Category: Legal Judicial

The siege at a hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, has ended, according to a government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity before an official announcement.

“No gunfire, but still we are making sure that the entire place is safe from mines and explosives as it is late here,” he said. “We will provide details as the day wears on and we finish the assessment.”

The government is expected to hold a news conference Sunday morning, according to Agence France-Presse.

Somali security forces had been battling al-Shabab militants for more than 24 hours, since the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group attacked the popular hotel Friday night with several explosions and gunfire, security officials said.

The death toll from Friday’s assault on the Hayat Hotel, an upscale hotel frequented by government officials, elders and people from the diaspora community, has risen to at least 20, with more than 40 others injured, according to hospital sources.

A senior police official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media told VOA that a number of heavily armed militants were still fighting with government soldiers inside the hotel premises late Saturday.

According to Mogadishu Ambulance services, at least 13 dead bodies were pulled from the rubble in the collapsed part of the hotel buildings.

Dr. Abdulkadir Abdirahman Adan, the founder of Aamin Ambulance service in Mogadishu, told VOA that its medical team transported wounded people to hospitals for treatment.

Businessmen and local traditional elders were among those killed and injured in the attack. According to relatives, the hotel’s co-owner, Abdirahman Iman is among those killed.

The special security operations unit known as the “Alpha Group trained by the U.S.” entered the ground floor as insurgent snipers held positions upstairs, according to witnesses.

The attack began Friday evening just after sunset prayers, when a car bomb exploded at the gate to the hotel. At least two other explosions followed, and then gunmen posing as police officers stormed the hotel, witnesses said.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

There is no official statement from the government regarding the attack.

In a separate attack in Mogadishu overnight involving mortar shells, five civilians from the same family were killed and 10 others were injured when mortars landed on their residences near Mogadishu airport.

No one has claimed responsibility for the mortar attacks, but Somali security officials said al-Shabab had carried out similar mortar attacks many times in the city.

Survivors’ accounts

During the siege Somali troops succeeded in rescuing many civilians who were stranded inside hotel rooms.

Survivors who spoke to VOA Somali recounted harrowing stories of hiding under tables, jumping from windows as armed attackers continued firing indiscriminately against those in the hotel and its surroundings.

“It was a beautiful Friday, which is like the weekend for Somalis … the beautiful conversations and happy faces of the hotel guests immediately turned into explosions, gunfire, blood and a shocking sense. I ran into a room next to the hotel reception area, along with dozens of people. We spent at least 40 minutes of desperation there before we got a chance to break windows and run,” said one survivor, Abdinasir Mohamed Gedi.

Gedi added that he could see people jumping from high windows at the hotel amid huge explosions that sent plumes of smoke into the air.

“The hotel area was covered with black smoke and flying flames. I could see people jumping from windows onto the buildings next to the hotel, among them old and overweight people,” said Gedi. “Some who already were injured from the explosions must have broken their legs or even perished after they jumped.”

Another survivor, Abdirahman Ahmed, was among nine other survivors. He said he and the others spent about six hours inside a barber shop next to the hotel before they were rescued by government soldiers in the early morning hours.

“It was like being holed up into a dangerous corner waiting for death to come. We never thought we could survive because we could hear the militants shouting, “God is great. Kill whoever you see,” Ahmed said. “When we were rescued, I could see a headless body apparently killed by an explosion and two other dead bodies lying in the street.”

Saturday’s attack is the first deadly attack by al-Shabab on an upscale target in Mogadishu since Somalia’s new president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, took office in May.

The U.S. embassy in Mogadishu condemned the attack in a brief statement it released on Twitter, saying that the U.S. will continue working with the Somali government in the battle against terrorism.

Source: Voice of America

NAIROBI— President Uhuru Kenyatta has committed to fostering peace in the transition period following his meeting with a delegation of US legislators led by Senator Chris Coons on Thursday.

The delegation also met with President-elect William Ruto and his rival Raila Odinga at separate meetings in Nairobi.

Kenyatta said the country would “remain steadfast in entrenching the principles of good governance to ensure the country upholds its position of a shining example of democracy in the continent by maintaining peace during this transition period.”

The US lawmakers applauded Kenyatta’s leadership for ensuring peace and stability during the election period.

“My greatest desire is that peace will prevail and we may set an example in the continent and the world,” Kenyatta said in a statement after the meeting.

The delegation earlier met with Ruto alongside core principles in his Kenya Kwanza Alliance and discussed “US-Kenya strategic partnership, promotion of peace and ways to strengthen both economies.”

“We commit to deepen relations and further partnerships for the mutual benefit of the citizens of our two countries,” Ruto tweeted after the meeting.

The delegation, which landed in the country on Wednesday night, also met Raila Odinga, who came second in the recently concluded general election, whose results he has rejected. They discussed developments in the polls and “shared democratic values.”

Odinga, accompanied by his running mate Martha Karua and Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang Nyongo, said they reiterated their “commitment to pursuing legal means to resolve issues around the election results.”

Odinga has disputed the results of the elections in which he garnered 48.85 percent of the valid votes against Ruto’s 50.49 percent. They had earlier said they would challenge the outcome through constitutional means.

Coons is a member of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and is currently leading a congressional trip to Africa that constitutes two other senators and three US House of Representatives members.

The delegation has already visited Cape Verde and Mozambique. After Kenya, the team heads to Rwanda a week following US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit for talks on the tensions with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Wherever natural disasters, violent conflicts, and other humanitarian crises tear societies apart and test the human spirit, aid workers are on the ground every hour of every day to save lives. Today, on World Humanitarian Day, USAID honors brave aid workers around the world as they serve people in need.

Why We Celebrate World Humanitarian Day

World Humanitarian Day started in the wake of the horrific August 19 Canal Hotel bombing in 2003 that killed many UN colleagues and innocent Iraqi bystanders. Since then, it has become a day to recognize the tremendous service made by humanitarians, who tirelessly work to save lives amid the growing challenges and threats.

The challenges facing aid workers in 2022 are immense. Compounding crises have depleted global resources and stretched the capacity of dedicated humanitarians to respond to the unprecedented needs across the world. From deadly conflicts like Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine to the worst drought on record in the Horn of Africa to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in Yemen, myriad emergencies have upended the lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Through it all, humanitarians are there to ease suffering and offer a lifeline.

But their work does not come without cost. Aid workers are confronting deteriorating security conditions and the ever-present risk of harm. Violent attacks, harassment, intimidation, and threats by various parties to conflict against humanitarians are increasing every year.

Last year, South Sudan was the most dangerous country for aid workers, followed by Afghanistan and Syria. Tragically, the vast majority of those who face the greatest risks to their lives are local nationals of the country in which they work, sacrificing everything to support their neighbors. Targeting humanitarian workers, regardless of nationality, is unacceptable.

Who We Honor

In times of crisis, everyone bears responsibility for protecting humanitarian workers so that vital aid can reach those who need it most. An African proverb says: “It takes a village to raise a child,” highlighting the collective efforts of many people required to provide a safe and secure environment for children to develop and flourish.

Similarly, it takes a village to help people in crisis — with an entire humanitarian community made up of local volunteers, emergency services, non-governmental organizations, the Red Cross, and the UN closely working together around the world.

While humanitarian’s roles may be different, their impact is shared. From health worker, to advocate, to protection officer to leader, each plays a critical role ensuring aid gets to those who need it most. We reached out to some brave humanitarians — all USAID partners — working in some of the world’s most dangerous places. They told us what motivates them to be part of the global “village” that saves lives, day after day. Read their words:

Showing Gratitude to our USAID Partners

At USAID, we could not do what we do without our partners. On this World Humanitarian Day and every day, we remember those aid workers who work tirelessly under the most challenging circumstances and often sacrifice their own in the process. We recognize the tremendous service of USAID’s humanitarians and partners and stand in solidarity with all aid workers worldwide who are serving humanity and saving lives.

Source: US Agency for International Development

Tripoli – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Libya has welcomed a contribution of JPY 200 million (approx.US$1.53 million) from Japan to implement its food distribution in the West and the East of the country. This project aims to provide food assistance to more than 10,000 beneficiaries, including vulnerable and food-insecure people, as well as schoolchildren.

Furthermore, the Government of Japan has recently confirmed a new contribution of US$ 0.5 million to provide general food assistance to some 8,500 vulnerable IDPs, host communities and returnees in the South of the country who are suffering from high food prices caused by the war in Ukraine. “WFP is extremely grateful to the Government of Japan for these generous contributions coming at a crucial time in a world struggling with the impact of COVID-19 and the conflict in Ukraine,” said Maysaa AlGhribawy, WFP’s Representative and Country Director in Libya.

Both Japanese contributions will allow WFP Libya to support thousands of people in need who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and rising food prices, with monthly in-kind nutritious and unconditional food assistance in the targeted districts across the country, where the market functionality has been greatly affected by global supply chain disruptions.

“Food security is one of the key sectors that Japan is tackling, in line with the ‘Food Security in Africa’ initiative,” launched at the sixth round of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development held in Nairobi in 2016 said Mr. Masaki Amadera, Chargé d’Affaires of Japan to Libya/Special Coordinator for Libya.

“Japanese contributions will not only support general food assistance to vulnerable communities but also the School Feeding Programme which will contribute to achieving three other goals; supporting the education of school children, stimulating local markets and agriculture, as well as creating job opportunities for the local communities, which we believe would contribute to the stability of the country,” Amadera added.

The Japanese support will also enable WFP Libya to lay the foundation for a more targeted social safety net system in the country. WFP plans to use part of the funds received from the Government of Japan towards the continuation of the central kitchen school feeding programme, targeting schoolchildren aged between 6 to 14 years in Benghazi city, in the eastern part of the country. WFP will provide these children with ready-to-eat meals such as canned tuna fish donated by Japan.

Source: World Food Programme

Concerns are growing over the food and nutritional needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Barsalogho commune in Burkina Faso’s Centre Nord region. Humanitarian partners have been experiencing increasing constraints in accessing areas in Barsalogho as Non-State Armed Groups (NSAGs) in the area have been reinforcing their presence in recent months and imposing irregular controls. Aid organizations noted that food aid deliveries have been delayed up to three months due to the persistent blockage of main roads since the beginning of 2022. Since the end of April, about 93,400 IDPs have sought refuge in Barsalogho commune, equivalent to 14 per cent of the total 657,000 IDPs in the Centre Nord region, which is the largest IDPhosting region in the country.

SIERRA LEONE

27 PERSONS DIE IN ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS

As of 11 August, at least 27 people had died in anti-government protests and clashes in Sierra Leone, including 21 civilians and six police officers, as hundreds took to the streets in frustration at economic hardship and a perceived failure by the government to cushion the impact of rising prices. To address the deteriorating security situation, the government imposed a nationwide curfew on 10 August. No violent events have been reported since 10 August. UN and non-governmental organizations have been monitoring potential humanitarian impacts of the situation and working with partners and the government to deescalate the situation, calling for a calm and peaceful dialogue, especially as the legislative and presidential elections are approaching and planned to take place in 2023.

SENEGAL

HEAVY RAINS AND FLOODS KILL ONE PERSON AND INJURE MANY

Heavy rains in the capital Dakar caused floods that killed at least one person and injured many. On 5 August, the rain was significantly heavy with 127 mm recorded. Flood water over one-meter-deep covered city streets, severely disrupting traffic. A man died in his car in the Mermoz neighborhood in Dakar, according to a statement from Senegal’s Ministry of Interior. Another person was saved and sent to the hospital in critical condition, according to the police. The rainy season in Senegal typically lasts from July through October

THE GAMBIA

FLOODS KILL 11 PERSONS, AID ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT GOVERNMENT-LED ASSESSMENT

On 30 and 31 July, the Gambia experienced the highest amount of rainfall in 34 years, causing significant floods, killing 11 persons, and affecting another 42,000 people according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). About 5,407 persons have been displaced and currently live in temporary shelters as their houses were inundated, in addition to losing their food stock and their livelihood, which is increasing acute food insecurity risks.

Sanitation facilities have been damaged, exacerbating water-borne disease risks. IFRC and the government have provided food, nonfood, and logistics support. At the request of the government, UN organizations have deployed teams to support a government-led rapid needs assessment launched on 16 August.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

A spike in tensions between China and the United States over Taiwan has not gone unnoticed in Africa and has prompted responses that underscore the continent’s tilt toward Beijing.

The U.S. announced trade talks with Taiwan on Thursday following a U.S. congressional delegation’s visit earlier this week that came on the heels of a controversial trip to the self-governing island by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Washington’s recent interactions with Taipei have infuriated Beijing, leading to Chinese military drills in the seas around the island.

Most countries in Africa have sided with China.

During Pelosi’s visit, officials from several African countries condemned the U.S. and publicly supported China. The government of Eritrea deplored Pelosi’s visit as a “reckless” continuation of U.S. policies marked by “flaws and follies.”

Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party also attacked the U.S. for “aggressive conduct” following Pelosi’s visit, with spokesman Chris Mutsvangwa saying: “It is cardinal postulate of international diplomacy that there is one China and Taiwan is an integral part of mainland China.”

The foreign minister of the Republic of Congo, meanwhile, expressed firm support for the one-China policy.

Chinese state media were quick to publicize such support from African governments with an article in the China Daily headlined: “Africans see through US ploy in Pelosi visit.”

Another article on CGTN listed all the Africa officials who’d sided with Beijing.

Root of China-Taiwan dispute

The dispute between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan stems from the Chinese civil war in the 1940s when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government lost to Mao Zedong’s Communists on the Chinese mainland and rebased on the island of Taiwan, also called the Republic of China (ROC).

Beijing considers democratically ruled Taiwan a breakaway province — to be retaken with force if necessary.

In 1979, the U.S. cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan and switched its diplomatic recognition to China. Although the U.S. sells weapons to Taiwan, Washington has formal ties with China, not Taiwan, which is why the visit by Pelosi, a high-level U.S. lawmaker, caused a political storm in Beijing.

For most of the 1960s, Taiwan was more influential than China in Africa, but that changed in 1971 when the U.N. General Assembly affirmed China’s place on the body and denied Taiwan a role — with a majority of African states voting with China.

Since President Xi Jinping’s global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative, came to Africa along with Chinese loans and investments, more countries have switched ties to Beijing, with Burkina Faso — the second-to-last supporter of Taiwan on the continent — choosing to sever ties with Taipei in 2018.

“Gradually, recognition of Taipei over the last two decades has eroded away,” Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at think tank Chatham House, told VOA. “There are no signs of African countries switching back to Taiwan. Years ago, there was some flip flopping — no sign of that these days.”

In the latest spat between China and the U.S. over Taiwan, most African nations stand firmly with Beijing, loathe to alienate the world’s second-largest economy and Africa’s largest trade partner.

Somalia, which has its own problems with the breakaway region of Somaliland, was one of the countries that came out strongly on China’s side during Pelosi’s visit.

Outliers supporting Taiwan

The two outliers on the African continent that continue to support Taiwan are the also-unrecognized Somaliland and Eswatini.

The autonomous area of Somaliland in the Horn of Africa is internationally considered part of Somalia despite having unilaterally declared independence in 1991.

It is clear why Somaliland has chosen to side with Taiwan, said Cobus van Staden, senior China-Africa researcher at the South African Institute for International Affairs.

“It’s a direct play into U.S.-China geopolitics … in order to move a separatist cause forward,” he said.

The only recognized state that now supports Taiwan in Africa is Eswatini, an autocratic absolute monarchy formerly known as Swaziland that borders South Africa.

Contacted by VOA about the kingdom’s continued support for Taiwan, Percy Simelane, director of communications for the office of King Mswati III, wrote: “Our diplomatic relations with Taiwan are our sovereign choice and are based on national interest. To us might and wrath can never be larger than our national interest. We refuse to be part of any continental capture.”

Asked to comment on Pelosi’s Taiwan visit specifically, he demurred, saying Eswatini did not wish to be mistaken for “political referees.”

“We elect to play our cards closer to the chest on Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan lest we are mistaken for what we are not,” he said.

Chatham House’s Vines said Eswatini has long benefitted economically from its loyalty to Taipei.

“King Mswati III clearly believes that Taiwan will reward Eswatini more handsomely than Beijing and make few if any demands in return,” he said.

Sanele Sibiya, an economics lecturer at the University of Eswatini, echoed this, saying Taiwan provides a huge amount of aid to the kingdom — including funds for hospitals and educational scholarships —and, unlike Chinese loans, does not ask for anything to be paid back.

Meanwhile, despite Taiwan being a democracy, it is essentially propping up an increasingly unpopular regime. Large pro-democracy protests broke out in Eswatini last year.

“Taiwan has not said much when it comes to the democratization of Eswatini, because they cannot afford to eliminate Eswatini right now,” said Sibiya.

In terms of China punishing Eswatini for its allegiance, Sibiya said there’s a belief in Eswatini that Taiwan would always “pick up the slack.” And anyway, he said, neighboring South Africa is by far the country’s most important trade partner.

However, as a lot of the diplomatic ties hang on the personal relationship between the king and the Taiwanese government, “in a post-king moment Eswatini may well switch,” van Staden told VOA.

Source: Voice of America

NAIROBI— Parties seeking legal redress regarding the presidential results declared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati have until Monday, Aug 23 to file petitions at the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has set up the ceremonial hall at Milimani Law Court for this purpose.

The Supreme Court has already set preparations to receive, hear and deliver a ruling in the event of a presidential petition.

Legal experts say the filing of the petition will then trigger a number of activities, before the case is heard.

The constitution empowers the highest court in the land to either validate or invalidate the declaration of William Ruto as President elect depending on how both the petitioners and the respondents will argue their cases and the evidence that they will have tabled.

One scenario is an outcome that could agree with the petitioners with the other being an outcome that could validate the election of Ruto as president.

And with there being seven judges on the bench, legal experts underscore the fact that each of judges is expected to give their independent rulings.

The other question is if Ruto’s win is invalidated what would the fresh election entail?

This will not be the first time in Kenya’s history that a presidential election is contested in court and outcome determined before a president elect is sworn in.

In 2017 the Supreme Court invalidated President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election and ordered for a fresh vote.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

RABAT— Three firefighters died and two others were seriously injured in a forest fire in northern Morocco that was suspected to have been started deliberately, authorities said.

The firefighters were in a vehicle that plunged into a ravine while they were battling the blaze in M’diq-Fnideq province late Monday, the authorities said.

Four men suspected of starting the fire were arrested, they said.

Firefighting services, including Canadair water bombers, were being used on Tuesday to try to bring the flames under control and prevent them from spreading to populated areas.

The fire has so far destroyed about 120 hectares of forest land, according to the latest estimates.

Morocco has been gripped by scorching temperatures, intense drought and stress on water supplies.

The agriculture ministry said more than 10,000 hectares of land in the country’s north had been hit by forest fires this summer.

Last month forest fires in the north of the kingdom killed four people.

According to the agriculture ministry, 2,782 hectares of forest have been destroyed by fire this year, especially in the northern mountainous Rif region.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

YAOUNDÉ— Rebels killed three people, including a soldier and a police officer, in Cameroon near a region wracked by a conflict between anglophone separatists and security forces, a regional governor said.

The rebels attacked an army post in the village of Kengwo in the West Region on Sunday morning, killing a soldier, a police officer and a motorcyclist, said the region’s governor, Augustine Awa Fonka.

The attackers seized weapons and suffered no losses, he added.

The attack occurred near the North West region, which with the neighbouring South West region has suffered a bloody conflict between anglophone separatists and the state for five years.

English speakers make up a majority of the regions’ populations in predominantly French-speaking Cameroon, which President Paul Biya has ruled with an iron fist since 1982.

Some of Cameroon’s anglophones feel marginalised and an independent state called “the Federal Republic of Ambazonia” was declared in 2017 without achieving international recognition.

Biya, 89, has resisted calls for more autonomy in the regions and responded with a crackdown on the separatists.

The violence has claimed more than 6,000 lives and displaced around a million people, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

International monitors and the United Nations say both sides have committed abuses, including crimes against civilians.

In June, anglophone rebels killed five soldiers in an attack in western Cameroon.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK