Algeria ends Burkina Faso's run

 

Algeria claimed Africa's final place at the World Cup on away goals after beating Burkina Faso 1-0 in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday and progressing with a 3-3 aggregate draw.

Algeria qualified for the finals in Brazil after a nerve-tingling finish at home to Burkina Faso, which hit the post in injury time to agonizingly miss the goal that would have taken the country to its first finals.

Angola's MPLA says opposition UNITA plans rallies 'to cause chaos'

 

 

 

Angola's ruling MPLA party on Tuesday accused the main opposition group, UNITA, of seeking to cause "chaos and anarchy" by planning nationwide rallies on Saturday to protest against the kidnapping of two activists last year.

Prosecutors said last week that Isaias Cassule and Antonio Alves Camulingui, who were involved in organizing protests by former presidential guards to demand payment of wage arrears, had been kidnapped and possibly murdered in May 2012.
Authorities have detained four suspects, but in strongly worded statement on Friday UNITA called the rallies to demand those who had ordered the kidnappings be held responsible and blamed President Jose Eduardo dos Santos for not preventing or investigating the crimes.
"The (MPLA) Political Bureau considers UNITA is clearly and irresponsibly taking political advantage... it is opportunistic to hold rallies under the pretext of protesting the disappearances," the MPLA said in a statement.
"Its only goal is to demand a change of regime, outside any political legitimacy, seeking to create a situation of chaos and anarchy with violence, subversion and terrorism, to prepare an ante-chamber for a new conflict," it added.
Former rebel group UNITA lost a 27-year civil war to the MPLA in 2002 and has since been trounced in two elections.
It has long accused Dos Santos of suppressing human rights and using excessive violence to clamp down on dissent during his 34-year rule over Africa's No. 2 oil producer.
The MPLA said the investigation into the disappearances had been ordered by the president and that everyone found responsible will be punished.
It alleged that UNITA is losing support and has been inspired by Mozambique's Renamo opposition guerrillas, who have staged attacks and clashed with government forces in recent months after two decades of peace following a devastating 1975-1992 civil war.
(Reporting by Shrikesh Laxmidas, editing by William Hardy)

DRC Armed Groups Ready to Demobilize, Activists Say

 

 

 

KIGALI, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO — Several armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have said they are ready to lay down their weapons, following the army's defeat of M23 rebels. Since then, there has been a series of letters and declarations by other militias expressing their willingness to be demobilized.

It has been two weeks since the M23 rebels fled from their last holdouts in Congo after coming under intense bombardments from the U.N.-backed Congolese army.

Other armed groups in North Kivu province seem anxious to avoid the same fate.

Several of them are ready to give up their activities and demobilize, according to documents VOA has seen that apparently were signed by their leaders.

One of these documents appears to have been signed by leaders of the Mai Mai Kifuafua and Raia Mutomboki groups in Walikale territory - two groups that recently were fighting each other. Another comes apparently from the so-called Cheka group, which has been repeatedly condemned for human rights violations, and named as a priority target by the U.N.

Researcher Fidel Bafilemba, who works for the NGO the Enough Project in eastern Congo, told VOA the documents are genuine. He said they are authentic and were given to Enough by local government officials in Walikale, and were then confirmed by a Catholic priest who helped organize a peacemaking dialogue.

The signatories to one of the documents pledge to abandon all armed group activities and to join the army or return to civilian life, without conditions.

The other document from the Cheka does pose conditions, as it asks the government to integrate its fighters in the army and to recognize their self-proclaimed “ranks.”

There are said to be some 30 armed groups in eastern Congo. Bafilemba said most of the others also have pledged to demobilize, with some already partly integrated in the army, while others are disintegrating as their members desert.

He said it really is an avalanche, a tidal wave of armed groups giving up since the Congolese army defeated the M23, which he said was, in a sense, the reason for their existence.

A civil society leader in Walikale, Prince Kihangi Kyawami, also said the armed groups in the territory have pledged to demobilize. A civil society spokesman for North Kivu province, Djento Maundu, said the same was true for the whole province.

Both the Congolese army and the U.N. mission MONUSCO have said their number one target among the armed groups is now the Rwandan rebel group FDLR, whose core members include perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide.

As for the FDLR, said Bafilemba, they have received an ultimatum from the DRC army high command to lay down their arms, and already had written to the DRC president saying they were ready to disarm, but had concerns about their repatriation.

A senior Congolese government delegation, including several generals and the interior minister, was in North Kivu at the weekend. The minister told reporters he was there to discuss the province’s reconstruction, but he did not give further details.

Non-governmental organizations have called on the government to revive a program for demobilizing Congolese combatants and helping them to rejoin civilian life. 

Kenya's Ticking Time Bomb

How political corruption is turning the country's spiralling youth unemployment into a threat to society.     You can witness the same scene at dawn every morning in Kenya's capital, Nairobi: thousands of young people in search of work are streaming out from the city's slums towards its industrial areas. Most of them are neatly if simply dressed, many of them are full of optimism, but the vast majority are destined to be disappointed. Those that can afford it will try and cram onto a bus in an attempt to beat the crowds, the rest will weave their way on foot through the heavy morning commuter traffic. But when they arrive, the situation for all of them will invariably be the same as it was on the previous day and the day before that and on all the other preceding days.

DR Congo soldiers go on trial for mass rape, murder

The trial of 41 soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo began in Goma on Wednesday, with the troops accused of committing mass rape, murder and other war crimes as they fled their positions when M23 rebels took the city in November 2012.

Algeria's World Cup celebrations turn deadly

Celebrations in Algeria after the country qualified for the 2014 World Cup finals has left at least 12 people dead and some 240 injured, authorities said Wednesday, with at least nine of the victims killed in car accidents.

Murder of French journalists a ‘botched AQIM operation’

© Photo: AFP

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has said the kidnapping and killing of two French journalists was in retaliation for the "daily killings" by French troops in Mali. But the claim appears to be a jihadist whitewash for a botched operation.

French forces kill Islamist chief Belmokhtar's No. 2

French forces in Mali have killed the No. 2 in command of the militant group, led by Islamist chief Mokhtar Belmokhtar (pictured), that claimed a January attack on an Algerian gas plant and the bombing of an Areva mine in Niger in May.

Kenya Warns ICC Trials Could Threaten Regional Security

Kenya argued on Thursday that putting its top two leaders on trial before the International Criminal Court could compromise security in the often volatile east African region.

The indictments for crimes against humanity against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto "create particular problems in the context of regional peace and security," Kenya's attorney-general Githu Muigai said.

Muigai was speaking on the second day of an annual meeting of the Hague-based ICC's member states, during a session to discuss whether heads of states should be given immunity from prosecution.

"Kenya is the lynchpin in the peace and security of more than 250 million people from Djibouti to the eastern Congo. Kenya is one of the most important pillars in eastern Africa" in the fight against terror, drug trafficking and piracy, Muigai said.

He stressed: "It is not in our humble view a country... the international community should play Russian roulette with."

The United States, Britain and Israel have long had close military and intelligence ties with Nairobi.

British Diplomats Ejected From Hotel

Tension between Kenya and Britain almost reached boiling point when county Deputy Governor Daniel Chemno accused the trio from the British High Commission not following proper protocol, Standard Digital reports.

Relations between the two countries has been frosty over the past few weeks amid the trials of President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto at the International Criminal Court. Britain abstained from voting for Kenya at the Security Council and they proposed a video trial for the duo, who are facing charges of crimes against humanity. Kenya rejected the proposal.

The senior officials from Britain were removed from the Sirikwa Hotel in Eldoret town where they were attending attending with various community groups based in the North Rift area of the country. 

Read More At: http://http//www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000098325&story_title=british-diplomats-ejected-from-hotel

Cabinet Secretary Criticised Over Sentiments About Rising Crime Rate

Cabinet Secretary in charge of Interior and Coordination of National Government Joseph Ole Lenku’s sentiments for branding retired disciplined forces officers as criminals due to rising incidences of armed robberies has come under sharp criticism from retired officers organizations.

The retired officers from the disciplined forces now want Lenku to apologize over his utterances.

Speaking on Thursday at a press conference in Nakuru, Col Dickson Swegenyi, the executive director of Global Veterans for Peace (GLOVEPA) termed Lenku's utterances as unfortunate.

“Lenku’s words that branded the retired forces officers as criminals due to the rising cases of insecurity across the country are not acceptable,” said Swegenyi.

Swegenyi further added that retired members of the disciplined forces have played a great role in the community through various organizations and needed to be respected.

Nigeria: Cameroon Turns Blind Eye for Extremists

Officials in Nigeria battling an Islamic uprising are accusing Cameroon's security forces of allowing extremists to flee across the border.

Deputy Governor Zannah Umar Mustapha of Nigeria's Borno state says Cameroonian authorities habitually refuse to either arrest or chase militants fleeing after attacks in Nigeria.

At a meeting on Wednesday with army officials, Mustapha called for a stronger military on the porous borders.

Cameroonian Governor Fonka Awa Augustine of the Far North region neighbouring Nigeria has said he is puzzled by such complaints.

He said Cameroon is "in full collaboration" with Nigeria and has "stepped up" co-operation since a French priest was kidnapped last week in northern Cameroon by suspected Nigerian militants and transported into Nigeria.

Read More At: http://www.news24.co.ke/Africa/News/Nigeria-Cameroon-not-helping-fight-extremists-20131121-2

White supremacists jailed for Mandela murder plot

A South African court Tuesday sentenced members of a white extremist militia accused of plotting to kill former president Nelson Mandela after a trial that lasted ten years. The apartheid loyalists received jail terms ranging from five to 35 years.

Al Qaeda-linked group claims murder of journalists

© Photo: RFI

Mauritanian news agency Sahara Medias said Wednesday that it has received a message from Al Qaeda-linked militant group AQIM claiming responsibility for the murder of RFI journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, killed in Mali on Saturday.

Kidal, a lawless outpost in Mali's desert north

Kidal, the northern Malian town where two French journalists were abducted and murdered on Saturday, is a remote and volatile outpost where neither French nor UN troops, let alone Malian forces, are truly in control.

China backs African bid to suspend ICC Kenya case

China on Monday threw its weight behind an African bid to suspend an International Criminal Court crimes against humanity case against Kenya’s president.

It said the “dignity” of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto had to be respected by the UN Security Council and the ICC.

African nations have circulated a draft Security Council resolution which would call for ICC charges against Kenyatta and Ruto to be deferred for one year.

The campaign has already been backed by Russia, which like China is not an ICC member.

The Security Council should “actively and positively” support the demand made by the African Union and Kenya, China’s UN ambassador Liu Jieyi told a press conference.

Fugitive terror suspect suing Britain over torture claim

A Somali-born terror suspect who escaped the surveillance of British authorities by donning a burqa was suing the government for alleged torture before he fled, it emerged on Thursday.

Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed cut off his electronic tag and slipped out of a London mosque wearing the woman’s garment last Friday. Anti-terror police have now launched a manhunt.

The 27-year-old, who is believed to have fought for Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab militants, is seeking damages from the government over claims he was tortured in Somaliland in 2011, London’s High Court heard.

He and another man, referred to as “CF”, allege that British authorities were complicit in their torture by authorities in Somaliland, a breakaway region to the north of Somalia.

Mohamed was referred to in court papers only as “MA” but his anonymity was lifted following his disappearance.

Four charged over Kenya mall attack

© Photo: AFP

A Kenyan court charged four Somali men with terrorism offences Monday over their role in helping al Shabaab Islamic militants carry out the September attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, in which 67 people were killed.

International Court Postpones Kenyatta’s Trial

The International Criminal Court on Thursday postponed the trial of President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya on crimes against humanity charges until February.The judges in The Hague said that the trial, scheduled for Nov. 12, will now open on Feb. 5. In a statement, they expressed “deep regret that repeated adjournments of the trial have been necessary because one or both parties have required more time to prepare.” 

It was the second time that Mr. Kenyatta’s defense succeeded in pushing back the trial, originally scheduled to begin in July. On both occasions defense lawyers asked for more time to prepare. 

RUTO FURY OVER LOSING HIS BUDGET

DEPUTY President William Ruto is furious that the financial budget allocated for his office has been transferred back to State House.

Ruto's office will now have to seek approval from State House for almost every expenditure.

"The Office of the Deputy President is no longer allowed to incur expenditure without approval from the Presidency," said a senior officer in the Office of the President yesterday.

State House Controller Lawrence Lenayapa referred the Star to the Treasury secretary Henry Rotich whose secretary said he was in meetings yesterday afternoon.

Cameroon's President Enters 31st Year in Power

Moki Edwin Kindzeka

November 06, 2013

 

 

 

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Cameroon's President Paul Biya is celebrating more than three decades in power.  The octogenarian became president of the West African nation 31 years ago when his predecessor, Ahmadou Ahijo, resigned. Critics have often criticized Biya for failing to hand over power, democratically or otherwise. Now, opposition political parties are using the anniversary to ask him to prepare a smooth transition to democratic rule. 

SA company digs shaft for mine in DRC

07 Nov 2013 10:07 Bloomberg

Shaft Sinkers Holdings began work on an underground mine for the Kibali gold project operated by Randgold Resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Nigeria Overtakes South Africa as Continent's Largest Economy

Tuesday, 05 November 2013 11:42

By Jessica Desvarieux, The Real News Network

 

Congo-Kinshasa: M23 Fighters Surrender to Ugandan Military

 

By Hilary Heuler, 7 November 2013

 

Kampala — Ugandan officials say hundreds of M23 rebels from neighboring Congo have surrendered and are in Ugandan custody.