Monday, October 28, 2024

Post Editorial Board Members Step Down in Wake of Endorsement Decision

David E. Hoffman, Molly Roberts and Mili Mitra said Monday that they are staying at the paper but will no longer serve on the nine-member editorial board.

The Washington Post's logo near the entrance of its headquarters on K Street Northwest. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

By Manuel Roig-Franzia

October 28, 2024 at 5:37 p.m. EDT

Nearly one third of The Washington Post’s 10-member editorial board stepped down Monday in the wake of Friday’s decision by the newspaper’s owner and publisher to end the publication of endorsements in presidential races.

The board members — all of whom have said they intend to remain at the newspaper in other roles — include David E. Hoffman, a 42-year Washington Post veteran who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for columns on autocracy Thursday, the day before publisher William Lewis shocked the board by announcing the decision to cease a long-standing practice of issuing endorsements in presidential races. Board member Molly Roberts confirmed that she is stepping down. The third board member is Mili Mitra — who also serves as director of audience for The Post’s opinions section.

A draft of the endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, in her race against the Republican nominee, former president Donald Trump, had been written but was closely held by opinion editor David Shipley, and had not been shared with the full board before Lewis’s announcement, according to two board members who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. According to reporting by The Post and other news organizations, The Post’s owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, made the decision to end the endorsement policy. The Post’s editorial board is part of the newspaper’s opinions section, which operates independently from the staff that provides news coverage.

The remaining members are Shipley, Charles Lane, Stephen Stromberg, Mary Duenwald, James Hohmann, Eduardo Porter and Keith B. Richburg.

“It’s extremely difficult for us because we built this institution,” Hoffman said in an interview before the public announcement of his decision to step down. “But we can’t give up on our American democracy or The Post.”

In a letter to Shipley about his decision to step down, Hoffman wrote, “I believe we face a very real threat of autocracy in the candidacy of Donald Trump.”

Hoffman — who took a buyout in 2009 but returned to the paper in 2012 to join the editorial board — has won two Pulitzer Prizes. In 2010, he was awarded the prize for his book, “The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy.”

Roberts — who writes columns on technology and society, as well as serving on the editorial board — said she decided to step down “because the imperative to endorse Kamala Harris over Donald Trump is about as morally clear as it gets.”

“Donald Trump is not yet a dictator,” she wrote. “But the quieter we are, the closer he comes — because dictators don’t have to order the press to publish cooperatively ... the press knows and it censors itself.”

Second Post Columnist Resigns While Others Defend Publication

Backlash — and backlash to the backlash — keeps coming for The Post’s non-endorsement.

By Greta Reich

Politico

10/27/2024 05:07 PM EDT

Michele Norris announced her resignation from The Washington Post in a social media post Sunday following the newspaper’s decision not to endorse a presidential candidate this election cycle, making her the second columnist to leave after Robert Kagan.

Norris called the non-endorsement a “terrible mistake” and “an insult to the paper’s own longstanding standard of regularly endorsing candidates since 1976.” Norris has been connected to The Post since 1988 when she was a reporter. She was also the first Black female host for NPR and has been an opinion columnist at The Post since 2019.

However, other journalists inside and outside the organization have been coming to The Post’s defense — not for the editorial board or their decision, but for the reporters and editors who work at The Post and are suffering the consequences of canceled subscriptions and loss of trust.

David Maraniss, a longtime associate editor at The Post, initially reacted to the announcement that The Post wouldn’t be endorsing a candidate by calling the move “contemptible.” He wrote in a Facebook post on Friday, “This is the bleakest day of my journalism career.”

But in another Facebook post published Sunday, he explained some of his reflection, writing that while he understands the dismay, he’s “come out on the other side.”

“First let me ask: Why have all of you not quit Facebook? Do you think Mark Zuckerberg is good for democracy? Why on the other platform have so many people who cancelled subscriptions announced their actions on X? Do they think Elon Musk is good for democracy? Those questions are both rhetorical and real. I think we all know the reasons. Tradeoffs,” Maraniss wrote.

He praised The Post’s reporters and editors who “have done one helluva lot more than anything on Facebook or X to uncover and illuminate the dangerous politics of the moment and the threats to democracy - and will continue to do so despite the craven cowardice of the owner and publisher.”

Former Post editor Marty Baron made a parallel point in an interview with the New Yorker, saying he’s not in favor of canceling subscriptions because The Post and news organizations like it “serve an incredibly important role in our democracy,” emphasizing that we don’t have enough of them.

“I don’t think that we should do Donald Trump’s work for him, which is: he would like to actually weaken these institutions and eliminate them. And so that’s where I come down,” Baron said.

Non-Washington Post journalists have shared similar messages. CNN anchor Jake Tapper wrote in a post on X that “canceling a newspaper subscription helps politicians who don’t want oversight, does nothing to hurt the billionaires who own the newspapers and make decisions with which you may disagree, and will result in fewer journalists trying to hold the powerful to account.”

Ellen Cushing, a staff writer at The Atlantic, argued in an article that rather than canceling Washington Post subscriptions in an attempt to get back at Jeff Bezos — who owns The Post and who many are blaming for the non-endorsement decision — people should cancel their Amazon Prime membership, which would more tangibly impact the billionaire.

While Norris and Kagan are the only two columnists to have resigned so far, 18 others published a dissent of the decision on Friday night, saying that it “represents an abandonment of the fundamental editorial convictions of the newspaper that we love, and for which we have worked a combined 228 years.” Ruth Marcus and Karen Tumulty also wrote columns saying the decision damaged the publication’s credibility.

Humor columnist Alexandra Petri responded to the decision by using her preferred medium to make the case for Kamala Harris.

“We as a newspaper suddenly remembered, less than two weeks before the election, that we had a robust tradition 50 years ago of not telling anyone what to do with their vote for president,” she wrote in her weekend column.

Petri continued: “But if I were the paper, I would be a little embarrassed that it has fallen to me, the humor columnist, to make our presidential endorsement. I will spare you the suspense: I am endorsing Kamala Harris for president, because I like elections and want to keep having them.”

Police Say Fires Set at Ballot Boxes in Oregon and Washington are Connected; ‘Suspect Vehicle’ ID’d

By GENE JOHNSON and CLAIRE RUSH

5:22 PM EDT, October 28, 2024

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police said Monday that a “suspect vehicle” has been identified in connection with incendiary devices that set fires to ballot drop boxes in Oregon and Washington state.

Surveillance images captured a Volvo stopping at a drop box in Portland, Oregon, just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box on Monday, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Mike Benner told a news conference.

That fire damaged three ballots inside, while officials say a fire at a drop box in nearby Vancouver, Washington, early Monday destroyed hundreds of ballots. The devices were attached to the outside of the boxes, police said.

Authorities said at a news conference in Portland that enough material from the incendiary devices was recovered to show that the two fires Monday were connected — and that they were also connected to an Oct. 8 incident, when an incendiary device was placed at a different ballot drop box in Vancouver.

“Heartbreaking,” said Greg Kimsey, the longtime elected auditor in Clark County, Washington, which includes Vancouver. “It’s a direct attack on democracy.”

The ballot drop boxes in Washington and Oregon both have fire suppression systems that are designed to activate when the temperature inside reaches a certain point, coating ballots inside with a fire-suppressing powder.

The system appeared to have worked in the Portland drop box, and security staffers were nearby to help put out the fire. Multnomah County Elections Director Tim Scott said the county has contracted with private security officers to have “roving patrols” that drive around the county 24 hours a day and “put eyes” on all drop boxes.

He said one of the guards was at the county elections office, heard what sounded like a blast — likely the activation of the fire suppression system — and called police.

For unknown reasons, the system failed to prevent the destruction of hundreds of ballots in Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from Portland.

Vancouver is the biggest city in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, the site of what is expected to be one of the closest U.S. House races in the country, between first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican challenger Joe Kent.

“I hope the perpetrator of this reprehensible act is quickly apprehended — and local and federal law enforcement have my full support in working to keep our democratic process safe and secure,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement.

She said she’s requesting an overnight law enforcement presence posted at all ballot drop boxes in Clark County through Election Day.

“Southwest Washington cannot risk a single vote being lost to arson and political violence,” her statement said.

Representatives for Kent’s campaign didn’t immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment.

The Portland Police Bureau said the fire there was reported at about 3:30 a.m. Multnomah County elections said only three ballots there were damaged, and the office planned to contact those voters to help them obtain replacement ballots.

A few hours later, television crews in Vancouver captured footage of smoke pouring out of a ballot box at a transit center.

There were surveillance cameras that covered the drop box and surrounding area, Kimsey said.

The last ballot pickup at the transit center drop box was at 11 a.m. Saturday, Kimsey said. Anyone who dropped their ballot there after that was urged to contact the auditor’s office to obtain a new one.

The office will be increasing how frequently it collects ballots, Kimsey said, and changing collection times to the evening, to keep the ballot boxes from remaining full of ballots overnight when similar crimes are considered more likely to occur.

An incendiary device was also found on or near a ballot drop box in downtown Vancouver early on Oct. 8. It did not damage the box or destroy any ballots, police said.

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said the state would not tolerate threats or acts of violence meant to derail voting.

“I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state,” he said.

Voters were encouraged to check their ballot status online at www.votewa.gov to track its return status. If a returned ballot is not marked as “received,” voters can print a replacement ballot or visit their local elections department for a replacement, the Secretary of State’s office said.

Washington and Oregon are both vote-by-mail states. Registered voters receive their ballots in the mail a few weeks before elections and then return them by mail or by placing them in ballot drop boxes.

In Phoenix last week, officials said roughly five ballots were destroyed and others damaged when a fire was set in a drop box at a U.S. Postal Service station there.

___

Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed. Johnson reported from Seattle.

Hezbollah Strikes Israeli Troop Gatherings at Fatima Gate Four Times

By Al Mayadeen English

Source: Islamic Resistance of Lebanon - Resistance media

Hezbollah's Resistance fighters continue to confront Israeli occupation forces by targeting their positions in the northern settlements and along the southern front with rockets, artillery and drones.

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah continues to confront Israeli occupation forces along the southern Lebanese border by targeting their sites with rockets and artillery.

In its first released statement today, the resistance announced that at 12:20 am on Monday, its fighters launched a rocket salvo at a gathering of Israeli occupation soldiers situated between the settlements of al-Manara and "Margaliot."

Then, at 12:50 AM, the resistance targeted, for the second time, a gathering of occupation soldiers between the settlements of Al-Manara and Margaliot, with a salvo of rockets, proceeded thereafter to target an Israeli troop gathering at the border, specifically at Fatima Gate four consecutive times.

The operation overview is as follows:

Four consecutive attacks at Fatima Gate

At 06:30 am, Hezbollah targeted a gathering of occupation soldiers at Fatima Gate with artillery shells. 

At 7:00 am, Hezbollah targeted a gathering of Israeli troops at Fatima Gate for the second time.

At 7:05 am, As part of the Khaybar operation series, Hezbollah targeted an Israeli military company east of occupied Akka using an attack drone, achieving a direct hit. 

At 7:15 am, Hezbollah targeted for the third time an Israeli troop gathering at Fatima Gate with a barrage of rockets.

At 8:00 am, then the resistance fighters again targeted an Israeli troop gathering at Fatima Gate for the fourth time with a barrage of rockets.

At 8:30 am, Hezbollah targeted the Kiryat Shmona settlement with a barrage of rockets. 

At 12:06 pm, Hezbollah targeted an Israeli assembly point at the al-Omra area, west of al-Wazzani with a barrage of rockets. 

These operations come in support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, in support of their honorable resistance, and in defense of Lebanon and its people, according to the Resistance's statement.

SA to Prove Genocidal Acts Have Been Committed in Gaza

Almost a year since the government filed its genocide case against Israel, the time has now come to prove its allegations.

The International Court of Justice, which has its seat in The Hague, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Picture: https://www.icj-cij.org/home

CAPE TOWN - International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola says South Africa's memorial in its genocide case against Israel will show such crimes have been committed in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

Monday was the deadline for the government to file its main arguments to the world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after launching the case in December.

Over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel retaliated on Gaza following the killing of over a thousand civilians in Israel by the Hamas military group, Hamas, last year October.

Almost a year since the government filed its genocide case against Israel, the time has now come to prove its allegations.

Since launching the case in the Hague, it approached the court four times for interim measures in attempts to lessen harm to Palestinian civilians.

Three orders have been granted in its favour this year, despite them having had little to no impact on all forms of attacks on Palestinian life, essential services and its broader society.

Lamola said that although the memorial is confidential and the government can’t reveal its full contents, it believes it has a solid case.

"It’s up to the court if it wants to open it up, but we can say we believe we have comprehensive, forensic evidence that will be able to convince the court that indeed genocide was committed in Gaza.

Israel will have until July next year to respond to South Africa’s case by filing a counter-memorial. 

ANC Members Have Until End 2026 to Complete Mandatory Political Education Course - Ramaphosa

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa launched the programme at its special national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the Birchwood Hotel, in Boksburg, on Monday.

FILE: African National Congress President Cyril Ramaphosa during the party's 112th birthday celebration in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, on 8 January 2024. Picture: Supplied/@MYANC on X

JOHANNESBURG - African National Congress (ANC) members will have until December 2026 to complete a mandatory internal course focusing on political education.

The course aims to equip the party’s leaders with essential skills to manage the organisation and to govern effectively.

On Monday, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa launched the programme at its special national executive committee (NEC) meeting at the Birchwood Hotel, in Boksburg. 

The ANC hopes to implement its political education course across all its structures, including branches, leagues, and national leadership, by January 2025.

The programme consists of five modules, some of which will focus on the history of the ANC, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the functions of an ANC branch.

Ramaphosa stated that the foundational course can be completed in any official South African language.

“Education has a number of benefits. It deepens our understanding of the country we live in, its own history and it gives us the tools of analysts.”

Former Gauteng ANC chairperson David Makhura is among those who will lead the political education course. 

Makhura said the programme also serves as a quality control measure. 

"Everyone who wants to join the ANC now will also have to write a letter of motivation on why they want to join the ANC," said Makhura.

The introduction of the political education programme was the last item on the party’s four-day-long special NEC meeting. 

Sudan Seeks World Bank Support for Post-conflict Reconstruction

Gibril Ibrahim speaks to Sudan Tribune on January 4, 2023

October 27, 2024 (WASHINGTON)—Sudan’s Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim said on Sunday that the country is seeking World Bank funding to rebuild infrastructure destroyed by the ongoing conflict and facilitate the return of millions of displaced people.

Ibrahim made the request during a meeting of Arab finance ministers with the President of the World Bank Group at the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Finance, he urged the World Bank to “find financing mechanisms and formulas” to support Sudan’s reconstruction efforts and to provide technical assistance and capacity building to help the country maximize its resources.

The conflict has devastated Sudan’s infrastructure and displaced 14 million people, including 10.9 million internally, according to the International Organization for Migration.

“Conflicts lead to job losses and poverty, which in turn lead to further job losses and conflicts and wars,” Ibrahim said, emphasizing the war’s devastating impact on the Sudanese economy.

The Finance Minister also met with the World Bank Country Director in Sudan on Saturday to discuss support for key sectors such as electricity, water, agriculture, and education. The meeting reviewed the government’s efforts to assess reconstruction needs and secure necessary aid.

This announcement follows the World Bank’s recent approval of $435 million in grants channeled through UN agencies for health, water, education, and agricultural projects in Sudan.

Lawyer Abducted, Tortured in Sudan’s Northern State

Izdihar Jumaa Saeed

October 27, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – A lawyer and human rights defender was abducted and tortured by an unidentified armed group in Sudan’s Northern State, the Sudanese Bar Association said on Sunday.

The victim, Izdihar Jumaa Saeed, was seized on Oct. 24 in Merowe and taken to Ghnoum, north of Karima, where she was beaten and sustained multiple fractures and injuries, the association said in a statement. She was later abandoned in a remote area on the road to Abu Hamad and found by passersby who transported her to a hospital.

The Bar Association condemned the attack as a “dangerous shift” in the nature of crime in the region, highlighting the perpetrators’ disregard for state authority. A legal committee has been formed to pursue legal action.

The Darfur Bar Association also denounced the incident, expressing concern over the increasing threats faced by human rights defenders. Saeed had been providing legal aid to people from Darfur facing arbitrary arrest and had spoken out against abuses they suffered.

Saeed is a former leading member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North and the coordinator of the “Awn Nazih” initiative, which provides aid to people displaced by the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

Activists accuse pro-war groups of being involved in the attack against the lawyer.

Security forces in the Northern State and other areas have imposed tight restrictions on political activists, human rights defenders, and aid workers, with many facing arrest.

New Wave of Mass Killings in Sudan Alarms UN

The RSF has denied targeting civilians, saying its fighters are clashing with militias.

by BBC NEWS

27 October 2024 - 16:30

In Summary

The Sudanese doctors' union called on the UN to push the two sides in the conflict to agree to safe humanitarian corridors.

The doctors' union added that rescue operations had become impossible and that the army was "incapable" of protecting civilians.

Escalating conflict in Sudan's Gezira state has forced civilians to flee

A senior UN official in Sudan says she is deeply troubled by reports of "atrocious crimes" in the central Gezira state, including the mass killing of civilians by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Clementine Nkweta-Salami's comments came after an activist group said that at least 124 people were killed by the RSF in attacks on villages over the past week.

The RSF has denied targetingcivilians, saying its fighters are clashing with militias armed by the military.

The 18-month conflict in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 11 million.

Gezira state turned into a major battleground last week after the RSF suffered a major blow when one of its commanders, Abu Aqla Kayka, defected to the military.

The army said he had brought "a large number of his forces" with him, in what it described as the first high-profile defection to its side. In response, the RSF said its fighters would defend themselves and "decisively deal with everyone carrying arms".

Ms Nkweta-Salami, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, said that preliminary reports suggested that the RSF had carried out a major attack across the state between 20 and 25 October.

She added that it led to mass killings, the raping of women and girls, the widespread looting of markets and homes and the burning down of farms.

Ms Nkweta-Salami said the "atrocious crimes" were on a scale similar to those seen in Sudan's Darfur region last year, when the RSF was accused of "ethnic cleansing" communities seen to be opposed to it.

Ms Nkweta-Salami said the death toll was still unclear, but preliminary reports suggested that scores of people were killed in Gezira state. In a statement on Saturday, the Wad Madani Resistance Committee, which campaigns for an end to the conflict and democratic rule in Sudan, said the RSF was committing "extensive massacres in one village after another", the Reuters news agency reported.

The Sudanese doctors' union called on the UN to push the two sides in the conflict to agree to safe humanitarian corridors into villages that were facing "genocide" at the hands of the RSF.

The doctors' union added that rescue operations had become impossible and that the army was "incapable" of protecting civilians.

The conflict in Sudan broke out in April 2023 after a fall out between the commanders of the RSF and military, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan respectively.

The two had jointly staged a coup in 2021, derailing Sudan's transition to democracy, but then got involved in a vicious power struggle. The two leaders have refused to sign a peace deal, despite efforts by the US and Saudi Arabia to broker an end to the conflict.

BRICS Summit: Nigerian Professor Gives African Perspective

According to him, Nigeria will play a key role in the growth and development of the BRICS organization.

by Sputnik News

28 October 2024 - 13:40

In Summary

He highlighted the growing number of African countries seeking to join BRICS as a testament to the group's appeal.

According to him, Africa's relationship with Russia is based on mutual respect, equity, and justice.

BRICS leaders during the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan [SPUTNIK]

The 16th BRICS Summit took place in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to 24.

This summit was particularly significant as it marked the first time Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE participated as members, following their accession in January.

More than 32 countries, including the full members, took part in the summit.

The recent BRICS Summit, which took place in Russia, marked a significant moment in global politics and economics, according to Prof. Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, Head of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Abuja, Nigeria.

"The outcome of this particular BRICS summit [is] more political impact, deepening multilateralism as well as more equitable, more balanced, new international economic order, which is going to be just, which is going to be harmonious, which is going to be equitable," Prof. Ibrahim told Sputnik Africa.

He highlighted the growing number of African countries seeking to join BRICS as a testament to the group's appeal. According to him, Africa's relationship with Russia is based on mutual respect, equity, and justice.

Prof. Ibrahim cited examples of countries like Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, which are increasingly turning to Russia for support and collaboration: "They are becoming more independent and self-reliant," he added.

He sees BRICS as offering solutions aligned with Africa's developmental priorities, particularly in areas like industrialization, modernization of agriculture, and the advancement of science and technology.

"With industrialization, Africa will begin a massive, I mean, manufacturing and with the launching of Africa’s Continental Free Trade Area, African countries will be able to produce more and more from the potentials naturally endowed by nature. So industry is a key area," he said.

Prof. Ibrahim believes that the BRICS trade settlement using local currencies is paving the way for "a new era." He also emphasized the potential for BRICS to help African countries break free from the cycle of inflation and currency devaluation, often attributed to policies imposed by the Western financial system.

The expert has dismissed Western narratives portraying Russia as isolated, highlighting the strong global engagement with Russia as demonstrated by the numerous world leaders, including those from Africa, attending the BRICS summit in Kazan.

"Russia is actually gathering momentum in terms of its political and economic prestige," Prof. Ibrahim told Sputnik Africa, adding that sanctions imposed on Russia have actually become a "blessing, not a cost."

The Nigerian academician also expressed his strong belief that Nigeria, one of the largest economies on the African continent, should be given the opportunity to join BRICS.

According to him, Nigeria will play a key role in the growth and development of the BRICS organization.

Activist Boniface Mwangi’s Appeal to Kenyans After Release

The activist says intimidation won't stop him from fighting for human rights

by PERPETUA ETYANG

28 October 2024 - 15:41

In Summary

He questioned the democracy of the country saying that Kenyans should not be arrested for demanding their rights.

The activist further asked Kenyans to call for compensation for victims of the police killings.

Activist Boniface Mwangi was released Monday morning after spending hours at the Kamukunji police station.

Mwangi was picked up from his Machakos home on Sunday morning and was later traced to Kamkunji police station in Nairobi, where he was detained.

The activist said that intimidation will not stop him from fighting for human rights.

He questioned the democracy of the country, saying that Kenyans should not be arrested for demanding their rights.

“Such things should not be happening in a democracy. But are we a democracy? Which democracy shoots unarmed children and arrests citizens for displaying their national flag?”

Moving forward, activist Mwangi said that Kenyans should focus on three things to move forward.

He asked Kenyans to courageously demand justice, arrest and prosecution of individual officers who discharged their firearms unlawfully during the anti-government protests.

The activist further asked Kenyans to call for compensation for victims of alleged police killings.

“Right to citizenship. You cannot deny or sell us our national identity cards. All Kenyans who have reached the age of 18 must be issued with a voter's card. It’s unconstitutional and illegal to deny citizens ID cards. Demand IDs and voters cards,” Mwangi said.

Activist Mwangi added that Kenyans should demand accountability from the country's leaders.

“His manifesto, implementation of all constitutional reports and debt audit.”

After his release, Mwangi claimed that he was arrested in front of his children, and wasn’t informed of the reason for the arrest.

“To my family, the legal team, and every Kenyan who stood by me, may God bless and protect you.”

No charges were preferred against Mwangi.

Mwangi’s arrest happened ahead of his planned protests at the Standard Chartered marathon that took place on Sunday.

His wife, Njeri Mwangi, who traced the activist to the station, said police accused him of inciting the public.

“They are holding him over claims of incitement to violence. It is all about this marathon,” she said.

The marathon went on uninterrupted amid heavy security. Security was enhanced at the event with major roads blocked.

Police said they feared his followers would infiltrate the event and cause violence.

A campaign was immediately launched online to free Mwangi. This was shared widely by many social media enthusiasts.

Mwangi had been mobilising his followers to join the protest at the marathon as one way of expressing discontent about the country’s leadership.

Uhuru Addresses High-level Military Fete in Nigeria

Uhuru said the military plays a crucial role in supporting national security while respecting civilian oversight

by Tabnacha Odeny

28 October 2024 - 18:58

In Summary

In his address to Africa’s youth, Uhuru emphasized that “investment in our human capital by creating viable social and economic pathways for our youth” is vital for achieving institutional resilience.

The former president noted that strong electoral institutions are vital for safeguarding democracy.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday delivered a speech at the inauguration of Nigeria’s National Defence College (NDC) Course 33 in Abuja.

The inauguration of the National Defence College (NDC) Course 33 in Nigeria is a significant event that launches a new academic year at the institution, which is Nigeria’s highest military training college.

Each course intake, including the recently inaugurated Course 33, brings together senior military officers, government officials, and international participants who engage in a rigorous curriculum designed to strengthen strategic military leadership and develop expertise in national and international security matters.

Uhuru highlighted the significance of strong institutions in promoting security and development across Africa.

“The nucleus of strong regions is strong nations. We must get it right in our individual nations to build a more robust collective," Uhuru said.

The former Head of State shared six essential lessons drawn from his experience, focusing on how strong institutions facilitate sustainable development and national security.

In his address to Africa’s youth, Uhuru emphasized that “investment in our human capital by creating viable social and economic pathways for our youth” is vital for achieving institutional resilience.

“Today, the much-touted demographic dividend of our youth has matured, and our young people would like to cash in their checks immediately," Uhuru said.

Uhuru also addressed the necessity for ethical management of public finances and equitable tax practices to establish functional markets, asserting that effective governance and transparency in public finance are crucial.

“Citizens across the continent are increasingly aware of the social contract existing between themselves and the state,” he said.

Furthermore, Uhuru stated that Africa's natural resources should benefit the public good.

"Africa has been endowed with abundant resources, yet it is not immediately evident that this wealth has improved the lives of its citizens," he said.

Uhuru, who is also a member of the AU High-Level Panel for Ethiopia and Facilitator of the EAC-Led Nairobi Peace Process, talked at length about the military's role in supporting national security while respecting civilian oversight.

The former president noted that strong electoral institutions are vital for safeguarding democracy.

“Failure to build credibility in electoral institutions may ultimately undermine the quality of leadership” and underscore the military’s duty to uphold constitutionalism," he said.

IGAD to Partner with Religious Leaders for Peace Building in the Region

IGAD said religious leaders networks are essential for detecting tensions and facilitating timely interventions.

by BRIAN ORUTA

28 October 2024 - 15:45

In Summary

This followed a dialogue between the two organizations led by IGAD Executive Secretary Dr Workneh Gebeyehu and the leadership of the ACRL at Windsor Hotel in Nairobi, on Monday.

Through the partnership, the organisations agreed to create dialogue spaces that promote community revitalization, to help address the region's history of conflict.

IGAD, African Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace (ACRL-RfP) pose for a picture after a meeting at Windsor Hotel in Nairobi on October 28, 2024.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has vowed to work with the African Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace (ACRL-RfP) to enhance its peace building efforts in the region.

This followed a dialogue between the two organizations led by IGAD Executive Secretary Dr Workneh Gebeyehu and the leadership of the ACRL at Windsor Hotel in Nairobi, on Monday.

Through the partnership, the organisations agreed to create dialogue spaces that promote community revitalization, to help address the region's history of conflict.

“IGAD and ACRL-RfP are committed to enhancing collaboration in peace processes and supporting conflict-affected communities, with the aim to break cycles of violence and focus on reconciliation and compassion,” reads a joint statement.

They reaffirmed their commitment to support and empower communities by leveraging the influence of religious leaders as essential partners in building a peaceful, inclusive, and resilient future.

ACRL-RfP and IGAD further called upon member states, international partners, and stakeholders to join them in advancing shared objectives for the well-being and prosperity of all countries and communities in the Greater Horn of Africa.

IGAD said it recognises the critical role religious leaders play in enhancing conflict early warning and response mechanisms and the authority intends to integrate religious networks into the Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN) to strengthen conflict prevention efforts in the region.

“IGAD welcomes the opportunity to integrate religious leaders more formally into regional mechanisms like our Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN), where you can contribute timely insights that help prevent potential conflicts,” Gebeyehu said.

“Their networks are essential for detecting tensions and facilitating timely interventions.”

He said this collaboration will not only advance the peace and security agenda in the region but also contribute to creating an environment where sustainable development thrives.

The religious leaders and IGAD further called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan and insisted on inclusive peace talks that involve all stakeholders.

The leaders noted that dialogue towards restoring a civilian transition in Sudan will benefit positively from the influence and contribution of religious leaders in conflict mediation, humanitarian outreach, and community healing.

“The ongoing war in Sudan has led to the fastest-growing humanitarian crisis in the world, with 1 in 8 refugees worldwide being Sudanese and over 12 million displaced. Nearly 5 million face starvation due to food shortages and the destruction of essential infrastructure, including healthcare.”

They also committed to collaborate in finding solutions to other challenges the region faces including climate change, desertification, and underdevelopment in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL), saying that these situations.

Sunday, October 27, 2024

Israel Bombs Al-Mayadeen News Office, Murders Journalists, and Falsely Accuses Others of Terrorism

October 26, 2024

Israel has increased its attack on journalists in both Lebanon and Gaza. (Photo: via Committee to Protect Journalists TW Page)

By Robert Inlakesh

In recent days, this aggression has directly targeted media outlets critical of their invasions of both Gaza and Lebanon. 

Israel’s regional war has been the deadliest for journalists in recorded history, as reporters have been direct targets of their aggression and even falsely labeled as combatants. 

In recent days, this aggression has directly targeted media outlets critical of their invasions of both Gaza and Lebanon. 

On Wednesday the Israeli regime bombed an office used by Al-Mayadeen News in the Jnah neighborhood of the Lebanese Capital, Beirut. 

Although the media network evacuated this office in advance, the strike resulted in one death and the injuring of five others, including a child, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

In November 2023, Israeli airstrikes targeted and killed two Al-Mayadeen journalists, correspondent Farah Omar and cameraman Rabih Me’mari, as they reported on developments in southern Lebanon.

The news outlet was started in 2012, primarily with the help of former Al-Jazeera Arabic journalists who were dissatisfied with the media outlet’s coverage of the Syrian War. 

Since then, the platform has been repeatedly targeted due to its consistently favorable coverage towards the Palestinian cause, more specifically the regional Axis of Resistance that opposes US and Israeli imperialism. 

Like Al-Jazeera, Al-Mayadeen has been banned from reporting by Israel and accused of being affiliated with “terrorism”. However, Al-Mayadeen’s ban has been in place longer than that of Al-Jazeera, beginning in November of last year.

On the same day that Al-Mayadeen’s office was bombed in Beirut, six Gaza-based Al-Jazeera journalists were accused by Israel of being affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), putting a target on their heads. 

The two most prominent journalists accused of being “terrorists” by Israel were Anas Al-Sharif and Hussam Shabat, both based in northern Gaza. The Israelis offered no proof for their outlandish claims.

While current members of the Israeli government shared the claims against the Al-Jazeera journalists, so too did members of the Israeli opposition. 

Notably, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet accused the six journalists of being “terrorists”, the same man who had used a random video to claim that PIJ fighters had killed veteran Al-Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, back in 2022.

An Israeli soldier had killed Shireen Abu Akleh in the Jenin Refugee Camp with a precise headshot, which was clear from the beginning, yet the Bennet held to the claim that it was actually Palestinians who had shot her. 

The video he was referring to was debunked by Israel’s top human rights group B’Tselem later that day. Despite this, as Prime Minister, Naftali Bennet never apologized for lying publicly and refused to prosecute Shireen Abu Akleh’s killer.

On Thursday morning, Israel also bombed a press station in the southern Lebanese town of Hasbaiyya, murdering two Al-Mayadeen journalists; cameraman Ghassan Najjar and broadcast engineer Mohammad Rida; in addition to killing Al-Manar’s camera operator Wissam Qassim. 

Western corporate media, even including The Guardian newspaper, described the attack as killing journalists from “Hezbollah-affiliated TV stations”. 

This was despite the fact that journalists from Sky News, TRT, Al-Jazeera, Al-Jadeed, Al-Qahera and other outlets, were all based in the same facility at which vehicles with the word “PRESS” written on them were parked out the front.

During the past year, Israel has murdered at least 177 journalists in Gaza, 11 in Lebanon, and one in Syria. This is unprecedented in the documented history of war.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

– Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.

New Forensic Evidence – South Africa to File Detailed Dossier in Genocide Case against Israel

October 27, 2024

South Africa's Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola. (Photo: video grab, via SABC News)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

On December 29, the South African government brought the case against Israel before the ICJ, accusing it of “genocidal acts” in its military campaign in Gaza.

South Africa is set to submit a comprehensive memorial against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday, aiming to substantiate claims that Israel is committing genocide in Palestine, diplomatic sources told Anadolu on Sunday.

South African news outlet Daily Maverick confirmed the news, noting that a memorial “is part of the written pleadings before the ICJ and, according to Article 49(1) of the Rules of the Court, it ‘shall contain a statement of the relevant facts, a statement of law, and the submissions of the applicant.”

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola, in a recent interview with Daily Maverick, stated that South Africa’s memorial contains extensive evidence in “forensic detail” to argue that “this is not just a plausible case of genocide, but indeed it is genocide.”

According to the report, after the memorial is submitted, the respondent, Israel, will be required to file a counter-memorial by July 28 of next year.

According to the Court’s rules, a counter-memorial must include “an admission or denial of the facts stated in the memorial; any additional facts, if necessary; observations concerning the statement of law in the memorial; a statement of law in answer thereto; and the submissions.” 

On December 29, the South African government brought the case against Israel before the ICJ, accusing it of “genocidal acts” in its military campaign in Gaza.

Public hearings on South Africa’s request were held on January 11 and 12.

In January, the ICJ called on Israel to avoid actions that could lead to genocide and to facilitate humanitarian access to Gaza. 

A few weeks later, South Africa requested additional measures in response to Israel’s announced intention to attack Rafah, but the court rejected this request.

At the beginning of March, South Africa renewed its request for emergency measures against Israel. 

Later that month, the court ordered Israel to ensure the delivery of “urgent humanitarian aid” to Gaza, in light of “a famine that has begun to spread” in the war-torn Strip.

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza. 

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 42,924 Palestinians have been killed, and 100,833 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. 

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’. 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(PC, Anadolu)

President Cyril Ramaphosa: BRICS Summit outreach and BRICS Plus 16th BRICS Heads of State Summit

24 Oct 2024

Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the BRICS Summit outreach and BRICS Plus 16th BRICS Heads of State Summit, 24 October 2024, Kazan, Russia    

Your Excellency, President Vladimir Putin,

Your Excellencies, Leaders of BRICS nations,

Your Excellencies, Leaders of Global and Regional Institutions, 

Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations

Honourable Ministers,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to begin by congratulating the Russian Federation and President Putin on chairing a successful BRICS Summit, as well as leading us all on adopting an excellent declaration.

The BRICS Outreach and BRICS Plus engagements are important platforms for developing strong ties among countries from the greater Global South and emerging markets.

We should use these platforms to foster meaningful engagement.

We should use the BRICS platform to contribute to social, economic and cultural development of our peoples.

We welcome the Russian initiatives that are aimed at strengthening a number of BRICS countries through the various networks aimed at improving the future of BRICS countries’ transport networks and connectivity under the theme ‘Innovation and Digitalisation of Transport’.

This will help us find ways to integrate and deepen our inter-connectedness in new and imaginative ways.

Work has already begun in this regard through initiatives like the International North-South Transport Corridor, which is a multimodal transportation corridor established from St Petersburg to Mumbai.

This corridor is an opportunity for this region to unlock new trade flows and trade routes in an increasingly multipolar world.

On the African continent, the African Continental Free Trade Area will unlock opportunities for trade and investment for local and global businesses.

It will create a number of opportunities that will lead to an integrated and connected continent.

The Single African Air Transport Market is another flagship project of the African Union Agenda 2063.

This is an initiative of the African Union to create a single unified air transport market in Africa to support the continent’s economic integration.

For BRICS and friends of BRICS, we need to use these projects to further connect the greater Global South.

The promotion of greater regional connectivity and trade facilitation can only succeed in an environment of peace and stability.

Excellencies,

South Africa is concerned about the military aggression by Israel against the people of Gaza, which we have characterised as genocide. This genocide led South Africa to approach the International Court of Justice with a view to stopping the killing of innocent women and children in Gaza. We believe the world cannot sit by and watch the suffering.

The world cannot afford a region-wide escalation of the conflict.

South Africa has been unwavering in advocating for a two state solution that would see an independent Palestinian state along the borders set out in 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. This would be in line with UN resolutions,  international law and internationally agreed parameters.

We call on the international community and the UN Security Council in particular to address the spiralling conflict.

On our own continent, Sudan enters its second year of horrific conflict and devastation. This is another conflict the world seems to have forgotten about.

The protracted conflicts in the Sahel and Great Lakes regions in Africa persist.

We must find lasting solutions to all these conflicts.

We must remain committed to the peaceful resolution of all disputes through negotiation and inclusive dialogue.

We must safeguard the ability of states to pursue independent foreign policy.

We must safeguard the multilateral system, because it is the cornerstone of international relations, and foster an environment of peace and development.

Existing global institutional mechanisms need to be both strengthened and reformed to play a constructive role in international peace and security.

We cannot allow conflicts to continue in perpetuity.

We need to find paths to peace.

In our quest for a more interconnected, just and prosperous world, we have the ability to foster an environment of peace through a focus on sustainable development.

We must continue to support nations and peoples who seek to end the cycle of conflict and choose the path of peace.

I thank you.

‘Dahomey’: A Daring Meditation on the Painful Legacy of Looted Artifacts

Mati Diop examines the fate of 26 treasures — sometimes from their point of view — looted from Benin in 1892.

In a scene from the movie, gloved hands are placed on a large horse-like statue that looks to be terra cotta.

One of the Benin treasures at the center of “Dahomey.”

By Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times

Oct. 25, 2024

When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission.

There are many voices in Mati Diop’s new documentary, “Dahomey” (in theaters), and one of them belongs to Artifact No. 26. “I lost myself in my dreams, becoming one with these walls, cut off from the land of my birth as if I was dead,” it says in French, its timbre tweaked to contain both a low rumbling bass and a higher, more feminine sound. “Today, it’s me they have chosen, like their finest and most legitimate victim.”

Artifacts technically do not talk, but this imaginative element frames the rest of Diop’s film. The movie comprises mostly observational footage shot during the shipping and repatriation of 26 objects that France had looted from the kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin) during the invasion of 1892. They had resided until 2021 in Paris, in the Quai Branly museum, which houses Indigenous art and cultural items from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.

The return of those 26 antiquities was part of a much bigger story that began with a report on the restitution of African treasures commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron of France in 2018. That November, he announced that the items would be handed over, and that his government would study and consider giving back other objects removed from African nations without consent. He stopped short of following the report’s full recommendation, which was to return all items if asked. The move kicked off years of debate among former colonial powers in Europe, including Germany and Britain, about similar treasures in their national museums and archives.

It took years to actually give back those initial 26, which included effigies of the rulers King Behanzin and King Glélé, two thrones and four painted gates from Behanzin’s palace. “Dahomey” homes in on their fate as a way of exploring the complexity of the very act of repatriation — not for the Europeans, but for the Beninese. We watch conservators and curators carefully pack everything up. (The camera briefly takes the point of view of Artifact No. 26, with the sounds of screws going into the top of the crate and then noises of transit.) They’re then unloaded in Benin, and officials arrive for the occasion.

Most interestingly, we listen in on young Beninese as they discuss the wider repercussions in an open forum. They discuss their teachers’ failure to fully explain where these treasures went and why; they discuss their reactions to the repatriation (which range from “I feel nothing” to “I cried for 15 minutes”); they discuss whether their leaders are acting politically in taking the items back but not asking for more. They question the value of exhibiting them as art objects rather than as sacred ones, and ask why funding was not provided so that children in remote villages could see them as easily as urban children. It’s a rich conversation that rapidly lays out the controversies and bigger issues at stake.

Diop, who is French Senegalese, engages in no hand-holding in “Dahomey.” There’s no narrator telling us what and how to think. The closest we get is Artifact No. 26, talking about its own return. Such an old object (we never find out what it is) has big, poetic thoughts to share, and thus the film takes on a dreamy quality that puts the immediate debates in cultural and temporal perspective.

“I see myself so clearly through you,” Artifact No. 26 says in voice-over near the end of the film. “Within me resonates infinity.”

Sudan Orders Prosecution of RSF for East Al Jazirah Abuses

Lt Gen Ibrahim Jabir

October 27, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudanese authorities on Sunday ordered the attorney general to investigate alleged war crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in East Al Jazirah and prosecute those responsible.

The directive from Ibrahim Jabir, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and assistant army commander, comes after the RSF launched retaliatory attacks in the region following the defection of a top commander to the army.

The Sovereign Council called for “monitoring violations committed by the rebel militia against unarmed civilians in East Al Jazirah and filing cases against perpetrators in national and international courts.”

Attorney General Mohamed Issa Tayfour said the public prosecution was monitoring all violations and would “prosecute all those who commit crimes against the Sudanese people, bringing them to fair trials.”

The “Al Jazirah Conference,” a civil society group, reported that the RSF committed abuses in six towns and 58 villages, including killings, rape, kidnappings, and ethnic cleansing. It noted that curfews and internet outages hampered monitoring.

Tayfour briefed Jabir on the progress of investigations, highlighting advances in arresting suspects and referring cases to court. They also discussed extraditing suspects who fled the country and designating new groups as “terrorists” under a UN Security Council resolution.

The RSF launched the attacks in East Al Jazirah after its commander in the state, Abu Aqla Kikl, defected to the army on Oct. 21.

Malnutrition Kills Six Children in Omdurman

A child receives a life-saving therapeutic food treatment UNICEF photo

October 26, 2024 (OMDURMAN) – Six children have died from malnutrition this month in Dar es Salaam, an Omdurman suburb, a local emergency room reported on Saturday, as Sudan’s conflict exacerbates a growing health crisis.

Thirty other children in Dar es Salaam were diagnosed with malnutrition in October, the emergency room said. Twelve women were also diagnosed with the condition.

“The medical office received new reports of six deaths and 30 new cases of malnutrition,” a member of the Dar es Salaam Emergency Room told Sudan Tribune, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The report comes as fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group enters its sixth month. The conflict has disrupted healthcare and caused widespread food shortages.

In August, the Khartoum state health ministry deployed home-based screening teams to detect malnutrition, attributed to “misguided beliefs and reliance on a single food source.”

The emergency room source also reported 300 malaria cases in Dar es Salaam. It said local health centres received five to six cases daily of watery diarrhoea and vitamin A deficiency, which can cause night blindness.

The source added that health centres face severe shortages of medical laboratories, intravenous solutions and anti-malarial drugs.

The RSF controls several areas of Ombada locality, where Dar es Salaam is located. Food supplies in the area have been depleted, and markets looted and vandalized.

RSF Accused of Fresh Atrocities in Sudan’s Al-Jazirah

Tambul residents flee their homes following the RSF seizure of the area on Oct 24, 2024

October 27, 2024 (AL BUTANA) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of killing civilians, including an infant, and preventing residents from leaving the city of Al Rafaa in eastern Al-Jazirah state amid escalating violence following a local commander’s defection to the army, monitoring groups said on Sunday.

The violence erupted after Abu Aqla Kikl, the RSF commander in Gezira state, switched allegiance to the Sudanese army on Oct. 21. The RSF are believed to be carrying out reprisal attacks in the region, where Kikl held significant influence.

The Gezira Conference, a local monitoring group, said residents discovered the bodies of three people who had been “slaughtered,” including a baby “forcibly taken from his mother,” in Al Sereicha village. Two bodies were reportedly found in fields, and another in an irrigation canal.

The RSF attacked Al Sereicha on Friday, leaving at least 124 people dead and 200 wounded, according to the Gezira Conference. The group also reported that 150 civilians were arrested and taken to RSF detention facilities in Kab Al-Jadid.

“There are fears that dozens of prisoners who were taken to Kab Al-Jadid will be executed,” the Gezira Conference said in a statement. Residents have begun searching irrigation canals and fields for more bodies.

The RSF have also been accused of preventing civilians from leaving Al Rafaa city, effectively using them as human shields against potential airstrikes, according to the Resistance Committees of Al Rafaa. The city is facing severe food, water, and electricity shortages, with communication networks, including Starlink satellite internet services, reportedly being cut off.

Sudan’s Health Minister, Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim, said the ministry is working to evacuate and treat the wounded from Al Sereicha and has contacted the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders for assistance. He also directed all hospitals to provide free treatment to those affected by the violence.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that 9,332 families have been displaced from Tambul and surrounding villages in eastern Gezira between October 20-27. Communication outages are hindering efforts to assess displacement from other affected areas.

Hundreds Killed in Days as War in Sudan Surges

Paramilitary forces ransacked villages and killed hundreds of people, activists said, hastening calls for the United Nations to deploy a mission to protect civilians.

Plumes of smoke rise above several parts of a city.

By Abdi Latif Dahir Declan Walsh and Abdalrahman Altayeb

New York Times

Abdi Latif Dahir reported from Dakar, Senegal; Declan Walsh from Juba, South Sudan; and Abdalrahman Altayeb from Port Sudan, Sudan.

Oct. 26, 2024

A major surge in fighting in Sudan has taken a searing toll on civilians, killing hundreds of people in aerial bombings and revenge attacks in the past week, as Africa’s largest war shifts into a higher gear after the end of seasonal rains.

Territory has changed hands, a prominent commander has switched sides and retreating fighters have sexually assaulted, kidnapped and killed villagers as they have moved through contested countryside, according to activists, democracy groups and accounts on social media.

A military cargo plane slammed into the desert in the western region of Darfur, with at least two Russian crew members on board, offering direct evidence of the growing role of foreign contractors in the fighting.

And Sudan’s military, after losing control of vast areas of Sudan, has finally seemed to regain the advantage over the Rapid Support Forces, the powerful paramilitary group that it has been battling for the past 18 months. Both sides face a barrage of war crimes accusations from the United States and rights groups, although only the R.S.F. has been accused of ethnic cleansing.

“The fighting season has just restarted, and both sides want to jostle for an early advantage,” said Kholood Khair, the founding director of Confluence Advisory, a policy think tank.

The escalating violence comes against a vast tableau of suffering. Over 10 million have been forced from their homes, famine is raging and diseases like cholera and dengue fever are rapidly spreading.

Diplomatic efforts to end the war have stalled, with neither side showing much willingness to compromise on anything, much less reach a cease-fire. Support is growing among activists, peacekeeping experts and human rights groups for the United Nations to deploy a mission to protect civilians, but many are skeptical such a force could be mustered.

“We fear it is on the road to becoming a repeat of the 1994 Rwanda genocide,” Roméo Dallaire, who led the U.N. mission in Rwanda during the genocide, wrote in Foreign Policy on Friday.

In the past week, the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, captured territory in the breadbasket states of El Gezira and Sennar, which the paramilitary forces seized starting last December. Those gains came in part thanks to the defection of Abu Aqla Kaykal, a local militia leader in El Gezira State who, until recently, was fighting with the Rapid Support Forces. Experts said his defection gave the military a political boost and would cut off the paramilitary group’s ability to recruit from the large Shukria tribe.

By publicizing the defection, Ms. Khair said, “the military are trying to assert their claim that they are on the right side” and that their wins are “a victory for the people of Sudan.”

The paramilitaries, who are led by Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, launched retaliatory attacks in villages across El Gezira, local activists reported. At least 300 civilians were killed when fighters rampaged through Tambul village, Elmubir Mahmoud, the secretary general of the Al Jazeera Conference, a volunteer group in the state, said in an interview. Gunmen looted homes, took hostages and sexually assaulted women, he said.

Fifty more civilians were killed in a nearby village on Friday morning, he said, and 200 were wounded. Entire families fled with nothing but their clothes, he said. Others posted handwritten lists of the dead. The New York Times could not independently verify the lists or the figures.

Video footage and photographs from the area that were shared on social media showed villagers standing over dozens of bodies wrapped in funeral shrouds. The footage and photographs could not be immediately verified.

“The situation is very tragic,” Mr. Mahmoud said.

An armed man in an olive green uniform walks in an unpaved road in a barren neighborhood. No others are around.

The R.S.F. denied killing civilians, saying those killed had been fighting alongside the military. “Immediately you carry a gun and raise it, then your civilian status ends,” Omran Abdullah, a senior adviser to General Hamdan, said this past week in an interview with the Arabic-language broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Clashes continued in Khartoum, the capital, where the army recently recaptured several bridges along the Nile. Shelling in the city killed at least 24 people this past week, according to the Emergency Response Rooms, a youth-led volunteer group that was among the favorites for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded this month to a Japanese group of atomic bomb survivors.

Fighting also raged in the western region of Darfur, both around the besieged city of El Fasher in North Darfur and in the deserts to the north, along the border with Libya and Chad. Dozens of people were killed in the state in attacks on displacement camps, hospitals and markets, according to the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab. It said the damage was consistent with aerial bombardment, artillery and arson.

On Monday, a Sudanese military plane crashed about 90 miles north of El Fasher, killing two Russian crew members and several Sudanese fighters, according to Sudanese media reports.

The paramilitaries, who claimed to have shot down the plane, posted a video of the burning wreckage, with jubilant fighters holding aloft two Russian passports and other identifying documents said to be found amid the debris.

An aviation official with knowledge of Sudanese military operations said the plane was one of two Ilyushin-76 planes bought last year by the Sudanese military, which has claimed that it was delivering supplies to besieged troops in El Fasher when it crashed.

But the official said the plane had also been used to carry out “barrel bomb” raids against the R.S.F., flinging crude improvised bombs, as part of the military’s escalating campaign of aerial bombardment.

The aviation official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military details. A spokesman with Sudan’s military did not respond to questions for comment.

In a statement, the Russian Embassy in Sudan said it was investigating whether its citizens were on board the plane, which only last year belonged to a company that had been supplying the other side in the war.

Documentation found in the plane wreckage indicated that its tail number, EX-76011, corresponded with a plane that was previously operated by New Way Cargo, a cargo airline based in the United Arab Emirates. Only last January, the same airline delivered support to the Rapid Support Forces through a base at Amdjarass in eastern Chad, according to a recent report by the Sudan Conflict Observatory, a research body funded by the State Department.

The Emirates has been running an extensive covert operation to supply the R.S.F. through the Amdjarass base, under the guise of providing humanitarian aid, The New York Times and U.N. inspectors have reported. The Red Cross says it is investigating whether its emblem was misused as part of the operation. The Emirates denies supporting the R.S.F.

Documents found on the plane identified one of the Russians as Anton Selivanetz, who appears to have previously worked with the United Nations in Africa, according to a U.N. official and photographs posted to his personal Instagram account. The other man, Viktor Granov, was previously linked to arms trafficking in Africa by Amnesty International, as well as to the famous arms dealer Viktor A. Bout. Mr. Granov’s South African driver’s license was among the debris from the downed cargo plane.

The plane crash highlighted the outsize role of foreign contractors in the worsening conflict, pushing both local and global leaders to call for the United Nations to deploy a mission to protect civilians.

“This is very much a multiregional war of different actors,” Ms. Khair said. By no means, she added, “can it be resolved locally.”

Malachy Browne and Sanjana Varghese contributed reporting.

Abdi Latif Dahir is the East Africa correspondent for The Times, based in Nairobi, Kenya. He covers a broad range of issues including geopolitics, business, society and arts. More about Abdi Latif Dahir

Declan Walsh is the chief Africa correspondent for The Times based in Nairobi, Kenya. He previously reported from Cairo, covering the Middle East, and Islamabad, Pakistan. More about Declan Walsh

How Years of Nigerian Government Failures Caused a Flood ‘Worse Than Boko Haram’

After a recent dam disaster, Nigerian officials blamed God, climate change and poor people. But experts had warned the dam was at risk well before it collapsed. The officials did nothing.

By Ruth Maclean and Ismail Alfa, New York Times

Photograph by Fati Abubakar

Ruth Maclean, Ismail Alfa and Fati Abubakar reported this article from flooded areas of Maiduguri and the Alau dam in northeastern Nigeria.

Oct. 27, 2024

For years, villagers who lived near the Alau dam in northeastern Nigeria had told government officials that the structure was broken and the reservoir behind it too full.

But in early September, after heavy rains, a half-dozen officials stood overlooking the brimming reservoir, their feet squelching in the mud as they tried to reassure Nigerians that the dam was in good condition.

“The dam is not broken,” Alhaji Bukar Tijani, the government official leading the delegation, said that day. “People should not be afraid.”

Four days later, water ripped through the Alau dam wall, leaving two-thirds of the city of Maiduguri underwater, killing up to 1,000 people, said rescue and security workers, and displacing nearly half a million.

After the disaster, government officials blamed God, climate change and the poorest people of Maiduguri, who they said had put themselves in harm’s way by living in cheap homes along the Ngadda River.

But in fact, government agencies knew the dam was badly damaged and did not fix it or correct operational mistakes despite repeated warnings, both from local residents and from engineers who spent six years studying the dam.

Eight months before the dam collapsed, one of the engineers, Mala Gutti, warned dam officials that the structure was under intense hydraulic pressure and at risk of “catastrophic failure.”

The concrete spillway and crest of the Alau dam after the flood. Engineers and villagers said they were badly damaged well before the dam collapsed.

The officials replied that they already knew of the problem and were taking action, Mr. Gutti said in an interview. The Nigerian media found budget lines showing that money had been repeatedly allocated for rehabilitating the dam. But locals said nothing had been done to either fix it or reduce the pressure it was under.

“They are really incompetent, I’m sorry to say,” said Mr. Gutti, who carried out the research with colleagues at the University of Maiduguri. “They don’t know what they are doing.”

The government’s failure to prevent the Alau dam disaster has raised concerns about more than 300 other dams “in dire need of maintenance” in Nigeria, according to Connected Development, a local nongovernmental organization.

Even the local authorities said Maiduguri should serve as a warning: “Other people should learn from Alau dam,” said Alkali Lawan, an official with the ministry of water resources in Borno State, of which Maiduguri is the capital. “It’s a very big disaster.”

Don’t Panic

It rained hard in northeastern Nigeria in August. But because the government said there was no danger, many residents did not move. Many lived downstream of the dam in Maiduguri, an ancient center of learning battered in recent years by violence from insurgents with the extremist group Boko Haram.

Water burst through the dam around midnight one night in September, then rushed toward the city.

As the water crept into her home, Adama Ibrahim, a tailor and candy seller, knew she had to get herself and her 4-year-old son, Mahmud, out. She scrambled together a few of her belongings and made a run for it, heading for a nearby bridge.

In an instant, she said, “the water rose from my knee to my hip to my chest to my neck.”

After a dam collapsed last month in Maiduguri, bridges were washed away and many people were killed.

All she could do was try to keep Mahmud’s head out of the water, hugging his small body to her chest, and pray for rescue.

Help took hours. When it came in the form of a few men with a truck, they would take only children. Ms. Ibrahim handed over Mahmud, a clingy, affectionate toddler, with no idea if either of them would survive.

“Just go,” she told her son.

When she was finally thrown, half drowned, into a rescue truck, she saw a woman and a child crushed to death by panicked people crowding into the vehicle, she said.

All around them, the city was in a frenzy.

Fishermen by the dam capsized and drowned in the surging water. One woman described seeing dozens of her neighbors, including children, swept away to their deaths, trying to flee. Disabled people who once begged outside government offices vanished.

Ms. Ibrahim scoured the devastated city looking for Mahmud. She felt she was losing her mind. After three days, she finally found him.

Nigeria’s emergency management agencies have refused to release a death toll, but according to community members, rescue workers and security personnel unauthorized to speak publicly, it is as many as 1,000.

Raising the Alarm

Most people in Maiduguri had no experience with serious flooding. The city, just on the edge of the Sahel, is arid for much of the year. Water came from the small Alau dam, which was constructed of masonry and earth in 1985 by a Greek contractor for the federal government, with the promise of improving the water supply to Maiduguri and nearby farmland.

Villagers in the community of about 2,000 that lived alongside the dam and fished in its waters knew when they saw a problem.

In 2021, they said a crack appeared in the dam’s earthen embankment, and then the concrete channel designed to allow surplus water to flow out began to collapse. They alerted officials about the dam’s degraded state and the need to release more water. They told the local government council, the military, the federal agency responsible for monitoring, maintaining and repairing the dam, and just about anyone else who would listen.

“We’ve complained so many times,” said Shettima Mohammed, 70, a farmer and fish dealer from the village of Lawajeri. But, he and other villagers said, the authorities either dismissed their warnings, made excuses for not taking action or occasionally delivered sandbags in a futile attempt to fortify the damaged embankment.

Shettima Mohammed, a farmer and fish dealer from Lawajeri, a village by the Alau dam, said he and others had repeatedly tried to raise the alarm about cracks in the structure.

The villagers were not the only ones raising the alarm.

Mr. Gutti, the engineer at the University of Maiduguri, began studying the dam in 2017. He and his team found that the agency overseeing the dam — the Chad Basin Development Agency — had spent years, possibly decades, letting the dam overfill before opening its sluice gates.

The first principle of dam safety is to not let it overfill, Mr. Gutti said. But according to his research, this was done over and over again, putting the dam under intense hydraulic pressure.

“Every year they repeat the same mistake,” he said in an interview.

Adding to the pressure the dam was under, the agency had also let it fill with silt, the engineers said, meaning there was much less room for rainwater. Together, this caused the dam to crack and crumble, Mr. Gutti said.

In a phone interview, Mohammed Zannah, the acting managing director of the agency, acknowledged that the dam had been damaged for several years. He confirmed that the sluice gates were only opened and closed once a year and said his agency did not have enough money for dredging.

But he denied that the reservoir had ever overfilled, that he received warnings from the engineers and that the dam had collapsed in the flood. Instead, he claimed that the obliterated earthen embankments were not part of the dam, as they were not made of concrete. He also defended having told the public that the dam posed no danger before the flooding.

He blamed the flood on increased rainfall caused by climate change.

Running Out of Water

Humanitarian agencies and government officials have warned that the next disaster facing Maiduguri will be severe water and food shortages.

Crops that would have fed 1.6 million people for six months were lost in the flood, according to Chi Lael, a spokeswoman for the United Nations World Food Program. And with the dam broken, farmers say there will not be enough water to grow next season’s rice, sorghum and sweet potatoes.

Now, residents of Maiduguri must rely on the few working boreholes that are not contaminated with floodwater to survive.

Officials have descended on the Alau dam since the disaster, promising its rehabilitation or reconstruction. Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, has said integrity tests will be done on all the country’s dams.

“We are giving assurance to Nigerians that this is going to end well,” Joseph Utsev, the minister of water and sanitation, said this month at a meeting of a new committee tasked with evaluating Nigeria’s dams.

For residents of Maiduguri, the aftermath of the flooding has become another tragedy with which to contend. The area is home to hundreds of thousands of people who fled Boko Haram in recent years after it murdered and kidnapped tens of thousands of people.

During the flood, Fatima Mala clung to this tree, by the tent she has lived in since fleeing Boko Haram. She survived the flood, but has no idea how she will fix her tent or get water for her family.

One of those survivors of Boko Haram, Fatima Mala, clung to a tree with her children in the hours after the dam broke, certain they would all drown. But she managed to keep them alive until they were rescued.

Since the flood, Ms. Mala and her family have been sleeping on a highway center divider — the highest ground they could find. Her husband sold their phone for $2.50 to buy food for the children. It was their last possession.

As she waited in line recently for a cash handout from a Catholic humanitarian agency, Ms. Mala wondered how they would survive. The family was preparing to move back to the tarpaulin tent they had lived under for six years, now half-wrecked and covered in mud.

She has no idea how they will get water.

Even before the flood, her family used to beg for it from nearby houses with boreholes. Now, those boreholes are all contaminated.

“With Boko Haram, once you’ve fled, you can sleep. With this, our chances of survival are slim,” she said. “For me, the flood is worse than Boko Haram.”

Ruth Maclean is the West Africa bureau chief for The Times, covering 25 countries including Nigeria, Congo, the countries in the Sahel region as well as Central Africa.