Africa
UK launches “large-scale evacuation” of Britons in Sudan
![](https://accessnews.ng/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/sudan-conflict.jpg)
The UK government on Tuesday said it had launched “a large-scale evacuation” of its citizens trapped in Sudan, where 10 days of urban combat have led to hundreds of deaths.
It comes hours after a United States-brokered 72-hour ceasefire between Sudan’s warring generals officially came into effect, and following criticism in the United Kingdom that the government had abandoned British citizens there.
Britain faced pressure to act after comparisons to the chaotic evacuation of Britons after Afghanistan’s Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.”The government has begun a large-scale evacuation of British passport holders from Sudan on RAF (Royal Air Force) flights,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
“Priority will be given to the most vulnerable, including families with children and the elderly.”
Sunak paid tribute to Britain’s armed forces, diplomats and others involved in what he called a “complex operation”.
“The UK will continue to work to end the bloodshed in Sudan and support a democratic government,” he added.
Britain carried out a military operation Sunday to withdraw its diplomats as deadly battles raged in the capital Khartoum.
But citing the dangers on the ground, it had held off on extracting its citizens more widely despite Western allies evacuating hundreds of their own passport holders.
Foreign Office minister Andrew Mitchell said Monday that some 4,000 Britons with dual nationality and 400 with UK-only passports were in Sudan, while 2,000 people had registered with the ministry seeking help to get out.
A Foreign Office statement announcing the new evacuations said the UK military flights were due to depart from an airfield outside Khartoum.
It said UK citizens should “not make their way to the airfield unless they are called”.
“The situation remains volatile and our ability to conduct evacuations could change at short notice,” it added.
Africa
Tunisian court jails opposition leader, bans him from presidential elections
![](https://accessnews.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Lotfi-Mraihi.webp)
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](https://accessnews.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Nigerian-CDS-and-his-South-African-counterpart.webp)
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.
Africa
Ramaphosa takes oath of office for 2nd term as South African president
![](https://accessnews.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Ramaphosa-2.jpg)
Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), took oath as the nation’s president for the next five years on Wednesday at Pretoria, the administrative capital.
Ramaphosa, 71, was re-elected as South African president by the National Assembly on June 14 with 283 votes against the other nominee, Julius Malema from the Economic Freedom Fighters, who received 44 votes.
Under the South African Constitution, once elected as president by the National Assembly, the president-elect must assume office within five days.
In the general elections on May 29, the ANC secured 159 out of the 400 seats in the National Assembly.
This is the first time the ANC is falling below the 50 per cent needed to maintain its 30-year-old outright majority in the lower house of parliament.
(Xinhua/NAN)
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