Turkish police yesterday detained about 150 soldiers over their alleged links to a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.

Police forces launched massive simultaneous operations in 53 provinces upon the order of the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in Izmir, the state-run Anadolu agency reported.

The office issued warrants for 184 soldiers in total, the report said, adding that operations were still going on to catch the remaining ones.

The suspects, including 123 soldiers on active duty, have alleged connections with the network headed by the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, the report said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)he July 15, 2016 coup d’état was an attempt against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The attempt was carried out by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces that organised themselves as the Peace at Home Council whose members could not be identified.

They attempted to seize control of several places in Ankara, Istanbul, Marmaris, and elsewhere, such as the Asian side entrance of the Bosphorus Bridge, but failed to do so after forces loyal to the state defeated them.

The council cited an erosion of secularism, elimination of democratic rule, disregard for human rights, and Turkey’s loss of credibility in the international arena as reasons for the coup.

Gullen is a Turkish businessman and scholar who lives in Pennsylvania.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed yesterday said atrocities have been reported in Tigray, his first public acknowledgment of possible war crimes in the country’s northern region where fighting persists as government troops hunt down its fugitive leaders.

Ahmed also admitted, after repeated denials by authorities, that troops from neighbouring Eritrea have gone into Tigray, where their presence has inflicted “damages” on the region’s residents.

“Reports indicate that atrocities have been committed in Tigray region,” Abiy said in an address yesterday before lawmakers in the capital, Addis Ababa.

War is “a nasty thing,” he said, speaking the local Amharic language. “We know the destruction this war has caused.” He said soldiers who raped women or committed other war crimes will be held responsible, even though he cited “propaganda of exaggeration” by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the once-dominant party, whose leaders challenged Abiy’s legitimacy after the postponement of elections last year.

Commenting on the reported presence of Eritrean troops in Ethiopia, Abiy said they crossed the border and moved across Tigray, “causing damages to our people … We won’t accept that.”

Abiy spoke as concern continues to grow over the humanitarian situation in the embattled region that is home to 6 million of Ethiopia’s more than 110 million people.

The United States has characterised some abuses in the Tigray war as “ethnic cleansing,” charges dismissed by Ethiopian authorities as unfounded. It also has urged Eritrean troops, who are fighting on the side of Ethiopian government forces, to withdraw from Tigray.

 

Myanmar’s military has accused anti-junta protesters of arson and violence as Western countries imposed more sanctions on individuals and groups linked to last month’s coup and the ensuing bloody crackdown on dissent.

Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said 164 protesters had been killed in the violence and expressed sadness at the deaths.

“They are also our citizens,’’ he told a news conference in the capital Naypyitaw yesterday, adding that the military will use the least force possible to quell violence.’’

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) activist group said at least 261 people have been killed in the brutal crackdown by security forces that has left the Southeast Asian nation in turmoil.

Three people, including a teenage boy, were killed in unrest on Monday in Myanmar’s second city, Mandalay, witnesses and news reports said.

The junta has tried to justify the coup by saying a Nov. 8 election won by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) was fraudulent – an accusation the electoral commission rejected.

Military leaders have promised a new election but have not set a date and have declared a state of emergency.

Zaw Min Tun blamed protesters for violence and arson and said nine members of the security forces had been killed.

In the over three hour news conference, the spokesman also said the military respected the media and although reporting protests was allowed, leading them was a crime.

Zaw Min Tun gave granular details or how the NLD had created hundreds or even thousands of extra ballots in numerous townships by inventing voters, including in Suu Kyi’s own constituency.

Videos of people saying they were paid by NLD representatives were shown at the news conference.

Also shown was video testimony of former Yangon Chief Minister Phyo Min Thein saying he visited Suu Kyi multiple times and gave her money, “whenever needed’’.

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her campaign to bring democratic civilian rule to Myanmar, has been in detention since the coup. Her lawyer says charges against her are trumped up.

The European Union and the United States imposed sanctions on Monday against individuals involved in the coup and the repression of the demonstrators.

The EU sanctions were the bloc’s most significant response since the overthrow of Suu Kyi’s elected government on Feb. 1.

The 11 people it targeted included General Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military and head of the junta that has taken power.

The EU already has an arms embargo on Myanmar and has targeted some senior military officials since 2018.

A twenty-one-year-old man faces 10 counts of murder in connection with a mass shooting at a Colorado supermarket, but his motive remains unclear, authorities said yesterday.

The suspect, Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, was in a stable condition after he suffered a leg wound in an exchange of gunfire with police officers at the King Soopers outlet in Boulder, about 45 kilometres north-west of Denver, on Monday afternoon, local time.

The 10 victims, whose names were released at a news conference yesterday, range in age from 20 to 65 and include Eric Talley, an 11-year veteran of the Boulder police force. Talley, 51, was the father of seven children and had recently been looking for a less dangerous job, according to a statement released by his father.

Authorities have not yet offered a possible motive for the bloodshed, which came six days after a gunman went on a killing spree in the Atlanta area, fatally shooting eight people at three day spas before he was arrested.

“It would be premature for us to draw any conclusions at this time,” Michael Schneider, the agent in charge of the FBI’s field office in Denver, said at a news briefing about a possible motive for the killings.

The suspect lived in Arvada, a Denver suburb, and investigators said they were confident he had acted alone.

Monday’s attack drew hundreds of police officers to the scene and sent terrified shoppers and employees fleeing for safety. The massacre added to the Rocky Mountain state’s tragic list of mass killings, including the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theatre in Aurora and the 1999 rampage at Columbine High School near Littleton.

“My heart aches today,” Governor Jared Polis told the briefing. “Not only did we lose 10 lives, but this is real horror and terror for all of us.”

Witnesses in Colorado described a chaotic and frightening scene inside the store.

Agency Reporter

Denmark on Saturday confirmed the death of one citizen from the effect of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination.

The deceased and one other person had fallen seriously ill with blood clots and cerebral haemorrhage after receiving the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination.

The two, both hospital staff members, had received the AstraZeneca vaccine less than 14 days before getting ill, the authority that runs public hospitals in Copenhagen said.

The Danish Medicines Agency confirmed it had received two “serious reports”, without giving further details.

There were no details of when the hospital staff got ill.

Denmark, which halted usage of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 11, was among more than a dozen countries that temporarily paused the use of the vaccine after reports of cases of rare brain blood clots sent scientists and governments scrambling to determine any link.

Some countries, including Germany and France, this week reversed their decision to suspend the use of the vaccine, following an investigation into the reports of blood clots by the European Union’s drug watchdog.

EU said on Thursday it is still convinced the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks.

AstraZeneca, which developed the shot with Oxford University, said a review, covering more than 17 million people who had received its shots in the EU and Britain, had found no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.

From Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

 

President Muhammadu Buhari and former President Goodluck Jonathan have joined other world leaders to mourn the death of Tanzania President John Pombe Magufuli, who died on Wednesday.

The Tanzanian constitution stipulates that the vice president take up the president’s role if the president dies or is incapable of performing his duties. This task now falls on Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Once sworn in, she will make history as the first woman to lead a nation in East Africa. The 61-year-old politician is expected to serve as president until the end of 2025, when the next presidential elections are scheduled.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, President Buhari described Magufuli as a visionary leader, whose patriotism propelled the nation forward.

“President Muhammadu Buhari joins Government and people of Republic of Tanzania in mourning the passing of President Magufuli, 61, whose legacy of patriotism and dedication to the African course will continue to resonate across the continent.

“The President believes the late Tanzanian President’s courage and love for his country inspired various reforms that generations will continue to celebrate, which include the challenging decision to reduce size and cost of governance, insistence on a people-focused budget, with clear priorities on education and health, and consistently fighting profligacy and frivolities in public expenditures.

“President Buhari prays for repose of the soul of the deceased,” the statement said.

Jonathan, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, in Abuja yesterday, described late Magufuli as a true patriot who did his best to advance his country.

He said: “Today, a bright star has been plucked from the African continent. President Magufuli of Tanzania was a man I knew quite well, due to my frequent visits to Tanzania for the advancement of democracy in Africa.

“I found in him a true patriot who loved his country and did his best to steer the ship of state away from the brink and to the bank of the river of peace, progress and prosperity.”

Jonathan noted that Tanzania had been blessed in the area of leadership and had enjoyed consistent stability because of men like Julius Nyerere and his worthy successors.

He expressed hope and prayed that the “beautiful and determined nation” would continue with the tradition.

News of Magufuli’s death sent shockwaves across the east and central African region. In neighboring Kenya, where his absence had generated a lot of interest, President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday announced a one-week mourning period.

Read Also: Magufuli, Yar’adua, Gaddafi, other 15 African leaders who died in office

 

He also ordered the flags be flown at half-mast in the country and all embassies and consulates. “I have lost a fellow leader. Kenya stands with the nation of Tanzania at this time,” Kenyatta said.

Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga, a close ally of the late Tanzania president, tweeted that Magufuli had put Tanzania on the world map.

“I want to offer my deepest condolences to Tanzanians for the loss of their president,” Husna, a resident in Kenya’s capital Nairobi told DW.

“He used his presidency to lift poor Tanzanians, “Hassan Wanini, another Nairobi resident, said. “We are all mourning.”

Rwandan President Paul Kagame took to Twitter to express his sympathy with Tanzanians.

“We are very shocked by the death of the Tanzanian president,” Togo’s foreign minister, Robert Dussey, told DW  “The situation that the African continent and each of our countries are going through today [COVID-19], it deserves that we become much more aware of what is at stake for our countries.

Dussey offered condolences to the people of Tanzania but declined to be drawn on speculation over the cause of death. “We don’t want to get involved in this controversy. But whether he died from COVID-19 or not, one thing is clear: we have to be very careful. We are in a pandemic, and the only thing we can do is protect ourselves,” he said.

The U.S. issued a statement saying it “remains committed to continuing to support Tanzanians as they advocate for respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and work to combat the pandemic. UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson also tweeted a message of condolence.

A gap hard to fill

For Tanzanians who admired the populist leader, the gap he has left on the political stage will be hard to fill. “What I can say about our president is that when we say he left a vacuum, we really mean that,” Tanzania’s speaker of the national assembly, Job Ndugai, said.

“He was someone who loved Tanzania. He sacrificed a lot for Tanzanians. His contribution to Tanzania’s development is immense, especially in the infrastructure sector – roads, airports, ports, air transport, building vessels on lakes, our ocean. Indeed he has served Tanzanians,” Ndugai said.

But for those who questioned Magufuli’s leadership style, particularly his icy relationship with the media and erosion of democratic rights, this could be an opportunity to usher in a new political era.

The challenge facing Magufuli’s successor

The incoming president, Hassan, will have to contend with the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed several prominent politicians. She will also have to decide whether to adopt the same COVID-skeptic stance as Magufuli or impose strict measures to control the spread of the virus.

However, Jebra Kambole, a Tanzanian legal expert, said the constitution does not give a specific timeframe when the deputy president must be sworn in.

“Our constitution is very clear. The presidency vacancy cannot have a vacuum,” Zitto Kabwe, opposition Leader for the ACT-Wazalendo party in Tanzania, said. “This is the first time for the Republic of Tanzania to lose the president while in office, so it is something new to our country,” Kabwe told DW, adding that it is an enormous tragedy. “So now we have a new president-elect, who has not been sworn in. We expect that the authorities will act on this as soon as possible.”

It remains to be seen whether the incoming president will impose strict COVID-19 measures in Tanzania.