Politics

Rwanda, Congo DR settle for peace as Kagame, Tshisekedi agree to de-escalate tension

Published

2 years ago

July 6, 2022

It appears the sun is setting on the diplomatic tension between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda president of the two, Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame have agreed at a summit in Angola to de-escalate the tension.

The East African leaders, agreed to begin a process to manage the brouhaha that have arisen from a rebel insurgency, the Congolese presidency said on Wednesday.

The friction between the countries was pronounced last month when Rwandan military authorities accused the armed forces of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo of cross-border attacks.

Rwanda denied and in turn, accused Congo of fighting alongside insurgents – a face-off that has raised fears of fresh conflict in the region.

The new agreement entails an immediate cessation of hostilities and the retreat of M23 fighters from Congo, and aims to normalise diplomatic relations between Congo and Rwanda, the Congolese presidency said on Twitter.

The African Union through its Chair, Macky Sall, who is also the president of Senegal had intervened in the diplomatic brouhaha and called for dialogue in the pursuit of a lasting solution.

The AU later appointed Angolan President, Joao Lourenco to mediate the talks and restore dialogue between the two parties. Presidents of the two countries flew into Angola on Tuesday for the summit.

The presidency in Congo DR tweeted (translated) on Wednesday the Luanda Summit which was “aimed to restore trust between the two neighboring countries ended this Wednesday 6/07 in the early afternoon with a press briefing by the 3 Presidents: F. Tshisekedi”

La tripartite a décidé d'un processus de désescalade entre la RDC et le Rwanda.
Cet objectif se fera graduellement via une feuille de route dite de Luanda axée sur la relance de la commission mixte RDC-RWANDA qui ne s'était plus réunie depuis plusieurs années. pic.twitter.com/VWzWVbwC26

— Présidence RDC 🇨🇩 (@Presidence_RDC) July 6, 2022

“The tripartite decided on a process of de-escalation between the DRC and Rwanda.

“This objective will be achieved gradually via a so-called Luanda roadmap focused on reviving the DRC-RWANDA joint commission, which had not met for several years.”

According to the Congolese presidency, the new agreement entails an immediate cessation of hostilities and the retreat of M23 fighters from Congo, and aims to normalize diplomatic relations between Congo and Rwanda.

Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

1 day ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

An al Qaeda offshoot in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the attack in central Mali, killing at least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor company.

Wagner earlier lost a battle in July with mostly Tuareg rebels and Islamists close to Mali’s Algerian border, exposing the perils faced by mercenaries used by military juntas in the Sahel area of West Africa.

The separatists and strong branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have taken over large areas of the Sahel over the past 12 years, are difficult for Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to control.

The al Qaeda offshoot JNIM claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group, which keeps an eye on extremist activity in the area. According to SITE, JNIM captured several weapons and killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Following an attack, the bodies of at least five white males wearing army fatigues were seen laying near a military truck in a video obtained by Reuters. The validity of the footage could not be confirmed by Reuters.

SITE Intelligence posted images allegedly from JNIM that showed many crates of weapons and ammo together with the dead and bloodied bodies of troops.

Although two local officials acknowledged the incident, a Malian army source claimed to have seen seven dead bodies, including Russian fighters. Five Wagner warriors were slain, according to one of them.

At least six Russians have been murdered in the attack, which was carried out by Katiba Macina, a division of JNIM, according to a consultant working on security in the area.

The expert referred to the Russians as Africa Corps warriors, a paramilitary group under Kremlin leadership that has taken Wagner’s position in Africa throughout the previous 12 months.

Mali has previously said that Russian servicemen trainers are assisting local troops with Russian-purchased weaponry rather than mercenaries.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

3 days ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.