Politics

UN Security Council renews arms embargo sanctions on South Sudan

Published

2 years ago

May 28, 2022

The UN Security Council has renewed an arms embargo and sanctions including a travel ban and financial sanctions “for certain people” it placed on South Sudanl amid continuing unrest in the country.

The UN Security Council took the decision at its extraordinary meeting held on Thursday, resolving to extend the measures until May 2023.

The resolution which was drafted by the United States was passed with the support of 10 of the 15 council members with Gabon, Kenya, India, Russia and China abstaining.

The resolution strongly condemned “past and ongoing human rights violations and abuses, and violations of international humanitarian law, including the alarming surge in conflict-related sexual violence.”

The resolution, however, contains a provision for a possible easing of the restrictions for non-lethal military equipment if it is needed to fulfil the 2018 peace agreement.

The renewal of sanctions Africa’s youngest nation was made after a panel of experts recommended extending the sanctions in a report submitted this month, citing persistent ceasefire breaches and intensifying violence in the country’s regions.

The experts panel said the government breached the arms embargo after it purchased about 25 new armoured personnel carriers for the police.

“Conditions for millions of civilians are getting worse with violence, floods and displacement creating unprecedented levels of food insecurity across much of the country,” the panel noted.

It cited the UN World Food Programme’s warning in March that South Sudan was facing its “worst hunger crisis ever”, with about 8.3 million people needing food aid and 1.4 million children “acutely malnourished” as of December.

The original embargo was imposed in 2018 after a peace agreement ended five years of civil war between factions loyal to President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar leading to the killing of hundreds of thousands of people.

Related Topics:Featured Sanctions South Sudan United Nations

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Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

5 hours 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

2 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.