Niger: French Troops Kill Terrorist Leader

 

Final Touches

NIGER

French forces killed a leading Islamic State militant in Niger this week in a military operation that is likely to be one of France’s last in West Africa, France24 reported.

French officials said that Soumana Boura was killed in an airstrike in northwestern Niger. Boura was a key suspect in the August 2020 murder of six French aid workers and two local guides during a visit to a nature reserve.

The jihadist organization claimed responsibility for the killings. French military officials said that Boura had recorded the executions. French President Emmanuel Macron denounced the murders as a terrorist attack and threatened repercussions.

Boura’s death comes four months after France’s military announced the killing of Adnan Abou Walid al-Sahrawi, the head of the Islamic State Greater Sahara (ISGS), and the alleged mastermind behind the killings of the aid workers.

Military representatives said Boura’s death helped “to fight against the expansion of ISGS and to stop it taking control of some parts of the three-border region” between Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Meanwhile, France is winding down and reorienting its operations in the Sahel region after nine years. It has already withdrawn from three bases in northern Mali and is refocusing attention on the cities of Gao, Menaka and Niamey.

The 5,000 troops in the region will be reduced to half by 2023.

Libya-Elections Postponed

 

Stood Up

LIBYA

Libya’s highly anticipated presidential elections set to take place Friday were postponed, dealing a major blow on international efforts to end years of conflict in the oil-rich North African nation, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

A parliamentary election committee said it encountered a series of difficulties including “the inadequacy of electoral legislation with regard to the judiciary’s role in electoral appeals and disputes.”

It proposed a new date of Jan. 24.

The delay comes as tensions are increasing in the country, which is just emerging from a civil war. Observers were divided on whether the polls would renew conflict or defuse tensions after a decade of civil conflict.

Currently, three main candidates are running for president: Interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah; eastern-based commander General Khalifa Haftar; and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was overthrown during the 2011 revolution.

All three candidates have been facing eligibility issues in recent weeks and their allegiances are divided along geographical lines.

The international community threw its support behind the scheduled elections, hoping the polls could fill the power vacuum that began after the elder Gaddafi’s ouster. Last month, foreign powers underscored the importance of the Dec. 24 vote at a summit in France and threatened to sanction those who attempted to impede it.

Saving The Trees In Sierra Leone

 

The Propulsion of Desperation

SIERRA LEONE

When Alhaji Siraj Bah’s adopted family perished along with more than 1,400 people in Sierra Leone in 2017 in mudslides, he vowed to take action. “All I felt was helpless,” Bah, now 22, told the Washington Post. “So, I put my attention into finding ways to help.”

He fulfilled his dream with the help of coconuts. Bah now runs Rugsal Trading, a company that uses coconut shells and husks to make briquettes that are a substitute for charcoal produced by loggers who cut down the trees that prevent mudslides. He’s made 100 tons of the briquettes. Studies have found that one ton spares as many as 88 trees.

The West African country lost nearly a third of its forests between 2001 and 2015, Global Forest Watch found. As CNN explained, poor infrastructure and drainage and a lack of waste removal also exacerbate flooding. The combination means deadly mudslides are all too frequent.

Park rangers pursue loggers who illegally cut down the country’s trees and destroy flora and fauna but market demand fuels the industry, noted the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus Initiative. Demand for charcoal, moreover, is rising. By 2030, more than two billion people in Africa will still be using charcoal and other biomass for their cooking and heating needs, added the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

President Julius Maada Bio has pledged to plant trees to restore forests and install solar panels so that his people have alternatives to charcoal. But his poor country needs more funding to address the problem adequately, the Sierra Leone Telegraph reported. Only around a quarter of the country has access to electricity. In rural areas, only six percent have access. The country’s grid dates to the 1960s, before the civil war in the 1990s destroyed much of the country.

As Bah and others illustrate, the country’s private sector is stepping up to help.

Jeremiah Thoronka, 20, for example, grew up experiencing frequent electricity shortages. His family depended on charcoal to heat and light their home.  As the BBC wrote, Thoronka invented a “piezoelectric device” that, when placed under a road or walkway, converts kinetic energy from passing cars and pedestrians into electricity without emissions. The device is more reliable than solar or wind power because people serve as the energy source, often unwittingly.

Another twenty-something entrepreneur, Emmanuel Alieu Mansaray, created a solar-powered “imagination car” out of trash and detritus that he assembled in the capital of Freetown. The vehicle travels around only 10 miles an hour but has drawn attention to air pollution, according to Euronews.

It’s popular in Palo Alto and elsewhere to believe that investment fuels innovation. But sometimes, in some places, it’s desperation and hope propelling ingenuity.

The First Steps FOr Peace In Ethiopia

 

An Opening Act

ETHIOPIA

Tigrayan forces will withdraw from neighboring Ethiopian regions, a move seen as a step to a potential ceasefire to end a brutal year-long conflict that has killed thousands and ripped the country apart, CNN reported Tuesday.

Tigrayan leader Debretsion Gebremichael sent a letter to United Nations officials this week, saying the withdrawal will be “a decisive opening act for peace.” He hoped the move would end hostilities and initiate peace negotiations.

Apart from the withdrawal, Gebremichael also asked UN diplomats to “establish a mechanism to ensure the immediate and veritable cessation of all forms of hostilities” and “the total withdrawal of all external forces” in the region.

He also requested the creation of a no-fly zone over Tigray, except for humanitarian and civil aircraft, as well as an arms embargo on Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Since November 2020, Ethiopian federal troops have been fighting against forces in the north Tigrayan region. The conflict began when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered the offensive following long disputes over the region’s governance.

Thousands have died, more than two million have been displaced and UN investigators have warned that parts of the war-torn region are facing a “man-made” famine.

However, Abiy has denied reports that Ethiopian soldiers harmed civilians or that troops from neighboring Eritrea joined the fight. He has also rejected allegations that it is blocking aid to the region.

Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council has voted to form a commission that would probe human rights violations and abuses in the conflict.

The Ethiopian government said it would not cooperate with the commission.

Ancient Monoliths In Ethiopia

 

Competing For a Place

An archeological team recently discovered that ancient stone monoliths in Ethiopia’s southern Gedeo zone are older than previously believed, according to a new study.

The Sakaro Sodo archaeological site is home to phallic-shaped monoliths – or stelae – that rise as high as 20 feet. While many of them have fallen or remain undecorated, some monuments still display wrought faces and other anthropomorphic designs.

Considered as a potential UNESCO World Heritage Site, the origins behind Sakaro Sodo and other archaeological sites in Gedeo still puzzle researchers.

“This is one of the most understudied archaeological sites in the world, and we wanted to change that,” lead author Ashenafi Zena said.

With her colleagues, Zena used radiocarbon dating on the stones and found that they were built around the first century CE. A previous study on other archaeological sites in the Gedeo zone had estimated that some of the stelae – ones found in Tuto Fela in the north – were built around 1100 CE.

The findings also showed that the ancient builders quarried the stone and even obtained one of the materials used, obsidian, from more than 180 miles away in northern Kenya – possibly through some form of trade.

The monoliths’ construction also coincided with the arrival of domesticated animals in the region and the start of more complex social and economic systems.

The stelae’s purpose still eludes researchers but they hope that further investigation and preservation of the sites could help the monuments gain UNESCO World Heritage designation.

Saying Goodbye To F.W. de Klerk

 

9h ago

Ramaphosa tells FW de Klerk mourners: 'We can never forget lost lives, rights denied, dreams dashed'

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WATCH | FW de Klerk state memorial: 'Let us release him to rest' - Ramaphosa

South Africa's last apartheid president, FW de Klerk, was on Sunday lauded for his bravery and his role in the negotiations for the country's Constitution.

• According to Cyril Ramaphosa, those who remember FW de Klerk for the pain of the past should not be dismissed.
• Ramaphosa delivered the eulogy at a state memorial service for De Klerk in Cape Town.
• The president told mourners the pain and destruction of lives should not be forgotten.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa says the anger and pain of those who remember FW de Klerk's role in the hierarchy of an oppressive state cannot be ignored, nor should it be dismissed.

On Sunday, Ramaphosa delivered the eulogy at a state memorial service for De Klerk at the historic Groote Kerk in Cape Town.

"We can neither ignore nor must we ever seek to dismiss the anger, the pain and the disappointment of those who recall the place FW de Klerk occupied in the hierarchy of an oppressive state. We must never forget the injustices of the past. We must never forget the atrocities at Boipatong, Bisho, KwaMakhutha, Langa, Soweto and Sharpeville," Ramaphosa said.

He told mourners that, in a democratic South Africa, it remains everyone's responsibility to mend broken relations.

"We can never forget the lives that were lost, the families that were torn apart, the land that was taken, the livelihoods that were destroyed, the rights that were denied, and the dreams that were dashed. We can never forget the humiliation, the degradation and the inhumanity, nor must we ever forget the responsibility that we each bear to consign such suffering and injustice to the past," Ramaphosa said.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa with FW de Klerk's wife Elita at a state memorial service in Cape Town

News24 Marvin Charles

"Each of us has a responsibility to help build a new nation and a new society dedicated to the realisation of the potential of all. Change did not come soon enough for the many South Africans who lost their lives at the hands of a cruel regime, but the change did nonetheless come. It came in the form of our Constitution, in whose shade millions of our people shelter today.

"As much as we cannot escape history's scrutiny, as much as the wounds of the past are still fresh in the minds of many, we should strive to give effect to the promise that we made to ourselves on that day in Sharpeville 25 years ago," he said.

WATCH | FW de Klerk apologises 'without qualification' for apartheid in 'last message'

Last apartheid president FW de Klerk apologised "without qualification" for the misery apartheid wrought on black, brown and Indian South Africans. In a pre-recorded message De Klerk said he had a change of heart about apartheid in the early 1980s.

De Klerk died at his home in Fresnaye, Cape Town, on 11 November after battling mesothelioma cancer.

He was laid to rest in a private ceremony at an undisclosed location.

Ramaphosa said he came to know De Klerk at Codesa, the multi-party talks, and later in the Constitutional Assembly.

"We had moments of friendliness, but we also had our disagreements. He could be affable, but he could also be stubborn. He could be prepared to compromise, but he could also dig in his heels. Sometimes he offered me counsel, other times, I offered it to him.

READ | FW de Klerk 'played important role in evolution of our democracy' - Ramaphosa

"There were times when strong words were exchanged between us. Yet even in moments of difficulty, at times when we were close to the brink, I found him to be courteous, respectful and committed. FW de Klerk had the courage of his convictions," he said.

Ramaphosa said, under De Klerk's leadership, the National Party was deliberately steered towards a democratic Constitution.

This, Ramaphosa said, led to white South Africans accepting the inevitability of change.

"In many ways, the change that took place freed them from their fear of majority rule and made them accept that South Africa belongs to all who live in it as set out in the Freedom Charter," he said.

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Southern Africa-The Blame Game

 

Blame Game

WORLD

If only those incompetent, disease-ridden Africans had worked harder to combat the spread of Covid-19, the world might not be facing yet another threat in the form of the omicron variant. Or at least that’s the line of false and unproductive thinking that arguably has animated much of the response to this latest turn in the coronavirus pandemic.

Soon after the new variant was detected in South Africa, Britain banned flights from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa and Zimbabwe, the BBC reported. Other countries soon followed suit. At first, these moves seemed to make perfect sense. Some believe omicron is perhaps the worst variant that scientists have yet discovered.

But South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla believed the travel bans – which surely hurt his country’s shaky economy – were unjustified. “Covid-19 is a global health emergency. We must work together, not punish each other,” Phaahla told CNBC. “Witch hunts don’t benefit anyone. South Africa wants to be an honest player in the world.”

In hindsight, Phaahla was probably right. It turns out that the rush to isolate omicron in southern Africa was potentially motivated by negative biases toward the region. As CBS News reported, omicron was surely in Western Europe and elsewhere before anyone detected it anywhere.

Perhaps the world should be thanking Africa. The Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership did everyone a favor by discovering omicron, wrote the Boston Globe. Researchers at the top-notch facility are now wondering if the variant came from somewhere else rather than their backyard.

South African officials also appeared to have behaved exceedingly responsibly in reporting the variant to the World Health Organization, the New Yorker added. President Cyril Ramaphosa didn’t let politics color his judgments about it. His country was possibly punished for doing the right thing.

Of course, omicron could have incubated in Africa, where vaccination rates are very low. South Africa even rejected American offers of more vaccines. As the Washington Post explained, however, the country’s officials declined the jabs because they face distribution problems and other headaches, not a shortage of doses.

Experts in South Africa and its neighbors, meanwhile, have been begging developed countries to help. They’ve argued that the West has been hoarding vaccines and ignoring the hurdles that poor nations face in vaccinating people while forgetting that viruses don’t respect political boundaries.

“Told you so,” said Francois Venter, a University of the Witwatersrand researcher in Johannesburg, in an interview with the New York Times. “It feels like these rich countries have learned absolutely nothing in terms of support.”

The bottom line is that no one is safe until we are all safe.

T

Eritrea-Punching Above Its Weight

 

Punching Above Its Weight

ERITREA

The US government recently imposed sanctions on Eritrea’s sole political party and military forces to punish the East African country’s role in the bloody civil war in neighboring Ethiopia.

For the past year, Eritrea has been helping Ethiopia combat a rebellion in the country’s northern Tigray region. Eritrean troops have been looting, murdering and sexually assaulting civilians and preventing humanitarian aid from entering the warzone, CNN reported.

Despite Eritrea’s help, the fight has not been going well for Ethiopia, where Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed recently declared a state of emergency after the main rebel force, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, drew dangerously close to the capital of Addis Ababa. As National Public Radio explained, Ahmed has recalled retired soldiers to duty and asked civilians to acquire whatever weapons they can in order to mount a defense of the city. He also declared this week he would lead troops on the frontlines, because he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, CNN noted.

Ahmed, incidentally, won a Nobel Peace Prize for reaching a peace accord between his country and Eritrea two years ago.

Regardless, Eritrea called the US sanctions “illicit and immoral,” according to Voice of America. Reports suggest that the country’s motivations for joining the fight are less than pure, however.

Eritrean soldiers might be in Ethiopia, for example, in order to crackdown on around 20,000 Eritrean refugees who fled the country and settled in the Tigray region in Ethiopia over the past 20 years.  The refugees were fleeing “military service, torture, and prison in one of Africa’s most repressive states,” Reuters wrote.

Journalists in Eritrea, for example, face an incredibly dangerous climate, argued Amnesty International. Twenty years ago, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki shut down all private media after one outlet published a public letter signed by his own government officials calling for democratic reforms, Time magazine added.

Samuel Ghebhrehiwet, an Eritrean journalist who was among those who fought against Ethiopia 30 years ago when Eritrea was seeking independence from Ethiopia, wrote about his intense disappointment with his country’s civil rights record. He fought for his people’s freedom, he said, but they have yet to achieve it.

Meanwhile, a London School of Economics blog post portrayed Afwerki, who helped win his country’s independence, as transforming from a “heroic liberator” 30 years ago to an “iron-fisted saboteur” of democracy today.

The US has imposed sanctions on Eritrea before in a bid to compel the country to withdraw troops from another neighbor, Djibouti. But, as the Washington Post editorial board noted, they did not achieve much.

That said, a gesture in the face of such tragedy is better than nothing.