IGIHE

Category: News

  • Former Mozambique Rebels Regroup

    {{The Former Mozambican armed movement REMANO is regrouping its command and reactivating its old headquarters in the Gorongosa mountain range in the centre of the country ahead of planned national “peaceful” demonstrations next month.}}

    Renamo, the main opposition party, has in the past threatened countrywide demonstrations but has yet to go through with any, including a December “revolution” last year.

    On Thursday, the 20th anniversary of the peace agreement with the Frelimo government, Renamo top brass joined about 800 former guerrillas from the central provinces of the country who were receiving military uniforms reportedly to provide security during the protests and continued their call for a new political order.

    Long time Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, who left the capital Maputo two years ago to live in Nampula, the country’s third largest city, told the ex-combatants at a rally in Gorongosa that he would not leave his Nampula base until the ruling Frelimo addressed all his concerns.

    “I will not abandon the woods where I have been since Monday. I am not going to Beira, nor the village of Gorongosa. The talks will take place here in the woods. They will come here maybe in three days, but if they delay I will not be responsible for the consequences,” Dhalakama said.

    The Renamo leader has been calling for revision of the electoral law, the implementation of protocols from the 1992 Peace Agreement signed in Rome and the the improvement in living conditions for the general population.

    While in Gorongosa, Renamo’s old military base during its campaign against Frelimo, Dhlakama ordered military preparedness but said he was not planning to attack anyone but only to defend himself “if provoked by government troops”.

    Dhlakama has said he will not take up arms despite pressure from the demobilised forces. “I do not want to take up arms but the demobilised want to do so,” he said.

    Mr Dhlakama said he is was recruiting some of the former gurerrillas to strengthen his personal guard, in preparation for November’s demonstrations.

  • Center for Former LRA Rebel Abductees to Close

    {{World Vision in Uganda has said it is closing a reception center for abductees by former Lord’s Resistance Army rebels citing high operational costs.}}

    Paddy Mugalula, the World Vision programme manager said on Tuesday that they are considering World Vision Child Reception Center in March next year.

    Mugalula said that despite the fact that the reception center operates on a high budget he didn’t disclose; only a few former LRA captives are returning.

    He explained that they have only received 8 former captives since the year begun, compared to 200 children they would receive each month about seven years ago.

    Mr Mugalula said it is hard for World Vision to raise the money needed to run the center.

    He however, said the relief agency would continue supporting the former captives whenever it is necessary adding that their focus is now on health, child protection, education and livelihood.

  • DRC Opposed to Rwanda’s Membership on UN Security Council

    {{The DRC government has criticized Rwanda’s elevation to the Security Council as a non permanent member saying this move amounts to condoning violence it blames on Rwanda for alleged involvement in East RDC crisis.}}

    Rwanda has so far not responded to the comments made by Lambert Mende the Kinshasha government spokesman.

    Mende said, “This decision is a very bad signal because it trivializes the horrific situation created by this country in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it continues to disrupt peace and security.”

    Rwanda together with Luxembourg, Argentina, South Korea and Australia was elected to the 15-member Security Council last week.

    Meanwhile officials in Goma city in DRC announced on Tuesday that two key border crossings between DR Congo and Rwanda would from now on remain closed at night, from 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) to 6:00 am (0400 GMT).

    Several thousand people cross the border every day and the local Congolese governor said in a statement that the decision stemmed “from a surge in criminal activity along the border.”

  • Explosions at military factory in Sudan Capital

    {{Fear and panic spread in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Tuesday when massive explosions and fire erupted at a military factory in the southern suburbs of the city as the authorities failed to clarify the cause of the incident but dismissed rumors of a hostile action behind it.}}

    Sounds of explosions followed by huge fire occurred at Al-Yarmook arms and ammunition factory of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Al-Shigara area south of Khartoum at around mid-night, sparking a wave of panic among the area’s residents who fled their homes in fear.

    The fire and explosions also spread to near-by buildings, leading to the collapse of some of them, as hospitals in the area received dozens of people suffering from severe cases of suffocation due to the smoke.

    The explosions also set free large pieces of shrapnel and ammunition which scattered in the area, a Sudan Tribune reporter said.

    Fire fighting forces rushed to the scene and helped contain the fire as security forces blocked all roads leading to the large factory. A number of senior officials, including Khartoum State Governor Abdel Rahman Al-Khidir and officers from the National Intelligence and Security Services as well as SAF also arrived at the scene later.

    Meanwhile, the authorities made conflicting statements on the cause of the incident but reported that no causalities were incurred as a result.

    Khartoum State Governor Abdel Rahman Al-Khidir said in a televised statement that the cause of the incident is not clear yet but he discounted the possibility of foreign entities being involved.

    His statement was clearly aiming to quell wildly spreading rumours that the factory was hit by an airstrike. Some witnesses told Sudan Tribune that the explosion occurred after a sound resembling that of a rocket was heard and the sky lit up. There is also a rumor that an airplane carrying military materiel crashed on the site of the factory but Sudan Tribune was not able to independently verify those claims.

    Al-Khidir said that the explosion probably happened at the main storage facility of the large factory.

    SAF’s spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khalid Saad said that an internal explosion occurred in one of the storage facilities and the fire spread due to the plenty of grass in the area. He confirmed that they already launched an investigation into the incident.

    An anonymous police source also told AFP that the explosion erupted during a routine maintenance operation, adding that the authorities continue to count the losses.

    A similar explosion occurred at the same factory in August 2006 leading to the injury of seven SAF members. The authorities attributed the incident at the time to an electric short circuit.

  • Andrew Mitchell Resigns

    {{British cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell resigned October 20, after launching a foul-mouthed tirade at police officers guarding the gates of Prime minister David Cameron’s Downing Street office.}}

    Mitchell, who as the government’s chief whip was supposed to enforce discipline in Cameron’s Conservative party, handed in his resignation after nearly one month of intense pressure over his behaviour.

    He denied accusations that he had called police “plebs” but admitted using bad language to the officers after they stopped him going through the main gate on his bicycle, directing him to a side gate instead.

    The row was damaging for the Conservatives as they face growing accusations that the privileged backgrounds of Cameron and other senior party members including Mitchell are out of touch with voters.

    The new chief whip will be George Young, the former leader of the House of Commons. British media pointed out that Young is like Mitchell a keen cyclist and went to the elite Eton College, where Cameron was educated.
    In his resignation letter, Mitchell, said: “The offending comment and the reason for my apology to the police was my parting remark ‘I thought you guys were supposed to fucking help us’.”

    Part of the offensive word was replaced by asterisks in the copy of his letter officially released by Downing Street.

    Citing the “upsetting and damaging publicity”, Mitchell said that “whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter I will not be able to fulfil my duties as we would both wish”.

    He added: “I have made clear to you — and I give you my categorical assurance again — that I did not, never have and never would call a police officer a ‘pleb’ or a ‘moron’ or use any of the other pejorative descriptions attributed to me.

    “It was obviously wrong of me to use such bad language and I am very sorry about it and grateful to the police officer for accepting my apology.”

    Police representatives had called for Mitchell’s resignation, saying his outburst was particularly badly timed because it came in the week that two policewomen were shot dead in the city of Manchester in northwest England.

    Cameron wrote back that he was sorry to receive Mitchell’s resignation but understood why he had decided to quit.

    “I regret that this has become necessary,” the prime minister wrote.

    “As you have acknowledged, the incident in Downing Street was not acceptable and you were right to apologise for it.”

    Mitchell, 56, a former soldier and investment banker, was appointed to his new post by Cameron during a cabinet reshuffle in August. He previously served as international development secretary.

    He was educated at the elite Rugby public school where he was reportedly nicknamed “Thrasher” because of his reputation as a stern disciplinarian.

    Mitchell met Britain’s Police Federation last Friday in a fruitless attempt to smooth over the row.

    The opposition Labour Party had also taunted Cameron over Mitchell’s row with the police, which was first reported in The Sun newspaper and quickly became known as “Plebgate” in the British media.

    Speculation over his position reached fever pitch after he was unable to attend the Conservatives’ annual conference in the industrial city of Birmingham, which neighbours his own constituency as a lawmaker.

    But the Conservatives continue to face accusations of being a party of the privileged.

    Hours before Mitchell quit, finance minister George Osborne was embroiled in a row after he got into a first class train carriage with only a standard ticket.

    It emerged later that Osborne paid to upgrade his ticket, while both his spokesman and rail company Virgin Trains dismissed initial reports that Osborne’s aide had refused to pay.

  • AU Pledges to Help Resolve Crisis in Mali

    {{The Commission of the Africa Union chaiperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has decried the serious threat that the entrenchment of terrorist and criminal networks posed to the stability of Mali and the surrounding region.}}

    Addressing the meeting of the Support and Follow-up Group of the AU in Bamako Friday, Dr Dlamini-Zuma said the sooner the union dealt with the problem, the better.

    Said the AU chief in a press statement: “The African Union was the first Organisation to react to the attacks against Mali by rebel groups in mid-January this year.

    We did so as a matter of principle because there was and still there is no justification, whatsoever, for the use of arms, particularly when there are peaceful avenues to address legitimate concerns of a given group.

    “We did so because we foresaw the likely consequences that would arise from the resumption of armed conflict in North Mali.”

    According to the press release, Dr Dlamini-Zuma paid tribute to the regional Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) for its proactive involvement in the quest for a solution in Mali.

    “We could not expect less from an organisation that has, over the years, made significant contributions to the promotion of regional peace, security and stability,” said Dr Dlamini-Zuma.

    She also recognised the contribution of the core countries, Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger in their fight against rebel and terrorist groups in the Sahel region.

    The Ecowas, AU, the European Union and UN representatives were meeting in the Mali capital, hoping to finalise a clear strategy for the intervention in the troubled country.

    Mali, noted Dr Dlamini-Zuma, was one of the founding members of the OAU and the AU, and the principles at stake in the Malian crises were of particular importance to the continent.

    “Africa cannot simply fold its arms while two thirds of the Malian territory was under the control of armed, terrorist and criminal groups,” said Dr Dlamini-Zuma.

  • Joaquim Chissano At Requiem Mass for Turatsinze

    {{Former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano and senior government officials of Mozambique attended a Requiem Mass for slain Rwandan Businessman Turatsinze Theogene.}}

    Turatsinze was kidnapped by unknown people several days ago and killed. Before meeting his death he had sent a text message to his wife telling her that he loved her and was in a difficult situation.

    His car was found Intact at a Beach.

    The Requiem mass was attended by Mrs. Chisaano, the first lady of Mozambique Mrs. Guebuza, The Mozambiquan Foreign Affairs Minister, High Commissioner Vicent Karega(Resident in South Africa),Representative of Burundi and Madagascar in Mozambique, Religious Leaders and Heads of tertiary institutions in mozambique.

  • Nyagatare District on High Alert over Marburg Disease

    {{Nyagatare district authorities have cautioned residents to be on the lookout to the deadly Marburg disease that has brokenout in Uganda.}}

    Four Sectors of Nyagatare district including Tabagwe, Musheri, Rwempasha and Matimba border with Uganda.

    A district official Sabiti Fred told IGIHE, that there hasnt been any case of Marburg reported in Nyagatare but cautioned residents to be on the lookout.

    There is also constant crossborder activity on both sides thus high interuction of the citizens on both sides.

    In Uganda, Thirty-four people who are suspected to have had contact with the five killed by the deadly Marburg virus in Kabale district are being monitored by a team from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation.

    Marburg disease that is caused by a virus, easily spreads through direct contact with wounds, body fluids like blood, saliva, vomitus, stool and urine of an infected person.

    A person suffering from Marburg presents symptoms such as high fever, vomiting blood, joint and muscle pains and bleeding through the body openings like eyes, nose, gums, ears, anus and the skin.

    It is a highly contagious disease that kills in a short time but can easily be prevented.

  • Botswana Military to Learn from RDF

    {{A 25-member delegation from Botswana including Senior military officials and students are in Rwanda where they will discuss Africas challenges.}}

    According to Col. Thomomo Makolo the Head of the Botswana Army and also head of the countrys Military Academy,said they chose Rwanda based on Rwandas military success in Conflict resolution and mantaining security.

    “We are in Rwanda for a Week so that we can learn from RDFs best practices. This will help us at the end of our tour,” Col. Makolo said.

  • Regional Police Officers to attend Senior Command & Staff Course

    {{About 31 senior police officers from thirteen African countries are in Rwanda attending the first ever training dubbed, ‘Senior Command and Staff Course’ due this year in Rwanda.}}

    he course attracted senior officers from Zambia, Somalia, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Uganda, Djibouti, Seychelles, Sudan and hosts Rwanda.

    The one year course will be officially launched in January next year at National Police Academy (NPA) in Musanze District.

    The International Academy Bramshill and the Center for Conflict Management of the National University of Rwanda is set to provide lecturers for the course.

    In a briefing presentation ceremony held on Monday at Rwanda National Police (RNP) headquarters in Kacyiru, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) Stanley Nsabimana noted that the course is in line with the current Rwanda National Police (RNP) and East African Police Chief Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) training policies, whose aim is to produce highly qualified officers who are able to face policing challenges and exploit available opportunities in a professional manner.

    DIGP Nsabimana added that the course will enrich participants with contemporary policing skills in terms of emerging crimes and strategies of dealing with them.

    He said that at the end of the course, participants will have acquired enough skills that will help them to take strategic decisions in challenging situations, and apply leadership and managerial skills to ensure strategic goals are achieved.

    Tanzania Assistant Commissioner of Police Maulid Mabakila who attended the briefing presentation ceremony believes the course will help to find solutions which will address some of the security challenges faced by the African continent.

    Senior Superintendent Ireen K. Ngwira, from Zambia Police Force also noted that, the course portrays good cooperation among regional Police Forces.

    “There is a lot of conflicts in the region, it is important that the region comes up with a concrete strategy to address cross border crimes such as human trafficking and many others,” said Ngwira.