Musings From Abroad

UN chief warns violence against civilians in Sudan’s conflict ‘verging on pure evil’

Published

1 year ago

November 12, 2023

A senior United Nations official, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, has warned that violence against civilians in Sudan is “verging on pure evil.”

The warning comes as a humanitarian crisis in the country worsens and ethnic violence escalates in the western region of Darfur.

A war broke out in mid-April between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over plans for a political transition and the integration of the RSF into the military, four years after longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in an uprising.

“We continue to receive unrelenting and appalling reports of sexual- and gender-based violence, forced disappearance, arbitrary detentions, and grave violations of human and children’s rights,” Nkweta-Salami told journalists.

“What is happening is verging on pure evil. The protection of civilians continues to be of major concern,” she said.

The UN Chief went on to say that over six million people have fled their homes and are now internally displaced within Sudan or in neighbouring countries, and that approximately 25 million people—more than half of the population—need humanitarian aid and protection.

“We have recently received disturbing reports about escalating violence and attacks against civilians, including what appears to be on an ethnic basis in Darfur,” she said.

Local and international reactions have continued to trail the conflict. According to a committee in Sudan that claims to speak for “independent lawyers,” fighting between the RSF and the army in the area of Al-Aylafoun resulted in civilian losses. The group claimed airstrikes hit the populous area where Khartoum citizens had fled, accusing the paramilitary of “looting and forced displacement of the population.”

As the RSF seized control of the main army base in the state capital of El Geneina, Sudan, people escaping to Chad have reported a fresh wave of ethnically motivated killings in West Darfur.

Due to the war, more than 6 million people have left their homes, and approximately 1.2 million of them have entered neighbouring countries, placing a tremendous strain on Sudan and their neighbours’ resources.

Related Topics:Featured Sudan United Nations

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Musings From Abroad

Nigeria, India to strengthen counterterrorism, maritime security cooperation

Published

18 hours ago

November 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

During a state visit to Nigeria on Sunday, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra, Modi reached an agreement, on behalf of his country, to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, intelligence, and maritime security.

President Bola Tinubu invited Modi to visit Nigeria, the first Indian prime minister to do so in 17 years.

Tinubu is looking for investments from some of the largest economies in the world.

In addition to discussing economic development, defence, healthcare, and food security, Modi and Tinubu met at the presidential mansion on Sunday after arriving in the capital, Abuja, on Saturday night, according to a joint statement.

The two nations decided to work together to protect maritime trade routes and fight piracy in response to the mounting risks in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.

The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria, is looking to attract more Indian investment and lower-cost credit lines in order to strengthen its economy and generate employment.

Nigeria announced last year that it had obtained about $14 billion in pledges from Indian businesses, including Jindal Steel and Power, which promised to spend $3 billion in Nigeria’s steel industry, during the G20 conference.

Over 200 Indian businesses are present in Nigeria.

Modi was scheduled to go to Brazil for this year’s G20 conference after Nigeria.

Nigeria and India have a long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship. Nigeria, home to more than 200 million people, and India, home to 1.3 billion people, are both sizable emerging nations with multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious communities.

Musings From Abroad

Military advisors from Russia arrive Equatorial Guinea

Published

2 days 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.