Musings From Abroad

Mali’s junta expels UN peacekeeping force

Published

1 year ago

June 17, 2023

The military junta of Mali has ordered the expulsion of a United Nations peacekeeping force “without delay”, over a “crisis of confidence” between it and the United Nations mission known as MINUSMA.

MINUSMA was deployed by the UN Security Council in 2013 to support foreign and local efforts to restore stability following the rise of Islamist insurgents in the West African country.

Mali’s Foreign Minister, Abdoulaye Diop told a 15-member council that “unfortunately, MINUSMA seems to have become a part of the problem in fuelling inter-community tensions.” “This situation is begetting mistrust among the Malian population and also causing a crisis of confidence between Malian authorities and MINUSMA,” he said, adding, “The Malian government asks for the withdrawal, without delay, of MINUSMA.”

With MINUSMA, there are about 12,000 military personnel stationed in the country. Egypt, Chad, and Bangladesh, are the three nations that account for the most soldiers in the mission. Under the current junta led by Colonel Goita,

Mali has a history of severing diplomatic ties with allies, purportedly because the government chose to work with the Wagner Group, a private military contractor with ties to the Kremlin, to bolster its campaign against terrorists. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s UN ambassador, stated before the council on Friday that the peacekeeping mission could only be successful if there was “extremely tight coordination with the host country and respect for Mali’s sovereignty.”

“The real issue is not the number of peacekeepers but the functions, and one of the key tasks for the government of Mali is fighting terrorism, which is not provided for in the mandate of the blue helmets,” Nebenzia added.

Meanwhile, French U.N. Ambassador, Nicolas de Riviere said that a UN report to the council had stated that despite dialogue between MINUSMA and the Malian authorities, UN peacekeepers were still being impeded in their movements.

“Since the arrival of Wagner in Mali this restriction has only increased as have serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law,” de Riviere said. Presidential elections are scheduled for February 4, 2024, for the transition to civil rule.

Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

Published

8 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Russian military advisors are in Equatorial Guinea training indigenous soldiers.

Anonymous sources cited by Reuters during the week claim that between 100 and 200 Russian instructors are training with elite guards in charge of guarding the President and the first family.

The males had been seen in Malabo, the country’s capital, and Bata, its second city. Reports of Russian forces stationed in the nation initially appeared in August.

Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has maintained close relations with Moscow.

Nguema travelled to Moscow in September to attend the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

Russia has strengthened military connections with African countries, sending advisors and combat soldiers to the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Faced with an Islamist terrorist insurrection, three Sahel countries have turned to Moscow for support, expelling French and American troops.

Musings From Abroad

Russia claims African, ex-Soviet nations want its mpox vaccine

Published

9 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Several African and former Soviet nations have shown interest in purchasing Russia’s smallpox and Mpox virus vaccine, testing equipment, and antiviral medications, according to Russia’s consumer and health watchdog.

The Orthopoxvac vaccine was created by the Siberian Vektor laboratory and approved by Russia’s health ministry in 2022 after clinical testing revealed the vaccine’s efficacy and safety, according to Vektor.

“The countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as the African countries most affected by the mpox outbreak, have expressed interest in acquiring Russian treatments,” the watchdog told Reuters.

The countries that showed interest were not mentioned. Mpox is a virus that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions when it spreads through close contact. The illness can be lethal, although the majority of cases are minor.

An mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that had spread to neighbouring countries and abroad prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare a worldwide public health emergency in August.

Requests for comment about the Russian vaccine were not answered by the governments of Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

A top public health official in Nigeria and representatives for the health ministries in Burundi and Uganda denied any knowledge of attempts to purchase Russian mpox vaccinations.

According to a top Uzbek public health official, since there had been no mpox cases in the nation, the authorities did not require the vaccination. Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan’s governments did not immediately reply.

To fight the epidemic, several nations, notably the US and France, have committed to donating doses of the two primary vaccines against the virus produced by KM Biologics and Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO), which opens new tab.

Vektor researchers’ scientific publications reveal that the lab has been developing the vaccine since at least 2015. It has not yet released trial findings, though, and regulators outside of Russia have not authorised the injection.

Over 42,000 probable instances of Mpox have been recorded throughout the continent, and 1,100 fatalities have been reported so far this year, according to statistics from the Africa CDC.

The monkeypox virus, a species of the genus Orthopoxvirus, is the cause of mpox, formerly known as monkeypox. Clade I, which includes subclades Ia and Ib, and Clade II, which includes subclades IIa and IIb, are the two separate clades of the virus.