How technology is changing West African coast from piracy hub and illegal fishing paradise to safe haven
Since the Yaoundé Code of Conduct was signed in 2013, there has been some progress. As we found in a new study, tech-driven tools have been playing a vital role in addressing security threats at sea in west and central African countries.
UN says Haiti’s deteriorating security has compromised healthcare as government extends state of emergency
Authorities first announced a state of emergency on Sunday after fighting escalated, inmates were broken out of prison by armed gangs, and an estimated tens of thousands were displaced while Prime Minister Ariel Henry was in Kenya, seeking its leadership of an international force intended to fight the gangs.
Gunmen suspected to be herders abduct 290 students in latest raid on schools in Nigeria’s Kaduna State
Authorities had said earlier that more than 100 students were taken hostage in the attack. Sani Abdullahi, the headteacher, however, told Kaduna Governor Uba Sani when he visited the town that the total number of those missing after a headcount was 287.
Haiti PM Henry reportedly unwilling or unable to return home as government extends state of emergency
The government said this was in order to “reestablish order and take appropriate measures to retake control of the situation.”
Eastern Africa coast of Indian Ocean draws in more foreign militaries as Iran considers buidling naval base at Port Sudan
Iran has meanwhile stationed a warship in the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden region, ostensibly to protect its own shipping interests. The Iranian Navy frigate IRIS Alborz has been deployed since early January to the Red Sea where having a neutral base in the region would have provided assistance with logistical and intelligence requirements.
UN peacekeepers in Kivu, eastern DR Congo, hand base to government as M23 rebels ramp up attacks
Kamanyola was staffed mainly by Pakistani military personnel in its 19 operational years with Keita thanking them for their dedication and excellent service. Pakistan is the second largest MONUSCO TCC behind India. Speaking at the Kamanyola handover, Keita noted the MONUSCO withdrawal from South Kivu was “not synonymous with the UN leaving the DRC”. She termed it “a reconfiguration” of the UN presence.
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels kill 10, run Congolese army out of Nyanzale town in eastern DRC
M23 controls about half of the North Kivu province, according to Richard Moncrieff, the Crisis Group’s Great Lakes Region director. The violence in the province has worsened in recent weeks as security forces battle the rebels. Residents have said the group’s fighter mostly launch attacks with bombs out of hills overlooking remote towns.
World questions whether Haiti PM Henry is fleeing from gangs at home or navigating safe return after Kenya trip
Prime Minister Ariel Henry travelled to Kenya last week to seal a deal to launch a UN-backed multinational security force to fight gangs in Haiti, which sparked violence and calls by a top gang leader for him to step down and stay away from the country.
Prospect of gangs taking control of government in Haiti is forcing US to push PM Henry to speed up transition
Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbeque, who leads a broad alliance of criminal gangs that have been fuelling a dire humanitarian crisis in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, has signalled the gangs could fight the proposed mission as a united front and that the city’s international airport is no longer secure.
Drink-and-Drive: How Kenya’s ex-president signed away standard gauge railway deal with China without reading it
The SGR contract left no room for rescheduling of the loan of approximately Ksh400 billion ($3.8 billion). The government, it now emerges, had to sit down with unwilling Chinese government to insert a clause in the agreement that now allows for rescheduling of repayment or renegotiating the loan without ceding sovereignty.
