Eye on Africa

One of the largest underground uranium mines in the world is closing its doors. Akouta Mining Company (Cominak), a subsidiary of Orano Cycle (French multinational, formerly Areva), which has been using uranium deposits in the province of Agadez in northern Niger since 1978, will stop production on Wednesday 31 March. A closure carried out under unsatisfactory conditions for non-governmental organizations which, in addition to the social…

A dozen people were killed on Monday in the equivalent of an inter-communal conflict in Bakuakenge, a local disputed by the provinces of Kasai and Kasai Central, in central DRC. This is the heaviest charge since the clashes in August 2020, which led to the killing of ten people and thousands of displaced persons. The crisis remains in this part of the Democratic Republic of Congo where conflicts have…

The Khartoum police chief created controversy last week by demanding the return of public order laws. Very controversial texts created during the old Islamic regime and which contained many restrictions that are often used against women. These remarks sparked an uprising that ultimately cost him his job as the first police officer in the Sudanese capital. After his controversial comments, Lieutenant General Issa Adam Ismaël was transferred to the Interior Ministry office. A new police chief in Khartoum was appointed on…

In Mali, the Transitional Authority and the International Criminal Court on Tuesday, March 30, organized a symbolic indemnity ceremony in the case of the Timbuktu mausoleums, following the ICC's 2016 conviction of Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, by Ansar Dine, who had ordered the destruction of the Timbuktu mausoleums. But thousands of victims are still waiting for justice, testifying to their experiences before…

It is final, the exploitation of the Cominak mine; north of Niger; ends today because its reserves are depleted. A closure that takes place in a global context that is characterized by still very low prices, which undermines the mine's profitability. But China is expected to revive the market in the coming years. After 40…

Fierce struggle for control of Mozambique's strategic northern city of Palma left beheaded corpses strewn in the streets on Monday with heavily armed rebels fighting army, police and private military equipment in several places. Thousands are estimated to be missing from the city, which held about 70,000 people before the attack started last Wednesday. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday, saying it was carried out by the Islamic State, the province of Central Africa, according to…

Hundreds benefit from free AMISOM medical services in the Gedo region African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces have provided free medical services to hundreds of people in the Gedo region of Jubaland state as part of their civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) activities. The free medical camp took place last weekend in Gedo's villages of Burahache and Gherrile. Elderly people,…

A symbolic ceremony to compensate the victims was organized on Tuesday, March 30, in Bamako by the Malian Transitional Authorities and the International Criminal Court. The incident follows the ICC's conviction in 2016 of Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, executive director of the jihadist group Ansar Dine, which led the destruction of the mausoleums in Timbuktu in 2012. The mausoleums have since been rebuilt, and…

Somalia has teamed up with international organizations to launch an online learning platform for primary school as the country struggles with the effects of COVID-19. The Ministry of Education said the alternative learning opportunity aims to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on education and intends to improve access to quality education for children affected by the pandemic. The online platform, launched in partnership with the EU, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and the Save the Children Somalia program, will…

Kenyan police said on Tuesday they had arrested three suspects and recovered a cache of weapons during a security operation in Garissa County, which borders Somalia. Rono Bunei, northeastern regional police chief, said the three suspects were snatched while transporting eight rifles, 2,104 bullets and 20 liters of petrol along a busy road in the Lagdera area when they were caught after a four-hour chase. Bunei said police patrolling the area spotted the saloon car around 5pm on Monday before the driver moved off,…