Eye on Africa

Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian heard from the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly on Wednesday and reacted to Alassane Ouattara's candidacy before also giving his opinion on the situation in Cameroon. Communist Deputy Jean-Paul Lecoq first asked the Foreign Minister what France's position was on Alassane Ouattara's candidacy. Response from Jean-Yves Le Drian: “Me, I am not responsible for assessing the new constitution for Côte d'Ivoire. That would really be interference. And you know very well, Mr Lecoq,…

They were fired this Tuesday. Their arrest sparked an uprising last month in Khartoum because everyone had taken part in the revolution that brought down Omar al-Bashir's regime in 2018. Among them was young director Hajouj Kouka. It all started in a neighborhood dispute in the popular district of el-Zouhour in Khartoum-Nord in…

NAIROBI, Kenya - Two men were found guilty on Wednesday of aiding Al-Shabaab attackers during the siege of the Westgate shopping mall in 2013, seven years after undergoing a hectic trial, which becomes one of the first terror-related convictions in Kenya, which often has been targeted by Somalia-based militants. The 2013 attack was the first major attack on Kenyan soil since 1998, when the U.S. embassy in Nairobi was bombed by al-Qaeda, leaving more than 200 people dead. It was also the first major attack by…

Gatherings are scheduled this Thursday in several Algerian cities to condemn feminicides. No official figures exist, but the Facebook account Algeria Feminicides, which monitors this topic, has identified 38 since the beginning of this year. The murder of a young girl, Chaïma, revives mobilization. Chaïma was 19 and was found dead last week at a deserted gas station near Boumerdes east of Algiers. Local media claim she was raped, beaten and then burned to death. According to the prosecutor, a suspect confessed. He is…

This decision was taken in late September by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons, which regulates asylum applications in France, and was published on Tuesday. According to the President of Ofpra, it is motivated by "the situation of public and political freedoms in this country". The organization believes that Benin no longer meets the definition of these "safe…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Individuals working with the Federal Government of Somalia must now submit their information to the National Intelligence Security Agency , a move that aims to streamline operations within the Horn of Africa, but which may provoke sharp political debate. Sadiq Warfa, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, said all government departments have been affected by the directive, adding that those responsible should now work closely with NISA to ensure the data is collected within the shortest possible…

Bissau-Guinea President Umaro Sissoco Embalo on Wednesday reacted to the unilateral decision of the Conakry authorities to close the borders with Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone. Ten days before the presidential election on 18 October 2020, Guinea is therefore closing its borders without the reason why this closure is officially known.…

Several thousand families have been expropriated to make way for a hydropower dam about sixty kilometers from Kolwezi in southern Congo. Houses were leveled and three villages deleted from the map. Residents complain that they have not been compensated properly, which the Lualaba provincial government rejects. as reported from…

Words that could lead to human rights violations, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Guinean campaign has been marked by tensions, with outgoing President Alpha Condé amending the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. In a statement, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, called on politicians, especially candidates for election, to refrain from nurturing ethnic divisions. She notes that calls for affiliation with society are increasingly widespread and…

MOGADISHU, Somalia - At least six members of the Somali National Army was killed Wednesday after a landmine explosion in central Somalia, officials said in an attack that comes barely a week after dozens of soldiers were deployed to the region. Officials said the soldiers were killed after their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device near Bal'ad town in Middle Shebelle, where al-Shabaab militants have been battling SNA troops for the past week as the government moves with speed to control the region.…