(AFP (eng) 09/11/13)
BANGUI, September 11, 2013 (AFP) - Armed groups in the Central African Republic have committed "atrocities" against civilians in a new wave of fighting sweeping the unstable country's west, the charity Doctors Without Borders said Wednesday. Rival fighters loyal to the current government and those loyal to ousted president Francois Bozize killed an undetermined number of people, carried out summary executions and burnt down civilians' houses during fighting Monday in the village of Bouca, said Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The humanitarian group said it had treated 26 people for machete and gunshot wounds, including eight women and six children, after Bozize supporters attacked the village. "MSF is deeply concerned by the targeting of the civilian population and the atrocities committed...
(Voice of America 09/11/13)
New unrest is reported in the Central African Republic [C.A.R.], following clashes between local armed groups and the Seleka rebel coalition that seized power earlier this year. On Tuesday, a local witness told VOA's French to Africa Service that community-based militias have gained control of several villages near the western town of Bossangoa. Seleka forces clashed with the militias near Bossangoa on Saturday and Sunday, and government spokesman Guy Simplice Kodegue said 60 people were killed. The local fighters are believed to be loyal to former C.A.R. President Francois Bozize, who comes from Bossangoa. However, Thierry Vircoulon, Central Africa director for the International Crisis Group, said not all of the fighters are Bozize supporters. Vircoulon also said the C.A.R. is...
(Reuters (Eng) 09/11/13)
BANGUI | (Reuters) - The president of Central African Republic dismissed the head of the armed forces on Tuesday after days of fighting with gunmen loyal to ousted leader Francois Bozize that left 100 people dead, a government spokesman said. Calm returned on Tuesday after fierce clashes between government forces and pro-Bozize fighters in Bossangoa, Bozize's home region, about 300 km (185 miles) north of the capital Bangui. The fighting was the latest sign of instability since the Seleka rebel group seized power in March in the landlocked former French colony, plunging the nation of 4.5 million people into chaos and a deepening humanitarian crisis. President Michel Djotodia, the former leader of Seleka, named General Ferdinand Bombayake as the new...
(Business News (Ng) 09/11/13)
Africa’s vibrant mobile phone market is forecast to increase four fold in size from a value of $60 billion in 2013 to $234 billion by 2020, according to experts at Manifest Mind LLC, a U.S. based research firm. The continent’s mobile phone market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 21.27 per cent between 2013 and 2020, to reach the set target. Africa’s telecoms sector growth has surged in the last 10 years as the continent has overtaken Europe and Latin America to become the second biggest market in the world for handsets after Asia, according to global mobile phone body, the GSMA. Figures from the GSMA also indicate that from 2007 to 2012 mobile connections in Africa...
(Voice of America 09/10/13)
Officials in the Central African Republic say recent fighting in the northwest has killed at least 60 people and displaced tens of thousands more, as the security situation in that country continues to deteriorate. The latest clashes were between soldiers from the ruling rebel coalition and rival militias. A government spokesman in the Central Africa Republic said the casualties occurred during fighting that began Sunday around the town of of Bossangoa, north of the capital, Bangui. The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said about 30,000 people, or 80 percent of the town’s population, have fled into the wilderness or to other areas. Amy Martin, head of the U.N. humanitarian office in CAR, said the fighting, between soldiers from...
(BBC News Africa 09/10/13)
At least 60 people have been killed in Central African Republic in fighting between former rebels and forces loyal to the president they ousted in March, officials say. A government spokesman said fighters loyal to Francois Bozize had seized the town of Bouca north of the capital. This is the first large-scale operation launched by the former president's forces since he was toppled in March. The UN has warned that CAR could become a failed state, threatening the region. Presidential spokesman Guy-Simplice Kodegue said bridges had been destroyed and villages attacked near the town of Bossangoa, 250km (155 miles) north-west of the capital, Bangui. He accused pro-Bozize fighters of attacking members of the Muslim population. The Seleka rebels who seized...
(AFP 09/10/13)
BANGUI, 10 septembre 2013 (AFP) - Le président de la transition en Centrafrique, Michel Djotodia, a limogé mardi le chef d'état-major des armées, le général Jean-Pierre Dollé-Waya, par décret présidentiel diffusé à la radio nationale. Il a été remplacé par le général à la retraite Ferdinand Bombayéké, qui fut commandant de la garde de l'ancien président Ange-Félix Patassé - renversé par François Bozizé en 2003. Le général Dollé-Waya, qui était sous-chef d'état-major des armées sous le régime Bozizé, avait été nommé à la tête de l'armée par le président Djotodia après son accession au pouvoir. Son limogeage, dont les raisons n'ont pas été précisées, survient au lendemain de la reprise des combats dans l'ouest de la Centrafrique, région natale du...
(Voice of America 09/10/13)
The Central African Republic's government says 60 people have been killed in clashes between fighters loyal to ousted president Francois Bozize and the rebels who now hold power. A government spokesman, Guy Simplice Kodegue says the fighting took place Saturday and Sunday around the northwestern town of Bossangoa, in Bozize's home region. The United Nations says 80 percent of the town's population, about 30,000 people, have fled into the wilderness or to other areas. U.N. officials say two aid workers were among those killed in the violence. The fighting was between the Seleka coalition of rebels who ended Bozize's 10-year-rule in March and rival militia groups. The head of the U.N. humanitarian office in CAR, Amy Martin says the Seleka...
(Reuters (Eng) 09/10/13)
BANGUI | (Reuters) - The death toll in clashes between gunmen loyal to Central African Republic's former president and the ex-rebels who ousted him, rose to at least 73 following fighting on Monday, residents, government and a regional peacekeeping force said. A government spokesman accused fighters loyal to former President Francois Bozize of trying to retake power. The latest clashes took place around Bossangoa, in Bozize's home region, about 300 km (185 miles) north of the capital. Residents in Bouca, a town about 100 km east of Bossangoa, said fighting erupted after about 30 armed men loyal to the former president attacked the town and a former rebel camp. "I saw seven dead, including four traders. Shops and houses were...
(Tanzania Daily News 09/10/13)
Maputo — The African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) has warned that a Green Revolution cannot materialise in Africa without concerted effort to secure financing for agricultural production. The Forum, which ended on Friday and brought together over 200 delegates from across Africa and the world, focused on the critical role to be played by public-private partnership and inclusive business models in the development of Africa's agriculture. It heard that the global gap in financing for agriculture stood at 450billion US dollars, an issue which was more acute in Africa than anywhere else in the world. Evidence showed that only 10 per cent of African smallholder farmers had access to financing when they needed to expand their production and raise their...
(The Guardian 09/10/13)
Women are increasingly challenging the traditional male monopoly of African politics. In Cameroon, campaigners have worked tirelessly to boost the chances of women standing in the country's pending elections. On a sunny day in early May, in Ndu, northwest Cameroon, a group of women, many of whom have taken the day off from work on their farms, are evaluating the performance of an aspiring politician. One suggests smiling more, another that the candidate project her voice more and not look at her feet while talking. The women are here in the Bishop Shanahan Centre to improve their public-speaking skills and learn more about electoral procedures. There are no party divisions in the room – women from the Cameroon People's Democratic...
(Reuters (Eng) 09/09/13)
BANGUI | Mon Sep 9, 2013 (Reuters) - At least 55 people were killed in clashes over the weekend between gunmen loyal to Central African Republic's former president and the ex-rebels who ousted him, the government and a regional peacekeeper said on Monday. The latest fighting in a country the United Nations has warned is on the brink of collapse took place on Saturday and Sunday around Bossangoa, in former President Francois Bozize's home region, about 300 km (185 miles) north of the capital. "The defence forces lost five men, and there have been more than 50 killed among the assailants and civilians," said Guy Simplice Kodegue, spokesman for the government the Seleka rebels set up after they seized power...
(AFP (eng) 09/09/13)
BANGUI, September 9, 2013 (AFP) - Up to 10 people were killed when troops of the new regime in the Central African Republic battled fighters claiming loyalty to toppled president Francois Bozize, an army source said Monday. The fighting broke out soon after 11:00 am (10:00 GMT) on Sunday on the northern edge of the town of Bossangoa "where heavy and light arms fire was heard ... between elements of (the ruling) Seleka and men claiming allegiance to the former president," the source told AFP, asking not to be named. Bossangoa in the northwest is the main town of the Ouham district where General Bozize was born. Former rebels of the Seleka coalition ended Bozize's 10-year rule on March 24...
(Awoko 09/09/13)
The first ever West Africa Business Expo 2013, opened in Accra on Thursday, with a call on Ghanaians to develop interest in setting up their own businesses. The two-day event was designed to create platforms for business owners to access information and interact with service providers and encourage learning. The expo on the theme: “Kick starting and sustaining business growth, “was also aimed at educating the public on how entrepreneurial activities have been the backbone of many economies, and the focus of many countries to drive economic growth in a sustainable way. It would enlighten the participants on a number of implementations and successful interventions including finance, capacity and skill building, which have been adopted to drive growth in developed...
(Voice of America 09/09/13)
The Italian coast guard has rescued more than 700 people in the last two days from boats carrying migrants and refugees. Italian officials say four vessels got into difficulty in waters near Sicily. People from Syria, Egypt, Eritrea, Nigeria and Ghana were rescued. The Italian news agency ANSA reported Saturday that more than 207 people were taken to the island of Lampedusa after their rescue by the coast guard and navy. Among them were two women in the late stages of pregnancy. Another boat with 212 people aboard was being towed to Lampedusa. Two other broken-down boats carrying 293 people were taken to Augusta on Sicily's eastern coast. Violence in Syria and Egypt this year has spurred an increased number...
(AL Jazeera 09/07/13)
As Kenya votes to withdraw from this 'court of last resort', we ask if other African nations will follow suit. Kenya's parliament has voted to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), sending another strong message from the continent against what is perceived to be interference from the West. The motion was passed after an emergency session of parliament was convened - and the timing could not have been more telling. William Ruto, Kenya's deputy president, is due to appear before the ICC on September 10, on charges of crimes against humanity, while Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, is scheduled to face similar charges in November. They stem from violence that broke out after disputed elections at the end of...
(Reuters (Eng) 09/06/13)
GENEVA | Fri Sep 6, 2013 (Reuters) - A U.N. mission to the Central African Republic found evidence of widespread human rights violations and huge numbers of people having been driven from their homes in the north of the country. The mineral-rich but poor nation has descended into chaos since Seleka rebels captured the capital Bangui in March, toppling President Francois Bozize and unleashing a wave of violence that new leader Michel Djotodia has failed to control. Senior U.N. officials have said the country is on the brink of collapse, and the conflict has prompted calls for the U.N. Security Council help fund and support an African Union peacekeeping force. The U.N. team found seven villages that had been burned...
(Voice of America 09/06/13)
KAMPALA — Leaders in Africa's Great Lakes region want the government and rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo to resume peace talks following a flare-up of fighting. After a day of closed-door discussions in Kampala, five heads of state from Africa's Great Lakes region declared that negotiations should resume within three days between the Congolese government and the rebel group M23. Participants included the presidents of Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Kampala talks were held under the auspices of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region, which Uganda chairs, and were meant to address the fresh fighting in the eastern DRC. Late last month, the Congolese army and a U.N. intervention...
(Business Day 09/06/13)
Multinational companies operating in Africa are hitting back at claims that government coffers are being eroded by deliberate intragroup mispricing and shifting of profits across borders to pay significantly less tax. Apart from a lack of clarity on what guidelines to use, reports of bribes to resolve tax disputes, poorly educated tax officials focusing only on their bonuses, and a lack of will to follow global guidelines are emerging. Governments are concerned that money they should be receiving is being diverted to other countries, which then receive the tax revenue. This is leading to major moves by tax authorities to ensure transactions between related companies or parties, such as employers and employees, are done at arm’s length. This means these...
(The Guardian 09/06/13)
Scheme could herald a 'green gold' revolution as mines commit to ban child labour, enforce safety rules and prevent toxic run off. In a bustling area of Nyarugusu, in the heart of Tanzania's gold lands, a stocky man is fanning a dustbin lid of smouldering charcoal, gold ore and mercury on the pavement. Each waft sends a cloud of toxic vapour into the faces of children and adults as they gather to watch. The burning of mercury is a common sight in the streets, homes and cottage-industry mines throughout east Africa. The liquid metal is used to extract the gold and then vaporised to leave behind flakes of the precious metal. But in this dangerous industry, seeds of a gold...