Metro

Separate terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso, Mali kill 11 soldiers, scores wounded

Published

1 year ago

April 24, 2022

Separate attacks by suicide bombers in Mali and Burkina Faso, two countries battling terrorist insurgents, have killed eleven soldiers and four civilians on Sunday.

According to a statement by the military in Mali, suicide bombers drove cars packed with explosives into three military camps in central Mali before dawn, six were killed and 15 wounded at the Sevare camp, and five were wounded at two other locations.

In northern Burkina Faso, Mali’s neighbour also troubled by insurgents, armed gunmen attacked a military detachment in Gaskinde in the early hours, killing five soldiers and four civilians, two security sources told journalists.

The Mali War started in January 2012 between the northern and southern parts of Mali in Africa with several insurgent groups, Jihadist and separatist fighters with affiliations with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group began fighting a campaign against the Malian government for independence or greater autonomy for northern Mali, which they called Azawad.

The junta in Mali has sought the help of private fighters belonging to Russia’s Wagner Group, accused of committing abuses in other countries and sanctioned by the European Union.

Several bodies like the United State, European Union, and the United Nations have raised concern over the use of mercenaries – The Wagner Group by the Malian Army. The Wagner Group is a Russian paramilitary organization variously described as a private military company, a network of mercenaries, or a de facto private army of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mali and Russia have previously said they are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment purchased from Russia. The Russian government denies ties to the Wagner Group.

Terrorist activity in Burkina Faso also involves religious terrorism conducted by foreign-based organizations, although some activity occurs because of communal frustration over the lack of economic development. Recent attacks are concentrated in the Hauts-Bassins, Boucle du Mouhoun, Nord, Sahel, and East regions, along the border with Mali and Niger. A series of attacks in Ouagadougou in 2016, 2017, and 2018 by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its affiliates was particularly deadly, garnering international attention.

Related Topics:Burkina Faso Featured Mali

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Metro

DR Congo colonel sentenced to death for killing of anti-UN protesters

Published

3 hours ago

October 4, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

A DR Congo Army Colonel has been sentenced to death after he was found guilty in the killing of more than 50 anti-UN demonstrators in August.

Col Mike Mikombe, who was at the time the Commander of the Republican Guard in Goma city, was accused of giving orders to soldiers to open fire on anti-UN protesters in what was described as the highest number of deaths in a crackdown on protests against UN peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo.

The senior military officer was tried along with five other soldiers, with three of them sentenced to 10 years in prison, while two others, including Col Mikombe’s deputy, were acquitted.

The protesters had demanded the withdrawal of UN troops from the city after accusing them of failing to protect civilians from attacks by rebel groups in the region.

The August protests were organised by a Christian sect known as Wazalendo or The Patriots, to demand the departure of UN troops from the region.

The protesters also wanted the regional governor, Ndima Kongba, who had earlier banned the demonstrations, to resign.

State prosecutors told the court that 56 civilians were killed and dozens others wounded during the demonstrations, sparking international condemnation.

The prosecutors also told the court that amid chaotic scenes, troops opened fire at the protesters on the instruction of Col Mikombe.

“He had suggested that he had been misled by an operational order identifying the sect members as proxies of the M23 rebel group, which had captured large swathes of territory in North Kivu province last year,” the prosecutors said.

Metro

Seychelles main opposition leader, Patrick Herminie arrested for ‘witchcraft’

Published

4 hours ago

October 4, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

Seychelles main opposition leader, Patrick Herminie has been arrested and charged with witchcraft, after police discovered and exhumed two bodies from a cemetery on the island of Mahé.

Herminie, who was arraigned in court on Tuesday along with seven others, has however, denied the charges, saying his prosecution is a “political show” staged by the government to taint his image and frustrate his campaign.

The politician, who is seen as the main challenger to President Wavel Ramkalawan in the country’s presidential election in 2025 under the banner of the United Seychelles Party (USP), is facing several charges, including possession of items intended for use in witchcraft, conspiracy to perform witchcraft and procuring services related to witchcraft, according to local media.

Prosecutors allege that the opposition leader’s name appeared in a WhatsApp message between a Seychellois national and Tanzanian suspect who was arrested on 21st September at the main international airport.

Local media reports that the Tanzanian suspect was found with items related to witchcraft, including stones, black wooden artefacts, small bottles of brownish liquid, a collection of powders, and documents with strange language and “demonic and satanic” symbols.

“The documents were similar to those found in Catholic churches and other places that had been vandalised in Mahé, Seychelles’ largest island,” prosecutors alleged.

Herminie, who was the Speaker of Seychelles’ parliament between 2007 and 2016, told local media that more than 40 police officers had raided his party’s offices in the capital, Victoria in what he claimed were acts of intimidation.

He added that the officers searched for items related to witchcraft, including “bones, body parts, and objects associated with Christianity” but did not find any.

Herminie described his arrest as “a political show” by President Ramkalawan to “eliminate those who he knows will remove him from power in the 2025 elections.”

“In Seychelles’ history, there has never been until now, a political party leader arrested for superstition and witchcraft. This is something new and it is shameful for Seychelles,” he was quoted as saying by the Seychelles News Agency.