An escalation in the violence in Mali has the international community appealing for restraint, following weekend protests that left four people dead when security forces fired live rounds on protesters in the capital of Bamako. Reports of other fatalities came from several cities as protesters supporting the opposition 5 June…
An internal United Nations document that appears to question an existing ban on tobacco company engagement with the UN is raising a few eyebrows, following its publication by journalist Colum Lynch at Foreign Policy. The memo from Michael Møller, the outgoing director of the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG), was…
Eritrea, isolated by UN sanctions for a decade until they were lifted on 14 November 2018, is now working to regain its place in Africa and the international community. The sanctions were lifted after Eritrea made steps towards peace with its neighbours after being locked into deadly conflict for decades—Eritrean…
I am a London-based researcher specialized in security issues and environmental protection. He is currently writing a book about the role lobbying plays in keeping African leaders in power.
International leaders have again pointed to climate change as a key contributing factor to instability in the Sahel region, and urged action to get at the root causes of conflict and crisis. “These are found in discrimination, human rights violations, weak governance, conflict, and the impact of climate change,” said…
Climate change is “inextricably linked to some of the most pressing security challenges of our time,” said Nigerian Amina Mohammed, the United Nations deputy secretary-general, during remarks made to the UN Security Council on Wednesday. During the last 18 months, the Security Council has recognized the adverse effects of climate…
About 160 people die of rabies infection each day, according to 2015 data – almost all of them from dog bites, and almost all of them children in Africa and Asia. The United Nations considers rabies a neglected tropical disease, and its eradication is a health priority of the UN…
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutteres urged the international community to support the regional G5 Sahel Joint Force in northwest Africa, while warning that the window of opportunity for bringing stability to Mali was slowly narrowing. Guterres, speaking at a ministerial meeting at UN headquarters Wednesday, said delays in implementing…
Confirmation of the deaths of six Red Cross volunteers in Central African Republic (CAR) last week comes with a warning about how dangerous CAR is becoming for humanitarian aid workers. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRC) said the six local volunteers were attending a crisis meeting at…
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, along with religious leaders of the world, announced on Friday the launch of a new initiative to curb atrocities rooted in faith-based incitements to violence. The launch of the Fez Plan of Action, first drafted in Morocco in April 2015, marks two years of…
Botswana is the only African nation among the 26 countries so far making financial contributions to support an investigation into serious crimes committed during the Syrian conflict. The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) will be led by Catherine Marchi-Uhel, a French judge appointed this week to lead the IIIM….
Six years ago on May 18, the last of the late Muammar Gaddafi’s forces were pushed out of the Libyan coastal city of Misrata, ending months of urban warfare amid a besieged populace that captured the world’s attention. The hundreds of rebel groups – with their shifting strategies and alliances –…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Newly elected President Emmanuel Macron of France promised during his campaign that once in office, his first trip abroad would be to see French troops stationed in the Sahel in Operation Barkhane. Now he’s making good on that promise with a visit, expected to be in Mali, on Thursday or…
Somalia on Thursday mourned the death of Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction Abbas Abdullahi Siraji, who was laid to rest following a state funeral in Mogadishu. President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo attended the funeral service after cutting short a three-day state visit to Ethiopia, as did Prime Minister Hassan Ali…
A spokesman for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) has called on the United Nations to investigate the activities of the UN mandate in South Sudan, while charging the UN with supporting South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his government. In a statement issued by SPLA-IO spokesman William Gatjliath Deng,…
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) voted late Friday to extend the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) through April 30, 2018. The extension was unanimously adopted by the 15-member council. The decision on the mandate extension was welcomed in a statement issued by Stéphane Dujarric, the…