Severe famine forces 4000 Karimojong to go begging in Kenya

Posted on May 20, 2013 by

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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Uganda threatens to punish media over succession reports

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

Uganda threatened on Wednesday to penalise media for coverage of a purported plot to stifle allegations that President Yoweri Museveni is grooming his son for power. Speculation is growing that Museveni, in office since 1986, is lining up his son Kainerugaba Muhoozi to succeed him, a move that would likely test loyalties in Uganda’s ruling elite. Last week, a newspaper published a private letter by General David Sejusa calling for an investigation into claims of a plot “to assassinate people who disagree with this so-called family project of holding onto power in perpetuity”.The letter by Sejusa, one of Uganda’s most senior officers and long regarded as close to Museveni, has … Continue reading →

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Boko Haram crisis continues as Nigeria air raids ‘kill militants’

Posted on May 18, 2013 by

At least 30 militants have been killed during air raids on their training camps in north-eastern Nigeria, officials say. An army spokesman said jets and helicopter gunships had been used to attack several camps. He told the BBC that a plane had been hit by anti-aircraft fire but had managed to return to base. States of emergency were declared this week in three north-eastern states hit by Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency. Nigerian forces are trying to regain control in the states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno. Meanwhile, explosions and gunfire have been heard overnight in Katsina state. Residents have told the BBC’s Hausa service that banks, police stations and prisons … Continue reading →

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HRW accuses Central African Republic’s ex-rebels of war crimes

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

Ex-rebel fighters loyal to the new leader of Central African Republic went on a rampage after toppling the former president, executing opponents, raping women and looting homes – acts that could constitute war crimes, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said. Thousands of fighters from the Seleka rebel coalition led by Michel Djotodia  marched into the capital Bangui on March 24, forcing President Francois Bozize to flee to neighboring Cameroon. Djotodia, a former civil servant turned rebel leader, was later named interim president by the parliament and charged with leading the mineral-rich but chronically unstable nation to elections within 18 months. While organizations including the United Nations and the International Criminal Court … Continue reading →

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South Africa’s Desmond Tutu will no longer vote for the ANC

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

South African elder statesman and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu has said he would no longer vote for the ruling African National Congress (ANC). “I would very sadly not be able to vote for them after the way things have gone,” he wrote in South Africa’s Mail and Guardian newspaper. Inequality, violence and corruption are among the reasons costing the ANC his support, he added. Archbishop Tutu, 81, was a strong supporter of the ANC’s struggle against white minority rule. Former African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela became the country’s first black leader after all-race elections in 1994. “The ANC was very good at leading us in the struggle to be free … Continue reading →

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Arms embargo lifted but Somalia cannot afford weapons

Posted on May 9, 2013 by

Somalia’s armed forces have not received “a single bullet” despite the partial lifting of a United Nations arms embargo because the East African country lacks funds, its defense minister said on Wednesday. Somalia’s new leaders aim to train and equip a professional army of around 28,000 soldiers within three years but are hamstrung by a lack of cash, Abdihakim Fiqi (right) said during a trip to London to drum up donor support. “The arms embargo was lifted almost two months ago and we haven’t received a single bullet or one single AK-47 or gun. Nothing. Because of lack of resources,” Fiqi told the Royal United Services Institute defense think tank … Continue reading →

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South Sudan rebels force army from eastern base and town

Posted on May 9, 2013 by

South Sudanese rebels have seized a military base and town after clashing with the army in the east, in an escalation of violence that has already uprooted thousands of people and hampered plans to explore for oil. The rebels, led by David Yau Yau and known as the South Sudan Democratic Army (SSDA), say they want to end corruption and the one-party system led by the Sudan Liberation People’s Movement. In March, the army launched an offensive against Yau Yau in the eastern state of Jonglei, the country’s largest, where the government wants to search for oil with the help of French firm Total. The recent fighting has uprooted tens … Continue reading →

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Tanzania church attack: Saudis held for ‘act of terror’

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

Eight people – including four Saudi nationals – have been arrested over an explosion that killed two people at a church in the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha on Sunday, police say. President Jakaya Kikwete condemned the blast as an “act of terrorism”. No group has said it was behind the explosion, which left at least 50 people wounded. Militant attacks are relatively rare in Tanzania, unlike neighbouring Kenya and Somalia. Al-Qaeda-linked suicide bombers killed more than 200 people in simultaneous attacks in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998. Tanzania has seen a rise in sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims in the past year. There are no official records of … Continue reading →

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Libya parliament bans Gaddafi-era officials

Posted on May 6, 2013 by

Libya’s parliament has passed a law banning officials from the Gaddafi era from holding political office. The vote in the General National Congress (GNC) came a week after militias backing the law began besieging the ministries of justice and foreign affairs. They had said they would not leave until the bill was passed. The law could affect senior members of the government, including Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. Both Mr Zeidan and GNC speaker Mohamed Megaryef were diplomats before the revolution. Human rights groups say the measure is too sweeping. “This law is far too vague – potentially barring anyone who ever worked for the authorities during the four decades of … Continue reading →

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Sudan’s rebel wars reach placid heartland

Posted on May 4, 2013 by

The line of army pickup trucks rumbled into the dusty streets of Um Rawaba, a once placid city in the heart of Sudan that days ago became a new front in the war of attrition between government and rebels. Six days earlier, hundreds of insurgents had stormed in, spraying bullets and killing up to 13 civilians and soldiers, before pulling out as government planes started flying overhead. A week on, Um Rawaba’s traders and shoppers cheered and gave “thumbs-up” signs as the latest government reinforcements arrived and drove past buildings still bearing the scars of the attack. Even as government minders looked on, some citizens acknowledged they were worried. “This … Continue reading →

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