The small town of Frankfort, South Africa, will face renewed power outages after a court ruled against the town’s use of an independent solar electricity producer instead of the national utility, Eskom. Eskom has struggled to keep the lights on across South Africa but threatened to cut off all power to Frankfort when the town sought alternative arrangements. Jan Bornman reports from Frankfort. Camera: Zaheer Cassim
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Category: Africa
Africa news. Africa is highly biodiverse, it is the continent with the largest number of megafauna species, as it was least affected by the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna. However, Africa also is heavily affected by a wide range of environmental issues, including desertification, deforestation, water scarcity, and pollution
Nigeria to Begin Evacuation of Nationals From Sudan
Nigerian authorities say they are working to evacuate some of the 5,000 Nigerians stranded in Sudan amid fighting there.
The National Emergency Management Agency, or NEMA, on Monday said authorities have concluded plans to begin evacuating the first group of 3,500 Nigerian students in Sudan, beginning Tuesday morning.
The director of special duties at NEMA, Onimode Bandele, told VOA via phone that the plan is for students to be taken by bus to Cairo and then flown to Nigeria.
Bandele did not say when the remaining nationals will be evacuated.
“This is a country that is in turmoil. You don’t just go in there [and] want to bring people out, for security reasons,” Bandele said. “In an attempt to evacuate, we should be mindful of the fact that we do not want to lose any life to it. But now that there’s a window, the government is exploring that window to get these people back to safety.”
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry says Sudan’s government has yet to give final approval for the evacuations.
A power tussle between Sudan’s military and strong paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, led to fighting on April 15 in the capital of Khartoum.
Officials say more than 400 people have been killed and thousands more wounded.
Many Sudanese and foreigners are fleeing the fighting, but millions of others have taken refuge in their homes and schools.
Nigerian student Abdulaziz Jikanliman, who is stuck in a school hostel, says he and those around him live in perpetual fear.
“You can hear the gunshots around, little bombings around. We’re all scared. Nobody wants war. People are really starving. Many have no money to drink water, talk less of food to eat,” he said.
Nigerian authorities on Sunday said it would be too dangerous to evacuate citizens without security clearances.
But union groups such as the Nigerian Labor Congress and the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, have criticized authorities for not acting sooner.
“They have taken too long,” said Babatunde Akinteye, vice president of NANS. “If not for our cry, the way we started talking about it, our government might not even do anything. Now they say they want to start evacuation tomorrow. As we speak to you, there’s no official statement to the student community on where to meet, how to prepare.”
Both factions have ignored cease-fires in the past, including a three-day halt last Friday to mark the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which ends the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
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Countries Evacuate Diplomats, Citizens Out of Sudan
Countries are rushing to evacuate their diplomats and citizens from Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, as fighting between the two rival factions in the Northeastern African country continues.
Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the United States are among the nations using aircraft and convoys to bring foreign nationals out of Sudan.
More than 420 people have been killed so far, and thousands have been injured.
More than 420 people have been killed so far and thousands have been injured.
SEE ALSO: A related video by VOA’s Veronica Balderas
Sudanese nationals are fending for themselves amid power blackouts and loss of internet service.
Some Sudanese have made the decision to escape in cars and buses on the dangerous roads.
Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, announced Sunday the organization has deployed a team of disaster response experts to Sudan. She said the team will initially operate out of Kenya.
“The United States is mobilizing to ramp up assistance to the people of Sudan ensnared between the warring factions,” Power said.
She said the Disaster Assistance Response Team will work with “the international community and our international partners to identify priority needs and to safely deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance to those who need it most.”
“At a time when many Sudanese families should be celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan, they are instead living in terror,” Power said.
Fighting between the warring factions has also erupted in Darfur.
“All of this suffering compounds an already dire situation,” Power said. “One-third of Sudan’s population, nearly 16 million people, already needed humanitarian assistance to meet basic human needs before this outbreak of violence.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday the U.N. is not leaving Sudan but has temporarily relocated “hundreds” of staff members inside and outside of the country.
“Working with humanitarian organizations on the ground, we are reconfiguring our presence in Sudan to enable us to continue supporting the Sudanese people,” Guterres said at a Security Council meeting. “Let me be clear: The United Nations is not leaving Sudan. Our commitment is to the Sudanese people in support of their wishes for a peaceful and secure future. We stand with them at this terrible time.”
The U.N. has about 800 international staff in the country, and many of them have their families living with them in Khartoum. There are also about 3,200 Sudanese nationals working for the organization.
Guterres said he is in constant contact with the warring parties. He has repeatedly called for de-escalation, an end to the fighting and talks. He urged all Security Council members to “exert maximum leverage” on the rival generals to stop fighting and return to a democratic transition.
“The violence must stop. It risks a catastrophic conflagration within Sudan that could engulf the whole region and beyond,” he warned.
He strongly condemned the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas and health care facilities.
“I call on the parties to stop combat operations in densely populated areas and to allow unhindered humanitarian aid operations,” Guterres said. “Civilians must be able to access food, water and other essential supplies, and evacuate from combat zones.”
VOA’s Margaret Besheer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
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Egypt Celebrates Eid Al-Fitr, Marking the End of Ramadan
As Muslims worldwide welcomed the Eid al-Fitr holiday, photojournalist Hamada Elrasam turned his lens to Cairo where communities sought relief in rituals, festivities, and causes, especially amid the country’s deepening economic crisis. Captions were written in collaboration with Elle Kurancid.
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60 Killed in Attack in Burkino Faso
Men wearing Burkinabe military uniforms killed approximately 60 people last week in a village in northern Burkina Faso, a local prosecutor said Sunday, citing a police report.
Lamine Kabor said authorities have launched an investigation into the attack in the village of Karma in Yatenga province, near Mali.
The region has experienced an uptick in similar attacks by suspected jihadists.
Some information for this report came from Agence France-Press and Reuters.
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Kenyan Cult Death Toll Jumps to 47
Kenyan police say 47 cult members who were convinced by their minister that they would meet Jesus if they starved themselves have died.
Search teams found 26 bodies in shallow graves Sunday in the coastal town of Malindi, on their minister’s property, increasing the death toll from last week’s discovery.
Paul Makenzie Nthenge, the leader of the Good News International Church, told his members they could meet Jesus if they starved themselves to death and some believed him.
Police received tips that there were likely more victims on the minister’s property. When police raided the location, they found 15 emaciated people. Four of them have since died.
Officials fear other members of the church may be hiding from authorities.
The minister is in custody.
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Americans Left in Sudan Must Shelter in Place Until Further Notice
As more countries safely evacuate their diplomats from Sudan, U.S. citizens who are still stranded in the conflict-ridden African nation are being asked to continue sheltering in place and monitor U.S. official communications. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias takes a look at the options being considered to provide support to those left behind amid ongoing fighting between Sudan’s armed forces and a paramilitary group.
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39 Bodies Dug Up in Cult Investigation of Pastor in Kenya
Thirty-nine bodies have been found so far on land owned by a pastor in coastal Kenya who was arrested for telling his followers to fast to death.
Malindi sub-county police chief John Kemboi said that more shallow graves have yet to be dug up on the land belonging to pastor Paul Makenzi, who was arrested on April 14 over links to cultism.
The total death toll is 43, because a further four people died after they and others were discovered starving at the Good News International Church last week.
Police have asked a court to allow them to hold Makenzi longer as investigations into the deaths of his followers continue.
A tipoff from members of the public led police to raid the pastor’s property in Malindi, where they found 15 emaciated people, including the four who later died. The followers said they were starving on the pastor’s instructions in order to meet Jesus.
Police had been told there were dozens of shallow graves spread across Makenzi’s farm and digging started on Friday.
Makenzi has been on hunger strike for the past four days while in police custody.
The pastor has been arrested twice before, in 2019 and in March of this year, in relation to the deaths of children. Each time, he was released on bond, and both cases are still proceeding through the court.
Local politicians have urged the court not to release him this time, decrying the spread of cults in the Malindi area.
Cults are common in Kenya, which has a largely religious society.
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10 Civilians, 3 Soldiers Killed in Mali Amid ‘Resurgence’ of Violence
Ten civilians and three soldiers were killed and 88 jihadis “neutralized” in multiple incidents across Mali on Saturday, the government said, in a wave of bloodshed it described as a resurgence of “terrorist incidents.”
Early Saturday morning, suspected jihadis attacked the Sevare airport area in the central Mopti region, detonating car bombs, which killed 10 civilians and injured 61 others, the government said in a statement.
The blasts destroyed some houses in the airport’s surrounding area, which is home to a Malian military camp.
“Thanks to the legendary determination of our valiant armed forces, operating exclusively with their own resources, the attackers were routed, and 28 terrorists were neutralized,” the statement said.
A local elected official earlier told AFP that Senegalese soldiers from the U.N.’s peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, were involved in the fighting.
MINUSMA’s camp covers 4 hectares next to the airport and the Malian army camp.
“MINUSMA strongly condemns the 22 April attacks on the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) camp in Sevare and the nearby car bombings that killed and injured civilians. … Shots were also fired toward the MINUSMA camp,” the mission said in a statement Saturday.
“MINUSMA declares its readiness to provide all necessary support to the Malian authorities to conduct the required investigations.”
Two local elected officials and a diplomatic source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, referred to the base as a “Russian” camp.
Mali’s junta in 2022 began working with what it calls Russian military “instructors.” Opponents say these are mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner group.
“It is the Russian camp and their planes that have been targeted, the camp is near the airport,” an elected official told AFP.
Jihadists ‘neutralized’
In separate incidents on Saturday, the Malian army reported it “destroyed a terrorist sanctuary in Mourdiah and neutralized some 60 terrorists in Boni,” the government statement said.
Boni is also in Mopti, while Mourdiah is in the Koulikoro region near the border with Mauritania.
“A supply mission of the Malian Armed Forces was ambushed just 10 kilometers from Mourdiah on the road to Nara,” the governorate of Nara said in a statement earlier on Saturday.
The area around Nara was also the site of an ambush on an official delegation Tuesday.
The chief of staff of Mali’s transitional president and at least two others died in that attack, which was claimed by the al-Qaida-linked Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin.
Also on Saturday, an air force helicopter crashed in a residential neighborhood of the capital, Bamako, killing three military crew members and injuring six civilians, the government statement said.
It said the crash occurred “following a typical aerial surveillance operation of Bamako.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a military source told AFP earlier on Saturday that the helicopter had been returning “from the Mauritanian border where it had intervened against jihadists.”
Mali has been battling a security crisis since jihadis and separatist insurgencies broke out in the north of the country in 2012.
It has since August 2020 been ruled by a military junta, which broke a long-standing alliance with France and other Western partners in the fight against jihadism and turned militarily and politically toward Russia.
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At Least 21 Killed as Somalia Battles Jihadis in Remote Area
Somalia’s military repulsed an attack by jihadi fighters in a remote region of the country early Saturday, killing at least 18 of the al-Shabab militants, according to a top army official.
At least three civilians described as traditional elders were killed in the fighting near Masagaway town, General Mohamed Ahmed Taredisho said by phone.
Masagaway is in the central region of Galgadud and home to a military base. Resident Yusuf Sheikh told The Associated Press that militants overran the base, confiscated weapons and burned military vehicles during the attack.
“It was early in the morning, and (al-Shabab) completely took over the whole town, including the military base, forcing the government forces out of the town,” he said.
Sheikh said several people were killed in the attack and others were missing.
Al-Shabab, which has ties with al-Qaida, opposes the Somali federal government in Mogadishu, the capital. The group intensified attacks on military bases in recent months after it lost control of territories in rural areas to government forces.
Al-Shabab members have fought for years to create an Islamic state in the Horn of Africa nation. African Union peacekeepers and occasional U.S. airstrikes on al-Shabab targets have tried to help keep the militants at bay.
Somalia also is facing its worst drought in decades. During a visit there earlier this month, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for “massive international support” for the country.
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At Least 9 Dead, 60 Hurt in Triple Suicide Bombing in Mali
At least nine people were killed and more than 60 wounded when a triple suicide bomb attack destroyed about 20 buildings in the central Mali town of Sevare early on Saturday, a spokesperson for the regional governor said.
All of those killed and wounded in the blasts were civilians, Yacouba Maiga, the spokesperson, told Reuters by phone. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Mali is the epicenter of a violent insurgency that took root in its arid north following a Tuareg separatist rebellion in 2012, and Sevare is home to a major Mali military base and troops from the United Nations mission in Mali.
Since the rebellion, militants with links to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have spread to countries in the Sahel region south of the Sahara and more recently to coastal states, seizing territory, killing thousands and uprooting millions in the process.
Images shared on social media showed several buildings, including a gas station, destroyed by the blast, as well as injured people being given assistance. Reuters could not independently verify the images.
The attack comes two days after the chief of staff of Mali’s interim president and three others were killed in an ambush.
Earlier on Saturday, the West African country’s government said in a statement read on national television that “a terrorist attack” had been stopped by the army in Sevare.
“Three vehicles filled with explosives were destroyed by army drone fire,” the statement said, without giving further details on casualties.
Separately on Saturday, the Malian army said in a statement that a military helicopter returning from a mission had crashed in a residential neighborhood in the capital, Bamako, and that it was assessing the crash site.
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Mali Military Helicopter Crashes in Capital
A military helicopter crashed Saturday in a residential neighborhood of Mali’s capital, Bamako, after returning from what the Malian army say was an “operational mission.”
The crash was confirmed in a statement on the Malian army’s official Facebook page. The “attack helicopter” crashed at 1:10 p.m., “in a residential area of Bamako,” according to the statement.
Unverified videos circulating on social media show heavy smoke rising from a residential neighborhood, one showing a piece of a military aircraft marked “army.”
Military aircraft could be seen flying above Bamako in the hours before the crash.
Mali has been battling an Islamist insurgency since 2012, which has since spread from Mali’s north into the center and south of the country.
France intervened in 2013 after northern Mali was taken over by militants but withdrew in 2022 over concerns about Mali’s military government working with Russian Wagner Group mercenaries.
Mali has been under military rule since a 2020 coup.
On Thursday, interim President Assimi Goita’s chief of staff, Oumar Traore, was killed along with three others in an ambush in Nara, in the southwest of the country.
Saturday morning, a military base in central Mali was attacked by suspected Islamists.
The army has not yet released the number of dead or injured in Saturday’s crash.
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Sudanese Army Chief: Evacuation of US, Other Foreign Nationals to Begin ‘In Coming Hours’
As fighting between two clashing military factions continued Saturday, Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said in a statement that his troops would facilitate the evacuation of diplomats and citizens from Britain, China, France and the United States, “in the coming hours.”
With fighting reported around the Khartoum International Airport, though, it is still unclear how any major evacuation could unfold. The area around the airport has seen some of the most intense gun battles and shelling over the past week.
A State Department spokesperson could not firm reports an evacuation of U.S. government personnel is imminent. A State Department spokesperson told VOA early Saturday Washington time, “We continue to remain in close contact with our embassy in Khartoum and have full accountability of our personnel. For their safety, I cannot discuss the details of their movements or whereabouts.”
The U.S. Embassy in Sudan said in a security alert Saturday that “due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, it is not currently safe to undertake a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of private U.S. citizens.” The embassy also said, “There is incomplete information about significant convoys departing Khartoum traveling toward Port Sudan. The embassy is unable to assist convoys. Traveling in any convoy is at your own risk.”
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chaired an emergency response committee meeting Saturday regarding the situation in Sudan.
VOA reached out to the United Nations to see if there are plans to evacuate any of their 800 international staff. A spokesperson said, “We are exploring all options. Nothing to confirm as of now.”
Sudan’s military said army chief General Burhan had spoken to leaders of various countries requesting safe evacuations of their citizens and diplomats from Sudan, which has seen bloody clashes over the past week that have left more than 400 people dead.
Burhan said that diplomats from Saudi Arabia already had been evacuated from Port Sudan and airlifted back to the kingdom. He said that Jordan’s diplomats would soon be evacuated in the same way. Saudi State TV reported the first evacuation vessel from Sudan arrived Saturday in the port city of Jeddah, carrying 50 Saudi citizens and nationals from friendly countries. Egypt also has evacuated some of its personnel, while Japan is preparing to evacuate.
The State Department has said there are some 70 U.S. Embassy staff members in Khartoum, and it has been working to gather them in one location. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel had a warning Friday for non-government U.S. citizens in Sudan.
“We have advised Americans to not travel to Sudan since August 2021, and the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum’s security alert on April 16 stated that due to the uncertain security situations in Khartoum and closure of the airport, Americans should have no expectation of a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation at this time,” Patel said. “It is imperative that U.S. citizens in Sudan make their own arrangements to stay safe in these difficult circumstances.”
Patel said U.S. authorities were in touch with several hundred U.S. citizens understood to be in Sudan. The State Department confirmed the death of one U.S. citizen in the country. The person was not a U.S. government employee.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been working the phones in the crisis, reaching out repeatedly to both General Burhan, the commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the rival Rapid Support Forces, RSF, known as Hemedti.
Blinken called on both generals to uphold the nationwide cease-fire through at least the end of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr on Sunday, April 23. Blinken also participated in a special ministerial session Thursday under the leadership of African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki, with all participating leaders unanimous on the urgent need for a cease-fire.
The two generals are former allies who seized power in a 2021 coup but later fell out in a bitter power struggle.
The sudden fighting that broke out one week ago has brought the city of 5 million people to the brink of collapse, with residents hunkering down inside their homes with no electricity amid bombardment, and with marauding fighters roaming the streets, looting homes.
Sudan borders seven countries and sits between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Africa’s volatile Sahel region. The violence broke out as an internationally backed transition plan to form a new civilian government was scheduled to take effect, four years after the fall of Omar-al-Bashir. Both the government and the paramilitary forces accuse each other of thwarting the transition.
The U.S. has some military forces stationed in the neighboring country of Djibouti, which experts say would likely be used for any evacuation operation. Experts say the Biden administration does not want a repeat of the hasty U.S. departure from Afghanistan.
Cameron Hudson, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA that “I think we can’t sell short the comparison to Afghanistan, especially if we’re contemplating the visuals of Americans leaving a besieged city, when civilians are begging for their own lives, begging to be evacuated along with Americans and international staff. I think that’s a terrible optic for the United States to be sending in Africa right now.”
VOA United Nations Correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this story.
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Some Sudanese Flee Fighting, Some Stay as Conflict Rages
Civilians in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum are caught in the middle of fighting between rival military factions. Sidahmed Ibraheem reports from Khartoum. Idrissa Fall and Carol Van Dam in Washington contributed to this report, narrated by Salem Solomon. Camera: Sidahmed Ibraheem.
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In Cameroon, Journalist Killings Cast Chill Over Investigative Reporting
Cameroonian journalists say they remain fearful more than three months after the abduction and killings of investigative journalist Martinez Zogo and radio presenter Jean-Jacques Ola Bebe.
Dieudonne Koutche was among several dozen civilians who who stopped by a memorial to the slain journalists at Amplitude FM radio in Yaounde on April 21, 2023.
He said he feels for journalists in Cameroon because it is a country where officials and business executives can decide one morning to abduct and kill a reporter.
Charges of torture and complicity in torture for the more than 20 people arrested in connection with Zogo’s killing are not convincing, Koutche added. The culprits should face more serious charges, he said.
Zogo was a radio host at Amplitude FM. The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists reports that Zogo had been investigating allegations of corruption involving senior officials in the central African state.
His mutilated body was found on January 22 in Yaounde, five days after he was abducted.
Cameroonian President Paul Biya ordered an investigation into Zogo’s killing after a national and an international outcry.
Jean-Pierre Amougou Belinga, a prominent business leader with holdings in banking, finance, insurance and property, as well as the L’Anecdote company, which owns a daily newspaper and several pro-government TV and radio stations, was arrested.
Zogo had reported in one of his radio programs that many senior officials, including Belinga, wanted to kill him. But Zogo pledged to continue digging deep into corruption, which he said involved Belinga and many government ministers.
The police also arrested a former chief presidential security guard, senior police officers and a police chief in connection with Zogo’s killing.
Charly Tchouemou, editor-in-chief of Amplitude FM, said reporters are receiving threats, and the momentum to report graft is fading.
He said since Zogo was killed, some Amplitude FM journalists are scared of reporting corruption and social ills. Tchouemou said Amplitude FM reporters are particularly scared because they receive anonymous phone calls from suspected government officials, as well as supporters and business partners of Belinga. He said the callers threaten to kill journalists who continue to report that the business mogul may have masterminded Zogo’s killing.
A court in Yaounde has twice denied bail for Belinga.
Charles Tchoungang, who leads Belinga’s legal defense, said it is not proper for his client to be in jail while other suspects are free. He spoke to VOA by telephone Friday from Douala, Cameroon’s economic hub.
Tchoungang said he is surprised that Belinga was arrested, while some government ministers who are prime suspects are still free. He added that keeping Belinga detained does not answer the question as to who killed Zogo, because he is sure that the killers are high-profile government officials who are falsely accusing Belinga.
The government has yet to respond to Tchoungang’s allegations that senior government officials planned Zogo’s killing. The government, however, says it will investigate and punish all killers according to Cameroonian law.
Jean-Jacques Ola Bebe, another radio presenter, was found dead outside his home in the capital on February 2, allegedly gunned down by unknown assailants. The government has not commented on his killing.
Cameroonian journalists say the two deaths scare them, and they have reported threats to the police. The police told VOA that it had received complaints from reporters and that it is its duty to protect every civilian.
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Activists Welcome Ugandan President Calling for Review of Anti-Gay Bill
Human rights activists welcome the move by President Yoweri Museveni to return a draft of the anti-homosexuality bill to parliament for review, saying it provides them with more time to fight it.
On Thursday, Museveni, in a meeting with legislators of the ruling National Resistance Movement party, congratulated them upon passing the bill in March. But Museveni said that while he agrees with the bill, legislators need to make changes to not frighten someone who, in his words, needs rehabilitation and wants to come out.
The bill was widely condemned for what human rights activists have called some of the world’s harshest punishments against the gay community.
The bill mandates life in prison for anyone who engages in homosexual acts, up to 20 years for promoting homosexuality, and a three-year sentence for children convicted of homosexuality. Certain acts of gay sex could warrant the death penalty.
Speaking to VOA, the ruling party’s chief whip in parliament, Denis Hamson Obua, said parliament will examine the bill “in order for some proposed clauses to be reviewed, to be reinforced, to be strengthened. There is also the question of rehabilitation of the victims.”
“But we also agreed in principle that the proposed sentences in terms of punishment for promotion, recruitment and publicizing acts of homosexuality will be sustained,” he added.
The NRM caucus will likely decriminalize failure to report homosexuality. The current bill requires everyone to report a person known to be gay to police, but Museveni wants that provision removed.
Amnesty International continues to call on Museveni to veto the bill.
“It is sad that he did not veto the bill,” said Roland Ebole, Amnesty’s regional researcher. “But what we are actually saying, the provisions of the bill are very dangerous, the death sentence. Having sentences that go against the constitution. And really worried about the forced testing of persons because they are suspected of having committed aggravated homosexuality, and especially targeting HIV/AIDS community.”
Amnesty also argues that forced testing will increase stigma and reverse achievements against HIV and AIDS made by Uganda.
The United States pays for anti-retroviral drugs for hundreds of thousands of Ugandans each year. The country director for the U.S. Agency for International Development recently said the bill, if passed, would make it impossible for the agency to work in Uganda.
Joan Ameka, founder of the Rella Foundation, a group that provides shelter to queer women, said Museveni sending the bill back for review provides some hope.
“We could have a chance to have a conversation on how further do we protect queer persons in Uganda. Because the bill so far has caused a lot of damages, especially in the lowest communities that are offering support,” Ameka said.
Museveni has called for a meeting with the proposer of the bill, Justice Reform opposition party legislator Asuman Basalirwa, to agree on amendments to the bill before parliament considers it again.
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Sudan’s RSF To Observe a 72-Hour Truce
Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said Friday it has agreed to a 72-hour truce to begin at 6 a.m., designed to bring at least a temporary halt to the days of deadly fighting in the African country that has killed hundreds.
The RSF said in a statement, “The truce coincides with the blessed Eid al-Fitr … to open humanitarian corridors to evacuate citizens and give them the opportunity to greet their families.”
The Muslim holiday of Eid marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
There has been no indication, however, from the rival Sudan Armed Forces about its intention to observe the truce.
On Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate halt to fighting and appealed for a three-day cease-fire to mark the end of Ramadan to enable trapped civilians to seek safety and supplies.
“This must be the first step in providing respite from the fighting and paving the way for a permanent cease-fire,” Guterres told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.
He had just met virtually with the heads of the African Union, Arab League and regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development bloc, IGAD, as well as representatives from other countries with influence. The session yielded no breakthroughs.
Guterres has been working the phones to achieve a deescalation since violence erupted last Saturday between former allies, now rivals, Army Commander General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the RSF.
“The cessation of hostilities must be followed by serious dialogue allowing for the successful transition, starting with the appointment of a civilian government,” the U.N. chief said.
Humanitarian crisis
Guterres told reporters it is “virtually impossible” for aid workers to conduct operations in the current state of hostilities, and he demanded that fighters stop targeting humanitarians.
Three employees of the World Food Program were killed in crossfire at the start of the fighting in Darfur. Others have been harassed and intimidated. There have also been reports of sexual assaults on aid workers. Warehouses have been attacked, looted and seized. The WFP said 4,000 metric tons of food was stolen at one of its depots in Nyala, south Darfur.
“There were no humanitarian services provided to Sudanese the last five days, simply because it’s not possible for any humanitarian workers to move outside of their home location or their compound,” the acting U.N. humanitarian and resident coordinator for Sudan, Abdou Dieng, told reporters by phone Thursday from the country.
He said the U.N. was hoping for a cease-fire to move staff in more dangerous areas to safer zones but said that what is safe one day may not be safe the next.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday that more than 330 people have been killed in the fighting and around 3,200 wounded.
The U.N. has warned that Sudan’s health care system “could completely collapse.” Hospitals need more staff and supplies, including blood.
At least 20 hospitals already have closed, according to Sudan’s minister of health. At least nine in the capital, Khartoum, are closed, with the potential for a dozen more to soon close, according to the United Nations.
Officials say this is all tragic for a country where one-third of the population – or nearly 16 million people – needed humanitarian assistance before the latest violence.
The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said Thursday that between 10,000 and 20,000 Sudanese have fled this week into neighboring Chad. The U.N.’s Dieng said his office has also received reports of people arriving in South Sudan and at the border area between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Calls for dialogue
The fighting between the army and RSF broke out after months of rising tensions over the country’s political future and plans to integrate the RSF into the national army.
Calls to end the fighting have come from around the world and within Africa, including the African Union, the Arab League and IGAD.
The presidents of Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti say they plan to travel to Sudan in the coming days to hold discussions with the leaders.
But Sudan’s two top generals have yet to express a willingness to negotiate, and each has demanded the other’s surrender.
The clashes are part of a power struggle between Burhan, who also heads Sudan’s ruling military council, and Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, the deputy head of the council. The two generals joined forces in October 2021 to overthrow the transitional government formed after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.
The restructuring of the military was part of an effort to restore the country to civilian rule and end the political crisis.
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Sudan’s Top General Says Military Committed to Civilian Rule
Sudan’s top general said Friday the military is committed to a transition to civilian rule, in his first speech since brutal fighting between his forces and the country’s powerful paramilitary began nearly a week ago.
In a video message released early Friday to mark the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan said: “We are confident that we will overcome this ordeal with our training, wisdom and strength, preserving the security and unity of the state, allowing us to be entrusted with the safe transition to civilian rule.”
The sounds of heavy fighting could be heard amid the call to prayer in the Sudanese capital, where mosques are expected to hold the morning services inside to protect worshippers.
The army chief’s statements came as his rivals claimed they would implement a three-day cease-fire for the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, based on “international and regional understandings.” There was no immediate response from Burhan to the cease-fire announcement.
Since he took control of the country in an October 2021 coup, Burhan and his rival, commander of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have repeatedly promised to shepherd the country toward civilian rule. However, both have failed to sign political agreements that would see their institutions lose power and open the way for democratic elections.
The video message was the first time Burhan has been seen since fighting engulfed the capital and other areas of the country. It wasn’t known when or where the video was made.
On Thursday, Sudan’s military ruled out negotiations with the rival Rapid Support Forces, saying it would only accept its surrender. The two sides continued to battle in central Khartoum, the capital, and other parts of the country, threatening to wreck international attempts to broker a longer cease-fire.
The military’s statement raised the likelihood of a renewed surge in the nearly weeklong violence that has killed hundreds and pushed Sudan’s population to the breaking point. Alarm has grown that the country’s medical system was on the verge of collapse, with many hospitals forced to shut down and others running out of supplies
“Ruin and destruction and the sound of bullets have left no place for the happiness everyone in our beloved country deserves,” Burhan said in the speech.
Both sides have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan’s western Darfur region in the early 2000s.
The conflict has raised fears of a spillover from the strategically located nation to its African neighbors.
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US Prepares for Potential Evacuation of Embassy Staff in Sudan
The Pentagon is positioning military forces near Sudan to help evacuate U.S. Embassy personnel in Khartoum, if needed, amid the explosion of violence between the African country’s two warring factions. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other leaders are pushing for a cease-fire until at least Sunday. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.
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Ugandan Leader Declines to Sign Anti-LGBTQ Bill
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni declined to sign a bill that would require the death penalty for homosexuality in some cases and sent it back to Parliament for “strengthening.”
Museveni’s decision was announced late Thursday after he met with lawmakers in his ruling National Resistance Movement party, almost all of whom supported the bill.
The meeting ended with a decision to return the bill to Parliament “with proposals for its improvement,” a statement said. It was not clear what the president’s recommendations were.
The Ugandan Parliament passed the bill on March 21, and the president must sign it for it to become law.
NRM chief whip Denis Hamson Obua said Thursday that Museveni would meet Tuesday with the Parliament’s legal and parliamentary affairs committee to draft amendments to the bill.
Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda — as it is in more than 30 of Africa’s 54 countries — under a colonial-era law criminalizing sex acts “against the order of nature.” The punishment is life imprisonment.
Museveni is a strong opponent of LGBTQ rights. Last month, he described gay people as “deviants.” However, he is under pressure from the international community to veto the bill. U.N. experts say the bill, if passed, would be “an egregious violation of human rights,” and the U.S. has warned of economic consequences if the legislation is enacted.
Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “urged the Ugandan government to strongly consider [the impact of] the implementation of this legislation,” saying via Twitter that the bill “could reverse gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
The bill prescribes the death penalty for the offense of “aggravated homosexuality,” defined as sexual relations involving people infected with HIV as well as minors and other categories of vulnerable people. It also includes life imprisonment for “homosexuality.”
Jail terms of up to 20 years are proposed for those who advocate or promote LGBTQ rights.
Under the bill, a suspect convicted of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” can be jailed for 14 years, and the offense of “attempted homosexuality” is punishable by up to 10 years.
The bill has widespread support in Uganda, including among church leaders. It was introduced by a lawmaker who said his goal was to punish the “promotion, recruitment and funding” of LGBTQ activities in the country. Only two of 389 legislators present for the voting session opposed the bill.
Ignatius Annor of VOA’s English to Africa Service contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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UN Chief Calls for Cease-Fire in Sudan to Mark End of Ramadan
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate halt to fighting in Sudan on Thursday and appealed for a three-day cease-fire to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to enable trapped civilians to seek safety and supplies.
“This must be the first step in providing respite from the fighting and paving the way for a permanent cease-fire,” Guterres told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.
He had just met virtually with the heads of the African Union, Arab League and regional bloc IGAD, as well as representatives from other countries with influence. The session yielded no breakthroughs.
Guterres has been working the phones to achieve a de-escalation since violence erupted last Saturday between former allies, now rivals, Army Commander General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
“The cessation of hostilities must be followed by serious dialogue allowing for the successful transition, starting with the appointment of a civilian government,” the U.N. chief said.
Humanitarian crisis
Guterres told reporters it is “virtually impossible” for aid workers to conduct operations in the current state of hostilities, and he demanded that fighters stop targeting humanitarians.
Three employees of the World Food Program were killed in crossfire at the start of the fighting in Darfur. Others have been harassed and intimidated. There have also been reports of sexual assaults on aid workers. Warehouses have been attacked, looted and seized. The WFP said 4,000 metric tons of food was stolen at one of its depots in Nyala, south Darfur.
“There were no humanitarian services provided to Sudanese the last five days, simply because it’s not possible for any humanitarian workers to move outside of their home location or their compound,” the acting U.N. humanitarian and resident coordinator for Sudan, Abdou Dieng, told reporters by phone from the country.
He said the U.N. is hoping for a cease-fire to move staff in more dangerous areas to safer zones but noted that what is safe one day may not be safe the next.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday that more than 330 people have been killed in the fighting and around 3,200 wounded.
The U.N. has warned that Sudan’s health care system “could completely collapse.” Hospitals need more staff and supplies, including blood.
At least 20 hospitals already have closed, according to Sudan’s minister of health. At least nine in the capital, Khartoum, are closed, with the potential for a dozen more to soon close, according to the United Nations.
Officials say this is all tragic for a country where one-third of the population – or nearly 16 million people – were in need of humanitarian assistance before the latest violence.
The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, said Thursday that between 10,000-20,000 Sudanese have fled this week into neighboring Chad. The U.N.’s Dieng said his office has also received reports of people arriving in South Sudan and at the border area between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Calls for dialogue
The fighting between the army and RSF broke out after months of rising tensions over the country’s political future and plans to integrate the RSF into the national army.
Calls to end the fighting have come from around the world and within Africa, including the African Union, the Arab League and IGAD.
The presidents of Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti say they plan to travel to Sudan in the coming days to hold discussions with the leaders.
But Sudan’s two top generals have yet to express a willingness to negotiate, and each has demanded the other’s surrender.
The clashes are part of a power struggle between Burhan, who also heads Sudan’s ruling military council, and Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, the deputy head of the council. The two generals joined forces in October 2021 to overthrow the transitional government formed after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.
The restructuring of the military was part of an effort to restore the country to civilian rule and end the political crisis.
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Niger Fishermen Say Drought Depleting Madarounfa Lake Catch
Fishermen in Madarounfa, Niger, count on Lake Madarounfa to provide them with a living and the food on their tables. But both are at risk because of a drought. Youssouf Abdoulaye has this report from Niamey, narrated by Salem Solomon.
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Refugees Trapped Amid Fighting in Sudan Say, ‘Please Be Our Voice’
As the conflict in Sudan escalated this week, refugees, many of whom had fled violence in neighboring countries, found themselves trapped in Khartoum and other cities.
In interviews with VOA, many said they fear for their lives and are in need of help, but nobody seemed to be listening to their pleas.
Aster Tariku, an Ethiopian refugee and a mother of two children, described the chaos in Khartoum: “The city is in havoc. There are airstrikes. It’s terrifying. We’ve shut our doors and are hiding in the house. The children scream if I open the doors; they scream. They are in shock.”
Aster also spoke of the difficulties of finding food. “I’ve nothing to feed my children. God is my witness. We are just eating what I had. We stay on an empty stomach and eat during the evening,” she told VOA’s Amharic service.
Eyasu Adola, a coordinator of the Oromo community in Sudan, said members of the Eritrean and Ethiopian refugee communities have been wounded and killed in the conflict.
“Many people are injured,” he said. “And due to the clash, many have died too. We have confirmed that a husband, wife, and child have died, and another four people traveling on a Bajaj [auto rickshaw] have died.”
Eyasu also spoke of the ordeal of some Oromo children, saying, “Some children are locked in a school in the Medhanialem Ethiopian Orthodox Church, in Khartoum. They have been there ever since the first day. All the teachers and the students are there.”
Another refugee from the Oromo community, who spoke to VOA’s Afan Oromo service on condition of anonymity, said he saw some civilians caught in the crossfire. “A woman from our country was hit by a bullet in her leg when she tried to get back home from her workplace. Even her family was not able to visit her at all.”
Kumera Jirata, another refugee from Ethiopia based outside of Khartoum, described the condition most refugees are facing. “We are waiting in fear. Nothing is happening so far. Our camp is further away from the capital. However, there is no guarantee for our safety.”
All the refugees called on the international community to urgently assist in providing food, shelter and safety.
Two cease-fires declared in Sudan this week broke down, making it difficult for aid workers to reach individuals in need or for people sheltering in their homes to flee to safer surroundings.
The United Nations says Sudan is home to more than 1 million refugees from neighboring countries, including Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Tedros Berhane, an Eritrean refugee living in the capital city, said they are in distress due to the almost non-stop heavy fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
“There’s a lot of gunfire and disturbance around us,” he said in a WhatsApp message.
Another Eritrean who asked to remain anonymous said, “We’ve been warned to close our doors and stay in because there is looting and abuse.”
Refugees in the country said they had difficulties even before the fighting started. Security forces, some reported, had been harassing and detaining refugees.
“Prior to this chaos, they were harassing refugees, requesting them for identification, so we were telling our families to stay indoors as a result,” an Ethiopian refugee told VOA.
But above all else, he added, refugees in the crossfire called on the international community not to forget them. He said, “Please be our voice, for people who are suffering the most.”
Eden Geremew, Jalene Gemeda and Winta Kidane contributed to this report.
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Ukraine Nobel Laureate Appeals to ‘Neutral’ South Africa
A Nobel Prize-winning Ukrainian is in Pretoria this week as part of a group urging South Africa’s government to re-think its friendly relations with Russia as it wages war on Kyiv. The Ukrainians called on South Africa to honor an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant and arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he goes there for a summit in August.
Oleksandra Romantsova, who heads Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties, an NGO that won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, is in South Africa along with an official from the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, to try and shore up support for Kyiv.
Pretoria has taken an officially neutral stance on the conflict and has refrained from criticizing Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The government is close allies with Moscow, going as far as holding bilateral talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this year and hosting Russian war ships in February for joint military exercises.
Romantsova told VOA the group had met with officials from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, and it had a good and “productive” discussion.
She said as a regional leader, however, it was disheartening that South Africa had not taken a stronger stance in speaking up about the illegal invasion by Russia.
“For Ukrainians, who know Nelson Mandela and struggle of South African population for dignity, equality and human rights, it’s truly quite disappointing,” she said.
She said as a country that has good relations with Moscow, South Africa should use that platform to warn Russia about its human rights abuses in Ukraine, such as the kidnapping of thousands of Ukrainian children. She suggested South Africa could play more of a mediation role.
She noted, though, it was “really painful” to see Putin invited to a summit of the BRICS countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — scheduled for August in Johannesburg.
The International Criminal Court recently accused Putin of war crimes, saying he is responsible for the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
South Africa is a signatory to the ICC and is technically obliged to act on the warrant should Putin attend the event — which he hasn’t yet confirmed.
If he does come, Romantsova hopes South African authorities will act.
“South Africa should follow the ICC rules and arrest Putin if he attends BRICS,” she said.
South Africa’s hesitancy to condemn Russia is often attributed to their relations during the Cold War, when Moscow courted the anti-apartheid activists who now dominate the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party.
But a Kyiv university professor traveling with the delegation, Olexiy Haran, told VOA that Ukraine itself, as part of the former Soviet Union, was equally supportive of the ANC.
“In times of apartheid, Ukraine provided lots of support to South African liberation struggle… So definitely, we supported you and we hoped that you would support us during our fight for freedom,” said Haran.
The delegation said they had requested a meeting with the ANC but had not heard back.
ANC spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri told VOA the party had never received a request to meet.
Asked if they would consider meeting now, she said she’d have to consult with the ANC leadership before she could answer.
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