Rebel forces from Ethiopia’s Tigray region denied reports Wednesday that they had killed dozens of civilians over a two-day period in the Amhara area. The Reuters news agency reported Wednesday that regional authorities said 120 civilians were killed between September 1 and 2. Local officials told Reuters that they had recovered bodies which appeared to be those of farmers in a village roughly 10 kilometers from the town of Dabat. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front released a statement later Wednesday rejecting what they termed “a fabricated allegation.” “We reiterate our call for an independent investigation into all atrocities, and our willingness to facilitate media access to areas under our control for independent verification of any allegations,” said Getachew Reda, spokesperson for the TPLF. Here is our official response to Reuters’ misleading report pic.twitter.com/NoOZThY4ri— Getachew K Reda (@reda_getachew) September 8, 2021Reuters noted that if confirmed, the incident would mark the first mass killings by Tigray forces since they claimed control over territory in the Amhara region. On June 28, the Ethiopian government announced an immediate and unilateral humanitarian cease-fire after nearly eight months of fighting with Tigrayan forces. But hostilities have continued, and the prime minister recently urged all Ethiopians to join the fight. Tigray forces reclaimed control of the regional capital, Mekelle, after government forces withdrew. In the weeks since the cease-fire was announced, they have expanded their presence into the neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara, where fighting has escalated, displacing tens of thousands of civilians. The TPLF, which ruled Ethiopia for three decades, now controls Tigray. The TPLF-led authority administering the region says it is the Tigray Regional Government; Ethiopian federal authorities say that government was dissolved and that a provisional administration has the mandate in Tigray. Some information in this report came from Reuters.
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Month: September 2021
Analysts: Rift Between Somali President, Prime Minister Could Affect Security, Elections
Somalia’s president and prime minister appear locked in a power struggle over the country’s spy chief and the death of a cybersecurity agent. Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble this week suspended the head of the National Intelligence and Security Agency, Fahad Fassin, for failing to investigate the agent’s death. But the president rebuked the move and on Wednesday appointed Yasin as a national security adviser.President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo convened a national security meeting on Tuesday and reshuffled some top security positions, appointing suspended spy director Fahad Yassin as his national security adviser, while installing former Banadir regional intelligence chief Colonel Yassin Abdullahi as new acting director of the National Intelligence and Security Agency, NISA. Roble described the president’s move as an obstruction of justice toward the investigation of the alleged death of young female spy Ikran Tahlil Farah. Farah disappeared in June and was declared dead by NISA this month, though the spy agency has yet to disclose any details about her passing. Political analyst Hassan Mudane says the bitter exchange between offices of the president and his prime minister could weaken cooperation between federal government institutions. He says various institutions such as the judiciary, the presidency, the security departments mainly in the capital of Mogadishu as well as the fight against the armed group al-Shabab, will be affected by the wrangles. He added that the election process coordinated by the office of the prime minister will also be tested. FILE – This combination of file pictures created on Sept. 7, 2021 shows Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (L), commonly know as Farmajo, and Somalia’s Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble (R).Elections for 19 remaining seats in the upper house of Parliament and 275 members of the lower house are expected to kick off shortly in Somalia’s slow-moving election process. But according to security analyst Samira Ahmed of the Hiraal Institute, the tiff between two top leaders will make the work of Somali security agencies and their international partners very hard. She said the prime minister was tasked to spearhead the electoral process, which was in good shape so far, but this latest difference between his office and that of the president may impact on security and damage the credibility and confidence in the electoral process. She added that in terms of perception, it also damages the legitimacy of the state building process in the eyes of the Somali people and international partners, as well. In a joint press statement, the leaders of the opposition who are also presidential candidates threw their weight behind the prime minister while terming the actions of the president as derailing the ongoing election process.
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Malawi Fears Its COVID Vaccines Will Expire Due to Hesitancy
Malawi health authorities fear vaccine hesitancy could lead to tens of thousands of COVID-19 jabs expiring early next month. With just 2% of Malawi’s population vaccinated, authorities hope to increase uptake by deploying mobile vaccination clinics to bring the vaccine closer to people.Malawi has so far received just over 1.2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines under the COVAX facility.But vaccine hesitancy in Malawi is widespread largely because of misperceptions of the jabs’ efficacy and safety. Dr. Gift Kawalazira, who heads Health and Social Services at the Blantyre Health Office, says there’s yet another reason for the low vaccination rate. “We have noticed that with the coming of summer, the number of cases has drastically reduced, and also the number of people coming for vaccination have reduced from having over 2,000 people per day to having just about 400 people per day now,” he said.Kawalazira said deploying mobile vaccination centers will help increase vaccine uptake, noting that when the initiative was launched Saturday over 600 people were vaccinated – and six companies booked the mobile clinic to come and vaccinate their workers.He predicted the initiative will help Malawi meet its vaccination target of 60% by 2022 and allay fears that more vaccines will expire.“Johnson & Johnson is actually expiring after December and AstraZeneca has got two different batches, one of which is expiring next month, and the other one is going up until December,” he said.In May, Malawi incinerated about 20,000 AstraZeneca doses that had expired after many people refused the jab due to concerns about its safety and efficacy.Malawi health ministry statistics show that currently only about 700,000 people have had one jab, while about 400,000 are fully vaccinated, representing 2.1% of the country’s 18 million population.Simeon Phiri gets vaccinated at a mobile vaccination clinic at Limbe Market in Blantyre. Health authorities say the initiative will increase vaccine uptake among Malawians. (Lameck Masina/VOA)Simeon Phiri got his jab Wednesday at a mobile COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Limbe market in Blantyre. He said the convenience with which he could get the jab played an important role for him. “This has helped me a lot because it has provided me easy access to the vaccine instead of walking a long distance. For example, I came here to Limbe to do some errands, but I also have found an opportunity to get vaccinated,” Phiri said. To increase uptake in rural areas, the government is currently working with traditional leaders to mobilize and tell their communities about the need to be vaccinated when the mobile clinics visit their villages.
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Ghani Says He Fled Afghanistan to Avoid Kabul Bloodshed
Former Afghan president Ashraf Ghani said Wednesday he fled his country last month for the United Arab Emirates to avoid bloodshed in the streets of the capital of Kabul as Taliban insurgents took control. He denied plundering government funds as he left.“I left at the urging of palace security, who advised me that to remain risked setting off the same horrific street-to-street fighting the city had suffered during the civil war of the 1990s,” Ghani said in a statement. “Leaving Kabul was the most difficult decision of my life, but I believed it was the only way to keep the guns silent and save Kabul and her 6 million citizens.”The 72-year-old Ghani said he had worked for 20 years to create a democratic government in Afghanistan but acknowledged he had failed to ensure “stability and prosperity,” the same outcome as for other Afghan governments for decades.The UAE said it welcomed Ghani “on humanitarian grounds.”Ghani said he would offer a more detailed explanation for his abrupt August 15 departure in the “near future,” but said he “must now address baseless allegations that as I left Kabul, I took with me millions of dollars belonging to the Afghan people.”Russia’s RIA news agency reported he fled Kabul with four cars and a helicopter full of cash and had to leave some money behind as it would not all fit in. Other news agencies reported he allegedly took $169 million from government coffers, an accusation also made by Afghanistan’s ambassador to Tajikistan. “These charges are completely and categorically false,” Ghani said in his statement.He said he and his wife “have been scrupulous in our personal finances” and that he has publicly declared all his assets. Ghani said he would welcome a United Nations review of his finances or other independent audit.Afghanistan’s TOLO news channel released a clip of an interview to be aired Wednesday night local time with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in which a correspondent asked him: “Did you help President Ghani flee the country?”Blinken replied, “What he told me in that conversation the night before he fled is that he was prepared to fight to the death.”Ayaz Gul contributed to this report
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Turkey’s Erdogan Voices Caution Over New Afghan Government
Turkey is voicing caution over Afghanistan’s interim government as it continues talks with the Taliban on restarting air traffic at the Kabul airport.Turkey was among the first countries calling for talks and engagement with the Taliban after it swept to power last month. But the Taliban’s announcement of an interim government this week saw Turkish President Recep Tayyip calling for a cautious approach.”As you know, right now, it’s hard to call it permanent, but an interim cabinet has been announced,” Erdogan said Tuesday. He said, “We don’t know how long this interim cabinet will last. All we have to do is to follow this process carefully.”Those Fleeing Afghanistan Struggle to Survive in TurkeyVOA reporters meet people who say the Taliban are killing government workers and other ‘enemies’ as they take over areas of Afghanistan But Erdogan said talks between the Taliban and Qatar on restarting full operations at the Kabul airport were making progress although he warned key issues remained unresolved. On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the Taliban’s insistence on being the one to provide the airport’s security remains a key obstacle.Cavusoglu said, “the Taliban or Afghan forces could ensure security outside the airport. But inside,” he said, “there should be a security company trusted by the international community”. He added that “Otherwise, even if airlines, including Turkish Airlines, are keen to fly there, insurance companies would not allow it.”Despite Turkey’s participation in NATO’s twenty-year-long military presence in Afghanistan, the Taliban reached out to Ankara with calls to put the airport back into operation. Turkey is NATO’s only Muslim member, and it shares historical ties with Afghanistan. Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow of the European Council, says Ankara says believes hese factors could help Turkey play a key role in Afghanistan.Taliban Tells Turkey Continued Troop Presence in Afghanistan Is ‘Unacceptable’Taliban spokesman tells VOA it will view Turkish troops as invaders and a violation of the deal with US”They will want to see as if they can position Turkey as a diplomatic conduit, as a diplomatic sort of go-between, between western countries and the Taliban,” said Aydintasbas.The reopening of the Kabul airport is key for European countries and the United States in efforts to evacuate their citizens who are still in Afghanistan as well as Afghan nationals who once worked for NATO and western embassies.After meeting his Turkish counterpart, German foreign minister Heiko Maas underlined Turkey’s importance in efforts to reopen the airport, offering to help finance the operation. But retired Turkish ambassador Selim Kuneralp says Ankara must deal delicately with the Taliban.”It seems to me they would be a risk in appearing to be too close to the Taliban to be their protectors, so to speak, in the eyes of the West, not just the United States but the European Union too,” said Kuneralp. “If you appear to be close to them, then you would be painted with the same brush.”Ankara’s cautious approach to the new Afghan government and Turkish calls calling for scrutiny of the Taliban’s treatment of women and ethnic minorities could be signs of a growing awareness of Turkey’s need to remain aligned with its Western allies over Afghanistan.
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Pandemic Forces Kenya’s Jobless Youths Onto Streets
Kenyan authorities say the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced thousands of youths onto the streets, and many are turning to crime. To meet the challenge, aid groups are trying to reintegrate homeless youth through sports with the goal of keeping them out of trouble. Victoria Amunga reports from Nairobi.Camera: Amos Wangwa
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Paris Begins Trial of 2015 Terror Attackers
Twenty people linked to the November 2015 terrorist attacks in France went on trial in Paris Wednesday in proceedings expected to last nine months.Six defendants are being charged in absentia. Reports say five of the six are presumed dead in Iraq or Syria. Nine Islamic State terrorists, mostly from France and Belgium, left a trail of horror in a multi-pronged attack at the national stadium, various bars and restaurants and at a concert at the Bataclan Theater. A total of 130 people were killed, 90 of them at the concert hall. At least 490 people were injured.A 10th member of the terror cell and the only one still alive, Salah Abdeslam, was arrested in Brussels four months after the November 13, 2015, strikes. He is accused of helping the others. In his court appearance, Abdeslam, 31, called himself an “Islamic State soldier.” When asked what his profession was, he said, “I gave up my job to become an Islamic State soldier.”This courtroom sketch shows Salah Abdeslam (R), the prime suspect in the November 2015 Paris attacks, and co-defendants Mohamed Amri (L) and Mohamed Abrini (C) on Sept. 8, 2021, the first day of the trial of the November 2015 Paris attacks.Even though most of the alleged perpetrators are dead, some hope the trial will bring closure to the families of the victims.”This trial is really an important step for the victims, those who have been wounded or injured, and those who lost members of their families,” Michael Dantinne, professor of criminology at the University of Liege, told France 24. He added that “it is only a step in the recovery process of the victims” and that “it won’t have any magical effect.” The trial is being held in a specially constructed court in Paris and described as the biggest in France’s modern day legal history. Some information in this report comes from the Associated Press, AFP and the Reuters news agency.
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US Assessing Announcement of Taliban’s Caretaker Governmen
The United States says it is assessing the Taliban’s announcement of a caretaker government in Afghanistan and has “made clear our expectation that the Afghan people deserve an inclusive government.”“We will continue to hold the Taliban to their commitments to allow safe passage for foreign nationals and Afghans with travel documents, including permitting flights currently ready to fly out of Afghanistan to agreed-upon onward destinations,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA Tuesday. “We also reiterate our clear expectation that the Taliban ensure that Afghan soil is not used to threaten any other countries and allow humanitarian access in support of the Afghan people. The world is watching closely.” The Taliban announced Tuesday a “caretaker” Islamic government, saying it will be headed by Mullah Hasan Akhund, a close associate of the Islamist movement’s late founder Mullah Omar.Taliban leadership structure annunced Sept. 7, 2021Akhund, believed to be in his 60s, hails from the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban. He led the group’s leadership council, which directed insurgent attacks against the United States and allied forces during nearly 20 years of war. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the group’s political office, will serve as the deputy prime minister in the caretaker government. Sirajuddin Haqqani will be interior minister; Amir Khan Muttaqi will be the foreign minister; and Mohammad Yaqoob, son of Omar, will be the acting defense minister, Mujahid added. Haqqani is the head of the Haqqani network, designated by the United States as a global terrorist organization. Washington has offered a $10 million reward for information that leads to Haqqani’s arrest on accusations of directing deadly attacks against American and allied forces in Afghanistan. The U.S. denounces the Haqqani network as the “most lethal and sophisticated insurgent group.” Reclusive Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada will be the overall “amir” (supreme leader) of the government, or the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said Ahmadullah Wasiq, a senior member of the Taliban information ministry, while speaking to reporters after Tuesday’s news conference.The radical group regained power in Kabul last month after capturing the rest of the country in a week of stunningly rapid battlefield victories as American and allied troops withdrew from the country. The absence of the crucial foreign military support led to the collapse of Afghan government forces. Hundreds in Kabul Protest Taliban RuleSome of the aerial firing to disperse the crowds was so long and sustained, it sounded like a fireworks display The Taliban have since assured Afghans and foreign countries that they will install an “inclusive government” in the country and will not bring back their harsh Islamist rule of the 1990s, marked by a brutal justice system and the barring of women and girls from public life. So far, all the people appointed to the caretaker cabinet are Taliban members. U.S. President Joe Biden, when asked on Monday whether his administration would recognize the Taliban, said, “No. That’s a long way off.” On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki reiterated that there was no rush to recognition. “It is really going to be dependent on what steps the Taliban takes. They will be watching, the United States included, they will be watching whether they allow for American citizens and citizens of other countries to depart, whether they allow individuals who want to leave the country to leave … how they treat women and girls around the country.” The U.S. and the global community at large have urged the Taliban to ensure protection of human rights, cut ties with al-Qaida terrorists and give representation to all Afghan ethnicities if they want to remain part of the international community. The United Nations stressed Tuesday, while reacting to the Taliban’s announcement, that only a negotiated and inclusive settlement will bring sustainable peace to Afghanistan. “The U.N. remains committed to contribute to a peaceful solution; promote the human rights of all Afghans, notably women and girls; promote sustainable development in line with agenda 2030; and provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance and critical support to civilians in need,” U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq said at daily news briefing in New York. Michael Kugelman, deputy Asia program director at the Wilson Center, noted that Taliban leaders have been appointed to essentially all key positions. “It’s not at all inclusive, and that’s no surprise whatsoever. The Taliban had never indicated that any of its cabinet ministers would include anyone other than themselves,” Kugelman tweeted. At least 10 people in the 33-member Taliban Cabinet announced Tuesday were part of the group’s team that negotiated the February 2020 peace agreement with the U.S., paving the way for all foreign forces to withdraw from nearly 20 years of war in Afghanistan. The military drawdown concluded on August 31, in line with Biden’s directives.
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UN Seeks $600 Million to Tackle Looming Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan
A U.N.-sponsored high-level ministerial meeting on Afghanistan next week will seek to raise $606 million to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance for nearly 11 million people until the end of the year.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns Afghanistan is facing a looming humanitarian catastrophe. The U.N. Chief will travel to Geneva to convene next Monday’s meeting to gain the support of the international community to address the growing needs in the country. The United Nations reports nearly half of Afghanistan’s population of 38 million needs humanitarian aid. Among them are 3.5 million people internally displaced by conflict. FILE – An internally displaced child from northern provinces receives medical treatment in a public park used as a shelter in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 10, 2021.The U.N. Children’s Fund reports 600,000 children under age five are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a dangerous condition that could kill them if they do not receive emergency aid. Spokesman for the U.N. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs Jens Laerke says the appeal will provide treatment for more than a million children and women suffering from acute malnutrition. He says the appeal also aims to deliver critical food, essential health services, water and sanitation, emergency education, shelter, and other relief. FILE – In this Aug. 26, 2019 photo, mothers hold their babies suffering from malnutrition as they wait at a UNICEF clinic in Jabal Saraj, north of Kabul, Afghanistan.“Humanitarian organizations have decades of experience in delivering relief in Afghanistan. This year alone, eight million people have received assistance. But basic services in Afghanistan are collapsing and food and other life-saving aid is about to run out,” he said. The World Food Program reports one in three people in Afghanistan is going hungry. WFP spokesman Tomson Phiri says the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country will worsen during the fast-approaching winter season. He says WFP is racing to preposition food before the snow cuts off access to large areas of the country. “In just a few weeks, sadly, our food will run out. We have called for resources, and we are urgently requiring $200 million to assist 14 million people between now and the end of 2021…We need to get timely contributions whilst we still have a window of opportunity to bring in food,” he said. UN Agencies Pledge to Remain in Afghanistan Despite Challenges ‘As humanitarians, we will engage with anyone including the Taliban if it pertains to accessing people in need,’ says OCHA U.N. agencies vow to remain in Afghanistan and provide humanitarian aid despite increasing insecurity under Taliban rule. U.N. officials say they have been present in the country for nearly four decades and have experience in working with different authorities, even the Taliban, when the militant group last held power between 1996 and 2001. The U.N. assures international donors none of their money will end up in government hands. U.N. officials say all money is channeled to implementing agencies on the ground, who will put it to good use.
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Sudan Summoned Ethiopia’s Ambassador Over 29 Bodies Found in River
Sudan summoned Ethiopia’s ambassador to Khartoum to inform him that 29 corpses found on the banks of a river abutting Ethiopia were those of Ethiopian citizens from the Tigray ethnic group, Sudan’s Foreign Ministry said. It said in a statement late on Tuesday that the ambassador had been summoned on August 30 and was told that the bodies had been found between July 26 and August 8 on the Sudanese side of the Setit River, known in Ethiopia as the Tekeze. The corpses were identified by Ethiopians residing in the Wad al Hulaywah area of eastern Sudan, it said. The statement did not say how the people died. Dina Mufti, spokesperson for the Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Ministry, did not immediately respond to request for comment. The river is the current de facto borderline between territory controlled by Tigrayan forces and those controlled by Amhara forces allied with Ethiopia’s federal government. At a different point the river also separates Sudan from Ethiopia. Tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia have been running high because of a spillover of the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and Ethiopia’s construction of a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile. Tens of thousands of refugees have fled into eastern Sudan and there have been military skirmishes in an area of contested farmland along the border between Sudan and Ethiopia. Sudanese authorities said on Sunday they had confiscated a weapons shipment that arrived by air from Ethiopia on suspicion the arms were destined for use in “crimes against the state.” Arms Flown to Sudan from Ethiopia were Legal, Says MinistrySudanese authorities had confiscated the weapons after they arrived by air from neighboring Ethiopia on suspicion that were destined for use in “crimes against the state,” state news agency SUNA reportedSudan’s Interior Ministry said later on Monday that the shipment had turned out to be part of a legal cargo imported by a licensed arms trader.
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US, Germany Hosting Talks on Afghanistan
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas are hosting talks Wednesday with a group of partners and allies to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, including efforts to continue the flow of humanitarian aid to the country after the Taliban’s takeover. A U.S. State Department official said ahead of the ministerial meeting that one theme of the discussion would be seeing if the Taliban lives up to its commitments and the expectations of the international community.U.S. Secretary of State Blinken speaks to members of the U.S. embassy and Mission Afghanistan in Doha, Sep. 7, 2021.Before traveling to Germany, Blinken stressed during a visit to Qatar that the United States and others are calling on the Taliban to follow through on its pledge to allow anyone with valid travel documents to leave Afghanistan if they choose to do so. The issue has been a focus since the United States withdrew from Afghanistan at the end of August, ending a two-decade military presence and a final effort to evacuate thousands of people from the country. Many people who wanted to leave Afghanistan were unable to do so before the U.S. withdrawal. The State Department said Wednesday’s meeting would also likely involve discussion of counterterrorism issues and upholding basic human rights in Afghanistan.
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Mexico Authorities Say At Least One Person Killed in Powerful Earthquake
A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico late Tuesday near the beach resort of Acapulco, in Guerrero state, leaving at least one person dead. Guerrero state governor Hector Astudillo told a local television a man was struck by a falling utility pole in the nearby city of Coyuca de Benitez. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered 17 kilometers northeast of the resort city of Acapulco, in Guerrero state. In a video message, Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said there were no reports of major damages in Guerrero, or elsewhere in the region, including Oaxaca, and Mexico City, where people were running into the streets when buildings began to sway. Mexico’s National Civil Defense said it was conducting reviews in 10 states, but had not received reports of victims nor serious damage. One of the deadliest earthquakes to strike Mexico occurred off the Michoacán coast on September 19, 1985, killing 10,000 and causing catastrophic damage in the region, including Mexico City. Some information for this report came from the Associated Press.
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Clashes Between South Sudan Forces Unsettle Western Equatoria State
The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) called on military commanders and political leaders Tuesday to end clashes in Western Equatoria state following the deaths of at least five people on Monday. A joint team made up of South Sudan defense forces and Opposition Alliance forces was dispatched to Tambura to resolve the conflict, according to Major General Lul Ruai Koang, spokesperson for the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF). Reports circulated that fighting erupted between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army In Opposition (SPLM/A IO) and SSPDF forces loyal to General James Nando. There are varying accusations of who was involved in the fighting that has destabilized the region and led locals to flee the town of Tambura. Koang said the fighting involved a few soldiers but not full compliments of troops. “That was not a clash between the two armies, it was a clash between elements from both sides,” Koang told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus radio program. But SPLM-IO spokesperson Major General Lam Gabriel denied that the fighting involves opposition forces. The SPLM-IO is the political wing of the opposition group. Father Emmanuel Bie Gbafu, the local parish priest, relocated to a United Nations base in Tambura for safety reasons. Displaced families are sheltering at UNMISS camps in Tambura, and thousands of residents have fled the fighting, Gbafu said. Gbafu said he heard gunshots in Tambura beginning early Monday but did not know “who was fighting who.” “We don’t know who is doing the killing, (but) civilians are dying,” Gbafu said. The violence is endangering the town’s nearly 10,000 residents, creating the risk of further displacement and increasing humanitarian needs, according to an UNMISS statement. The statement quoted UNMISS chief Nicholas Haysom as saying it is “vital” that national and local political leaders “take urgent action to resolve tensions and bring communities together to avoid further loss of life, homes, and livelihoods.” Aid workers are “caught in the crossfire while trying to carry out critical tasks,” Haysom said. He called on authorities to do more to ensure that aid agencies have safe access to people in need. South Sudan’s Joint Defense Board vowed to end tensions by separating forces in the area. “We know it’s civilian violence, but the presence of the IO and SSPDF in the areas is making the situation become more political,” SPLM-IO spokesperson Gabriel told South Sudan in Focus. But Western Equatoria State Information Minister William Adriano Baiki said the conflict in Tambura is not between two ethnic communities but between warring forces. VOA English to Africa service’s John Tanza contributed to this report.
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Qatar Awards Scholarship to Afghan Girls’ Robotics Team
Qatar has granted academic scholarships to members of a girls’ robotics team from Afghanistan dubbed the “Afghan Dreamers,” the Persian Gulf nation’s education and science foundation said on Tuesday. Qatar has been instrumental in efforts to evacuate at-risk Afghans and foreigners from Kabul airport, including members of the team who are being housed in Doha’s Education City campus of schools and universities. “They will receive scholarships that enable them to keep pursuing their studies through a partnership between Qatar Foundation (QF) and Qatar Fund for Development,” QF said in a statement. The team of high-achieving high school girls has about 20 members, mostly still in their teens, and are now dotted around the world with some in Qatar as well as Mexico. The girls made headlines in 2017 after being denied visas to take part in a robotics competition in Washington — before then-President Donald Trump intervened and they were allowed to travel. Last year, they worked to build a low-cost medical ventilator from car parts hoping to boost hospital equipment during the coronavirus pandemic. “These talented, creative students have been living through a time of uncertainty and upheaval, and at Qatar Foundation we want to do whatever we can,” said Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani, vice-chairwoman and chief executive of QF. “By providing them with scholarships to study at Education City, their education can now continue uninterrupted.” The girls’ needs were being assessed to determine which schools or pre-university programs they should be placed in, she added. The Taliban’s seizure of power a little over one week ago has furled a chaotic mass exodus as many Afghans fear a repeat of the brutal interpretation of Islamic law implemented during the militants’ 1996-2001 rule. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with several members of the team on Tuesday during a whirlwind tour of the emirate. “You’re famous around the world and a source of inspiration,” he told them. “The story you’ve already told about the importance about women engaging in science… sends an important message around the world, well beyond Afghanistan.” Roya Mahboob, the founder of the Digital Citizen Fund, parent organization of the team, said the girls were “excited and grateful for this opportunity to study abroad.” She also questioned Blinken on what the future would hold for Afghan women. Several other members of the robotics team, none of whom were identified for security reasons, have relocated to Mexico.
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17 Patients Die After Floods Hit Mexican Hospital
At least 17 patients died after floods swept through a hospital in central Mexico, disrupting the power supply and oxygen therapy, authorities said Tuesday. The facility in the town of Tula in Hidalgo state was inundated after a river overflowed following heavy rain, the government said on Twitter. “In this honorable job there are good, very good, bad and very bad days; today is one of the latter days,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tweeted. “I am very saddened by the death of 17 hospital patients,” he added. The hospital was flooded in a matter of minutes, and a power cut disrupted oxygen treatment, said Zoe Robledo, general director of the Mexican Institute of Social Security, which operates the facility. The rest of the 56 patients were reported to have been taken to other hospitals. According to Mexican media, the victims included COVID-19 patients who needed oxygen therapy to stay alive. Images showed medical personnel pushing patients’ stretchers through the water. The government deployed the military as well as water and electricity board workers to deal with the fallout in Tula, which bore the brunt of heavy rains that have drenched swathes of Mexico. Two people died in Ecatepec, a suburb of Mexico City where flooding turned streets into rivers, officials said. “A lot of water has fallen throughout the Valley of Mexico (where the capital is located) and it will continue to rain,” Lopez Obrador warned. “People living in low-lying areas, for now, move to shelters or high places with family or friends,” he said.
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Brazil’s Bolsonaro Seeks Show of Strength, Risking Backfire
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro got a rousing reception from tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital Tuesday in an Independence Day show of support for the right-wing leader embroiled in a feud with the country’s Supreme Court. Bolsonaro, in an address inaudible to many in the crowd far from the loudspeakers, lashed out at the high court and said the nation can no longer accept what he characterized as political imprisonments — a reference to arrests ordered by Justice Alexandre de Moraes. He warned that the court could “suffer what we don’t want.” The crowd began chanting, “Alexandre out!” His speech followed a helicopter flyover, with those on the ground seized with euphoria at the sight. They shouted, “Legend!” and “I authorize!” — a slogan widely understood as blanket approval of his methods. Some carried banners calling for military intervention to secure Bolsonaro’s hold on power. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro delivers a speech during a demonstration in his support in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 7, 2021, on Brazil’s Independence Day. – Fighting record-low poll numbers, a weakening economy and a judiciary he says is…Bolsonaro has called on the Senate to impeach de Moraes, who has jailed several of the president’s supporters for allegedly financing, organizing or inciting violence or disseminating false information. In Sao Paulo, where the president was scheduled to speak in the afternoon, Bolsonaro supporters crammed into the broad Avenue Paulista downtown for a significantly larger rally than the one in Brasilia, while in Rio de Janeiro, they gathered on the road alongside Copacabana Beach. All three cities also featured smaller protests against the president. Bolsonaro spent almost two months calling on supporters to take part in rallies across the country on Independence Day that could show his continuing political appeal despite slumping poll ratings and a string of setbacks. Critics feared the demonstrations could take a violent turn. Some said they were afraid Bolsonaro could be preparing a tropical version of the January 6 riot in Washington, where supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol alleging he had been robbed of a reelection victory. Like Trump, Bolsonaro was elected on a pledge to go after a corrupt, entrenched political class. He has also said he might reject the 2022 election results if he loses. Along Brasilia’s esplanade, there was a festive mood, with cold drinks and the scent of grilled meat. At least 100 military police with riot shields stood in front of Congress, and several dozen formed two lines behind barricades on the road leading to the Supreme Court. At least twice, groups of demonstrators tried to get past the barriers, but officers repelled them with pepper spray. About 10,000 officers were scattered around the area for the demonstrations, security officials said. Regina Pontes, 53, stood atop a flatbed that advanced toward the police barriers. She said the Brazilian people have every right to enter the area. “You can’t close the door to keep the owner out,” she said. The world’s second-highest COVID-19 death toll, a drumbeat of accusations of wrongdoing in the government’s handling of the pandemic, and surging inflation have weighed on Bolsonaro’s approval ratings. Polls show his nemesis, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, could trounce him in a runoff if he enters the race. Tuesday’s demonstrations “may show that he has millions of people who are ready to stand up and be with him, even when Brazil’s economy is in a bad situation, inflation near 10%, the pandemic and all that,” said Thomas Traumann, a political analyst. “If Bolsonaro feels he has the support of millions of Brazilians, he will go further in his challenging of the Supreme Court,” Traumann added. Bolsonaro’s clash with the Supreme Court has raised fears among his critics, given his frequently expressed nostalgia for the nation’s past military dictatorship. On the eve of Tuesday’s protest, he signed a provisional measure sharply limiting social media platforms’ ability to remove content, restrict its spread or block accounts. A 69-year-old farmer from Minas Gerais state, Clever Greco, came to Brasilia with a group of more than 1,000 others. He said Brazil’s conservatives back Bolsonaro’s call for the removal of two Supreme Court justices by peaceful means. But Greco also likened his trip to deploying for war. “I don’t know what day I’ll go back. I’m prepared to give my blood, if needed,” Greco said. “We’re no longer asking; the people are ordering.” The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia last week warned Americans to steer clear of the protests. “The risk (that) we see scenes of violence and an institutional crisis that’s unprecedented in Brazil’s recent history still remains and is considerable,” said Paulo Calmon, a political science professor at the University of Brasilia.
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