Politics

Sudanese military leaders promise to release political detainees ahead of dialogue to ease tensions

Published

2 years ago

April 17, 2022

The Sudanese military junta has promised to release political detainees in the next “two to three days” to create an atmosphere for dialogue in the country following months of unrest that has left many dead.

According to a statement on Saturday by the military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the move is aimed at setting up a peaceful atmosphere for dialogue and to contribute with others to achieve reconciliation and create steps to ease tensions in the country six months after a military coup.

“We have started procedures to release political detainees within two or three days.

“We are embarking on a difficult period and we must all present concessions for the sake of our country,” he said, noting the deteriorating economic and security situation in the country as reasons for the concessions.

Gen. Al-Burhan who is also the head of the country’s ruling Sovereign Council, said he has had a meeting with the attorney-general and chief justice to “study the legal situation of the detainees and expedite procedures” for their release.

He added that the military is ready “to step down and hand over power to civilians in the event of an agreement between the political forces.”

Al-Burhan, along with other military leaders, on October 25, 2021, staged a coup ending a two-year power-sharing arrangement with a civilian political coalition following the ouster of long term dictator Omar al-Bashir.

Since the coup where the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency,
Sudan has been in turmoil with civilians throbbing the streets in protest.

At least 94 people have been killed in security crackdowns on protesters and dozens have been arrested and detained.

Related Topics:Detainees Dialogue Featured Sudan

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Politics

Mozambique: Ruling FRELIMO announces Chapo as presidential candidate

Published

23 hours ago

May 7, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Daniel Chapo has announced that he will run for president in the October election on behalf of the ruling FRELIMO party in Mozambique.

Since achieving independence in 1975, FRELIMO has ruled the nation in southern Africa, and the party is hoping that Chapo can lead it to another win in the election on October 9.

“The soap opera of speculation is over, including speculation about the third term,” President Filipe Nyusi said on state television on Sunday, dismissing the prospect of contesting elections again.

“We must all unite around comrade Daniel Francisco Chapo, in the demanding march towards electoral victory next October,” Nyusi said.

The president of Mozambique is limited to two terms of five years by the constitution. Nevertheless, following his reelection as party leader in 2022, there had been conjecture in the media that Nyusi may run for a third term.

Chapo, a relatively unknown person in national politics, is the governor of the province of Inhambane in southern Mozambique. As to the party announcement, he secured 225 votes (about 94%) from the central committee of the party.

“We are going to work with all social strata,” Chapo said on television after his win.

Chapo, a former radio host, was born in 1977, making him the first candidate for FRELIMO to be born since the nation gained its independence.

He has served in many governmental capacities, most notably as an administrator of the districts of Nacala and Palma. He also has a master’s degree in development management and a law degree.

Politics

Again, Rwanda denies it attacked displaced persons in DR Congo

Published

4 days ago

May 4, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

For the sixteenth time, Rwanda refuted US charges on Saturday that its troops attacked a camp for internally displaced persons in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), placing the blame instead on militants it claimed were backed by the military of the Congo.

The US State Department released a statement in which it vehemently denounced the incident that claimed at least nine lives on Friday.

There have been persistent accusations against Rwanda of providing support to the armed organizations, which has resulted in diplomatic tensions between the neighbours in East Africa.

Citing the threat that Rwanda’s surface-to-air missile systems posed to civilians, U.N. and other regional peacekeepers, aid workers, and commercial aircraft operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the US demanded in February that Rwanda remove its systems and all of its armed forces from the DRC immediately. Rwanda denies providing any assistance to the rebels.

According to the U.S. statement, the M23 rebel group, which Rwanda supports, and the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) held the positions from which the attack was launched. The United States is “gravely concerned about the recent RDF and M23 expansion” in eastern Congo.

Speaking on behalf of the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo refuted claims that the RDF was responsible for the attack, blaming instead rebels backed by the Congolese military.

“The RDF, a professional army, would never attack an IDP (displaced persons). Look to the lawless FDLR and Wazalendo supported by the FARDC (Congolese military) for this kind of atrocity,” she said in a post on X.

Wazalendo is a Christian sect, while the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a Hutu organization that was founded by Hutu officials who left Rwanda after planning the 1994 genocide.

Thousands of people from the surrounding areas have fled to Goma in eastern Congo as a result of the M23 rebels’ two-year offensive, which has advanced toward the city in recent months.