March 2022 - Page 24 of 24

About 20 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo were killed in a fresh attack by the suspected Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group, monitors said Monday.

“At least 20 civilians were killed in #Kikura village (#Beni territory, North #Kivu) on Sunday night. The #ADF are suspected,” the U.S.-based Kivu Security Tracker (KST) said on Twitter.

Ricardo Rupande, head of a local association of grassroots groups, gave the same toll and urged the armed forces to take action against the rebels.

David Moaze, a lawyer and coordinator for a DRC rights group called ADDHO, said two women and a girl around age 9 were among the dead.

The ADF — which Islamic State describes as its local affiliate — has been blamed for thousands of deaths in eastern DRC, as well as a spate of recent bomb attacks in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

Last May, the DRC government imposed a “state of siege” in North Kivu and neighboring Ituri in a bid to crush armed groups that plague the two provinces.

Under it, senior civilian positions in the provinces have been taken over by army or police officers.

Despite the crackdown, and cross-border support from Ugandan forces that began in late November, the ADF’s attacks have continued.

Kikura, where the latest bloodshed took place, lies around 15 kilometers from a Ugandan army base in eastern DRC at Mukakati.

The DRC army and U.N. peacekeeping mission MONUSCO, in the DRC, are also present in the area.

Rupande said the armed forces “have given the enemy time to organize.”

The ADF was historically a Ugandan rebel coalition whose biggest group comprised of Muslims opposed to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

But it established itself in eastern DRC in 1995, becoming the deadliest of scores of outlawed forces in the troubled region.

Islamic State presents the ADF as its regional branch — the Islamic State Central Africa Province, or ISCAP.

In March 2020, the United States placed the ADF on its list of “terrorist groups” affiliated with IS jihadists.
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the sanctions that followed, has pushed the price of oil to over $100 per barrel, the highest level in eight years. But, it’s also opened an opportunity for African oil producers like Nigeria, Angola, Libya, and Algeria to cash in with more crude oil exports.

Crude oil prices hit $105 per barrel last week, their highest mark since 2014, and up by 47% since December, amid fears that supplies from Russia may be impacted by its war with Ukraine.

Russia accounts for about 10 percent of the world’s crude oil output, making it the third-biggest producer globally, behind the United States and Saudi Arabia.

But experts say the Ukraine invasion and the sanctions slapped on Russia by Europe and the United States could significantly reduce demand for Russian products and increase the demand for Africa’s.

Isaac Botti is a public finance expert in Abuja.

“For Africa it’s a gain, it’s an opportunity,” Botti said. “It presents that window of opportunity for African countries to see how they can increase their production capacity and meet the need of global demands of crude oil.”

Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of oil at about 1.9 million barrels per day, followed by Libya, Angola and Algeria.

That positions those countries to reap windfall profits from rising oil prices. But economic analyst Paul Enyim notes that Nigeria will have to pay on the other end for finished products like gasoline.

“At the end of the day, it’s going to hit on our economy,” Enyim said. “We may think that we’ll gain but remember we don’t refine our crude oil.”

All of Nigeria’s refineries were shut down in 2020 because of money and maintenance issues and have yet to reopen. The country now depends entirely on imports to meet its fuel needs.

For weeks, Nigeria has been battling to increase its national fuel supply after authorities recalled millions of liters of tainted imported petrol from circulation, causing a major shortage in West Africa’s most populous nation.

In contrast, Algeria, which does have refineries, said this week that it would supply Europe with petroleum products if necessary.

Botti said it’s a good example for other African nations.

“We need to develop our capacity to produce locally, we need to look at various trade agreements that are existing,” Botti said.

As Russia’s war on Ukraine persists, experts say the shifting focus on Africa could be both a blessing and a burden.
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