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Mauritania summons Malian ambassador over ‘criminal act’ on citizens at borders

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The foreign ministry of Mauritanian on Tuesday accused Mali’s army of crimes against Mauritanians after protesters in the capital charged they had been killed “in cold blood”.

The ministry summoned the Malian ambassador to protest the recurring acts.

Mauritania shares a 2,000-kilometre (1,200-mile) border with Mali, where the junta seized power in 2020.

Mali’s ambassador Mohamed Dibassy had been called in to hear a “strong protest against the recent, recurring criminal acts”, committed by the army following the disappearance of several citizens just over the border, the ministry said.

Dozens of people had demonstrated earlier in the day outside the presidency demanding revenge and an end to disappearances they said had been carried out by Mali’s soldiers over recent days.

Protesters held up placards claiming the Mauritanians had been killed “in cold blood” in the border area south of Adel Bagrou, in the east of Mali.

Mauritanian Member of Parliament, Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Henenna, told newsmen that at least 15 of his countrymen had been killed.

The government in Nouakchott promised to investigate, but there was no immediate response to the charges from Mali.

Seven Mauritanians died in Mali in the same region, near Nara, in January. The Bamako authorities announced an inquiry and said there was no evidence linking the army to the deaths.

Unverified voice recordings posted on social media quote witnesses blaming the Malian army for the disappearance of as many as 30 Mauritanians.

The ministry noted in a statement carried by the national news agency that a senior Mauritanian delegation had gone to Mali after the January deaths “to try to contain this hostile behaviour towards our citizens”.

“Despite the assurances given” by the Mali authorities, their response had been “below expectations”

A Mauritanian diplomat, speaking anonymously, offered a warning to the junta in Bamako.

“We have clearly told the Malians that if this continues, we will close the border,” he said.

Mali has sought to improve ties with Nouakchott since the West African ECOWAS bloc of nations, Guinea apart, closed their borders with Mali in January to sanction the junta for delaying a return to civilian power.

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Rwanda wants to hold presidential, parliamentary elections on same day

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East African country, Rwanda wants to hold presidential and parliamentary elections to be held at the same time.

According to a statement outlining cabinet resolutions, a proposal presented by Paul Kagame was approved on Friday to amend the country’s constitution to allow “harmonisation of parliamentary and presidential elections calendars.”

Parliamentary elections are currently scheduled for August this year, but they may be pushed back to next year if the constitutional change is implemented.
 
During the last amendment to its constitution in 2015, Kagame was granted a seven-year term that began in 2017, followed by two five-year terms. The lawmakers’ term is five years.
Parliamentary elections in September 2018 saw women fill 61% of seats, the Rwandan Patriotic Front maintain an absolute majority, and two opposition parties, the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda and Social Party, Imberakuri, win two seats each.
Harmonization of election dates is not a common practice in African politics. In Nigeria, West Africa where elections were recently held, Presidential and Federal Legislative elections were held on the same day while State (national sub-units) held on a later date.

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Sudan’s Fattah al-Burhan says military will be under civilian powers under new regime

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Ahead of the planned transition into civilian administration, Sudan’s leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has revealed that the country’s army will be subject to the reign of civil government.

al-Burhan made the position known before a session for security and army reforms in Khartoum Burhan while noting that his country will build a military force that will not intervene in politics and will be trusted by the Sudanese people in building a modern and democratic state.

A year after the military took power in a coup, the military and its former civilian partners and other political forces have agreed on a framework for a new transitional government and constitution, which will be announced next month.

The Northeast African country has a long history of military coups that dates back to 1957. More recently, the country experienced a coup in 2019 that ousted the military junta of Omar-al-Bashir which had been in power for over 30 years.

There was also a report of an aborted coup in September 2021 and a “self-coup” later in October of the same year that brought in the Head Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant-General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan.

Since independence, Many Africa has grappled with contentious and contradictory roles of armed forces whether they be part of or against the state. Currently, there has been a wave of the military across the continent, particularly in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali.

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