Metro

Red Cross pleads with Sudan’s warring factions to allow access to civilians

Published

2 years ago

April 20, 2023

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Sudan has pleaded with the warring factions in the country to honour a ceasefire deal reached on Tuesday to allow access to hungry civilians as demand for food, water, medical supplies and other essentials continues to mount.

The global humanitarian group made the passionate plea on Thursday as the fighting between the army loyal to military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), enters the sixth day.

“The Sudanese people are increasingly fearing food and water shortages after a conflict between military factions entered the sixth day,” the humanitarian agency said, as it called for better access to help civilians.

Since the fighting began on Saturday, the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and other areas of the country have been thronged by thousands of helpless civilians fleeing the country while hundreds of thousands have remained trapped in their homes.

“It’s a terrible picture, and we don’t know what it will look like in the coming days,” Germain Mwehu, representative of the Red Cross told journalists.

“The building where I reside I see children crying, mothers desperate because they don’t know what they can do any more. People cannot move as its dangerous and it seems like they are running out of food,” he said.

Mwehu said he could not leave his residence just like thousands of other Sudanese in Khartoum, so humanitarian officials cannot help civilians who are in need of medical attention.

“We are facing challenges, we don’t have electricity so we depend on generators so we face the same difficulties as those living across the capital.

“The ICRC today has called on all sides to stick to the basics of humanitarian law meaning to protect civilians during armed conflict.

“Authorities must be able to facilitate the work of humanitarian groups, to allow ambulances and health workers and those working for water and electricity sectors to move in the city.

“If they cannot move, there will be severe consequences on the distribution of water across the city.

“The responsibility and obligation is on those fighting, we just remind and call on them to abide by their obligation so that the civilians can be protected and spared during the conflict. It’s becoming more difficult for people,” Mwehu added.

Related Topics:Ceasefire Civilians Featured Fighting Red Cross Sudan

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Metro

Zambia’s ruling party UPND warns against personal attacks on President Hichilema

Published

2 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Zambia’s ruling party, the UPND, has warned opposition politicians and critics against personal attacks on President Hakainde Hichilema as his meekness should not be mistaken for weakness.

Secretary-General of the UPND, Batuke Imenda, who gave the warning in a statement in Lusaka on Monday, urged political opponents to always engage in mature and issue-based discourse.

Zambia Monitor reports that Imenda’s warning, was directed at the leader of Zambia Must Prosper (ZMP) party, Kelvin Bwalya Fube, whose recent remarks Imenda described as “provocative” and a “feeble attempt to mislead citizens.”

“Provocative words uttered by Kelvin Bwalya against our party and President Hichilema are a clear demonstration of naivety,” Imenda said in the statement.

He further advised Bwalya to abandon personal attacks and focus on substantial political issues.

The UPND Secretary suggested that Bwalya’s attacks stemmed from a desire for relevance amid declining political fortunes, hinting at a possible alignment with former President Edgar Lungu.

“It appears KBF is hoping that Edgar Lungu might support his embattled political career by unjustly attacking President Hichilema,” he said.

Imenda defended the President’s record, highlighting that under Hichilema’s leadership, Zambia’s democratic space had expanded compared to the previous PF administration, which he accused of stifling freedoms.

He noted that while criticism was welcome, it should not devolve into baseless attacks, warning that opposition figures should not misinterpret Hichilema’s restraint as weakness.

Imenda also criticized Bwalya for overlooking the gains in transparency and justice since the change in government, claiming that past regimes were marked by resource mismanagement and corruption.

Metro

Following backlash, Nigerian govt withdraws treason charges against minors

Published

9 hours ago

November 5, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Nigerian government has officially withdrawn the treason charges it entered against some minors who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest that spread across the country from August 1 to the 10th.

The nation was thrown into shock on Friday when the Nigeria Police presented 76 protesters at the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges bordering on treason. Among the suspects were four minors who slumped before they could be arraigned before the court.

This caused serious uproar in the country with Nigerians condemning the government and calling for the unconditional release of the kids and the dismissal of the charges against them.

The decision to withdraw the charges against the underage accused came following a directive by President Bola Tinubu who ordered the immediate withdrawal of the charges and an in-depth investigation into what led to the arrest and detention of the minors.

Tinubu had also ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN) to officially take over the case file as well as review the cases following public outcry that came with the arraignment of the minors.

The charges were finally withdrawn on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja through an application for discontinuance filled by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), Mohammed Abubakar, on behalf of the AGF.

According to Abubakar, the discontinuance application was based on provisions of sections 174(1), (b) and (c) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and 108 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

The DPPF also applied for further proceedings to be conducted without the presence of the minors in the courtroom, in line with provisions of Section 266(b) of the ACJA, 2015, and Section 1 of the Childs’ Rights Act.

In response, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Fanala (SAN), who stood in for the accused as well as other defence lawyers in the matter, did not oppose the applications which promoted the judge, Justice Obiora Egwuatu, to strike out the charges, while the four affected minors were also delisted from the charge sheet.