🇸🇸 South Sudan struggles to clear mines as 2026 deadline approaches

12 years after South Sudan’s independence, landmines are still a threat. Over 5,000 people have been killed or injured by unexploded ordnances and land mines since 2004, according to the UN Mine Action Service.

By the end of 2021, the state had the most areas contaminated with cluster munitions in the nation -- 55 out of a total of 130 -- according to Mine Action Review.

South Sudan’s given UN Mine Action Service until 2026 to clear all anti-personnel minefields in the country. As munitions are being found daily many fear the deadline won't be kept.

With elections scheduled for next year, locals say they want to clear contaminated areas so those who have fled can return.

#SouthSudan

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🇬🇳 At least 7 schoolgirls drowned in the sinking of a canoe in Guinea

At least seven young schoolgirls who were going to take college entrance exams on Monday drowned after their canoe capsized on the Niger River near the town of Kouroussa in Upper Guinea, said a minister.

"We are struck by this bad news of the shipwreck of seven students who have lost their lives," said the Minister of Pre-university Education and Literacy, who is in the region for launch the first tests of the examination.

Local sources assured that the toll was only provisional and could be heavier. The operations to find bodies continue.

#Guinea

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🇨🇩 DR Congo opposition politician accused of coup plot

The right-hand man of the Democratic Republic of Congo's main opposition leader, Moïse Katumbi, has been accused by the army of colluding with a rebel group to plan a coup.

Salomon Idi Kalonda was arrested last week at the airport in the capital, Kinshasa. He is a key figure in Katumbi’s political campaign ahead of December presidential election.

His arrest has been described by the opposition as politically motivated, but Col Kangoli Ngoli of the military intelligence said that Kalonda had been “regularly” talking to M23 rebel officers “and Rwandan officers”.

“The aim was to overthrow the current authority in DR Congo by all possible means,” Col Ngoli told.

#DRC

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🇸🇳 Koranic teacher arrested on suspicion of raping 27 schoolgirls in Senegal

A Senegalese Koranic master suspected of raping 27 of his schoolgirls in Touba was arrested on Monday in the central Senegalese town after several weeks on the run.

The alleged rapist "was arrested after presenting himself to the police. After questioning, he was handed over to the gendarmerie. He had been on the run" for several weeks, said the Touba police chief.

Touba is considered a holy city by the Mourides, a major Muslim religious brotherhood in Senegal.

The Koranic master, whose age was not given, had disappeared since the case broke during the first quarter following a complaint from victims who produced medical certificates.

He is accused of "raping 27 pupils at his school in Touba". The alleged assaults took place over a period of time.

#Senegal

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🇬🇭 Ghana sends debt rework proposal to official creditors

Ghana has sent a debt restructuring proposal to its official creditors. The "working proposal" is a crucial first step for the cocoa, gold and oil producer to engage the official creditor committee after its formation in May and is not legally binding.

It marks the opening of a more detailed negotiating process that will likely see a number of proposals being exchanged.

Ghana intends to finish restructuring its domestic debt before turning to negotiations with its official, bilateral creditors and international bondholders, a government official said.

#Ghana

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🇸🇳 Senegal shuts consulates abroad after attacks

Senegal has temporarily closed its consulates abroad following attacks on diplomatic missions in Bordeaux, Milan, Paris and New York among others.

The foreign affairs ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the precautionary measure followed “a series of aggressions that caused serious damage”.

The closures come amid political tensions in Senegal following the sentencing of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko last week to two years in prison which led to deadly protests.

Italian media reported on Monday that about 40 Sonko supporters had gathered outside the consulate with flags and anti-government signs - breaking in and ransacking the offices before the police intervened.

#Senegal

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🇰🇪 Kenya to turn cult forest into a memorial site

Kenya’s interior minister says the government will convert the Shakahola forest, where more than 250 members of a Christian cult followers died, into a national memorial.

Kithure Kindiki said once the recovery of the bodies buried in the 800-acre forest was complete, the place will be turned into “a place of remembrance” so that people don’t forget what happened there.

He said the government had enough evidence to prosecute the leader of the cult and the main suspect, Pastor Paul Mackenzie, for genocide after he allegedly convinced his followers to fast to death in order to go to heaven.

Since the operation started in April, 251 bodies have been recovered. Ninety-five people have been rescued from the forest and 35 suspects arrested.

#Kenya

@africaintel

🇸🇩🇨🇫🇺🇳 Sudanese families seek safety in the Central African Republic

Families fleeing conflict in Sudan are seeking safety in the Central African Republic (CAR). The UNHCR says it is racing against time to relocate the thousands of arrivals before the rains come.

In the meantime the UNHCR and the World Food Programme (WFP) say they are attempting to build shelters, latrines and provide water and food for up to 14,000 refugees who have arrived in CAR.

The majority of new arrivals are women and children from Nyala in Sudan, who say they faced threats by armed men, extortion of goods, physical aggression and sexual violence. UNHCR said emergency teams were identifying and referring people with specific needs for protection, counselling or medical assistance.

#Sudan #CAR #UN

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🇪🇹 Ethiopia rejects HRW accusations of "ethnic cleansing" in Tigray

The Ethiopian government on Tuesday rejected recent accusations by Human Rights Watch (HRW) of a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" in the western region of Tigray, which it said were not based on "any evidence".

In a report published on 1 June, the human rights organisation claims that paramilitary units and militias from the neighbouring Ahmara region continue to "forcibly expel Tigrayans" from the Western Tigray Zone "as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing".

HRW "published these accusations without carrying out a rigorous and credible investigation in the areas concerned" and they "are not supported by any evidence", the Ethiopian government's Communications Service said.

"This distorted and misleading description of the situation is aimed at undermining peaceful coexistence, fuelling inter-ethnic conflict, and preventing national efforts for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia", the government continued.

#Ethiopia

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