Thousands of mourners gathered in Burkina Faso’s capital on Saturday for the funeral of 27 soldiers killed in an ambush last month that triggered the country’s second coup this year led by a military unit fed up with rampant insecurity.

The coffins were wrapped in the Burkina Faso flag and sided by portraits of the soldiers who were killed on September 26 while escorting a convoy that was delivering supplies to a northern town besieged by Islamist insurgents.

“People are saddened and sickened by the situation we are experiencing. It really hurts the heart to see young people in their prime leaving,” said Abdoul Fatao Bangue, a friend of one of the soldiers.

Tributes for fallen soldiers have become a regular occurrence in the impoverished West African country, where groups linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State have killed thousands of people in raids on rural communities since 2015.

In recent months, insurgents have blockaded parts of the arid north, causing acute food shortages for thousands.

On September 30, four days after the attack, soldiers led by Captain Ibrahim Traore overthrew President Paul-Henri Damiba and promised greater security. Damiba had staged his own coup in January promising the same, only for the attacks to continue.

Traore has a massive task ahead, not least securing Djibo, the town that the convoy was trying to reach on Sept. 26. It has become a glaring example of the government’s loss of control in the north – and of the price paid by civilians caught in the middle.

Under siege

Militants have for years managed to isolate Djibo from the capital 200 kilometers away, by using explosive devices, ambushes and illegal checkpoints.

This year, things have got much worse, residents and humanitarian workers told Reuters. The insurgents have cut off food and medical supplies, including treatment for malnourished children. Market shelves are empty; even salt is hard to find.

Only humanitarian flights are able to get in, but even they are struggling to meet residents’ needs. Army convoys bringing supplies face the threat of attacks.

“We lack food, and we can’t even buy any in the market,” said one resident, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Without alternatives, we eat leaves and meat.”

The militants don’t allow freedom of movement. Anyone leaving risks being killed and no one can access their farms or cattle, the residents said.

“I have been particularly shocked by how fast the situation deteriorated throughout these past months,” said Alfarock Ag-Almoustakine, a project coordinator in Djibo for Doctors Without Borders.

“We really hope that all parties can find a solution to supply the city as quickly as possible to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.”
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The U.N. Human Rights Council voted Friday by a narrow majority to extend for another year a commission of experts tasked with investigating the human rights situation in conflict-torn Ethiopia.

The text presented by the European Union was adopted by 21 votes in favor.

Nineteen countries voted against, including all African members of the Human Rights Council except Malawi, which abstained along with six other countries.

The experts are due to make a verbal report on the situation in Ethiopia, which has been mired in conflict since November 2020, to the Human Rights Council at its next session in early 2023.

Ethiopia’s representative in Geneva said in a tweet before the vote that “Ethiopia rejects it and requests members of the Council to vote against this political venture.”

Human Rights Watch said the extension was “a powerful message to the warring parties… that those who commit abuses could one day be brought to justice.”

It also called on states to give the commission the means to do its work.

“This decision gives hope to the victims of Ethiopia’s continued human rights violations that someone is supporting them,” Amnesty International said.

U.S.  State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement that Washington welcomes the extension of the commission’s mandate and added: “The Ethiopian government and all involved in this conflict must commit to a comprehensive, inclusive, and transparent transitional justice process.  As we have said from the beginning, any solution to the crisis must include accountability for those responsible, and the ICHREE will have an essential role in supporting such efforts.”

The war has killed untold numbers of civilians and triggered a deep humanitarian crisis, and all sides to the conflict have been accused of grave abuses against civilians.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) dominated Ethiopia’s ruling coalition for decades before Abiy Ahmed took power in 2018.

After months of rising tensions Prime Minister Abiy, a Nobel Peace laureate, sent soldiers into Tigray to unseat the TPLF, saying the move was in response to attacks on federal army camps.
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The Beijing-funded African Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is due to open in the next few months. The controversial project is just one example of China’s increasing investment in health care on the African continent since the pandemic as it builds what analysts and Beijing call a “Health Silk Road.”

The reasons behind China’s investments in health care in Africa, according to experts, include the desire to increase its soft power as it vies with the West for influence on the continent, finding markets for its drugs and medical products and strengthening its position with international bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO).

Some critics warn of more opportunistic motivations such as access to natural resources, political favors and even spying.

Controversial African CDC

The $80 million African CDC headquarters is one China-funded health project that has proved contentious. It was originally envisioned as a U.S.-China-Africa collaboration, but when things soured between Washington and Beijing under the Trump administration — which pulled the U.S. out of the WHO — that plan collapsed, and the agreement was recrafted as one between China and the African Union (AU).

“The U.S. was eventually edged out and I think this was a diplomatic win for the Chinese,” Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the African Center for Strategic Studies, told VOA.

At the time, some U.S. officials suggested China was aiming to use the CDC to spy on Africa’s genomic data and gain control over African health management, which China has described as a “ridiculous” allegation.

“It shows that some people in the U.S. always make presumptions,” foreign ministry representative Hua Chunying said in 2020 during a regular press briefing.

Cameron Hudson, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, former director for African affairs on the White House National Security Council, and previously an intelligence analyst in the Africa Directorate at the Central Intelligence Agency, said he still thinks spying could be a possibility in the new African CDC.

“I think Washington would have liked to be more involved in the building of the African CDC, if for no other reason than I think we have to assume that China will, you know, be able to monitor that building,” Hudson told VOA.

Other Chinese health initiatives

The African CDC is just one of China’s many health-related initiatives in Africa. Beijing has been promoting traditional Chinese medicine, opening clinics in many countries on the continent.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, China distributed personal protective equipment and provided vaccines to African nations. Last month, Africa’s largest vaccine cold-storage unit built by a Chinese company opened in Egypt. The North African country is also manufacturing China’s Sinovac vaccine locally for export to the rest of the continent.

These and many other forms of cooperation, such as the deployment of thousands of Chinese medical personnel to African countries, are all part of President Xi Jinping’s trademark Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has evolved from originally focusing on building infrastructure in developing countries to including a wide range of other sectors from technology to space to security to medicine.

“The Belt and Road program provides an institutional architecture for many other initiatives not just infrastructure,” said Nantulya.

In terms of its health projects “China stands a lot to gain: by way of diplomatic influence, by way of marketing the Belt and Road itself, but also in terms of marketing its health products,” added Nantulya, who said Beijing is “also trying to increase its competitive edge against the West.”

Asked if China’s health ambitions in Africa were intended to rival the U.S.’s, the Chinese Mission to the African Union responded by email: “Through concrete actions, China has helped African countries respond to various epidemics and diseases and build a public health system, promoting a China-Africa community of health.”

“China-Africa health cooperation is open and inclusive and does not prevent any third party from cooperating with Africa, and we welcome the international community to contribute to enhancing the accessibility of health products in Africa,” it continued. The mission said the CDC was expected to be completed in early 2023.

US-Africa relations

The U.S. said it has supported the Africa CDC since 2014 and earlier this year, signed an agreement with the Africa Union for continued cooperation which includes U.S. agencies helping the Africa CDC to develop its workforce and “capacity-building in vaccine manufacturing … .”

“We’ve developed and implemented a comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy to advance our shared affirmative vision with allies and partners, offering an alternative to the PRC (People’s Republic of China) model,” the State Department’s press office told VOA. The representative added, “We respect the ability of countries to decide for themselves whether to partner with the PRC. However, we echo the long-standing calls from African capitals that PRC actions respect local law and interests, particularly regarding the human and labor rights of all and protections for the environment.”

Other reasons for China’s ‘Health Silk Road’

China has been involved in health projects in Africa since the 1960s, but it was really during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014-16 that analysts say Beijing stepped up its participation in international responses to health crises.

Hudson said he thinks that is when there was “recognition that health and pandemics really are transnational issues … for China this is an opportunity to broaden the perception and the reality of its engagement in Africa, which has been framed very much as mercantilistic up until this point,” he said.

Lauren Johnston, an analyst with the South African Institute of International Affairs and an expert on the BRI, said she thinks China’s promise to help African countries improve public health after Ebola “was genuine and not any bigger conspiracy.”

However, she said “I do think China wants to capture the low/middle-income consumer/health products sector … for basic bandages, PPE, even MRI machines etc. … fitting out hospitals.”

Nader Habibi, an economics professor at Brandeis University, said China had made progress in medical technology in recent years and was now in a good position to enter the international health care market.

“Overall the quantity of Western investment and support for health care infrastructure in Africa has been limited in recent decades. This is the main reason that African countries have welcomed Chinese investments and support,” he told VOA. “The private sector investors in Western nations are not interested in these types of investments nor are they prepared to accept the political risks of investing in Africa.”

Still, Hudson says, China’s contributions to health care in Africa do not come anywhere near those of the U.S., which has spent billions of dollars on malaria, HIV, AIDS, and other programs over the decades.

“China’s clearly really very far behind. … It’s really only since the COVID outbreak and the distribution of vaccines that you’ve really begun to see China play any kind of meaningful role in the health space on the continent,” he said.

The African Union did not respond to request for comment.
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The East African bloc IGAD, aid groups, and development partners have called for greater coordination to fight growing hunger in the region.

An estimated 51 million people across East Africa are in dire need of food, water and medicine. Ministers from the eight nations of IGAD — the Intergovernmental Authority on Development — met in Nairobi this week to find ways to deal with the general humanitarian crisis in the region. 

The World Food Program’s regional director for Eastern Africa, Michael Dunford, said urgent action is needed. 

“As indicated, we are in crisis and it’s not just a food crisis, it’s a water crisis, it’s an education crisis, it’s a livelihood crisis, it’s a nutrition crisis,” he said. “And over the last couple of days, we have had many words spoken but now we need to turn these words into actions and actions where we joined up, able to respond to the needs of the population across the Horn of Africa.” 

The WFP says its annual needs for the region have climbed from $4.3 billion to $6 billion and, despite getting some donations, it has yet to close the gap. 

Persistent drought made worse by four consecutive failed rainy seasons has wiped out crops and livestock in the region, destroying the livelihoods of millions in the Horn of Africa. 

Mohamed Malick, regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa for the United Nations children’s agency, or UNICEF, said the region is losing its younger generations due to lack of food and water. 

“Malnutrition figures are skyrocketing. We know as we speak today there are 1.7 million children who are facing severe and acute malnutrition, which is an extreme form of malnutrition and a major cause of death,” he said. “As we speak today, children are having problems accessing water.” 

UNICEF says at least 3.7 million students in the region may have dropped out of school and most of them may not return to class.   

Somalia is one of the countries most affected by the drought, with more than seven million people who are food insecure. 

The country’s minister for agriculture and irrigation, Ahmed Madobe Nunow, said conflict and lack of government presence in many parts of Somalia have made it difficult for people to feed themselves.  

“Land access and utilization is a challenge in Somalia, because most of the fertile land is not in the hands of the government and, therefore, land access is an additional problem in Somalia,” Nunow said.  

In neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya, at least 23 million people are food insecure and, in Ethiopia, conflict in the Tigray region has worsened the humanitarian situation. 

According to the aid agencies, six million South Sudanese are food insecure, and 30 percent of Sudan’s population is facing a food crisis compounded by climate change, political instability and increased food prices. 

Sudan’s minister for agriculture and forest, Abubakr Omer Elbushra, said a population in constant conflict and violence cannot produce sufficient food. 

“In stable communities, [people] who are affected by tribal or political crises turn to either refugees or displaced. People in camps lose their livelihood. They are changed from producers to consumers and here, a food crisis strikes,” Elbushra said. 

Government representatives and aid agencies are calling for coordinated regional interventions, strengthening of research capacities, and early warning systems to prevent disasters related to food and nutrition crises before they happen. 

 
…

The Biden administration will begin redirecting U.S.-bound travelers who had been to Uganda within the previous 21 days to five major American airports to be screened for Ebola as public health officials sent an alert to health care workers.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday issued an alert to health care workers to raise awareness about the outbreak but said there were currently no suspected or confirmed U.S. Ebola cases from the Sudan strain, which is behind the latest Uganda infections.

According to Uganda’s Health Ministry at least nine people had died of the disease in Uganda by October 3. Authorities in the east African nation announced the outbreak of the deadly hemorrhagic fever on September 20. There are 43 total cases, including the deaths.

U.S. screening began Thursday at the airports but the funneling requirements are expected to take effect within the coming week or so, a source told Reuters.

“Out of an abundance of caution (CDC) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will apply new layers of screening at these five U.S. airports in response to the Ebola outbreak in Uganda,” the U.S. Embassy in Uganda said

Travelers from Uganda need to arrive at New York-John F. Kennedy, Newark, Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare or Washington Dulles airports for screening. There is no approved vaccine for the Sudan strain of the disease, triggering fears of a major health crisis in the country of 45 million people.

Two sources said about 140 people who had recently been in Uganda arrive daily in the United States, with 62% landing at one of those five airports. Officials will conduct a temperature screening, ask health questions and report arrivals to local health departments.

Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota, said the CDC’s health alert is an important message to both the public health and the medical community that they should be prepared for possible cases in the United States, as happened in the 2014-2016 Western Africa outbreak.

“We can handle Ebola safely in the hospital setting and provide best care to the patient, but you have to be aware that it might even be a possibility,” he said, referring to the 2014 incident in which a traveler from Liberia was evaluated initially at a hospital in Dallas and was turned away.

That patient was not admitted until two days later, when he arrived at the hospital by ambulance, potentially exposing emergency responders to the deadly virus.

The U.S. Embassy in Uganda said Thursday “the risk of Ebola domestically is currently low,” adding “enhanced screening applies to all passengers, including U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and visa holders (to include diplomatic and official visas).”

On Wednesday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra spoke with Ugandan Health Minister Jane Aceng Ocero to discuss Ebola and U.S. efforts “to support Uganda throughout this challenging period,” HHS said.

On Saturday, a Tanzanian doctor working in Uganda who contracted Ebola has died, the first health worker killed by the disease in the latest outbreak in the country, Uganda’s health minister said.
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Ethiopia’s nearly two-year civil war with Tigrayan forces may finally see peace talks after both sides agreed to an African Union-mediated dialogue in South Africa this weekend.  The talks would come after a series of airstrikes in Tigray, including one Tuesday that aid workers say killed more than 50 people when it hit a school sheltering war-displaced people. 

There have been reports of heavy fighting since hostilities resumed in late August between Ethiopia’s federal government and the country’s Tigray rebels, with dozens of civilians dying in airstrikes.

This latest round of fighting also has seen Eritrea renew its involvement in the conflict on the side of Ethiopia’s federal military, with the Tigray leadership saying Eritrea has launched a “full-scale” offensive into northern Tigray.

Now, both the Tigray authorities and the federal government say they are ready to attend peace talks this weekend in South Africa sponsored by the African Union (AU).

According to the AU Commission, the talks will be led by AU special envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, who will be supported by former South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. 

However, the Tigray leadership has requested more information regarding the structure of the talks before attending them. 

They have long criticized Obasanjo’s role as a mediator, seeing him as close to the Ethiopean prime minister, and have insisted that international officials participate in cease-fire discussions as “observers” and “guarantors.”

Ahmed Soliman, a researcher at the Chatham House think tank in London, said there are “credibility questions” hanging over Obasanjo as a mediator. But he added that the talks could lead to a breakthrough.

“If these talks proceed in the next couple of days, they’ll be the first formal face-to-face, direct talks between the conflict parties,” he said. “And in that regard, there’s a huge opportunity to reset this mediation and try to build some confidence. Whether the opportunity is seized, of course, is another matter entirely. We’ve seen previous efforts not be successful, but I think what should be apparent is the seriousness of African partners [and] the international community to resolve this conflict.”

The Tigray leadership has insisted on four demands as part of any agreement to end the fighting. These are: “unfettered” humanitarian access to Tigray; the withdrawal of Eritrean troops; the restoration of the Tigray’s communication and banking services; and the return of territory lost in the conflict.

A previous round of informal talks held in Djibouti last month broke down without an agreement after federal officials failed to give guarantees on the restoration of Tigray’s services, which have been shut down for more than a year.

Soliman said the South Africa talks — if they take place — will not settle these issues, but they could kickstart a longer-term political process that does.

“And that needs to be communicated through this process as a longer-term process toward ending this conflict, not just a one-time meeting,” he said. “These talks should be seen as a stepping stone, not an end goal, not to achieve the ambition of ending the conflict. Because that, they won’t do.”

Will Davison, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, said the talks are likely to discuss “procedural issues” rather than thorny substantive issues. He added that any deal could also be derailed by Eritrea.

“Even in a best-case scenario where the federal and Tigray parties are able to come to terms on all of their outstanding disagreements, there is nothing like a guarantee that would stop Eritrea’s approach, which is currently a military approach,” he said. “They have fully re-engaged in the conflict over the last month, and there is really no indication that they’re interested in [a] negotiated settlement with the TPLF and Tigray’s leadership. Instead, [it’s] reasonable to think they are looking for a military solution and the total defeat of the Tigray political and military leadership. So, Eritrea could well be a serious spoiler, even if these AU-mediated talks between the federal and Tigray governments go incredibly well.”

So far, the Tigray rebels and the federal government have stuck stubbornly to their negotiating positions. But with the cost of the fighting increasing every day, they might be persuaded to sign a deal that stops the bloodshed, at least in the short term.
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While Africa is seeing a drop in the rate of rhinoceros poaching, Namibian wildlife authorities say they are seeing a surge in rhino killings in the southern African nation. Conservationists say poachers seeking rhino horns for Asian markets are targeting Namibia’s commercial farms.

Save the Rhino Trust CEO Simson Uri Khob said there are reports that syndicates of rhino poachers from South Africa are operating in Namibia. He said poaching cases are rising, especially in Etosha National Park and commercial farms.

“It’s a problem,” Khob said. “The only thing I can say is we have to take more hands with the communities [that are] in the areas and do more awareness.”

Salmon Vermaak, who heads an anti-poaching group called Namibia Wildlife Protection, said the group has received two rhino poaching reports in the last four months, the first such cases since the organization began operating in the area eight years ago.

“We pick up tracks of prospective poachers on the farms we look after,” Vermaak said. “The figures from the Ministry of Forestry show what the increases are. There are definitely syndicates operating between here and South Africa.”

Vermaak said his group isn’t involved with intelligence or the infiltration of the syndicates, but is primarily involved with the protection of the country’s rhinos.

Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Forestry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said recent statistics show a surge in poaching, although the latest figures are still being verified. So far this year, Namibia has reported 48 poached rhinos compared to 43 in 2021 and 40 in 2020.

Muyunda also welcomed the recent conviction of preacher Jackson Babi — who is also described as a “self-proclaimed prophet” in documents from the Gobabis Magistrate Court.

“We want to believe that this will deter others that are involved in poaching of rhinos or any other wildlife crime and also those who want to get involved in this illicit activity,” Myunda said.

Namibia is home to the largest black rhino population in the world.
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The fragile political and security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo threatens the country’s human rights and fundamental freedoms, a report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council warns. 

The United Nations says some improvements have been made in the DRC’s human rights situation since its last report a year ago, but violations and abuses remain rife. 

The report attributes most crimes to armed groups, but notes 44% have been committed by the DRC’s armed forces and the Congolese National Police. That, it says, has led to a resurgence in restrictions on civic and political space. 

Christian Jorge Salazar Volkmann, director of the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division, says political opponents, journalists and members of civil society have been arbitrarily arrested by the intelligence services. 

“I remain concerned about the proliferation of hate speech and messages inciting violence, discrimination and hostilities, particularly in relation with the political competition, the armed conflict in the east and intercommunal conflicts in the rest of the country,” he said.   

Volkmann says one year before the next presidential elections, it is important to bring alleged perpetrators of the messages to justice, and prevent the security situation from further deteriorating. 

He says the security situation in the DRC’s eastern provinces remains extremely worrying.  

“Measures taken in the implementation of the state of siege, which came into effect on the sixth of May 2021 in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, do not appear to have deterred armed groups from attacking civilians, particularly in internally displaced person sites. Nor have they reduced the number of documented violations and abuses,” Volkmann said.   

The United Nations says armed groups have killed thousands of people and forcibly displaced nearly 5.5 million from their homes. The report finds the resurgence of M23 rebels in North Kivu since November 2021 has led to a further deterioration of security.  

Volkmann calls for an end to impunity, which he says fuels conflicts in the DRC. He says perpetrators of crimes must be held accountable and brought to justice. 

DRC Minister of Human Rights Albert Fabrice Puela says efforts are being made to protect and promote human rights throughout the country. He notes the government was making progress in establishing the transitional justice initiative, adding that the process of addressing past and current human rights violations will help prevent new conflicts and restore peace. 

 
…

Ethiopia’s federal government says it has accepted an invitation from the African Union to take part in the peace talks aimed at ending the ongoing civil war and halting hostilities against the country’s Tigray region leadership.

African Union chief Moussa Faki Mahamat extended the invite to the peace talks in South Africa in a letter addressed to the leaders of the Tigray region and the Ethiopian federal government.

Redwan Hussein, the national security adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, confirmed Wednesday morning that the federal government has accepted the invitation.

The decision “is [in line] with our principled position regarding the peaceful resolution of the conflict and the need to have talks without preconditions,” Redwan said.

Separately, a federal government statement re-affirmed Addis Ababa’s preference for talks mediated by the African Union.

The Tigray region’s ruling party and its forces currently fighting the federal government are yet to respond to the invitation. However, last month, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or the TPLF, released a statement saying it was ready to abide by an “immediate” cessation of hostilities and participate in an AU-led peace process.

Fighting in Ethiopia’s civil war renewed in late August, breaking a fragile truce that had been in place since March and halting much-needed aid deliveries to the Tigray region where more than 5 million people need humanitarian assistance.

According to the letter sent by Faki, mediation efforts by the AU’s envoy for the Horn of Africa will be supported by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and the former deputy president of South Africa, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

The letter says the talks are “aimed at laying the foundation for a structured and sustained mediation” between the two sides “towards a durable resolution of the conflict.”

According to a diplomatic source in Addis Ababa, this AU core mediation team will be supported by “observers” from the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, an eight-country trade bloc in region.

The talks in South Africa represent the highest-level effort to date to end the nearly two-year war and follow at least three rounds of discussions between senior officials on both warring sides.
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For years, Somali clans and villages have tried to resist demands from the Islamist group al-Shabab, which can include taxes called “zakat,” plus livestock, weapons and boys they can turn into fighters.

And for years, al-Shabab has effectively crushed the local rebellions, usually with ruthless efficiency.

In early 2018, al-Shabab militants took over the village of Gulane, in the Middle Shabelle region north of Mogadishu, and asked residents to “donate” money, rifles and boys. A local farmer, Hibaad Ali Dasar, said he would rather die than hand over his son, who was younger than 12 at the time.

Al-Shabab responded by taking Dasar’s grain and burning down his farm, said Adale deputy mayor Mukhtar Mohamed Mohamud, who knew Dasar.

Dasar and other men in the village moved their families to the government-controlled town of Adale and organized a militia of about 60, which clashed with al-Shabab starting in May 2018. They called themselves “Ma’awisley,” a reference to the sarong many of them wear.

Clashes continued through the summer of that year. The federal government provided ammunition and some weapons but other no significant support, Mohamud said.

That October, Dasar and several of his men were planning an attack when they were ambushed and killed by two al-Shabab units. The rebellion ended, and the militants got their taxes.

But Dasar’s spirit lives on in another mobilization of locals in central Somalia, in the Hiran and Galmudug regions. In June, residents of the village of Bahdo, who have been resisting al-Shabab taxes, fought off a major attack from the group. The leader of Galmudug state, Ahmed Abdi Kariye, said up to 70 al-Shabab fighters were killed.

Kariye described the locals’ resistance against the militants as historic.

The Somali government has hailed the local mobilization efforts and is calling for expansion of the resistance to other regions.

President Hassan Mohamud has said he wants to use a new strategy against al-Shabab, to fight them economically as well as militarily, to not just weaken al-Shabab but to eliminate the group.

Will the local militias, who are again calling themselves Ma’awisley, succeed this time?

“The public were always ready to fight al-Shabab,” said Kamal Dahir Hassan Gutale, national security adviser to Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre. “What is different this time is the government; the president and the prime minister have started to encourage them and stand with them when the community decided to mobilize.”

Government troops have joined the local militias in an offensive against al-Shabab in recent weeks, and officials reported taking more than 40 localities from the group. None were large towns, and al-Shabab has since reported retaking several areas.

In one retaliatory attack, al-Shabab fighters killed 20 people and burned food trucks near the town of Mahas last month. On Monday, the group claimed responsibility for three car bombings in Beledweyne, the center of the local mobilizations in Hiran region. It was an apparent attempt to discourage the resistance, killing more than 20 people and destroying local government headquarters.

Monday’s attack followed a recent statement from al-Shabab spokesman Ali Dhere, threatening violence against clans that support the federal government.

Gutale said mobilization against al-Shabab has not yet peaked and said he expects more clans to join the fighting.

This mobilization comes at the “right time,” said General Dahir Aden Elmi, aka “Indhoqarsho,” a former Somali army chief.

Elmi said that in the past there was no coordination between the local militias and the government troops in combating al-Shabab.

“A lot of times the government and the locals fought separately. The locals fought alone, and the government fought alone. The result was a lack of accomplishment,” he told VOA.

“If the government supports this [mobilization] with power, I see this will be the way to defeating al-Shabab.”
…

South African conservationists are on high alert after an outbreak of bird flu killed close to 30 penguins at one of the country’s most stable colonies and a popular tourist attraction.

The disease, formally known as avian influenza, is untreatable and has already killed more than 20,000 Cape cormorant birds since last year.

Boulders Penguin Colony, about a 40-minute drive from Cape Town’s city center, is home to about 3,000 African penguins — a significant number given there are only about 14,000 breeding pairs left on the planet.

Bird flu was identified in the colony in August.

Dr. David Roberts is a clinical veterinarian who works for the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds, an NGO which advises South African National Parks, the government entity that manages the colony. He said that, for now, tourists and beachgoers are still allowed.

“We don’t think there’s any extra threat caused by people visiting,” he said. “If there’s more of an outbreak, then other measures might be put in place.”

The disease is typically spread between birds by feces. Roberts said rangers are on the lookout for sick birds.

“Because this is an untreatable disease, we don’t take them in and give them medication, we’d rather euthanize them,” he said.

There are concerns that the bird flu could spread to ostriches and chickens, which would have dire economic implications.

As far as spreading to humans, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s website said illness in humans from bird flu virus infections are rare and have ranged in severity from no symptoms or mild illness to severe disease that resulted in death.

Roberts said the H5N1 strain present in South Africa has a low probability of being transmitted to mammals.

“It is a threat that we know is real and we’re concerned about that possibility but it’s a very low probability at the moment,” he said. “But we still encourage people not to interact with sick animals, sick birds or to interact with dead birds either.”

Roberts said if people do find sick, injured or dead birds they should find somebody who is trained to respond appropriately.

Azwianewi Makhado, the seabird specialist scientist at the Department of Fisheries, Forestry and the Environment, said the department has a bird security policy for any staff handling penguins in the colonies.

“Clothes that you wear when you enter the colony should be taken off as soon as you come out and should not be worn again,” Makhado said.

Authorities said they will post regular updates about the outbreak.
…

As a heavily armed convoy drove through a cheering crowd in Burkina Faso’s capital on Sunday morning, the boyish face of the country’s latest military ruler, Captain Ibrahim Traore, emerged from the turret of an armored personnel carrier.

Sporting fatigues and a red beret, the 34-year-old smiled and raised his thumb as onlookers welcomed him, some by waving Russian flags.

Traore, a relatively low-ranking officer who days earlier was running an artillery regiment in a small northern town, has been catapulted onto the world stage since he and a group of soldiers overthrew President Paul-Henri Damiba in a September 30 coup.

Little is known about Traore and his colleagues, who since Friday have delivered statements on national television brandishing guns, ammunition belts and masks.

They face gigantic challenges to alleviate hardship in one of the world’s poorest countries where drought, food shortages and creaking health and education systems provide daily challenges for millions.

Yet the initial focus has been conflict and politics.

In an interview with Radio France International on Monday, Traore, a career soldier who has fought on the front lines against Islamist militants in the north, insisted he would not be in charge for long.

A national conference will appoint a new interim ruler by the end of the year. That leader, who could be civilian or military, will honor an agreement with West Africa’s regional bloc and oversee a return to civilian rule by 2024, he said.

“We did not come to continue, we did not come for a particular purpose,” he said. “All that matters when the level of security returns is the fight, it’s development.”

Still, an early picture has emerged of what Traore’s junta intends to do with its time in power.

Their moves, which may include army reform and ties to new international partners such as Russia, could alter politics in West Africa and change how Burkina Faso fights an Islamist insurgency that has killed thousands and forced millions to flee.

Army officers initially supported Damiba when he took power in his own coup in January, promising to defeat the Islamists. But they quickly lost patience. Damiba refused to reform the army, Traore’s junta said. Attacks worsened. Just last week, at least 11 soldiers were killed in an attack in the north.

Meanwhile, Russia has expressed support for the coup just as regional neighbors and western powers condemned it.

“I salute and support Captain Ibrahim Traore,” read a statement from Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of private military company Wagner Group, which has operations across Africa, including in Burkina Faso’s neighbor Mali.

Ties with Russia?

Ties with Russia would put a further strain on relations with former colonial power France, which has provided military support in recent years but has become the target of pro-Russian protests. Its embassy in Ouagadougou was attacked in the aftermath of Friday’s coup.

Wagner’s entry into Mali last year spelled the end to France’s decade-long mission to contain Islamists linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State who have since spread into Burkina Faso.

Wagner and the Malian army have since been accused by rights groups and witnesses of widespread abuses, including the killing of hundreds of civilians in the town of Moura in March.

Burkina Faso’s new leaders on Saturday stoked anti-French rioting when they said in a statement on television that France had sheltered Damiba at a military base and that he was planning a counter-offensive.

The French Foreign Ministry denied the base had hosted Damiba.

Traore is on a crash course in diplomacy. He downplayed the link between Damiba and France, and called an end to the protests. About ties with Russia, he was vague.

“There are many partners. France is a partner. There is no particular target,” he told RFI.

Meanwhile, he must juggle everyday problems. On Sunday, he arrived in military fatigues to a meeting with ministerial officials which was streamed online.

Can the junta guarantee the safety of schools that reopen this week, they asked their new leader. What is being done about a tender for a railway link to Ghana?

Traore, who had to consult with advisers, did not have all the answers.
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