year term and will not change during the life of the contract.  

Somali oil experts criticized the agreement. Jamal Kassim Mursal, former permanent secretary of the Somali Petroleum Ministry, said the agreement was “unfair.”  

“A fixed oil royalty rate of 5% and a fixed gas royalty rate of 3%, government share becomes 59.8%,” he said. “However, if prices fall to $70 a barrel, government share stands at 50%. Any price below $70, government loses money to the contractor. Sixty dollars a barrel, government share becomes just 42%.”  

Mursal said other key terms such as the discount rate, the R-factor (ratio of cumulative revenues to cumulative costs), the cost recovery ceiling, the exploration period and capital gains determine the overall government take.  

“So, we cannot say it’s fair,” Mursal said.  

“The fact that all was done in secret itself makes it unfair. Current government term has ended, and the two statements from the office of PM and president stated no government official signs a contract up until new government is installed. So they do not have a mandate to sign such a deal.”  

Last year, the Somali government was warned of entering oil agreements by the Financial Governance Committee (FGC), a group of experts comprising the Somali Finance Minister, parliamentarians and a member of the World Bank.  

In an advisory, the FGC said it identified two main concerns in the government’s approach to oil and gas contracts: incomplete compliance with the government’s legal framework, and inadequate protection of the state’s financial interests.  

“Incomplete compliance significantly raises the risk of future legal and/or compensation claims against FGS (Federal Government of Somalia), while inadequate protection of FGS’s financial interests risks poor value for money over the lifetime of awards that may last for 40 years or more,” said the advisory obtained by VOA. The signed agreement was for 30 years.  

The FGC also said no PSAs should be signed until an extractives industries income tax is enacted. No such law has been enacted in Somalia.  

Coastline Exploration, founded in 2018, has contractual possession of Soma Oil & Gas, a company that collected seismic data off Somalia’s shore. 

Soma Oil & Gas was previously investigated by the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office but was later cleared of wrongdoing because of “insufficient evidence.” Some of the board members of Soma Oil & Gas, including Anderson and Alexander Djaparidze, a Russian billionaire, are board members of Coastline Exploration.  

“I want to tell everybody upfront that we are not corrupt. We don’t need to be corrupt,” Anderson said. “No Somali government official has ever asked me to make any kind of illegal payment. It has never happened. I would also like to stress that no Somali politician is a shareholder of Coastline. We are independent of the government.”  

He confirmed that Coastline paid for the flights to Istanbul and hotels for members of the Somali delegation, who flew to Turkey to sign the agreement.  

“I want to make very clear before we do anything and pay anything that has anything to do with anybody in the government of Somalia, it’s always reviewed by our anti-bribery and corruption council before we make any such payments or any such commitments,” Anderson said.  

“This was reviewed by them, and they determined that it was, you know, that it was fine under U.S. law and under Somali law, again out of convenience.” 

Anderson said he was confident that the investigation by the Somali attorney general would find that Coastline had complied with Somali law, and that Coastline would be cleared to start work. 

This report originated in VOA Somali Service’s “Investigative Dossier” program. 

 
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