Africa: Online Press Briefing with Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee

[ad_1] Washington, DC — MODERATOR: Good afternoon from the State Department’s Brussels Media Hub. I would like to welcome everyone joining us for today’s virtual press briefing. We are very honored to be joined by the Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of African Affairs, Molly Phee. A quick reminder that today’s briefing is on the record. And with that, why don’t we go ahead and get started. Assistant Secretary Phee, thank you so much for joining us today. I’ll turn […]

January 31, 2024 3

Africa

Africa: UN Peacekeepers and Civilians Killed During Clashes in Disputed Abyei Region

[ad_1] Armed youth from rival factions of the Dinka ethnic group have been battling over the location of an administrative boundary in the oil-rich region, claimed by both countries, according to media reports. The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) reported that clashes erupted on Saturday in the Nyinkuac, Majbong and Khadian areas, leading to casualties and the evacuation of civilians to its bases. Refuge from violence UNISFA is engaging with local authorities to verify the numbers of those […]

January 31, 2024 1

Africa

Africa: AU Troops Handover Seven Military Bases to Somali Army

[ad_1] Mogadishu — ATMIS officially handed over 7 Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) to the Federal Government of Somalia at a ceremony in Mogadishu, marking the completion of Phase Two of the ATMIS Drawdown as per UNSC Resolution 2710. Two others were closed making it a total of 9 FOBs. Official documents were signed between #Somalia's National Security Adviser, Hussein Moalim, and SRCC & Head of ATMIS Souef Mohamed El-Amine and UNSOS OIC, Qurat-ul Ain Sadozai, at the ATMIS Mission HQs. […]

January 30, 2024

Africa

Africa: Ruling By UN’s Top Court Means Canada and the U.S. Could Be Complicit in Gaza Genocide

[ad_1] The International Court of Justice has issued a ground-breaking decision in South Africa's genocide case against Israel, ordering Israel to comply with six provisional measures to safeguard the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from genocidal violence. The court's order is binding on Israel and formalizes the international legal obligations of other countries that are parties to the UN Genocide Convention. Properly understood, the order should dramatically alter both the foreign and domestic policy decisions of Israel's […]

January 30, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: The Red Sea Shipping Crisis Is Having a ‘Dramatic’ Impact, Warns Logistics Chief

[ad_1] Attacks against shipping in the Red Sea by Houthis are devastating for global trade and supply chains, already reeling under the impacts of the war in Ukraine and climate change-linked conditions in the Panama Canal, said UN trade and development body, UNCTAD, on Thursday. According to Jan Hoffmann, Chief of Trade Logistics at UNCTAD, the attacks are not only adding to geopolitical tensions but also raising costs and leading to increased greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. "Maritime transport is really […]

January 26, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: Will the War in Gaza Become a Breaking Point for the Rules-Based International Order?

[ad_1] The scale of death and destruction in Gaza is increasingly viewed as an indictment of a system facing perhaps its most daunting and most stubborn challenge - global perceptions of hypocrisy. As South Africa presents a case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Israel of carrying out genocide in Gaza - claims it rejects - also on trial is the so-called 'rules-based international order'. This global set of rules, norms and institutions - the ICJ itself being […]

January 26, 2024 2

Africa

Africa: UN Chief Urges Leaders to Root Out Terrorism in Africa

[ad_1] The UN Chief Mr Guterres says, in just a matter of years, Africa has become the "global epicentre of terrorism". UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on African leaders to root out terrorism and violent extremism on the continent. Mr Guterres made the call at a two-day top-level meeting of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact at UN headquarters in New York. The meeting, which started on Wednesday, will address rising violence and the spread of terrorist networks. According […]

January 26, 2024 1

Africa

Africa Now ‘Global Epicentre’ of Terrorism – UN Chief

[ad_1] In just a matter of years, Africa has become the "global epicentre of terrorism", with groups such as Da'esh, Al-Qaida and their affiliates exploiting local conflicts and fragilities to serve their own ends, the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday, calling for violent extremism to be rooted out. Speaking at a meeting in New York on counter-terrorism initiatives across the continent, António Guterres said terror groups were "shredding the social fabric of entire countries with the blades of violence, mistrust […]

January 26, 2024 1

Africa

Africa: Gaza Fighting Spreads Into Hospitals Where There’s ‘No Way in and Out’

[ad_1] Amid continuing heavy fighting in Gaza on Tuesday morning including reported attacks on hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis, UN humanitarians expressed deep concern for patients and others seeking treatment who had "no way in and out". Speaking in Geneva, Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the UN World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that Al-Khair Hospital was "one of the two hospitals that is now being raided", while Nasser Hospital was "now basically besieged around the hospital and has […]

January 24, 2024 2

Peace and Security