Eye on Africa

Nigerian security forces used excessive force and killed more than 115 people in a military attack on separatist agitators in the restless southeastern part of the country, the international human rights organization said on Thursday. Violence has flared up in Nigeria's southeastern states this year, claiming the lives of at least 127 police officers or members of the security services, according to police. About twenty police stations and election commission offices have been attacked, according to…

On Tuesday, the East African country of Sudan took the first step towards joining the International Criminal Court. The country's cabinet's decision to join the Rome Statute is a step forward in the long-awaited trial of suspected war crimes and genocide suspects in the Darfur conflict, including former President Omar al-Bashir. However, the bill still needs to be ratified by a joint meeting of Sudan's sovereign council and cabinet. Together they function as an interim parliament. The Cabinet did not…

Khalid al-Mishri was re-elected chairman of Libya's top government for a four-year term on Tuesday. Al-Mishri won 73 of the 128 votes in the vote in the capital, Tripoli, Council spokesman Mohamed Nasser told Anadolu Agency (AA). He noted that al-Mishri's victory came "during the second ballot" in which he defeated his rival Salah Mito. Saeed Kula also ran for the position in the first round but received the least number of votes, forcing him out of the second round. Following his re-election,…

About 50 bodies have been found floating in the river between Ethiopia's Tigray and Sudan, according to a Sudanese official in Kassala province. The Setit River separates Sudan from Ethiopia and serves as a de facto boundary between the conflicting Tigrayan forces and Ethiopian-backed Amhara forces. "They were shot in the chest, abdomen, legs ... and also had their hands tied," said Tewodros Tefera, a surgeon who fled the nearby town of Tigray in Humera to Sudan. The doctor told the Associated Press…

Eritrea is the only country on the African continent that has not yet started vaccinating its citizens against COVID-19 as part of a national campaign. According to national media reports, after the vaccination campaign started in Tanzania on July 28 and Burundi announced that it would also vaccinate itself, Eritrea is now the only country on the continent that has not planned a COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Although Tanzania and Burundi say "yes" to the vaccine with the help of the international…

Jean Damascene Ngoboka, a perpetrator of genocide in Rwanda, said he was not at peace for many years because he was haunted by his crimes committed during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group. "I experienced nightmares. I lost my sleep because of my crimes committed during the genocide. It can scare me," Ngoboka said. Ngoboka, 45, no longer gets a good night's sleep and moves freely around Bumbogo in Kigali's Gasabo district, where he took part in massacres in the Tutsi ethnic community.…

Tunisia's parliamentary speaker Rached Ghannouchi was discharged from hospital after undergoing medical checks, his party in Ennahdha said in a statement on Sunday. The party said Ghannouchi was admitted to hospital on Saturday after feeling unwell. Ghannouchi "left the hospital after undergoing medical check-ups and receiving treatment," the statement said. His adviser, Maher Medhioub, also confirmed on Twitter that Parliament's speakers were in good health, but gave no further details. Last month,…

Tunisia should quickly return to its "democratic path," a White House official told President Kais Saied on Saturday, days after a coup that disrupted the country's parliament. In an hour-long conversation with Saied, President Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan noted support for "Tunisian democracy based on fundamental rights, strong institutions and a commitment to the rule of law," according to a White House statement. According to the Agence France-Presse (AFP), the call "focused…

Turkey welcomes the resumption of the strategic road Misrata-Sirte, which connects eastern and western Libya, the Foreign Ministry said late on Saturday. "We welcome the official opening of the Misrata-Sirte coastal road on July 30, 2021, which has been closed for a long time," it said in a statement. Turkey also praised the efforts of the Presidential Council, National Unity Government (GNU), led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, the UN Support Mission in Libya and the 5 + 5 Joint…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Members of the international community welcomed the progress made in holding free and fair elections in Somalia, arguing that the plan has been fully implemented so far in accordance with the original agreement. The country has launched the long process of selecting the leaders, who will lead the country for the next four years. Already, senatorial elections have started across the country, with Jubaland becoming the first state to choose senators. In a statement, members of the international…