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Congo rebel group, M23 announces retreat from captured Congo villages

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The March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group, on Sunday, announced that it would retreat from the villages that came under its control at the end of last week in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The rebel group said it wanted a peaceful resolution of the crisis and called the authorities to start a fruitful dialogue, the fighters also expressed their intention “to hand over to the Red Cross, all soldiers of the Congolese army captured on the front line”.

The M23 took the “decision to withdraw, once more, from its newly-won positions to allow for its concerns to be addressed through open and fruitful dialogue with the government of DR Congo”, the group said on Sunday.

The M23 “never had the intention to capture areas to run them, our only motivation is the peaceful resolution of the crisis,” it added in a statement.

Clashes between the rebels and soldiers flared up last Wednesday after days of calm when rebels from the group took control of some villages in Rutshuru territory in North Kivu province, local sources said.

The M23 also said it intended “to hand over all soldiers from the national army captured on the frontline to the International Committee of the Red Cross for proper care”

The M23 was formed by former members of a Congolese Tutsi armed group that was once supported by Rwanda and Uganda. The rebels had been incorporated into the Congolese army under a peace deal signed on March 23, 2009. In 2012, they mutinied, saying the deal had not been upheld and naming their group the March 23 (M23) Movement.

Becoming one of the scores of armed groups that roam eastern DR Congo, the M23 briefly seized the city of Goma before being defeated and forced out of the country.

After its defeat, the M23 eventually signed an accord with the government that included provisions for its fighters to reintegrate into civilian society; but the group has again accused the government of reneging on the deal and resumed fighting last year.

UN investigators have previously accused Rwanda and Uganda of supporting M23. Both countries, which intervened militarily in Congo during two regional wars 20 years ago, denied the allegation.

Metro

Nigerians plunged into darkness as national grid collapses again

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The hopes of many Nigerians celebrating the Easter period in the comfort of their homes may be truncated after the national electricity grid collapsed again on Thursday.

The national grid’s collapse was the fourth time
in the first three months of the year, despite assurances from the Minister of Power, Adelabu Adebayo, that everything had been put in place to curb the incessant collapse of the grid.

This recent blackout occured when the national electricity grid centrally managed from Osogbo, Osun State, suffered a collapse at 4:30 pm on Thursday, leaving millions of homes and businesses without power.

According to a statement from several distribution companies (DisCos) across the country, the collapse caused their feeders to become inactive resulting in widespread blackouts across the country.

Data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s (TCN’s) further showed that the grid collapse had left to power dropping from 2,984 megawatts (MW) to zero in an hour, with all 21 plants connected to the grid ceasing operations by 5 pm.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), in a statement on the situation, said the power outage was due to a system failure from the national grid.

“The system collapsed at about 16:28 hours today 28 March 2024, causing the outage currently being experienced across our franchise area,” the AEDC said in a statement.

“We appeal for your understanding as all stakeholders are working hard to restore normal supply,” it added.

In a notice to its customers, the management of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) said the system collapse resulted in a loss of power supply across its network.

“We are currently working with our partners as we hope for speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon as the power supply is restored. Kindly bear with us,” EKEDC said.

Major power generation plants which were affected by the grid collapse included th Egbin, Afam, Geregu, Ibom Power, Jebba, Kainji, Odukpani, and Olorunsogo, among others, which remained dormant, further exacerbating the electricity deficit nationwide.

Over the past 10 years since the privatisation of the electricity industry, the grid has experienced collapses a staggering 141 times, underscoring the magnitude of the systemic challenges facing the sector.

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Metro

Egypt’s population growth declines by 1.4%

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Egypt’s planning ministry has announced that the country’s population went down to its lowest rate of population increase in decades in 2023, at 1.4%.

 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt frequently emphasizes the need to control population growth, saying the country’s budget and services are being overburdened by the country’s high birth rate.

 

 

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt frequently emphasizes the need to control population growth, blaming the country’s budget and services for being overburdened by the country’s recent high birth rate. The population is currently estimated by Egypt’s official statistics office to be just over 106 million.

 

It is believed that 60% of the population lives below or near the poverty line in a nation plagued by a shortage of water, a dearth of employment possibilities, and congested hospitals and schools.

 

World Bank data from 1961 indicates that Egypt’s population growth peaked in 1984–85 at 2.8%, declined to 1.9% in 2006, and then increased to 2.3% in 2014. It has progressively decreased since then, reaching 1.6% in 2022.

 

Sisi has started many massive projects that critics claim waste money and add to Egypt’s debt load, but he claims will create jobs and infrastructure for the country’s expanding population.

 

Egypt started a family-planning campaign called “Two Is Enough” in 2019 intending to question the customs of large families in rural areas.

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