The Africa Thread

[Bonyduck Campersang]

And so it goes on

Sudan military chief Gen Burhan survives drone strike attack - army

The army blames the RSF for the assassination attempt, but the paramilitary group denies involvement.

www.bbc.com

 

[Samson]

Several killed in al-Shabab beach attack in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu

Several people have been killed and more wounded in an attack on a popular beach in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, according to officials.

Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-linked armed group, claimed responsibility for attack on Lido beach late on Friday via an affiliated radio station.

Security forces rushed to the scene, the Somali National News Agency reported, saying that at least five attackers were shot dead while a sixth blew himself up on the spot. The explosion went off while residents were on the beach.

“We counted and confirmed eight dead people and 28 others injured. But other people also took casualties and so the figure is sure to rise,” Dr Abdikadir Abdirahmman, director of Aamin Ambulance service, told Reuters news agency.

Lido beach, a popular area in Mogadishu, is bustling on Friday nights as Somalis enjoy their weekend. The area has in the past been targeted by al-Shabab fighters.

Al-Shabab has been fighting to topple the fragile central government in Mogadishu for more than 17 years, carrying out numerous bombings and other attacks in the capital and other parts of the country.

Looks like a nice beach

 

[Samson]

Mali Rebels Say They Killed 131 Wagner, Army Soldiers in Clashes (avoiding paywall)

A Malian rebel group said it killed scores of soldiers and foreign fighters during battles with the West African nation’s Russian mercenary-backed army last month.

The Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad, a coalition of anti-government groups in northern Mali [at least potentially including Al Qaeda linked JIN Jihadists], said it killed 84 mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group and 47 Malian troops over three days of fighting. The pro-Kremlin Africa Initiative said on Monday that more than two dozen Wagner fighters and Malian soldiers were killed during the fight, which would have been the heaviest loss for the group since it deployed to Mali in 2021.

From youtube, this includes the contingent Commander and one of Russia's most popular military bloggers.

Spoiler Pro Wagner Protests :

 

[Samson]

Up to 200 people killed in attack in central Burkina Faso

An armed group linked to al-Qaeda, Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), has claimed responsibility for what it says was an attack that killed up to 200 people and injured at least 140 in central Burkina Faso.

The attack took place on Saturday in the region of Barsalogho, about 40km (25 miles) north of the strategic town of Kaya, which analysts said is home to the last standing force protecting the capital, Ouagadougou.

Fighters opened fire on teams of people digging trenches designed to protect security outposts. Several soldiers were missing after the attack, and the attackers took weapons and a military ambulance.

“We see men, women and children laying inside the trenches they were digging themselves. Effectively, they have turned into mass graves,” he said, adding that the hospital in the area has called doctors, nurses and other medical staff from Kaya to treat those who have been injured in the attack.

Haque noted that the Burkina Faso army knew on Friday that an attack was going to happen and called on the population to dig trenches.
Haque said that recently the government had been calling on the help of Russian mercenary fighters to support it strategically but also to help stem the attacks.

“Despite that help, it seems that those attacks are getting closer and closer to the capital,” Haque said. He noted that the country’s military leaders, who came to power in a coup in 2022, have also had to face down several attempted coups due to discontent with the way it has struggled with the fight against armed groups.

The country has topped the recent Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) list of the world’s most neglected displacement crises.

 

[Samson]

I could be getting the wrong end of the stick, but it sounds like the head of the Libyan central bank got sacked after he "favour[ed] the forces in the country’s east". Unfortunately only he knows the password for their bank account?

A crisis in the Libyan economy sparked by an escalating and sometimes violent contest over the control of the country’s central bank can only be cured through diplomacy, the US embassy in Libya has said, as it backed efforts by the UN to convene an emergency meeting of the groups involved.

The bank dominates the Libyan economy, owning the two main commercial banks as well as holding $27bn in reserves, most of it from oil revenues. Sadiq al-Kabir, the sacked governor, has recently started to attack Dbeibah’s overspending and is now seen to favour the forces in the country’s east.

Abdel Fattah Ghaffar, the new interim deputy governor called on Kabir to hand over the secret codes that would make payments possible

Kabir has run the bank since 2011, the year that Col Muammar Gaddafi was toppled with western backing, leading to a paralysing split between the west and east of the country.

The rival eastern administration has opposed Kabir’s sacking and said on Tuesday it would continue with “suspending all oil production and exports until Kabir is reappointed”, citing “force majeure”. The oilfields affected constitute about 90% of the country’s oilfields and terminals.

 

[Samson]

This I do not understand. Namibia is starving, so they are paying people to shoot elephants and hippos for the meat.

Do people not pay massive amounts of money to shoot elephants in particular? Could they not get rich americans to shoot the animals and spend that money on food on the international market?

Why is Namibia culling elephants and hippos for meat?

More than 700 wild animals, including hippos and elephants, are being culled in Namibia’s game parks to provide meat for the country’s hungry, the government has said, as the arid Southern African region battles its worst drought in 100 years.

About 84 percent of the country’s food reserves have been exhausted as a result of the drought, the UN said, with nearly half of the 2.5 million population expected to experience high levels of food insecurity during the lean season from July to September.

Southern Africa is recording its most severe drought in decades, beginning from October 2023.

Rising temperatures in the region have resulted in low rainfall. In February, when the rainy season would normally peak, the region received less than 20 percent of needed rainfall, according to scientists.

Namibia, like its neighbours, has significant numbers of wildlife, including 24,000 elephants, one of the largest populations in the world.

Professional hunters and safari operators are being contracted to kill a total of 723 animals, according to authorities.

The animals identified for culling include 30 hippos, 60 buffalos, 50 impalas, 100 blue wildebeest, 300 Zebras, 83 elephants and 100 elands (antelopes).

Already, 56,875 kg of meat from 157 wild animals has been sourced for the government relief programme, according to the government statement. It is not clear which animals have been culled so far and over what period.

The culls are taking place in parks and communal areas that authorities believe have “sustainable game numbers” – that is, where the culling will not adversely affect the animal population, and where the animals may already exceed available water and grazing resources.

Elephants are also being specifically targeted in areas which have become prone to human-wildlife conflict.

 

[r16]

with money , comes corruption . Shoot 3 , declare 1 . Bad ethics .

as for the Libyans am pretty sure that involves the West transferring oil proceeds to New Turkey , to hate of the East . This is probably the basis of Israeli propaganda that the PM rejejects the return of 3 billion dollars to the sons of Haniye .

 

[Broken_Erika]

Just two candidates approved to challenge Tunisia president​

Tunisia's electoral commission has approved just three candidates to run in next month's presidential election ignoring a court ruling to reinstate three others.
Among those approved are President Kais Saied and Ayachi Zammel, whose campaign team had earlier said had been arrested on Monday.
The president faces accusations of trying to restrict the number of those allowed to run against him.
Since he won his first term in 2019 Mr Saied has suspended parliament and concentrated power in his hands.
Last week, the country's highest court said three candidates who had been barred from running by the electoral commission should be allowed to participate.
Farouk Bouasker, the head of the commission had said he would look at the court's ruling before making a decision.
In a statement quoted by the AFP news agency, the commission said that the court had not officially communicated its ruling within the deadline.
New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said in August that the authorities had excluded eight other prospective candidates for the 6 October election through prosecution and imprisonment.
Mr Zammel's campaign team, which said he was accused of falsifying details of those who backed him, dismissed the allegation as "absurd", the Reuters news agency reports.
In 2021, after sacking the prime minister and suspending parliament, President Saied pushed through a new constitution cementing his one-man rule.
The new constitution replaced one drafted soon after the Arab Spring in 2011, which saw Tunisia overthrow late dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. It gave the head of state full executive control and supreme command of the army.
Mr Saied has justified his actions by saying he needed new powers to break a cycle of political paralysis and economic decay.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz072yl775zo

 

[Broken_Erika]

British man baffled by Nigeria declaring him a top fugitive​

A British national has said he is at a loss as to why the Nigerian police have accused him of planning to overthrow Nigeria’s government and placed a bounty on his head.
It was alleged by Nigeria’s police spokesperson on Monday that Andrew Wynne - and a co-conspirator - had built up a network of sleeper cells to destabilise Nigeria and had fled the country in the wake of last month’s cost-of-living protests.
Speaking from the UK, Mr Wynne told Nigeria’s Channels Television he was not aware of accusations and would be happy to talk to officials.
He said he ran a bookshop in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and had been visiting the West African nation for 25 years without any problems.

A reward of 10m naira ($6,000, £5,000) has been offered by Nigeria’s police to anyone who has information that could lead to the arrest of Mr Wynne – and the same amount for his alleged Nigerian accomplice Lucky Obiyan.

• Why Nigerians planned 'days of rage' over hardships
• Why Nigeria's economy is in such a mess

“I am more than happy to talk with the police; I am more than happy to have a discussion on WhatsApp or Zoom; I am more than happy to go to London and meet with officials from the Nigerian High Commission,” said Mr Wynne, who is also known by the name Andrew Povich.
He was declared a fugitive on the day that 10 Nigerians were charged with treason for taking part in the protests that were dubbed “10 days of rage".
These demonstrations were mainly organised via social media but also had the backing of the country’s trade unions.
All of those who were accused on Monday in the federal high court of treason, destruction of public property and injuring police officers pleaded not guilty. Their charge sheet also alleged that they had been working with Mr Wynne.
Later, police spokesperson Muyiwa Adejobi gave more details about Mr Wynne, saying he had rented a space at Abuja’s Labour House, the headquarters of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) - the country’s main trade union body.
He also said the British national had established a school to cover up his activities - working towards the overthrow of President Bola Tinubu’s government.
“I am not aware that I am a fugitive; I am not aware that I am running away from the law,” Mr Wynne told Channels TV.
“I have had a bookshop at the NLC offices right at the centre of Abuja for seven years and all that time, of course the security forces have paid no interest in me,” he said.
The August demonstrations turned violent in some places as protesters clashed with security forces leaving at least seven dead, according to police, though rights groups have put the death toll at 23.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrlpr8xd71o

 

[r16]

fun fact . British agents really do not tend to be James Bonds .

 

[Broken_Erika]

Uganda's Bobi Wine injured by policeman - aide​

Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine has been injured in the leg in a confrontation with a policeman in uniform, his personal assistant has told the BBC.
Najja Ssenyonjo said the pop star-turned-politician was believed to have been shot and was currently receiving treatment at Nsambya Hospital in the capital, Kampala.
He said the incident had occurred while Bobi Wine was on his way to visit his lawyers in Bulindo, which is about 20km (12 miles) north of the city.
A statement from the police said officers on site reported that the opposition leader had stumbled while getting into his vehicle.

An investigation would be conducted to clarify the facts, the statement added.

The X account of Bobi Wine, leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP), whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, first broke the news, saying: “@HEBobiwine has been shot in the leg by police in Bulindo.”

Footage has been shared on social media by journalist Solomon Serwanjja, who was at the scene, showing the 42-year-old opposition leader being helped from a building with a bleeding injury from his left shin.

"We only heard bullet sounds in the scuffle so it’s doctors to confirm but as of now it’s believed to be a bullet,” Mr Ssenyonjo told the BBC.

The police say Bobi Wine had attended an event at Bulindo and afterwards "he and his team moved out of their cars and embarked on a procession up to Bulindo town.

"However, the police advised against it. Despite their guidance, he insisted on proceeding... closing the road, leading to police intervention to prevent the procession.

"During the ensuing altercation, it is alleged that he sustained injuries," the statement said.

Bobi Wine was first elected to parliament in 2017, and ran against President Yoweri Museveni in the 2021 election, which was marred by state repression.

He is popular among young people and has been arrested - and beaten up - numerous times.

The country's security forces have a long history of pursuing political opponents of President Museveni, who has been in power for almost 40 years.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1epyzlngn0o

 

[Takhisis]

We only heard bullet sounds in the scuffle

…

Riiiight.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

In Tunisia, refugees and migrants are expelled to the desert, left helpless

About 130 refugees and migrants say they were abandoned near the border with Algeria.

www.aljazeera.com

Sick and depraved society