Author Archives: Editorial Team

Severe famine forces 4000 Karimojong to go begging in Kenya

Posted on May 20, 2013 by
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By Steven Ariong in Moroto At least 4,000 Karimojong in Kaabong district in Karamoja sub region in north-eastern Uganda have crossed to beg food in Kenya following the current severe famine which is hitting the district, District authorities have said. The Mayor of Kaabong town council Gabriel Loike said the district is currently facing severe famine following heavy rains of last year that affected crops in the district. “We are shamed of stopping these people from crossing to Kenya because as a district we have nothing to give them,” he said. The Member of Parliament for Dodoth East in Kaabong District Samson Lokeris said every day not less than 30 … Continue reading →

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DRC residents ‘have high hopes’ for Intervention Brigade – UN

Posted on May 1, 2013 by
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Residents in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) see better prospects for peace in the region now that preparations are underway for stationing a U.N. “intervention brigade” in the region, according to a U.N. official. Madnodje Mounoubai, spokesman for the United Nations Stabilization Mission to the DRC (MONUSCO), said hopes in the region are rising after completion of a barracks complex where the U.N. troops will be housed. “They hope that with this new intervention brigade, we will see the end of the armed groups, and with the end of the armed groups, peace will return and with peace, we can see stabilization, reconstruction and development … Continue reading →

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Fund your own development – Britain tells South Africa

Posted on May 1, 2013 by
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By Staff Writer Her Majesty’s Department for International Development (DfID)has informed the Republic of South Africa that it would no longer qualify for development aid from Britain as it is in a position to fund its own development. Britain’s International Development Secretary Ms Justine Greening yesterday informed South Africa that Her Majesty’s Government’s £19 million a year aid programme to South Africa has come to an end. Ms Greening made the announcement at the Times CEO Summit in London attended by African ministers and business leaders. She said Britain’s relationship with South Africa should in future be based on trade rather than aid. “We are proud of the work the … Continue reading →

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Sudanese rebels’ fight getting closer to Khartoum

Posted on April 28, 2013 by
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Rebels from Sudan’s Darfur region launched a dawn attack on the city of Um Rawaba on Saturday, taking their fight closer to the capital Khartoum, witnesses said. The attack marks the biggest push by a rebel alliance that is seeking to topple President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Fighting had hitherto been limited mainly to remote regions of Darfur and South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, which border South Sudan. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which launched an unprecedented assault on Khartoum in 2008, said the rebel alliance stormed Um Rawaba in North Kordofan state, around 500 km (300 miles) south of the capital. Sudan’s army said late in the evening … Continue reading →

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Sudanese military shielding Ugandan warlord

Posted on April 27, 2013 by
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The fugitive African Ugandan warlord, Gen Joseph Kony is said to have recently found safe haven in territory controlled by Sudan, a watchdog group said Friday, accusing the Sudanese military of offering aid to commanders of the Lord’s Resistance Army. The US-based group ‘Resolve’ said in a new report that Kony recently directed killings from an enclave protected by the Sudanese military. Until early this year, according to the report, Kony and some of his commanders were operating in Kafia Kingi, a disputed area along the Sudan-South Sudan border where African Union troops tasked with catching Kony don’t have access. “The enclave is currently controlled by Sudan, and numerous eyewitness … Continue reading →

Posted in OIC, Sudan, Uganda, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Ugandan police crack down on protesting expectant mothers

Posted on April 25, 2013 by
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By Steven Ariong in Abim A peaceful demonstration organised by women in Abim District in Karamoja sub region in the north-eastern Uganda to protest the poor health services in Abim hospital was last Monday brought to a halt by heavily armed Ugandan police who refused the women to continue with their protest. Over 80 women, most of them were expectant mothers, had assembled at the town council with the aim of matching towards the district offices to protest against poor health services in Abim hospital. Heavily armed anti-riot policemen and women intercepted the women before they could move five meters away from where they had assembled. Betty Acheng, one of … Continue reading →

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Malian army “poor, corrupt and barely functional” – French Col

Posted on April 23, 2013 by
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Nearly three months since the European Union (EU) approved a 15-month training mission to rebuild a badly paid and poorly equipped Malian army, it remains poor, corrupt and barely functional, a French colonel said on Monday. The aim of the EU mission was to make the Malian army strong enough to fend off potential attacks by Islamist militants. But since this training commenced, corruption remains the rule in Malian ranks, soldiers are unable to train and some eight million euros ($10 million) pledged by international donors at a conference in Addis Ababa have not reached the army. “They’re managing misery.” Bruno Heluin, who runs training for Malian troops in the … Continue reading →

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20 dead in C.A.R. as SELEKA rebels go on the rampage

Posted on April 17, 2013 by
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Rebel leaders in the Central African Republic are struggling to rein in their own fighters, blamed for violence in the capital that has left some 20 people dead over the past week. The instability is hampering efforts to aide a needy population, according to a United Nations official in the country. Seleka rebels are engaged in battles with armed youths loyal to the ousted president, Francois Bozize, in Bangui. Residents have complained of widespread looting by the rebels in pro-Bozize areas since the fighters took control of the city last month. Despite promises from Seleka, leaders have failed to control their soldiers, said Amy Martin, head of the U.N. office … Continue reading →

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World court settles West African border dispute in gold zone

Posted on April 17, 2013 by
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U.N. judges settled a decades-old border dispute between two of the world’s poorest countries on Tuesday, drawing a line between Burkina Faso and Niger through territory where gold reserves have been found. The ruling by the Hague-based International Court of Justice did not give details of where the new boundary lay in relation to known deposits. The decision by the United Nations’ highest court will be closely studied in the West African countries which are both dependent on exports of minerals. The countries turned to the court in 2010 to settle their dispute which dates back to the French colonial era that ended for both nations in 1960. Both promised … Continue reading →

Posted in Burkina Faso, Niger | Leave a comment

3000 families in Kaabong advised to relocate over rockslide fears

Posted on April 16, 2013 by
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By Steven Ariong in Kaabong, Karamoja Following the current heavy rains that are pounding Karamoja north-eastern Uganda, families living along the steep slopes of rocks in Kaabong District have been asked to relocate to safer areas. Speaking to The London Evening Post over the weekend, Mr Joseph Komol the head of political leaders (LCV)in Kaabong said the district has asked all families to move out to the safer areas for fear that the current heavy rains were likely to trigger another disastrous rockslide like that of 2011. “As a District, we have asked over 3,000 families staying [alongside] the rock slopes in six sub-counties of Kawanakol, Lolelia, Kapedo, Kathile, Kalapata … Continue reading →

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