Earth Science News  
AFRICA NEWS
Threats, reforms and challenges: A momentous week for Ethiopia
By Chris Stein
Addis Ababa (AFP) June 30, 2018

Four Mali soldiers killed by landmine
Bamako (AFP) June 30, 2018 - Four Malian soldiers were killed on Saturday when their vehicle drove over a landmine in the central Mopti region, the local governor said, in the troubled desert region.

Governor Sidi Alassane Toure said the Malian army vehicle drove over the landmine near the border of the Koro region, killing four members of the national guard and wounding two others.

He added that ahead of Mali's presidential election on July, the army is "increasing patrols in this area, where there are tensions due to intercommunal conflicts".

In the Koro region, about 120 kilometres (74 miles) northeast of Mopti, several residents have said that "terrorists have started to plant landmines everywhere".

"Two weeks ago during the end of school year exams, a tricycle transporting children hit a mine -- we lost three children," said local Adama Togo.

The latest landmine deaths came a day after two soldiers and a civilian were killed in a suicide attack on the Malian headquarters of the G5 Sahel international anti-terror task force in the Mopti town of Sevare.

Mali's unrest stems from a 2012 ethnic Tuareg separatist uprising which was exploited by jihadists in order to take over key cities in the north.

The extremists were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

But large stretches of the country remain out of the control of Malian, French and UN forces, which are frequent targets of attacks, despite a peace accord signed with Tuareg leaders in mid-2015 aimed at isolating the jihadists.

The violence has also spilled over into both Burkina Faso and Niger.

Five Gambia police charged with activists' murders
Banjul, Gambia (AFP) June 29, 2018 - Gambian prosecutors have charged five police officers with murder over the deaths of three young protesters at an anti-pollution rally.

"Musa Fatty, Babucarr Cham and three other junior officers were taken to the Banjul Magistrate's Court and charged with murder," police spokesperson, Foday Conta, told AFP on Thursday evening.

"They have been remanded in custody by the court."

The violence occurred at a June 18 rally in Faraba Banta, 50 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of the capital, Banjul, where locals were protesting over the mining of sand which they say is badly polluting rice farms.

Police at the scene opened fire, killing two young men, while a third -- a 24-year-old student -- died of his injuries two days later.

Another six civilians and 16 police were also injured during the protest, according to an official toll.

Gambian President Adama Barrow ordered an investigation into the incident and the inspector general of police, who said he had not authorised the use of firearms against protesters, resigned.

The police would not be involved in the government's upcoming commission of inquiry, the spokesman said.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International cited witnesses as saying that demonstrators had been blocking mining-related road traffic when police reinforcements arrived and opened fire without warning.

Murder is a capital offence punishable by death in this small west African country.

But Barrow has placed a moratorium on the death penalty which was last used by his predecessor Yahya Jammeh in 2012 when nine convicts were executed by firing squad.

Ethiopia has capped an extraordinary week in which its new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, pushed ahead with bold reforms undeterred by a grenade attack that sparked fears of backlash by hardliners.

Just three days after a blast killed two people at a rally Abiy had addressed in the heart of the capital, the prime minister greeted a delegation from Eritrea, a neighbour with whom Ethiopia has been at war -- both hot and cold -- for decades.

Abiy took office in April after years of anti-government unrest and quickly announced unprecedented changes including liberalising parts of the state-controlled economy and releasing jailed dissidents.

But perhaps his biggest policy shift so far is towards Eritrea, with Abiy promising to cede territory occupied since a brutal two-year-long border war ended in 2000.

Last Saturday's blast triggered panic at the rally and a stampede in which 150 were injured, raising fears of a backlash by party and security hardliners opposed to Abiy's reforms.

"Definitely, it's true that there are many groups, individuals and organisations that are not happy with the kind of reform that he's undertaking," said Ethiopian political analyst Hallelujah Lulie.

But in the week since, Abiy has barely missed a step -- and analysts say his momentum has not been lost.

"It was an attack, not only on the prime minister himself, but on the freedom of the people," said Seyoum Teshome, a university professor who organised the rally. "He's going to get more support from the people."

Dozens of suspects were quickly arrested and the administration warned of "conspiracies... to deter ongoing reforms", but Abiy quickly moved on, hosting an Eritrean delegation in the days that followed.

- 'Unthinkable' meeting -

Ethiopia had seethed with anger before the 42-year-old former army officer and cabinet minister was appointed by the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), becoming the first leader in modern times from the country's largest ethnicity the Oromo.

Violent anti-government protests led by the Oromos -- and the second-largest ethnicity, the Amhara -- began in late 2015. Hundreds died but even a 10-month state of emergency could not quell the anger.

One of Abiy's first acts was to tour the country's restive regions to raise his profile and curry support, and then lift a second emergency decree issued after the February resignation of his predecessor, Hailemariam Desalegn.

The rally in Addis Ababa's central Meskel Square was his first big public appearance in the capital and, dressed casually in a t-shirt and porkpie hat, he spoke of peace and unity to a crowd of hundreds of thousands before making a hasty exit after the grenade blast.

On Tuesday, he was relaxed and smiling as he strode down a red carpet to greet two high-ranking Eritrean officials who travelled from their capital Asmara in the first official visit to Ethiopia since the border war.

A band played, dancers performed and the visitors were wreathed with garlands and greeted by Ethiopia's cultural and sporting elite.

"Great statesmen in Eritrea and Ethiopia have summoned the courage and vision to blaze the trail and build the pillars for enduring regional peace anchored on law and justice," Eritrea's information minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, said on Twitter after the men arrived.

Unthinkable just months ago, the rapprochement with Eritrea was announced by Abiy earlier in June at the same time as the economic liberalisation.

While the liberalisation is expected to unfold over the coming years, the Eritrean reconciliation is moving far faster: Ethiopia's government says Abiy will soon meet Eritrea's president, Isaias Afwerki, in person.

"We will celebrate the new year in Asmara and Addis Ababa, so you need to start preparation," Abiy told guests at a dinner for the visiting Eritreans, in a flash of diplomatic bonhomie. The new year, in the Ethiopian orthodox calendar, falls this year on September 11.

- A bitter countryside -

Yet as if to underline the breadth of depth of the problems Abiy faces on the domestic front, the United Nations sounded the alarm this week as ethnic violence flared in the nation's contested peripheries.

Various conflicts between neighbouring communities have now uprooted more than two million people, according to UN figures.

After overthrowing the vicious communist Derg junta in 1991, the EPRDF carved the country into an ethnic federation intended to give Ethiopia's many peoples a degree of self-rule.

But the borders between these regions have recently seen ethnic clashes that have strained aid agencies, already struggling with Ethiopia's perennial droughts and large refugee population.

On Wednesday at least 10 people were killed in the western Benishangul-Gumuz Region in the latest clashes.

Hallelujah drew a line between this fighting and the security forces' heavy-handed response to the years of anti-government unrest, arguing that Abiy's reforms could restore confidence and trust in the state, and its ability to resolve disputes without violence.

"I believe, if he continues with the kind of pace and the kind of rhetoric he's been doing in the past three months, I think they will subside," he said.


Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


AFRICA NEWS
Gambia leader meets victims' families after deadly protest
Banjul, Gambia (AFP) June 22, 2018
Gambian president Adama Barrow paid tribute on Friday to three young protesters killed by police in an anti-pollution rally, urging witnesses to come forward to a commission of inquiry set up by his government. "You are the people that witnessed what happened here that day," Barrow told his audience in the village of Faraba Banta, 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the capital, Banjul. "You are the most competent people to give evidence to the commission of inquiry." President Barrow - who last ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

AFRICA NEWS
Early detection of 'olive tree leprosy' with drones

China lifts French beef ban as PM ends visit

Nestle suspended from 'sustainable' palm oil body

Mandatory labels reduce GMO food fears

AFRICA NEWS
Increase in storms could have 'catastrophic impact' on fishing industry

Tropical fish playground in Belize bounces back from threats

Florida wins point in water war with neighbor Georgia

The seed that could bring clean water to millions

AFRICA NEWS
Latvia declares state of disaster over drought

China unveils new climate goals for 2020

Ocean's heat cycle shows that atmospheric carbon may be headed elsewhere

Drought haunts farmers in Poland, Baltic states

AFRICA NEWS
Jumby Bay island to benefit from additional clean energy supply

Researchers solve major challenge in mass production of low-cost solar cells

Wartsila introduces new hybrid solar PV and storage solution

Sunvapor receives DoE contract to develop Solar Steam on Demand

AFRICA NEWS
Orange, tea tree and eucalyptus oils sweeten diesel fumes

Critical plant gene takes unexpected detour that could boost biofuel yields

'Tricking' bacteria into hydroxylating benzene

How to suck carbon dioxide from the sky for fuels and more

AFRICA NEWS
Nearly 1,000 migrants rescued off Libya coast: navy

NATO says ready to help Italy in Libya

Split families in limbo amid Trump immigration chaos

Pentagon to prepare 20,000 beds for migrant children

AFRICA NEWS
Rally in oil prices loses steam after revision to U.S. GDP

U.N. concerned about control of Libyan oil assets

Russia a pivotal player in OPEC-led market stabilization effort

Dallas Fed survey sees U.S. oil in the mid $60 per barrel range

AFRICA NEWS
China defends its post-WTO business record

Trump favors tougher investment oversight but stops short of targeting China

Mnuchin rebuts reports on new China investment restrictions

US restrictions on Chinese investment next front in trade dispute









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.