Somalia Premier Suspends Intelligence Chief

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September 6, 2021

Somalia’s prime minister suspended the intelligence chief on Monday, prompting a public rebuke from the president and highlighting growing divisions at the heart of the political elite.

Analysts said the suspension – triggered by a dispute over investigations into an unsolved murder – pointed to a deeper power struggle that could further destabilize a country already riven by militant attacks and clan rivalries.

Prime Minister Mohammed Hussein Roble said he had told Fahad Yasin, the director of Somalia’s National Intelligence Service Agency (NISA), to step aside for failing to deliver a report on the murder of one of the agency’s agents.

Soon after, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed issued his own statement calling the prime minister’s move unconstitutional. “(Yasin) should continue being the director of NISA,”.

Somalia’s police chief called an emergency security meeting on Monday, officers told Reuters on condition of anonymity without going into further details.

The immediate cause for the dispute – the murder of the young female agent, Ikran Tahlil Farah, who worked in the cybersecurity department and went missing in late June – has been a highly contentious issue.

The government last week blamed the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab for her death, prompting scores of angry posts on social media from people who said the agency itself had been involved. Al-Shabaab took the unusual step of denying any involvement.

In April, factions of the security forces seized positions in the capital, angered by moves to extend the president’s four-year term by another two years, which the opposition said was part of a power grab.

That confrontation was resolved when the president put the prime minister in charge of security and organizing delayed indirect elections.

Arms flown to Sudan from Ethiopia were legal, says ministry

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Zoe Maven

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September 6, 2021

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Sudan’s interior ministry said on Monday that more than 70 boxes of weapons seized by authorities had turned out to be part of a legal cargo imported by a licensed arms trader.

Sudanese authorities had confiscated the weapons after they arrived by air from neighbouring Ethiopia on suspicion that were destined for use in “crimes against the state”, state news agency SUNA reported.

The boxes included night-vision goggles and arrived on an Ethiopian Airlines commercial flight on Saturday night, SUNA reported.

On Monday, Sudan’s interior ministry said the shipment, which included 290 rifles and belonged to a licensed trader, Wael Shams Eldin, had been checked and found to be legitimate.

Ethiopian Airlines said the weapons were hunting guns that were part of a verified shipment.

Tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia have been running high due to a spillover of the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and Ethiopia’s construction of a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile.

U.N. Footage From Northern Ethiopia Shows Humanitarian Crisis

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Zoe Maven

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September 6, 2021

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Footage of war-hit northern Ethiopia published by the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday reflected the severe humanitarian crisis there, after the United Nations warned that a de facto blockade on aid is bringing millions to the brink of famine.

War broke out 10 months ago between Ethiopia’s federal troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controls the Tigray region. Thousands have died and more than two million people have been forced to flee their homes.

The United Nations last week called on all parties in the war in Tigray to allow the movement of aid into the region where it said 5.2 million people, or 90% of the population, urgently need humanitarian assistance.

The footage showed a distribution of emergency food aid by the WFP on August 23 in Asgede district in northwestern Tigray. Sacks of grain were loaded on camels and brought to the remote area, where many residents were cut off from outside assistance during months of war.

The supplies delivered that day were among the last remaining stocks in Tigray region, where no food or other humanitarian aid entered between August 20 and September 5. The United Nations estimates 100 trucks of aid need to be entering Tigray each day to meet the needs of the population.

The spread of fighting to the Afar and Amhara regions has uprooted at least 300,000 more people and more than 1.7 million in those two regions now need food aid, the world body says.

Turkey And UAE Rein In Dispute That Fueled Conflict

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Zoe Maven

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September 6, 2021

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A truce between bitter regional rivals Turkey and the United Arab Emirates has calmed tensions that fueled conflicts including Libya’s war, after years of animosity and insults.

But with political differences still running deep, the two countries are expected to focus on building economic ties and de-escalating, rather than resolving, an ideological rift that has drawn a faultline through the Middle East.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and the UAE’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, spoke by phone last week following contacts between intelligence and government officials.

Erdogan, who a year ago said Turkey could cut diplomatic relations with Abu Dhabi after it set up ties with Israel, also discussed UAE investment in Turkey with Abu Dhabi’s national security adviser.

The talks follow earlier efforts by Turkey to ease tensions with UAE allies Saudi Arabia and Egypt, with a delegation from Cairo due in Ankara on Tuesday. Those contacts have so far yielded little, but some see the UAE track moving more swiftly.

A senior Turkish official described Erdogan’s call last week with Sheikh Mohammed as a significant move towards overcoming disputes which have plagued their relations, saying the two countries could work together in the Middle East.

The rift stems from the Arab uprisings, when Turkey backed the Muslim Brotherhood and their Islamist allies challenging entrenched autocrats from Tunisia to Syria – alarming the UAE’s dynastic rulers, who see the Brotherhood as a political and security threat.

Turkey also sided with Qatar in a Gulf dispute, putting it at odds with the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, while Turkish support last year helped Libya’s U.N.-backed government drive back UAE-supported forces trying to seize the capital.

Belarus Protest Leader Kolesnikova Sentenced To 11 Years

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Zoe Maven

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September 6, 2021

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Maria Kolesnikova, one of the leaders of mass street protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko last year, has been sentenced on to 11 years in prison, leading to an outcry from Western countries.

Kolesnikova, aged 39, had been detained after ripping up her passport to prevent Belarusian security forces from deporting her in a standoff at the Ukrainian border in September.

The musician-turned-politician became one of the faces of the mass opposition movement during the August 2020 presidential election, which the protesters say was rigged to extend Lukashenko’s grip on power.

Lukashenko, who has denied electoral fraud, has been in office in the former Soviet republic since 1994 and has faced fresh Western sanctions since launching a violent crackdown on his opponents.

A person standing in front of a mirror posing for the camera: Belarusian opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova attends a court hearing in Minsk© Reuters/BelTA Belarusian opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova attends a court hearing in Minsk

Kolesnikova and another senior opposition figure, Maxim Znak, were charged with extremism and trying to seize power illegally. Both denied wrongdoing and Kolesnikova called the charges absurd.

Znak was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Both prisoners will appeal the verdict, Znak’s lawyer told reporters.

The European Union denounced the verdict, while Britain’s foreign minister called it an assault on defenders of democracy.

“The EU deplores the continuous blatant disrespect by the Minsk regime of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Belarus,” the EU’s spokesperson said in a statement.

Guinea Coup Leader Promises National Government

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Zoe Maven

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September 6, 2021

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The leaders of a military coup in Guinea promised on Monday to set up a transitional government of national unity after ousting President Alpha Conde and dissolving his cabinet.

Sunday’s coup, in which Conde and other top politicians were detained or barred from travelling, is the third since April in West and Central Africa, raising concerns about a slide back to military rule.

The takeover was widely condemned by international powers, placing pressure on the new military leaders to offer a plan beyond the toppling of the old order, and to reassure investors that Guinea’s significant ore exports would not be cut.

Coup leader Mamady Doumbouya, a former French legionnaire officer, told a meeting of Conde’s ministers and senior government officials that a consultation will be carried out to define the major framework of the transition, then a government of national unity will be put in place to lead the transition.

He said at the end of this transitional phase, we’ll set the tone for a new era for governance and economic development,” he said, flanked by armed soldiers in red berets.

Doumbouya did not say what the transition would entail or give a date for a return to democratic elections. His seizure of power was buoyed by widespread disaffection with Conde, 83, who promised stable democracy but once in power violently silenced opponents, failed to reduce poverty and last year decided to run for a third term in power – a move many said was illegal.

The coup was welcomed by many, but spooked the mining sector. Guinea holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves, an ore used to produce aluminium.

Prices of the metal shot to a 10-year high on Monday, though there was no sign of supply disruptions. In an effort to quell fears, Doumbouya said sea borders would stay open so mining products could be exported.

Gambia’s New Political Alliance Leave Jammeh Era Victims In Doubt Of Getting Justice

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Precious Obazee

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September 6, 2021

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A new political alliance announced in The Gambia between the party of ex-President Yahya Jammeh and the governing party has thrown into doubt whether some of the former ruler’s victims will get justice.

The long-serving leader who was defeated by Adama Barrow in the last election and, after a month-long stand-off, fled the country in January 2017.

Testimony about what happened during his 22-year rule – heard at the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) – revealed stories of extreme violence, torture, arbitrary arrests and murder.

Details of the agreement between Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) and the president’s National People’s Party have not been made public.

However, AFP news agency is quoting APRC secretary-general Fabakary Tombong Jatta as saying that the objective is for former President Jammeh to return to the country peacefully and in dignity.

The alliance comes three months ahead of the next presidential election.

A resident in the capital, Banjul, criticised the alliance saying “It is very wrong and unjust, especially for the victims”.

Guinea Putsch: Aluminium Price Reaches Decade High As Coup Threatens Supply

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Precious Obazee

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September 6, 2021

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News of the coup in Guinea has caused the price of aluminium to spike to its highest level in 10 years.

The country is the world’s second largest producer of bauxite – the raw material from which aluminium is made.

The Financial Times says the commodity reached a price of $2,776 (£2,000) a tonne, which is the highest level since 2011.

Guinea supplies about a quarter of the world’s bauxite and sends most of it to Russia and China.

Analysts at JP Morgan are quoted as saying that the increased uncertainty around the new political regime in one of the world’s largest bauxite-producing countries may disrupt global commodity export flows and also raise the likelihood of export contracts renegotiation.

Speaking in the capital, Conakry, coup leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya tried to reassure investors that Guinea will uphold all its undertakings and mining agreements.

Illegal Entry: Algeria Charges, Convicts Former Tunisian Presidential Candidate

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Precious Obazee

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September 6, 2021

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Algeria has charged former Tunisian presidential candidate Nabil Karoui with entering the country illegally and sent to jail while awaiting trial.

Local media reports that a court in the province of Constantine, in the east of Algeria, ordered that Karoui and his brother, Ghazi, who is a Member of Parliament, be imprisoned pending prosecution.

Karoui who is the leader of the second largest party in Tunisia, had been arrested last month together with four others, including his brother, in the border city of Tebessa, where they were hosted by a local.

In 2019, Karoui was jailed in Tunisia for six months while running his presidential campaign. He was released but is still under investigation for money laundering and tax evasion.

The wealthy businessman who owns Nesma TV channel denies any wrongdoing.

The Tunisian authorities are believed to have requested his extradition from Algeria.

LASU For The Second Time Wins NRF Grants

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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September 6, 2021

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Two research teams from Lagos State University (LASU), led by a former Dean, Faculty of Arts, Prof. Adeniyi Harrison, and the current Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Omobitan Olufunso, have won the 2020 Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) national research fund to the tune of N66.8 million.

Prof. Harrison-led research project titled: “Developing functional Metalanguage for the 21st century needs of Nigerian national languages,” got a grant of N32m, while Prof. Omobitan’s project titled: “Emerging patterns and determinants of rape: Comparative study of rural-urban communities in Nigeria,” won a grant of N33, 824m. The projects will run for a period of 18 and 23 months respectively.

In a brief ceremony held at the acting vice chancellor’s office to present letters of award to leaders of the two groups, the Acting VC, Prof. Oyedamola Oke, congratulated the awardees for putting together the award-winning proposals, which attracted a chunk of the N7.5b TETFund research facility to LASU.

He also thanked the outgoing director, Directorate of Research Management and Innovation, Prof. Olumuyiwa Odusanya, for the role of the agency in attracting the grants. He urged the awardees to be good ambassadors of the institution.

Prof. Odusanya, in his brief remarks, said the 2020 award marked the second time that LASU would be winning the NRF grants. He said although the process of fine-tuning and sending proposals was challenging, he was happy that the outcome was worth the efforts.

Odusanya said there were several lessons to be drawn from the process, noting that the process of peer review of proposals must be sustained, while proposals must be broad-based encompassing various fields of study.

Prof. Harrison, who spoke on behalf of recipients, thanked the University for its Support for the researchers’ effort and canvassed the institution’s continued support throughout the project duration.