Politics

South Africa wants UN force to protect civilians in Gaza

Published

1 year ago

October 30, 2023

Barely a week after South Africa denied supporting Hamas amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East involving Israel, the country on Monday called for the United Nations to deploy a rapid protection force to protect civilians in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

South Africa believes the UN intervention would stop further bombardment as Israel stepped up its retaliation for a deadly attack by the militant group Hamas.

South Africa has drawn a comparison between the plight of Palestinians to its own under the apartheid regime that ended in 1994. Its call for a protection force is further support for the Palestinians than the cautious approaches of most other countries, some of which have called for a ceasefire or the opening of a humanitarian corridor to allow aid into Gaza.

Israel has tightened its blockade and bombardment of Gaza since Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel on Oct. 7 and killed some 1,400 people. Palestinians in Gaza reported fierce air and artillery strikes early on Monday.

“Entire generations of families have been wiped out in Gaza over the last three weeks,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

According to the statement, a senior Palestinian diplomat in South Africa was killed in his apartment block the day before, and a member of the Palestinian community in Johannesburg lost 25 family members in an Israeli airstrike on Monday morning.

“The numbers of non-combatants killed, especially the numbers of children killed, requires that the world to show that it is serious about global accountability,” the statement said.

After approximately 1,400 people were killed on October 7, one of the deadliest days in Israel’s 75-year history, as Hamas militants stormed through southern Israeli towns, Israel vowed to crush the Hamas movement. Israel carried out multiple airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in retaliation, killing over 2,800 Palestinians. The blockade has been imposed on the enclave, and food, fuel, and medical supplies may soon run out.

Related Topics:Featured Hamas Israel South Africa

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Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

3 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.