Africa
ECOWAS warns Mali’s progress towards February polls insufficient
West Africa’s main regional bloc says it is concerned Mali’s transitional government has not made sufficient progress towards organizing elections early next year, as agreed after a military coup last year.
In a statement, the 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Tuesday that it remained “worried by the lack of concrete action” to prepare for the vote, which has been promised for February 2022 by coup leader and current interim President Colonel Assimi Goita.
The announcement came at the end of a three-day mission to Mali led by former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.
Mali’s transition back to democracy following the August 2020 overthrow of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is being closely watched in a region that has experienced four coups since last year, most recently in Guinea on Sunday.
After the coup, Mali’s military leaders agreed, under pressure from ECOWAS, to an 18-month transition, culminating in presidential and legislative elections in February 2022.
They had also agreed to set October 31 as a date for holding a constitutional referendum.
But various electoral deadlines, including the start of updates to voter rolls and the presentation of a new constitution, have not been met.
The transition was dealt a further setback in May when Goita, who led the initial coup, ordered the arrest of the interim president and then took over the role himself.
“The mission recalled the importance of respecting the date of the announced elections to demonstrate the credibility of the transition process,” said the ECOWAS statement, which was read out to journalists in Mali’s capital, Bamako.
Mali’s government has said it is conscious of its commitment to the electoral deadline, but some officials have also suggested it might not be respected.
“Technically, the timeline is not feasible, unless things are done sloppily, resulting in the usual post-electoral crises,” Bassirou Ben Doumbia, a political analyst, told the Reuters news agency.
Keita’s overthrow was largely precipitated by Mali’s security crisis, which has seen fighters linked to al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) group extend their influence across the north and centre of the country.
Africa
Escalating Jihadist Retaliation Claims Over 120 Lives in Burkina Faso
Escalating Jihadist Retaliation Claims Over 120 Lives in Burkina Faso
Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed on Wednesday that jihadist groups in Burkina Faso have intensified attacks on civilians, particularly targeting those accused of collaborating with government forces or refusing to join their ranks.
The conflict, fueled by insurgents linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS, has plagued the West African nation for nearly a decade, spilling over from neighbouring Mali.
Under military leader Ibrahim Traore, Burkina Faso has recruited thousands of civilian volunteers, known as VDPs, to assist in the fight. However, this move has provoked increasingly violent reprisals from jihadist factions, leading to tragic consequences for local communities.
HRW documented seven attacks between February and June, resulting in the deaths of at least 128 civilians.
These assaults, including a massacre in a Catholic church and strikes on displaced persons camps, were attributed to al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) and ISIS-linked Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
Witnesses claimed some attacks were motivated by civilians’ involvement with government forces.
“We are between a rock and a hard place,” a 56-year-old villager lamented, describing the dire situation faced by many.
HRW’s report also highlighted that some villagers were killed after being forced by authorities to return to areas previously overtaken by jihadists.
In response, Burkina Faso’s justice minister dismissed HRW’s claims of slow prosecutions, asserting that human rights violations by insurgents are being investigated.
The junta, which came to power following a coup in 2022, faces growing criticism for its handling of the crisis, with analysts noting a further deterioration in security under Traore’s leadership.
Despite Traore’s promises to restore stability, the conflict shows no signs of abating, with HRW citing the recent massacre in Barsalogho, where hundreds were killed, as one of the deadliest incidents in the country’s history.
Africa
Tunisian court jails opposition leader, bans him from presidential elections
A Tunisian court sentenced opposition party leader Lotfi Mraihi, a potential presidential election candidate, to eight months in prison on a charge of vote buying, his lawyer said on Friday.
The court also banned Mraihi, leader of the Republican Union Party and one of the most prominent critics of President Kais Saied, from running in presidential elections for life, his lawyer Omar Ismail said.
Mraihi will appeal the sentence, Ismail added.
Opposition parties, many of whose leaders are in prison, have accused Saied’s government of exerting pressure on the judiciary to crack down on his rivals in the 2024 elections and pave the way for him to win a second term.
Elected president in 2019, Saied has not officially announced his candidacy for the vote expected to be held on Oct. 6.
Still, it is widely anticipated that he will seek a second term.
He said last year he would not hand power to what he called non-patriots.
The opposition says fair and credible elections cannot be held unless imprisoned politicians are released and the media can do its job without pressure from the government.
In 2021, Saied dissolved parliament and began ruling by decree in a move the opposition have described as a coup.
Saied said his steps were legal and necessary to end years of rampant corruption among the political elite.
(Reuters/NAN)
Africa
Nigerian, South African Defence Chiefs Unite Against Continental Security Challenges
Nigerian, South African Defence Chiefs Unite Against Continental Security Challenges
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has called for stronger ties between the Armed Forces of Nigeria and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to tackle the complex security issues facing Africa.
Gen. Musa made this appeal during an official visit to his South African counterpart, Gen. Rudzani Maphwanya, in Pretoria, South Africa. The call for enhanced cooperation was highlighted in a statement released by Brig.-Gen. Tukur Gusau, Acting Director of Defence Information, on Tuesday in Abuja.
“The meeting is a panacea to addressing the multifaceted challenges bedevilling the continent,” Gen. Musa emphasized. He underscored the importance of mutual cooperation and strengthening bilateral ties to combat regional security threats.
During their closed-door meeting, both leaders discussed various strategies to address these challenges, focusing on the exchange of expertise and forging stronger ties for the betterment of the continent.
Gen. Musa was honoured with Cannon Gun Salutes, a mark of high regard, during his visit. Brig.-Gen. Gusau noted the significance of the meeting between the two largest economies and military powers in Africa.
The meeting also saw the presence of SANDF Chiefs of Intelligence, Policy and Plans, International Affairs, and Joint Operations, among other departmental chiefs, highlighting the comprehensive nature of the discussions aimed at enhancing regional security cooperation.
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