At least five people were killed Saturday in Mogadishu during violent demonstrations staged by hundreds of drivers, who took to the streets of the Somali capital to protest the killing of a driver of a tuktuk, or motorized rickshaw, as well as road closures that hinder the city’s movement. 

The protesters burned tires and chanted slogans against government security forces. Demanding justice and freedom for their businesses, they shouted, “Down with the civilian’s killers!” 

At least two protesters were wounded as security forces tried to disperse them, witnesses said. 

It was not clear whether the demonstrators were shot by police trying to contain the violence or by private security guards from local firms and businesses trying to protect their properties.

Most of the protests occurred near the main Bakara market on the south side of the city, while just a few kilometers away, the country’s parliament was debating the security situation in the capital. 

Criticism of security forces

Opposition lawmaker Mahad Mohamed Salad, an outspoken government critic, accused the security forces of mishandling the protests and killing innocent civilians. 

“A driver and a passenger and at least three other people who were protesting were killed by security forces. They were shot by the same security personnel who were meant to protect them,” Salad said. 

The last few years, motorized rickshaws have virtually monopolized public conveyance in the city because of their mobility and the fact Mogadishu’s major roads have been closed by government soldiers to prevent al-Shabab car bombs. 

Over the last three years, security forces have killed more than 20 tuktuk drivers in Mogadishu.

More than 20,000 young people directly or indirectly depend on the tuktuk business, said Mohamed Abdi, 19, a tuktuk driver. “If the government does not solve the challenges we face, our last resort might be forcing it in some way or another,” he said.

Another protester, Ali Nur, 22, was among hundreds of Somali migrants who were repatriated to Mogadishu from Libya months ago. He said this business was the only opportunity available to him, although it is dangerous and even deadly. 

“We constantly face soldiers holding their guns improperly, and sometimes they aim their guns at us,” he said. “In several cases, they pull the trigger as they conduct security checks, killing an innocent tuktuk driver.”  

Promise of justice

To try to calm the protesters, Mogadishu Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman promised the government would bring the killer to justice. 

“We are very sorry for what has happened and we promise that we will bring the soldiers who carried out the shooting to justice, and the same time figure out how to facilitate your businesses without compromising security,” the mayor said.

The Mogadishu drivers shared videos on social media that show their challenges, including government soldiers blocking the city’s main roads, as well as other soldiers who they say extort money from them. 

But Saturday’s protests erupted after one such video showed a government soldier, who was manning one of the city’s security checkpoints, fatally shooting a young driver and a passenger. 

The reason for the shooting was still unclear, but in prior shootings, government security officials have accused the young drivers of ignoring soldiers’ warnings and helping al-Shabab assassins to escape. 
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Sudan’s second new military leader in as many days accepted the resignation of the feared intelligence chief on Saturday as he faced calls at home and abroad for a swift handover to civilian rule.

Career soldier General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan took the helm of Sudan’s transitional military council on Friday when his short-lived predecessor General Awad Ibn Auf – a close aide of ousted president Omar al-Bashir – quit in the face of persistent protests.

Burhan now has the tough task of persuading the tens of thousands of protesters who remain on the streets that he is not just another general from the Bashir regime but is genuinely committed to civilian-led reform.

The new leader accepted the resignation on Saturday of the head of the National Intelligence and Security Service, Salih Ghosh, the military council announced.

Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstrations that led to the toppling of Bashir in a palace coup by the army on Thursday.

Dozens of protesters were killed and thousands of activists, opposition leaders and journalists arrested.

The police said Friday that 16 people had been killed in live fire in Khartoum alone over the previous two days as NISS agents led a desperate last stand for Bashir before the army intervened.

Burhan was expected to meet protest organizers later on Saturday to hear their demands, opposition sources said.

A photograph published by state news agency SUNA showed him talking with protesters outside army headquarters on Friday, before his elevation to the top job.

Khartoum erupted with joy when Ibn Auf tendered his resignation barely 24 hours after taking the oath of office.

Car horns sounded as jubilant crowds streamed out of their homes chanting: “It fell again, it fell again”.

But the organizers of the four months of mass protests that have now toppled two leaders in quick succession, called on demonstrators to keep up their week-old vigil outside army headquarters until Burhan reveals his true colors.

Ibn Auf had served as Bashir’s defense minister right up to the president’s downfall, after three decades of iron-fisted rule and was widely despised on the streets.

A former military intelligence chief, he remains under US sanctions for his role in the regime’s brutal response to an ethnic minority rebellion which erupted in the western region of Darfur in 2003.

Burhan is a career soldier who comes with less baggage from Bashir’s deeply unpopular rule.

But protest leaders say that a change of military ruler will make no difference; what they want is an immediate handover to a civilian government.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, whose grass-roots membership of doctors, teachers and engineers have spearheaded the nationwide protests, hailed Ibn Auf’s departure as “a victory of the people’s will”.

But it demanded that Burhan swiftly “transfer the powers of the military council to a transitional civilian government.”

“If this does not happen we will continue with our sit-in in front of the army headquarters and other towns,” the SPA said in a statement.

Outside the Middle East, the formation of a military government to replace Bashir has met with widespread criticism.

The African Union said Bashir’s overthrow by the military was “not the appropriate response to the challenges facing Sudan and the aspirations of its people”.

The European Union urged the army to carry out a “swift” handover to civilian rule.

Former colonial ruler Britain said that a two-year transition overseen by the military “is not the answer.”

“We need to see a swift move to an inclusive, representative, civilian leadership,” said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Members of the military council sought to reassure foreign diplomats about its intentions.

“This is not a military coup, but taking the side of the people,” the council’s political chief Lieutenant General Omar Zain al-Abdin told Arab and African diplomats at a meeting broadcast on state television.

But tens of thousands camped outside army headquarters for a seventh straight night in defiance of an nighttime curfew to keep up the pressure on the military rulers.

Bashir, who took power in a 1989 coup, remained in custody, but the military council has said it would never extradite him or any other Sudanese citizen.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued two arrest warrants against Bashir for suspected genocide and war crimes over the regime’s brutal campaign of repression in Darfur.

 
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Experts meeting in emergency session at the World Health Organization agree the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo does not constitute a public health emergency of international concern.

The experts say the Ebola outbreak does not pose a global threat since the deadly virus has not crossed any international borders.  But they warn this is no time to sit back as the epidemic continues to spread.  It says efforts to contain the disease must be redoubled.

The assessment follows a warning issued Friday by top Red Cross official Emanuele Capobianco who expressed concern about a possible regional spread of the Ebola virus after a recent spike in cases in the DRC.

The recent spike in Ebola infections has seen the number of cases rise to 1206, including 764 deaths. The current upsurge has occurred in remaining epicenters of the disease in conflict-ridden North Kivu province, notably in Butembo, Katwa, Vuhove and Mandima.  

The WHO says these areas have been off limits because of insecurity, seriously hindering the Ebola response.  Because of the lack of access, Executive Director of WHO Health Emergency Program, Mike Ryan, says the WHO has fallen behind in starting vaccination rings.

“Vaccination is proving to be a highly effective way of stopping this virus.   But if we cannot vaccinate people, we cannot protect them.  We can also not get people out to Ebola treatment units.  If someone stays in the community with Ebola and begins to have diarrhea or bleeding, they will infect their families.  So, getting an Ebola patient to safe and effective treatment center is also very important,” Ryan said.

In the last few days, Ryan says aid workers have been able to get back into these Ebola-affected communities. He says they have been able to begin vaccinations and implement other crucial Ebola-control measures.

The current Ebola outbreak is the worst ever in DRC and the second largest recorded after the 2014 epidemic in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people.

The WHO expert committee recommends scaling up community dialogue and participation of traditional healers to lessen community mistrust and gain its acceptance.

Because of the high risk of regional spread, the committee advises neighboring countries to accelerate current preparedness and surveillance efforts.

The WHO is appealing to the international community to support its Ebola-control operation.  It says it desperately needs $148 million to keep the operation running until July.  It warns it will not be able to end the epidemic if it does not have the money to implement essential programs.

 
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Amid continuing turmoil and ongoing protests in Sudan, following the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir after 30 years in power, the country’s new military ruler has resigned. This comes as the transitional military council plans to restore civilian rule, ideally within two years. But the United States is calling on Sudan’s military leaders to hand over power to civilians sooner. VOA’s diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
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