Protesters opposed to military rule on Saturday reached the vicinity of the presidential palace in the capital of Khartoum for the second time in a week, television images showed, despite heavy tear gas and a communications black out.

A Reuters witness said Sudanese security forces fired tear gas to disperse the crowds on a tenth day of major demonstrations since an October 25 coup.

Protests have continued even after Abdallah Hamdok was reinstated as prime minister last month.

A week ago, demonstrators managed to begin a sit-in at the gates of the palace, but Saturday they were met with rows of security forces.

Internet services were disrupted in the capital, Khartoum, and locals were unable to make or receive domestic calls Saturday, the witnesses said, while soldiers and Rapid Support Forces blocked roads leading to bridges linking Khartoum with Omdurman, its sister city across the Nile River.

People still managed to post images on social media showing protests taking place in several other cities including Madani and Atbara.

In neighboring Omdurman, security forces also fired tear gas at protesters about 2 kilometers away from a bridge connecting the city to central Khartoum, another Reuters witness said.

‘CHAOS AND ABUSES’

The SUNA state news agency reported that the province of Khartoum closed bridges on Friday evening in anticipation of the protests.

“Departing from peacefulness, approaching and infringing on sovereign and strategic sites in central Khartoum is a violation of the laws,” SUNA reported, citing a provincial security coordination committee.

“Chaos and abuses will be dealt with,” it added. The demonstrators have demanded that the military has no role in government during a transition to free elections. Protesters in Khartoum chanted: “Close the street! Close the bridge! Burhan will come straight to you,” referring to military leader and sovereign council head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

They also were heard cheering when security forces fired tear gas, a Reuters witness said.

A senior official at one internet provider told Reuters the service disruption followed a decision by the National Telecommunication Corporation, which oversees the sector.

U.N. Special Representative to Sudan Volker Perthes urged Sudanese authorities not to stand in the way of Saturday’s planned demonstrations.

“Freedom of expression is a human right. This includes full access to the Internet. According to international conventions, no one should be arrested for intent to protest peacefully,” Perthes said.

The military could not immediately be reached for comment. In Darfur, Governor Minni Minnawi asked citizens to stop looting the offices of UNAMID peacekeepers late Friday, with sources telling Reuters they heard gunshots in the vicinity on Saturday morning.

Last Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people marched to the presidential palace and the security forces fired volleys of tear gas and stun grenades as they dispersed protesters who had been trying to organize a sit-in.

Forty-eight people have been killed in crackdowns on protests since the coup, the Central Committee of Sudanese doctors said.
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At least six people have been killed in attacks by suspected jihadis in Niger near its border with Burkina Faso, authorities said Friday. 

“The provisional toll is … six dead, including a policeman, two customs officers and three civilians” during the attacks overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Ten others were wounded when heavily armed gunmen simultaneously attacked a border post and a bridge near the border town of Makalondi, it said. 

Local sources had told AFP earlier that the attack had caused deaths and casualties, but exact numbers were not known. 

The Makalondi border post, where customs officers, gendarmes and police officers are stationed, lies in a zone frequently targeted by jihadis. 

Makalondi is the last major town in Niger before the Burkina Faso border, about 100 kilometers (65 miles) southwest of the capital, Niamey.

It lies in the Tillaberi region, which is in the so-called tri-border area, a flashpoint zone where the frontiers of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali converge. 

Niger, the world’s poorest country according to the U.N. Human Development Index, is contending with two jihadis insurgencies. 

As well as the attacks in the west from groups such as the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, it is also dealing with Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province in the southeast, near the border with Nigeria. 

On Wednesday, the regional authorities in Tillaberi announced that a number of gas stations would be closed in several counties in a bid to disrupt fuel supplies for the jihadists, who typically move around by motorcycle or four-wheel-drive vehicles. 

The authorities have closed markets and refugee camps and declared a ban on movement by motorbike in sensitive areas. 
…

A Gambian truth and reconciliation commission said in a report published Friday that former President Yahya Jammeh was responsible for a spree of killings, torture and rapes during his 22-year rule over the tiny West African nation.

The independent Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was set up when Jammeh left Gambia for exile in Equatorial Guinea after refusing to accept defeat in a 2016 election.

The commission’s report, which follows a sweeping three-year inquiry into the abuses of the Jammeh era based on testimony from hundreds of witnesses, was given to President Adama Barrow earlier this month but was made public only Friday.

The commission recommended that those responsible for the abuses be prosecuted. Neither Jammeh nor his spokesman could be reached for comment.

The commission said that Jammeh, who came to power in a 1994 coup, and his henchmen, including a personal hit squad known as the Junglas, were responsible for 44 specific crimes against journalists, ex-soldiers, political opponents and civilians.

These included the killing of journalist Deyda Hydara in 2004, seven civilians in 2000 and 59 West African migrants in 2005. He also was responsible for the rape or sexual abuse of three women, according to the commission.

In its report, the commission recommended “prosecuting Yahya Jammeh and his co-perpetrators in an Internationalized Tribunal in a country in the West African subregion.”

Amnesty may be granted to those who during the TRRC inquiry confessed to wrongdoing and expressed remorse. A decision on requests will be made within six weeks.
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Ethiopia’s government said it will hold back its army from entering the Tigray region, after Tigrayan rebels retreated to the region this week.  Analysts say the two sides are indicating there could be a window for ceasefire after thirteen months of devastating war.

Ethiopia’s Government Communications Service Minister, Legesse Tulu, announced the pause was to save Ethiopia’s army from what he called further sacrifice and to avoid further accusations of atrocities.

Tulu said the Tigrayan forces – the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – were heavily hit.

He added that Ethiopia’s military defense forces having reclaimed Eastern Amhara and parts of Afar that were under TPLF occupation, have been ordered to stay at their current locations.   

The pause came after Tigray forces on Monday announced in a letter to the UN’s secretary general that they were pulling out of neighboring regions to pave the way for peace. The letter cited the suffering of Tigrayan people after 13 months of war as a key reason for their retreat.       

The rebels’ withdrawal and the government’s halting its offensive could help usher in negotiations for an end to the year-long war.   

The International Crisis Group (IGC) in a report Thursday said both sides should use the opportunity for a ceasefire.   

“This opportunity is really…is a rare chance, for the parties to look for a negotiated path forward,” said Murithi Mutiga, the ICG’s Horn of Africa director.  “It is encouraging that the Tigray forces considered they could no longer try and put pressure on Addis Ababa; but it is also encouraging that the authorities have decided to pause their advances and not move into Tigray.”

Ethiopia’s federal forces spent months fighting in Tigray then fell back in June under a rebel counter-offensive.   

Tigrayan forces in July pushed into neighboring Amhara and Afar regions before this week’s withdrawal back to Tigray.   

Despite the fresh hope for peace, Mutiga doesn’t believe the two sides are likely to sit down at the negotiating table.

“In the Ethiopian context, as we know, historically there has been no culture of accommodation,” Mutiga said. “It has been one trying to win outright victory on the battlefield.  And so, there might be a temptation on all sides to try and press the advantage.”

Regional media report federal forces conducted an air strike Wednesday on a power sub-station in the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle.  Reuters news agency reported the strike knocked out power across the city.
…

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to get tough on terrorists and bandits after explosions Thursday killed at least five people at Maiduguri airport just minutes before he arrived. Nigerian authorities have claimed progress in the fight against Islamist insurgents, but security experts say the explosions throw that claim into question.

The president, speaking during his visit to Maiduguri Thursday, said security forces will employ new military hardware in their operations against bandits and terror groups in the north.  

The president said, “I have ordered, and we have started receiving, some military hardware, aircraft, armored cars, helicopters, and we are going to be very hard on them.”  

Buhari also praised the efforts of troops responding to the insurgency, stating that the security situation in northeastern Nigeria is much better than it used to be.

But the multiple explosions on three areas in Maiduguri, including one a few kilometers away from the airport where the president was to land Thursday, show the terrorists remain active, says security analyst Ebenezer Oyetakin.

“They can still effectively terrorize whosoever is their target, and that is exactly what they have done yesterday,” Oyetakin said. “It also shows that they are still very much around.”

No group claimed responsibility for Thursday’s explosions that killed at least five people, but Borno state residents and experts say the attack bears the hallmark of Boko Haram.

Nigerian authorities say recent operations against the Islamist terrorist group are making a significant impact.

On Thursday, defense authorities said 51 terrorists have been killed within the past two weeks, while more than 1,000 have surrendered.

But Borno State resident and freelance journalist Sani Adam says the surrender of some terrorists does not eliminate the threat.

“The reason why they are surrendering is because they lack leadership because of Shekau’s death,” Adam said. ”

Abubakar Shekau, the head of the chief Boko Haram sect, reportedly was killed in June.  

Boko Haram and splinter group, Islamic State West Africa Province, have waged war against the government in the northeast since 2009.  

Oyetakin says the terrorists were making a statement with the Maiduguri bombings.

“They always want to demonstrate that they are still around, even when they have been weakened,” Oyetakin said. “So, they always want to project themselves from the angle of strength.”

More than 300,000 people are estimated to have been killed by terrorists in the northeast, and millions of others remain displaced from their homes. 
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Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has defended the country’s China-backed infrastructure projects, which critics say are secretive, high cost, and put state assets at risk.  Kenyatta made the comments Thursday at the site of the Nairobi Expressway toll road, which a Chinese company is building and will operate for 27 years. 

The Kenyan government has come under criticism for its appetite for Chinese money to fund large-scale infrastructural projects worth billions.

While inspecting a construction site for the 27-kilometer Nairobi Expressway, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the country benefits from the Chinese. 

“Our partnership with China is one that is mutually beneficial, that is based on win-win and we are very grateful to the Chinese government and the Chinese people for the support they continue to render not only to our country but to the rest of Africa,” said Kenyatta.

Chinese companies are building the expressway at a cost of $575 million.  The road is expected to be finished in March.  

Chinese companies also built Kenya’s $3.6 billion Standard Gauge Railway, which opened in 2017.  

The Kenyan government’s critics say most deals between the two countries remain secret and could cause harm to the Kenyan economy.

Kenya has borrowed $50 billion to fund its infrastructure projects in the past few years and some fear the country’s Mombasa port could be given to China to operate if the country defaults on its loan repayments.

In 2015, when Angola failed to repay a loan to China, it used its oil to make the payment, leaving the country with little oil to export to other markets.

James Shikwati is an economist based in Nairobi. He says if a country fails to repay its loan, China can take over the country’s assets for some years.

“All these developed countries have specific vehicles that guide how they finance a project,” said Shikwati. “The most popularly known is the public-private partnership and now the Chinese have that, but they seem too big on build-operate-transfer approach. So, it’s not necessarily they are taking away your port, but they have to operate it until its optimal level, then they let you take your port. It’s just a financing vehicle.”

Like other African countries, Kenya has witnessed slow economic growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making it difficult to meet financial obligations.

Harriet Muganda worked in Mombasa port.  She lost her job when the government began sending all the ship containers to Nairobi for processing. 

She fears more jobs could disappear if China were to take over the running of the port.  

We fear a lot, she says. At the moment, the government is the one running the Mombasa port and there is not enough work for us. She asks, what if China is the one running it? It means we won’t have any employment here, she adds.

Shikwati says African countries can pay off their loans and not lose national assets if their leaders exercise good governance, and stick to a smart political and economic vision.
…

More than a dozen Western powers on Thursday expressed anger that Russian mercenaries working for the controversial Wagner Group have started to deploy in Mali, accusing Moscow of providing material backing for the fighters. 

The powers involved in the fight against an insurgency in Mali, including Canada, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, said they “firmly condemn the deployment of mercenary troops on Malian territory.” 

It was one of the first official acknowledgements by Western capitals that the deployment of fighters has begun in Mali after months of warnings to the Bamako government. But the statement did not say that the presence of the Wagner Group in Mali would result in a pullout of foreign forces. 

“This deployment can only further deteriorate the security situation in West Africa, lead to an aggravation of the human rights situation in Mali (and) threaten the agreement for peace and reconciliation in Mali,” the 15 powers said. 

They said they “deeply regret” the choice of the Malian authorities to use “already scarce public funds” to pay foreign mercenaries instead of supporting the Malian armed forces. 

In a message to Moscow, the statement added: “We are aware of the involvement of the Russian Federation government in providing material support to the deployment of the Wagner group in Mali and call on Russia to revert to a responsible and constructive behaviour in the region.” 

Wagner presence 

A French government source who asked not to be named said intense activity had been noted as the deployment went ahead. 

“We are seeing repeated air rotations with military transport planes belonging to the Russian army and installations at Bamako airport to allow the arrival of a significant number of mercenaries,” the source said. 

Also noted had been frequent visits by Wagner executives to Bamako and the activities by Russian geologists known for their association with Wagner, according to the source. 

Washington was not a signatory of the statement, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week warned Mali not to accept Wagner mercenaries, saying a deal would divert needed funds and further destabilize the country. 

There has been growing concern over the situation in Mali under transitional leader Colonel Assimi Goita, who took office in June after the country’s second coup in less than a year, and over fears a commitment to hold elections in February is slipping. 

The French source said the deployment of the Wagner troops was a “symptom” of the attitude of the current authorities toward transition and showed that rather than paving the way for civilian rule, they wanted to “stay in place.” 

Controversial actions 

The Wagner Group has caused controversy through its involvement in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. European Union ministers have agreed to draw up more sanctions against Wagner. 

Russia denies any government link with the group, but the unit has been linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman close to President Vladimir Putin who has been hit by separate sanctions over meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. 

Prigozhin, who has been dubbed “Putin’s chef” because of Kremlin catering contracts, denies any association with Wagner. 

Mali is the epicenter of an insurgency that began in the north of the country in 2012 and spread three years later to neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso. 

France intervened in 2013 and now has roughly 5,000 troops in the region, but it plans to lower that number to 2,500-3,000 by 2023. 

French President Emmanuel Macron was due to raise concerns about the Wagner deployment on a visit to Mali this week to meet Goita for the first time. 

His trip was scrapped, however, with Paris blaming the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paris has said that any deployment of Wagner militia would be incompatible with the presence of French troops.

The statement from the 15 powers indicated they planned to remain engaged in Mali, saying “we will not give up our efforts to address the needs of the Malian population.” 
…

Uganda on Thursday charged 15 people with offenses including terrorism and aiding terrorism over their alleged roles in bombings in the country’s capital and elsewhere in October and November that left at least six people dead. 

Early on November 16, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of a police station in the center of Kampala. Three minutes later, two suicide bombers detonated devices along a road that leads to parliament. 

Those bombings killed at least four people and injured dozens. 

At least two people were killed in two other bombings in October, one at a restaurant and another on a bus. 

Islamic State, which is allied with the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), claimed responsibility for the November 16 attack and the restaurant attack.

According to a charge sheet seen by Reuters, the 15 people, among other accusations, “intentionally and unlawfully, manufactured, delivered, placed and detonated an improvised explosive device … with intent to cause death or serious bodily injuries,” for the purposes of influencing the government or intimidating the public. 

Originally a Ugandan group, the ADF has operated in the dense forests in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, across the border with Uganda, for more than three decades. The group began killing civilians in large numbers in 2014. 

The attacks in October and November prompted the Ugandan military to deploy in eastern DRC in late November to take on the Islamist fighters. 

The suspects were remanded until January 13, when they will appear in court again.
…

Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has opened a research center in Somalia to combat climate change. Severe drought and flooding displaced nearly half-a-million Somalis last year.

The new center, located in the Somali capital, will conduct research, collect data and analyze and disseminate new information on climate change in the Horn of Africa.

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, popularly known as Farmajo, opened the new center at a ceremony Thursday. He said it will play a key role in helping Somalia tackle climate change-related challenges.

“The center will focus on ways and means to utilize research, data and scientific knowledge to help the region cope with climate change and achieve environmental sustain inability…. We have set aside a strategically located facility and we will take a leading role in resource mobilization,” he expressed.

In recent years, Somalia has faced severe drought and famine, which is attributed to climate change.

IGAD Secretary General Workneh Gebeyehu says the famine has hurt economic activity across the region.

“The extreme weather has wider implications from the regional economy especially in the agriculture and livestock sectors. IGAD region is home of 520 million heads of livestock, two animals for every one of us, most of which are breed in fragile arid and semi-arid environment that are fronted to climate change,” Gebeyehu noted.

The establishment of the new IGAD center in Somalia comes at a time when the country is experiencing the ravages of drought, floods and locust infestations, which are linked to patterns of climate change. 
…

Nigerian media report explosions went off in the northeastern city of Maiduguri Thursday just as President Mohamadu Buhari arrived for an official visit. Local media say five people have been killed.

Local reports say the five fatalities include a 16-year-old girl, while at least eight others were injured in the explosions. Buhari was unharmed.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Maiduguri residents say they suspect the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

Initial reports say the attackers fired projectiles of some kind.  Residents quoted by local news media say one bomb dropped on a mosque, and another hit near Maiduguri airport, where the president landed Thursday.

Nigerian authorities have yet to make a statement.

While in Borno state, Buhari is scheduled to commission projects at the University of Maiduguri and elsewhere in the city. For now, no one knows if the president’s schedule was affected by the attack.

Nigeria has been battling the Boko Haram insurgency for 12 years, with Borno state as the epicenter of the fighting.
…

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expressing concern at the latest wave of COVID infections as the continent enters the holiday season.Africa CDC Director John Nkengasong says they are pushing African countries to consider vaccine mandates.

Africa is seeing an increase in COVID infections, according to the figures released by the Africa CDC Thursday. 

The continent recorded 253,000 positive cases over the past week, a 21%  increase from the previous week and a 14% death increase.  

Addressing journalists online, Africa CDC head John Nkengasong said they are concerned with the rising COVID cases. 

“We continue to see this wave come and go but the very concerning element here is that the fourth wave and potentially the fifth wave is starting just before we go into the holiday season and that’s very concerning to me. Last year we saw the wave coming up after the holiday seasons and not before the holiday seasons, so we should just keep that in mind,” he said. 

Since the omicron coronavirus variant was identified in South Africa last month, 22 countries have reported its presence in their communities. 

More Africans are getting vaccinated, 325 million in all, but the large majority of people have not received the first jab.

Nkengasong says every country needs to launch a vaccination effort.

“We have a long way to go, at least we are making progress, we need a massive campaign, a massive campaign at every country level, so everyone should get out there especially with what we now know with new variants coming. You cannot talk of even a booster if people have not received their first doses of vaccine. Our campaign should be pushing people who have not received their first dose to receive the first dose,” he said. 

Some countries like Kenya are banning unvaccinated people from accessing government services and public places, in order to push more people to get vaccinated. 

 
…

Nigeria destroyed more than 1 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday after authorities said they could not be used before their expiration date.

Faisal Shuaib, head of Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency, said health officials in Africa’s most populous country were left with little choice after receiving the donated doses that didn’t have much shelf life left.

“We had developed countries that procured these vaccines and hoarded them,” he said. “At the point they were about to expire, they offered them for donation.”

Last week Shuaib had announced that Nigeria would no longer accept such donations, though he did not specify publicly what officials considered too short a shelf life.

Only 2% of Nigeria’s 206 million people are fully vaccinated, and health officials have set an ambitious goal of vaccinating more than a quarter of the population by February. While hesitancy has been high, the country’s vaccination rate has nearly doubled in the past week.

Nigeria has been seeing a spike in confirmed infections since it detected the highly infectious omicron variant in late November, recording a 500% increase in cases over the past two weeks, according to the Nigeria Center for Disease Control.  

The 2,123 new COVID-19 infections it confirmed on Tuesday was the highest daily tally since last January and the second highest since the pandemic began.

“If we are going to overcome this COVID-19 pandemic, we have to do better job of ensuring better supply of the COVID-19 vaccines,” Shuaib said. “No country will be able to eradicate COVID-19 … until all countries are able to eradicate it.”
…

Somali officials in the semiautonomous region of Puntland have announced a cease-fire following two days of heavy fighting between two security forces in the commercial port town of Bosaso.

The fighting ignited Tuesday between the Puntland Security Forces (PSF), an anti-terror unit once supported by the United States, and the region’s regular security forces.

At least 14 people were killed and 63 others were injured, according to witnesses and medical sources. The sides exchanged fire using small arms, machine guns and mortars, forcing some residents to flee, witnesses told VOA Somali.

The region’s security minister, Abdisamad Mohamed Galan, announced the cease-fire Wednesday, saying the decision was made after intervention from traditional elders, scholars and business leaders who urged that the fighting be stopped.

“We are appealing to anyone working for peace that we are ready to accept any effort that is not against law, which can lead to cease-fire,” Galan told the media.

The clashes came after a weekslong standoff between the two sides. The dispute started after the president of Puntland, Said Abdullahi Deni, fired PSF commander Mohamoud Osman Diyano on November 24. Diyano rejected the sacking, saying it was “interference” with the unit.

Before the fighting began, local elders attempted to solve the dispute. On December 7, elders in Puntland ruled the firing was legal. But the elders also ruled that buildings, weapons and vehicles used by the unit belonged to Diyano. They also asked the regional government to pay the unit 13 months of wages and to pay for the security protection of the commander.

The Puntland administration rejected the ruling by the elders, arguing the weapons and other assets belonged to the regional government, and they demanded all of it be handed over “as soon as possible.”

Tuesday’s fighting flared up after regional soldiers closed roads leading to the headquarters of PSF on the eastern side of Bosaso. Residents said it was the most intense fighting the town has seen since 1992, when the Al-Ittihad Salafi group fought against a local faction.

Counterterror setbacks

PSF has been fighting al-Shabab and Islamic State group militants that have bases in this relatively stable region in Somalia. The unit previously received support from the United States in fighting extremist groups in the country, according to a Somali security officer familiar with the unit’s operations who requested anonymity because he was not allowed to discuss the issue.

The officer said the support ended a year ago after the unit resisted efforts to integrate it into Danab, an elite Somali unit assisted and mentored by U.S. forces. The U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu did not respond to a VOA Somali request for the status of its support to PSF. The embassy did, however, call for an end to the fighting in Bosaso.

Reached by VOA Somali, the United States Africa Command said it did not have a formal relationship with the PSF and did not provide direct support to the PSF. AFRICOM described PSF as Puntland’s “most capable counterterrorism force” and said it was concerned about how the clashes could affect the PSF’s ability to fight multiple militant groups.

“Both al-Shabab and ISIS likely consider the PSF a substantial obstacle to gaining territory and revenue in Puntland and are likely closely monitoring the situation,” AFRICOM spokesperson Kelly Cahalan told VOA Somali. “We are concerned that these clashes will diminish the counterterrorism capabilities and focus of the PSF and provide these terrorist organizations with an opening to exploit.”

Experts in Somalia say the fighting in Puntland is yet another setback on fighting extremist groups.

“It’s very unfortunate that rather than fighting terrorism, Somali troops are yet again embroiled in avoidable political conflicts,” said security and terrorism expert Samira Gaid.

“This localized fighting takes away the necessary attention from anti-terror operations. Sustained offensive action against the terror group is needed in order to keep it on the back foot, but situations like these allow them the space to reorganize and operate.”

In October, the U.S. said it was reviewing its support for Danab following the unit’s participation in a battle in central Somalia against Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama, a moderate religious group and former ally in the fight against al-Shabab extremists.
…

In the December holiday season of giving, undocumented immigrants in South Africa are getting the gift of COVID-19 vaccinations.

The government, with the help of nonprofit groups, is offering the vaccine to the country’s estimated 2 million undocumented in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Until now, many could not get vaccinated because they did not have the required identification. But that changed after a lobbying effort by nonprofit groups.

The nonprofit NOAH CAN recently arranged for vaccinations to be given at a Johannesburg shelter.

Some people in South Africa are “not necessarily registered,” said Julie Machin, a volunteer with the group. “They might be on asylum papers or something. Obviously, it’s difficult to access vaccinations if you are not South African, and there’s quite a lot of barriers to that. And so, we just wanted to make an opportunity so it would be easy for people to get access to a vaccination.”

Many in line at the shelter who were receiving their first jabs were not South African, including Rapheal Dube, 42, who said he was appy to get his shot.

“You know what? We, at the end of the time, we need to be vaccinated,” Dube said.

People living in South Africa must be registered on the Electronic Vaccination Data System to receive a vaccine. The system requires each person to have an identification number so the government can track who was vaccinated, record which vaccine each person received and follow up with an individual if needed.

This new program, offered only at selected sites, allows an undocumented person to be given a unique identifier to be vaccinated and tracked for health purposes only.

Building trust

According to aid group Doctors Without Borders, the response has been positive. Dr. Vinayak Bhardwaj, who works with the nonprofit, said authorities need to build more trust before the program can be rolled out on a mass scale.

“I think a lot of migrants are afraid of being exposed,” Bhardwaj said. “They’re afraid that if they go out to go and get vaccinated, then they might become subject to law enforcement. They also worried about their information being shared with the Department of Home Affairs. So as far as possible, we are hoping that the Department of Health can institute a process that, of course, achieves the legitimate public health goals that they are trying to pursue, but also that protects the anonymity of migrants.”

U.N. agencies say an estimated 1 billion people around the world are on the move because of conflict, violence or climate change. Officials say governments and aid groups must work together to ensure everyone has access to the vaccine to help bring the pandemic to a close.
…

Undocumented immigrants living in South Africa have struggled to get COVID-19 vaccinations until now. The government, with the help of nonprofit groups, has begun vaccinating thousands of people who prefer to remain off the books. For VOA, Zaheer Cassim reports from Johannesburg.

Producer: Marcus Harton. Camera: Zaheer Cassim.
…

Madagascar’s police minister and an air force mechanic are safe after being stranded in the ocean for 12 hours following a helicopter crash in the Indian Ocean.

Gen. Serge Gellé, 57, the Secretary of State for the Gendarmerie, was plucked from the water by fishermen, while Chief Warrant Officer Jimmy Laitsara managed to swim to shore.

The two were among four passengers on the helicopter, which was surveying the scene of a shipwreck Monday that left at least 64 dead. The other two are still missing.

“My turn to die has not yet come, thank God. I’m well. I’m just cold,” said Gelle, who looked exhausted, in a video posted on Twitter. “But I’m sad because I don’t know if my friends are alive.”

He said he did not have a life jacket and used his seat as a floatation device.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

The shipwrecked boat, the Francia, is believed to have sunk due to flooding in the engine room. Twenty passengers are still missing.

Some information in this report comes from The Associated Press.
…

An operation is underway to repatriate thousands of Congolese refugees from Zambia to the homes they fled four years ago in fear of their lives. 

Inter-ethnic clashes and fighting between Congolese security forces and militia groups in parts of the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo triggered a mass exodus of refugees to Zambia in 2017.  

The violence in Haut-Katanga province has subsided, allowing for the safe return of refugees to their home country.

Consequently, nearly 5,000 Congolese refugees have decided to return home under the auspices of the U.N. refugee agency and Zambian authorities.  A first group of 100 people left Mantapala settlement in Zambia’s Luapula province Tuesday for Pweto territory in Haut-Katanga.  

UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch says security in the area has improved sufficiently to allow for the return of the refugees in safety and dignity.

“We have to go and check with refugees about their intentions,” Baloch said. “For us, the time is right for returns when the refugees decide to do so…Even before the start of this assisted voluntary return, some of the refugees had already returned back to DRC in this part.”   

Baloch says an estimated 20,000 refugees have spontaneously left Zambia since 2018 to return to their areas of origin—mainly to Pweto territory.

“The humanitarian community remains engaged with Zambia on the Zambian side but also on the Congolese side as well where we are present…UNHCR is working with authorities in DRC and other partners on reintegration projects, including education, health and agriculture,” Baloch said.

Baloch says two buses and two trucks transported the first group of refugees and their belongings to their homes in the DRC.  He says the returnees will receive a cash grant to help them pick up their lives again.

The UNHCR says the voluntary repatriation will continue into 2022 until all those wishing to return are safely settled back home.
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A Libyan parliamentary committee said Wednesday it will be impossible to hold a presidential election on Friday. 

The committee chairman gave his assessment in a letter to the head of the parliament, saying it came after consulting technical, judicial and security reports. The chairman did not specify a new date for the election to take place. 

Libya’s election commission suggested a short time later the election be postponed until January 24.  

Numerous disputes about the process had raised expectations that the long-awaited vote would be delayed. 

Libya is operating under an interim government 10 years after the ouster of longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi, and rival factions in the eastern and western part of the country have observed a cease-fire for the past year under a U.N.-backed peace process. 

On Tuesday, the U.N. Support Mission in Libya expressed concerns about the security situation in Tripoli where it said the “mobilization of forces affiliated with different groups creates tensions and increases the risk of clashes that could spiral into conflict.” 

It warned that the developments “do not bode well” for maintaining stability and the necessary conditions to hold an election, and that they could “undermine the security gains Libya has so far realized.” 

Some information for this report came from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 
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U.N. human rights officials are calling on Sudanese authorities to investigate and bring to justice members of the security forces accused of sexually assaulting several women and girls during demonstrations held Sunday in the capital, Khartoum.

What began as a peaceful protest, allegedly quickly turned into a chaotic scene of sexual violence, harassment, and deadly force. U.N. human rights spokeswoman Liz Throssell says U.N. monitors in Sudan have received reports 13 women and girls were victims of rape or gang rape during a recent demonstration. 

“We have also received allegations of sexual harassment by security forces against women who were trying to flee the area around the presidential palace on Sunday evening. Two protesters died after being shot, and around 300 others were injured, some due to the use of live ammunition, some hit by tear gas canisters or beaten by security forces, and others who suffered breathing difficulties from tear gas inhalation,” Throssell said.  

Tens of thousands of people took part in demonstrations marking the third anniversary of protests that led to the overthrow of the government of President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. Demonstrators also gathered to protest the military coup in October and the political agreement that was signed in November.

The U.N. human rights office is calling on Sudanese authorities to investigate the allegations of rape and sexual harassment promptly and thoroughly. Throssell said the alleged deaths and injury of protesters because of the disproportionate use of force and live ammunitions also must be investigated.

“The perpetrators must be identified and prosecuted. With further protests planned for this weekend and the weeks ahead, it is crucial that security forces guarantee and protect the right to peaceful assembly and act with full respect for international laws and standards regulating the use of force,” she said. 

Throssell noted the country’s acting attorney general has set up a committee of senior prosecutors to investigate all human rights violations committed since the military coup on October 25.

The U.N. human rights office is urging national authorities to make the committee findings public and to hold to account those responsible for human rights violations and abuses.  
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Scientists and health advocates in Africa say they’re deeply disappointed by a statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

The CDC last week recommended the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines ahead of the J&J, because of concerns the J&J shot could, in rare cases, cause blood clots, or thrombosis.

The J&J vaccine is one of the most widely used in Africa, because it’s a single dose shot that doesn’t require ultra-cold storage. The South African health department has reassured people that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe.

In a statement, the CDC said it was expressing a “clinical preference” for other vaccines over J&J.

“This updated CDC recommendation follows similar recommendations from other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom,” the CDC said. Still, the CDC said “receiving any vaccine is better than being unvaccinated.”

But health authorities in Africa say the CDC recommendation has done “irreparable” harm to their vaccination efforts. They say that the CDC’s linking of the J&J vaccine with rare, but potentially fatal, side effects will spark widespread rejection of the vaccine on the continent, where other vaccines are mostly unavailable.

Fewer than 6% of people in Africa are vaccinated and the World Health Organization describes Africa as “one of the least affected regions in the world.”

“I’ve been inundated with calls from people saying, ‘You’re poisoning us’ and ‘We don’t want to take this’ and ‘We’re getting second-hand vaccines; we shouldn’t be getting the J&J, we should only be getting the Pfizer,’” said Barry Jacobson, president of the Southern African Society of Thrombosis. “The CDC, by putting out this statement, has made people scared about taking the J&J booster, and they shouldn’t be.”

South Africa’s top epidemiologist, Salim Abdool Karim, maintains J&J’s vaccine is safe.

“If you had to just look at, for example, thrombosis from cases of COVID-19, it’s far higher than from what we see from the vaccine,” said Karim, an epidemiologist at South Africa’s University of KwaZulu-Natal, who previously advised the South African government on COVID-19. “So there’s no question that this vaccine has a net benefit, even in the face of these side effects.”

The CDC recommendation followed the occurrence of a rare and sometimes fatal blood-clotting issue, called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS, that specifically affected the brain, in people who got the J&J vaccine.

“We’ve seen thrombosis occurring with all the vaccines,” Jacobson said. “But the fact of the matter is, if one gets COVID, the risk of thrombosis is massive. It’s a much greater risk of dying of thrombosis from getting COVID than from being vaccinated and getting a thrombosis, where the risk is miniscule compared to the other group.”

Jacobson was on the safety committee that oversaw one of the world’s biggest vaccine trials, when half-a-million health workers in South Africa received the J&J vaccine earlier this year.

That trial, called Sisonke, came to a temporary halt in April when the CDC paused use of the vaccine after six cases of TTS in the U.S. After analyzing more data, the CDC gave the green light to the shot, saying its benefits outweighed its risks.

Why the CDC would now, “out of the blue,” again link the J&J vaccine with this type of thrombosis, Jacobson said, is beyond him.

“The fact that the CDC came out and said that, it shows no insight into what we face in Africa, where there’s a problem with cold-chain storage and the fact that patients can’t get to more than one vaccine,” Jacobson said. “If you look at the true incidence, it’s one in 500,000 to one in a million. You have a higher chance of being struck by lightning.”
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Lawmakers in Ghana exchanged blows late Monday evening over a proposed electronic payment tax.The government says the new tax would boost revenue for development, but parliament has been split over the idea and fights broke out when supporters tried to force a vote.

Ghanaians in general, and the opposition in particular, have vehemently opposed the proposed 1.75% tax on electronic transactions, popularly known as e-levy, contained in the 2022 budget.

If passed, the law would include taxes on mobile money payments, which is used by 40% of Ghanaians 15 years and older, according to a 2021 data by the central bank. 

Up against a deadline, the government wanted the bill passed under a certificate of urgency on the last day of sitting. But a brawl broke out on the floor when the first deputy speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, pushed for the vote.

The regular speaker was absent from the session. Opposition MP Mahama Ayariga says the deputy was circumventing normal procedure in an attempt to force the bill through parliament.

“The house is governed by rules. And so when you make it right for persons to undermine those rules what do you expect the MPs to do. They won’t just sit aside and watch the person undermine the rules,” he said.

The acting speaker, Osei-Owusu, says he operated within the standing orders of Ghana’s parliament and had the right to vote for the bill under consideration.

“As long as we can change over then that advantage is restored. In my view and I still hold that view strongly that as long as we can change the seat at any time there should not be that disadvantage,” he said. “Otherwise, no proceedings will go on. Why should I come and preside so that I can’t take any decision, what is the point?”

About 50 lawmakers took part in the brawl.Only one was injured, the minister of youth and sports who got a cut in the face. 

The executive director of the African Center for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Rasheed Draman, told a local radio station that Ghana should brace for more gridlock in the current parliament.

“I have never seen anything like this. And for me I have said this since the beginning of the year that if we’re not careful this is how the eighth parliament is going to be. It will be characterized by a lot of confusion and a lot of gridlock,” he said.

Parliament has now been adjourned until January 18 to give lawmakers more room to consult on the controversial electronic levy.
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Five civilians and a soldier were killed in the latest attack by armed groups in volatile Central African Republic, plagued by fighting between rebels and the army, a local official said Monday. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yearslong conflict

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

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

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

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

Moscow denies the allegations. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mutharika said this is a ploy to silence the opposition.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phiri said, to prove Mutharika’s accusations wrong, the Chakwera administration should be sure to take all the cases involving officials of Mutharika’s political party to court for prosecution.
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After months of fighting, forces of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front say they are withdrawing their forces to their home Tigray region.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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