Category: Foreign

UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has called on the authorities in the country to investigate a report of deadly intercommunal violence in Jonglei State earlier this week.

UNMISS said on Tuesday that the attack reportedly occurred on Sunday when armed youth from the Murle community carried out cattle raids in two villages in Baidit, citing various independent sources, including the independent Human Rights Commission.

Some 32 people from the Dinka Bor community were killed, according to preliminary information.

The victims included three women who were killed by gunshots and three children who reportedly drowned in the river while fleeing.

At least 26 other people were wounded, and at least five houses were burnt and other property looted.

People also reportedly fled to nearby bushes, some of whom remained unaccounted for.

UNMISS stated that it strongly condemned any attack on civilians and urged groups and individuals to take immediate action to avoid further escalations that would endanger vulnerable people.

“The Mission further calls on authorities to carry out timely investigations and that the perpetrators be held accountable,” it said.

READ ALSO: South Sudan humanitarian crisis: The poor media coverage highlights the flaws in news gathering

UNMISS underscored its commitment to support the people and authorities in South Sudan, though noting that the protection of civilians was the primary responsibility of the government.

“All efforts must be made to restore calm, refrain from engaging in further violence, and promote peace and reconciliation.

“Any surge in subnational violence will have a devastating effect on communities that have already been impacted by flooding, the COVID-19 pandemic and recurring conflict,” the Mission stated.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also responded to the attack.

Hamida Lasseko, UNICEF Representative in South Sudan, said she was shocked and deeply saddened to learn children were among the victims.

“UNICEF deplores such acts and urges that children and civilians are protected from all forms of violence,” she said in a statement issued on Monday.

Lasseko added that reports of looting and burning of civilian properties, as well as disruption of humanitarian services, were “alarming”.

“Children are paying the heaviest price of the continued Sub-National violence in South Sudan,” she said.

UNICEF has urged all groups and individuals to respect that all children and their families are kept out of harm’s way and able to survive and thrive.

(NAN)

A student of Heidelberg University in southwestern Germany has stormed a lecture hall, killing a young woman and injuring three others before fleeing the scene and turning the weapon on himself.

According to AFP, the man fired shots “wildly” around the amphitheatre on Monday.

All four victims were injured while one of them later succumbed to her wounds in hospital.

German media reported that the gunman had killed himself and that he appeared to have no religious or political motive.

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The man opened fire with a long-barrelled firearm in a lecture hall and then fled outside, police said.

Police stressed that they believe he was acting alone and there was no longer any danger.

Heidelberg is a picturesque university town in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, home to a population of around 160,000 people.

Heidelberg University, founded in 1386, is Germany’s oldest university and one of the top-ranking in Europe.

School shootings are relatively rare in Germany, a country with some of the strictest gun laws in Europe.

All family members of diplomats and non-emergency personnel at the US embassy in Kiev have been ordered to leave Ukraine by the US State Department.

The order, which came in an updated travel advisory issued on Sunday evening, was due to the continued threat of Russian military action.

The order reads: “Due to the continued threat of Russian military action, US citizens in Ukraine should consider departing now using commercial or other privately available transportation options.

“Do not travel to Ukraine due to the increased threats of Russian military action and COVID-19. Exercise increased caution in Ukraine due to crime and civil unrest. Some areas have increased risk.

READ ALSO: U.S., Russia meet in Geneva to discuss Ukraine crisis

According to War Is Boring, a US online media, senior State Department official spoke of “precautionary measures” in a conference call with reporters.

The State Department did not say how many staff in the US embassy would be affected by the changes.

When asked about the timing of the decision, the State Department referred to the warning from the White House last week that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time. Moscow has repeatedly rejected this notion.

US citizens were also advised not to travel to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea or the pro-Russian breakaway provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

Also, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Ukraine, indicating a very high level of Covid-19 in the country.

French adventurer Jean-Jacques Savin, who set off in a rowboat from Portugal on Jan. 1 to cross the Atlantic solo has vanished at sea.

Portugal’s navy on Monday reported that his boat was found overturned and empty near the Azores archipelago.

The 75-year-old Savin’s support team had said in a Facebook post on Saturday that his body had been found inside the cabin of his sleek purpose-built boat.

However, on Sunday it issued another statement signed by his daughter Manon that the body had not been recovered.

“To date, we have no official confirmation from the Portuguese maritime authorities,” she wrote.

A Portuguese Navy statement on Sunday said a search for Savin’s boat began after a distress signal sent just before midnight on Thursday.

The search involved a naval corvette, three aircraft and several merchant ships, one of which found a waterproof bag with Savin’s documents inside, it said.

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They located the boat capsized in turbulent seas and managed to lift it onto the naval ship on Saturday.

The search was called off after that, with an advisory issued to ships in the area alerting them to the possibility of finding the shipwrecked adventurer.

“There have been no further sightings or information since,” a navy spokeswoman said on Monday.

Savin celebrated his 75th birthday at sea on Jan. 14.

On Jan. 19, he posted about problems with the solar charger of his water desalinator, but said he was “not in danger”, as he was heading toward the mid-Atlantic port of Ponta Delgada in the Azores with fair wind.

“There’s a beautiful marina with an airport next door. If I want to fix it (charger), I will have everything I need in place,” he wrote then. “My goal is to go as far as I can each day as long as the wind is with me!”

In 2019, Savin crossed the Atlantic in a barrel-shaped capsule, from Spain’s Canary Islands to the Caribbean.

(Reuters/NAN)

West African diplomat and four security sources reported on Monday that Burkina Faso President Roch Kabore has been detained at a military camp by mutinying soldiers.

Kabore’s detention came after sustained gunfire rang out from military camps on Sunday night in the capital Ouagadougou with soldiers demanding more support for their fight against Islamist militants.

The government had denied that the army had seized power.

Kabore’s exact whereabouts or situation were unknown on Monday morning, with conflicting reports circulating among security and diplomatic sources.

Several armoured vehicles of the presidential fleet, riddled with bullets, could be seen near the president’s residence. One was spattered with blood.

Residents of the president’s neighbourhood reported heavy gunfire overnight.

Three armoured vehicles and soldiers wearing balaclavas were stationed outside the headquarters of the state broadcaster.

Government sources could not immediately be reached on Monday.

Kabore has faced waves of street protests in recent months as frustration has mounted over the frequent killing of civilians and soldiers by militants, some of whom have links to Islamic State and al Qaeda.

A militant attack in November on a gendarmerie post in Inata, in the northern Soum region, killed 49 military police officers and four civilians.

It later emerged the forces stationed there had run out of food and been forced to slaughter animals in the vicinity for two weeks.

Protesters came out to support the mutineers on Sunday and ransacked the headquarters of Kabore’s political party.

The government declared a curfew from 2000 GMT to 0530 GMT until further notice and closed schools for two days.

The turmoil in Burkina Faso cames after successful military putsches over the past 18 months in Mali and Guinea, where the army removed President Alpha Conde last September.

The military also took over in Chad in 2021 after President Idriss Deby died on the battlefield.

Burkina Faso was one of the poorest countries in West Africa despite being a gold producer.

Islamist militants control swathes of the country and have forced residents in some areas to abide by their harsh version of Islamic law, while the military’s struggle to quell the insurgency has drained scarce national resources.

Buffeted by street protests, Kabore had pledged in November to end “dysfunction” in the army, saying an inquiry into the Inata attack would be followed by disciplinary measures and that he would launch an anti-corruption drive.

Some of the anger in Burkina Faso in 2021 was also directed against former colonial ruler France, which has deployed thousands of soldiers in West Africa’s Sahel region to combat the militants. (Reuters/NAN)

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (USG/ERC) Martin Griffiths concluded a four-day visit to Nigeria at the weekend, describing situations in the Northeast Zone as heartbreaking.

Griffiths pledges support to the country to tackle the deep impact of the violence and repeated displacement of so many people.

The UN humanitarian chief visited the country to see first-hand the humanitarian situation and response in the Northeast, and to raise international awareness about the deteriorating humanitarian situation and bring attention to the ongoing regional conflict affecting the Lake Chad basin.

During the visit, the USG/ERC met with the Vice-President and members of the Federal Government, the Chief of Defence Staff, as well as the Borno State Governor.

In the northeast, he met with Nigerians, who have been affected by the violence, as well as humanitarian partners in Maiduguri, Bama and Damasak.

The conflict in the Lake Chad basin has taken a heavy toll on communities across border areas of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, putting more than 10 million people at risk and in need of humanitarian assistance.

During his visit to Damasak, on the border with Niger, Mr. Griffiths heard from women and families displaced by the violence. They told him of their hopes to return home, yet they despaired that they were unable to plan for a better future given continuing insecurity and attacks by armed groups.

Griffiths said: “It’s heartbreaking to see the deep impact of the violence and repeated displacement for so many. Yet the people I met demonstrated amazing courage in the face of vicious violence, killings, kidnappings, repeated displacement and sometimes bare survival. In Bama, women told stories of having escaped from years of armed group captivity only weeks ago. It is our duty to help them rebuild their lives.”

“I also had the chance to meet with the Governor of Borno State, who conveyed the commitment of authorities to improve security and build resilience for the most vulnerable. We will redouble our collective efforts to improve protection of civilians and humanitarian access, and seek durable solutions out of crisis wherever possible.”

“It is clear we share a common objective: upholding the dignity of Nigerians and finding ways to ease the suffering too many of them face today. People are yearning for security, livelihoods and better access to social services, and we stand ready to make this a reality with the Government and our humanitarian partners.”

Griffiths also met with humanitarian workers in Bama and Damasak and heard first-hand of the challenges they face in reaching people in need.

He said: “Brave humanitarian workers, most of them Nigerians themselves, work tirelessly and often at great personal risk to help others. I deeply admire their commitment and, in turn, commit myself to advocating for their safety, and for the necessary support to the people they serve.”

In 2021, the humanitarian community reached more than five million people in need in Nigeria.

The 2022 Nigeria Humanitarian Response Plan, slated for launch in February, requires just over $US1 billion. It sets out the humanitarian community’s plan to assist 8.4 million people in need this year.

Cameroon’s government said yesterday that 16 people were killed in a fire caused by fireworks in a nightclub in the capital, Yaounde, as the nation hosts the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament.

“The initial report shows 16 dead and eight seriously injured” after the “accidental fire” broke out Saturday night, the communications ministry said in a statement.

The fire engulfed the main room of Liv’s Night Club in the capital’s upmarket Bastos district, home to embassies and diplomat residences.

“The tragedy, which was caused by explosions from the fireworks often used in these places, first consumed the building’s ceiling, resulting in two very loud explosions, causing panic and a stampede,” the ministry said.

“When we arrived, it was a panic and there was a strong fire with lots of smoke,” an official with the firefighters told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“We counted 16 dead and five injured,” the official added.

A security guard present for the fire said that “it happened very quickly”.

“It was a little after 2 am and most customers arrive around 3 am… there are many victims,” the security guard said.

There were some burnt objects out the front of the club that suggested a fire, but the building’s facade was not destroyed or charred, an AFP journalist said.

Cameroon is hosting the AFCON tournament despite regular violence in the country’s west, where English-speaking militants declared independence from the majority French-speaking country in 2017.

Both the separatists and government forces have been accused of atrocities in the fighting, which has claimed more than 3,000 lives and forced over 700,000 to flee their homes.

The UK government and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) are set for a court battle over a story the broadcaster wants to air which would reportedly identify a spy.

The Telegraph has reported that the programme would reveal the identity of the intelligence worker operating overseas, and it is understood to be a highly sensitive case.

Neither party would say what the content of the programme was, but both have confirmed the government was seeking an injunction.

In a statement, the BBC said: “The Attorney General has issued proceedings against the BBC with a view to obtaining an injunction to prevent publication of a proposed BBC news story.

“We are unable to comment further at this stage, beyond confirming that we would not pursue any story unless it was felt it was overwhelmingly in the public interest to do so and fully in line with the BBC’s editorial standards and values.”

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In a statement, the Attorney General’s Office has said: “The Attorney General has made an application against the BBC.

“It would be inappropriate to comment further while proceedings are ongoing.”

The Telegraph reported a High Court hearing would take place on Thursday.

The legal row has emerged against a backdrop of tensions between the government and the BBC, with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries freezing the licence fee for the next two years.

Dorries said on Sunday the next announcement about the fee “will be the last”, indicating a different funding model could be introduced from 2028.

She later announced the licence fee is to be frozen at 159 pounds per year until 2024, after which it will rise in line with inflation for the following four years.

(dpa/NAN)