A Police Officer Testifies That an Ex-prosecutor Never Obstructed Her in the Ahmaud Arbery Case

By RUSS BYNUM

5:21 PM EST, January 30, 2025

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — The case against a former Georgia district attorney charged with discouraging police from arresting the man who killed Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 took a blow Thursday as a police supervisor testified that the accused prosecutor never obstructed her during the investigation.

Jackie Johnson was the chief prosecutor for coastal Glynn County when Arbery was chased by white men in pickup trucks and fatally shot in a quiet subdivision nearly five years ago. She is standing trial on charges that she violated her oath of office and hindered police in the aftermath of the young Black man’s killing.

Stephanie Oliver, Glynn County’s assistant police chief, is one of two officers named in the indictment that charges Johnson with “directing that Travis McMichael should not be placed under arrest.” McMichael is the man seen in a cellphone video shooting Arbery point-blank with a shotgun.

Called as a prosecution witness Thursday, Oliver denied under cross-examination any effort by Johnson or anyone in her office to obstruct her when she was supervising investigators assigned to Arbery’s killing.

“Tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury how Jackie Johnson knowingly and willfully hindered you and directed you not to arrest Travis McMichael,” defense attorney Brian Steel asked Oliver, paraphrasing the language in the indictment.

Oliver replied: “I never had any interaction with Ms. Johnson during this case.”

The second officer Johnson is charged with obstructing, Stephan Lowrey, wasn’t called as a witness before court adjourned Thursday.

Travis McMichael and his father, Greg McMichael, armed themselves with guns and pursued 25-year-old Arbery after he ran past their home on Feb. 23, 2020. A neighbor, William “Roddie” Bryan, joined the chase and recorded cellphone video of the shooting.

Greg McMichael had retired months earlier from his job as an investigator in Johnson’s office. He called her cellphone an hour after the shooting and left a voicemail asking for help.

Two months passed without arrests in the case after the McMichaels told police they suspected Arbery was a thief and that Travis McMichael shot him in self-defense. The video of the shooting leaked online two months later, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police. All three men were arrested and later convicted of murder as well as federal hate crimes.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr’s office indicted Johnson in 2021, arguing that she abused her power to delay arrests and influence the appointment of an outside prosecutor who had decided Arbery’s killing wasn’t a crime.

Johnson has denied wrongdoing, insisting she immediately recused her office and reached out to a neighboring district attorney, George Barnhill, to advise police. He became the first of three outside prosecutors assigned to Arbery’s killing. Barnhill met with Glynn County police the day after the shooting.

In the courtroom Thursday, prosecutor John Fowler asked Oliver about that meeting. She said that investigators presented evidence including the cellphone video to Barnhill, who after about two hours rendered an opinion that the shooting appeared to be justified.

Fowler asked Oliver how much influence Barnhill’s opinion had as police considered their next steps.

“When a prosecuting authority tells you there weren’t any laws broken, it would be pretty difficult for us to do otherwise,” Oliver replied, though she said Barnhill agreed with police that further investigation was warranted.

Fowler never asked Oliver if she spoke with Johnson or was advised by anyone in Johnson’s office not to make arrests. He objected to Oliver answering those questions from Johnson’s defense attorney, but was overruled by the judge.

Jurors also heard from Karen Crittendon, who as a paralegal in the attorney general’s office spent years finding outside prosecutors to take cases for district attorneys with conflicts. Crittendon said she received a letter from Johnson a few days after the shooting requesting the appointment of another prosecutor. Crittendon said she called Johnson for more information.

“She told me she had already reached out to Mr. Barnhill and he agreed to help her with the case,” said Crittendon, who wrote up the paperwork for Barnhill’s official appointment.

Prosecutors say Johnson violated her oath by recommending Barnhill without disclosing he had already told police the shooting of Arbery was justified. Her letter that preceded the phone call doesn’t mention Barnhill.

After two days of testimony in Johnson’s trial, her defense attorneys have seized other opportunities to turn prosecution witnesses to their advantage.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for Arbery’s mother, said the family remains confident that prosecutors will build a strong case.

“They’re still going to have to present witnesses to tie up what Jackie Johnson’s culpability was,” Merritt said. “And I don’t think they’re there yet.”

South Carolina Death Row Inmate Maintains His Innocence and Won’t Ask for Clemency

By JEFFREY COLLINS

5:58 PM EST, January 30, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the final appeal of a South Carolina inmate, he decided not to ask the governor for clemency, saying he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life in prison for a murder he has always insisted he did not commit.

Marion Bowman Jr., 44, is scheduled to die Friday evening by lethal injection for a 2001 killing of a friend found dead in her burning car.

About midday Tuesday, justices without comment refused to stop Bowman’s execution until a court could hear more arguments over whether his trial attorney had too much sympathy for the white victim to put on a vigorous defense was turned down without comment.

Five hours later, Bowman’s lawyer issued a statement saying he would not ask for clemency from Gov. Henry McMaster.

“Marion has steadfastly maintained his innocence of Kandee Martin’s murder, yet he has already spent more than half of his life on death row. He cannot in good conscience ask for a supposed mercy that would require him to spend the rest of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit,” attorney Lindsey Vann wrote.

No governor in the previous 45 executions in South Carolina since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976 has provided mercy and reduced a death sentence to life in prison without parole in the modern era of the death penalty.

Bowman will be the third Black man to be executed in South Carolina in four months after the state restarted its death chamber following a 13-year pause in part because prison officials couldn’t obtain lethal injection drugs.

He is scheduled to die at 6 p.m. Friday with a single dose of pentobarbital at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia.

“After more than two decades of battling a broken system that has failed him at every turn, Marion’s decision is a powerful refusal to legitimize an unjust process that has already stolen so much of his life,” Vann said.

Bowman was convicted of murder in the killing of 21-year-old Kandee Martin in 2001. He has maintained his innocence since his arrest and said he refused a plea deal guaranteeing a life sentence because he did not do it.

Most of the evidence against Bowman at his trial was testimony from friends and family members. Many of them were offered deals to reduce prison time for related crimes or have charges dropped.

One friend said Bowman was angry because Martin owed him money. A second testified Bowman thought Martin was wearing a recording device to get him arrested on a charge.

Bowman said he sold Martin drugs and sometimes when she didn’t have money they would have sex.

Part of Bowman’s final appeal was that he didn’t get a vigorous defense because his lawyer was racist and worried about what a jury in 2002 South Carolina would think about a Black man and a white woman in a relationship.

The attorney “came to the jail and said, ‘son, you need to plead guilty. You are charged with killing a white girl and you and your family are Black,’ ” Bowman wrote.

The South Carolina Supreme Court also rejected Bowman’s appeal calling it “meritless” and comments from Bowman’s trial attorney suggesting he was extra sympathetic to the victim were taken out of context.

Bowman’s lawyers also challenged South Carolina’s shield law, saying is not fair to inmates because it releases so little information about the drug used to kill inmates and the execution procedures.

An anesthesiologist told Bowman’s lawyers that he fears South Carolina’s lethal injection protocols don’t take into account Bowman’s weight, listed as 389 pounds (176 kilograms) in prison records. It can be difficult to properly get an IV into a blood vessel and determine the dose of the drugs needed in people with obesity.

Lawyers for the state responded that obese people get IVs to have surgery and other procedures thousands of times a day.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued South Carolina this week, saying the privacy law is not fair because before it passed last year, governments released plenty of information on executions from the type of rope used by hangmen to the voltage used by the electric chair.

South Carolina law allows inmates to choose between a new and so far unused firing squad, the electric chair and lethal injection.

The two inmates executed since the death chamber restarted — Freddie Owens on Sept. 20 and Richard Moore on Nov. 1 — chose lethal injection.

Pentagon Agency Pauses Celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month and More

By TARA COPP

5:50 PM EST, January 29, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department’s intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal workplace.

The instructions were published Tuesday in a Defense Intelligence Agency memo obtained by The Associated Press and affect 11 annual events, including Black History Month, which begins Saturday, and National Hispanic Heritage Month.

The memo’s authenticity was confirmed by a U.S. official who said the pause was initiated by the DIA and appears not to be policy across the Defense Department. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

“We are receiving questions across the workforce on the way forward,” the memo said. “DIA will pause all activities and events related to Agency Special Emphasis Programs effective immediately and until further notice.”

It also noted a pause on “special observances” hosted throughout the year. While Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth were included, the memo said the change would not affect those national holidays.

The contents of the memo were first reported by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein and posted to X.

Federal agencies have struggled to interpret Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order ending DEI programs across the government and have taken a broad approach due to lack of clearer guidance from the White House on how to comply.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed staff to create a DEI task force to ensure no DEI programs remain in the Pentagon.

“We’re not joking around,” Hegseth said in an interview Wednesday with Fox News. “There’s no changing of names or softly manipulating something. DEI is gone.”

In response to a query from the AP about the memo, the DIA said late Wednesday it “is working with the Department of Defense to fully implement all executive orders and administration guidance in a timely manner. As we receive additional guidance, we will continue to update our internal guidance.”

Passenger Jet with 64 Aboard Collides with Army Helicopter While Landing at Reagan Airport Near DC

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, ERIC TUCKER and TARA COPP

12:30 AM EST, January 30, 2025

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River. There were multiple fatalities, according to a person familiar with the matter, but the precise number of victims was unclear as rescue crews hunted for any survivors.

Three soldiers were onboard the helicopter, an Army official said. There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision, but all takeoffs and landings from the airport were halted while helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene. Inflatable rescue boats were launched into the Potomac River from a point along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport, and first responders set up light towers from the shore to illuminate the area near the collision site. At least a half-dozen boats are scanning the water using search lights..

President Donald Trump said he had been “fully briefed on this terrible accident” and, referring to the passengers, added, “May God Bless their souls.”

The Federal Aviation Administration said the midair crash occurred around 9 p.m. EST when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military helicopter on a training flight while on approach to an airport runway. It occurred in some of the most tightly controlled and monitored airspace in the world, just over three miles south of the White House and the Capitol.

Sound of air traffic control after the two aircraft collide. COURTESY: LiveATC.net.

Investigators will try to piece together the aircrafts’ final moments before their collision, including contact with air traffic controllers as well as a loss of altitude by the passenger jet.

American Airlines Flight 5342 was inbound to Reagan National at an altitude of about 400 feet and a speed of about 140 miles per hour when it suffered a rapid loss of altitude over the Potomac River, according to data from its radio transponder. The Canadian-made Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet, manufactured in 2004, can be configured to carry up to 70 passengers.

A few minutes before landing, air traffic controllers asked the arriving commercial jet if it could land on the shorter Runway 33 at Reagan National and the pilots said they were able. Controllers then cleared the plane to land on Runway 33. Flight tracking sites showed the plane adjust its approach to the new runway.

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later: “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ.” Seconds after that, the two aircraft collided.

The plane’s radio transponder stopped transmitting about 2,400 feet short of the runway, roughly over the middle of the river.

Video from an observation camera at the nearby Kennedy Center showed two sets of lights consistent with aircraft appearing to join in a fireball.

The collision occurred on a warm winter evening in Washington, with temperatures registering as high as 60 degrees Fahrenheit, following a stretch days earlier of intense cold and ice. On Wednesday, the Potomac River was 36 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The National Weather Service reported that wind gusts of up to 25 mph were possible in the area throughout the evening.

The U.S. Army described the helicopter as a UH-60 Blackhawk based at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The helicopter was on a training flight. Military aircraft frequently conduct training flights in and around the congested and heavily-restricted airspace around the nation’s capital for familiarization and continuity of government planning.

The crash is serving as a major test for two of the Trump administration’s newest agency leaders. Pete Hegseth, sworn in days ago as defense secretary, posted on social media that an investigation has been “launched immediately” by the Army and the Defense Department. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, just sworn in earlier this week, said in a social media post that he was “at the FAA HQ and closely monitoring the situation.”

The airport was to remain closed until 5 a.m. Friday.

Located along the Potomac River, just southwest of the city. Reagan National is a popular choice because it’s much closer than the larger Dulles International Airport, which is deeper in Virginia.

Depending on the runway being used, flights into Reagan can offer passengers spectacular views of landmarks like the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Mall and the U.S. Capitol. It’s a postcard-worthy welcome for tourists visiting the city.

The incident recalled the crash of an Air Florida flight that plummeted into the Potomac on January 13, 1982, that killed 78 people. That crash was attributed to bad weather.

The last fatal crash involving a U.S. commercial airline occured in 2009 near Buffalo, New York. Everyone aboard the Bombardier DHC-8 propeller plane was killed, including 45 passengers, 2 pilots and 2 flight attendants. Another person on the ground also died, bringing the total death toll to 50. An investigation determined that the captain accidentally caused the plane to stall as it approached the airport in Buffalo.

____

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Meg Kinnard, Chris Megerian and Michael Biesecker in Washington contributed to this report.

GOP-led Immigration Bill Signals Trump that Tennessee Wants to Aid His Deportation Crackdown

By JONATHAN MATTISE and KIMBERLEE KRUESI

5:44 PM EST, January 29, 2025

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s Republican-dominant Statehouse is on track to become the latest state to adopt immigration enforcement policies designed to assist President Donald Trump’s plan to suppress illegal immigration and carry out one of the largest mass deportation efforts in U.S. history.

In just three days, Tennessee lawmakers fast-tracked GOP Gov. Bill Lee’s $5.5 million proposal to create a new state immigration division and allocate funding for new training grants for local law enforcement agencies seeking immigration agreements to cooperate with federal authorities. The proposal awaits final votes amid expected passage.

Among other steps, the proposal also would require a different, temporary driver’s license for lawful permanent residents noting they aren’t U.S. citizens. Republicans have argued that would help officials determine someone’s voting eligibility.

“The American people spoke loudly in electing him (Trump) that they felt like border security and illegal immigration was an issue which needed to be addressed,” said Republican Sen. Bo Watson of Chattanooga.

Legal questions have overshadowed parts of the plan, including a proposal to create a Class E felony against any local elected official voting for or adopting a so-called sanctuary policy. This could include voting in favor of local government restrictions that impede efforts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain migrants in the U.S. without permission.

Legislative attorneys this week warned lawmakers that such penalties could be unconstitutional due to state and federal protections afforded lawmakers at various levels of government, but those warnings have largely been rebuffed.

Meanwhile, Republicans ignored Democrats’ reminders that sanctuary policies — such as local government restrictions on helping detain immigrants for ICE — are already banned in Tennessee and thus would be unenforceable should any local government push for them.

Instead, the GOP-controlled Senate passed the legislation Wednesday with one Republican joining Democrats in opposition. The similarly Republican-led House is expected to sign off on the bill Thursday before it would go to the governor’s desk for his expected signature.

Tennessee is among an increasing number of Republican states considering bills intended to help Trump’s aggressive immigration agenda. While Trump’s administration hasn’t told states what policies they would like at their level, some legislative leaders have been quick to pass bills they believe would help Trump.

In Florida, lawmakers passed a sweeping immigration bill requiring every level of government — as well as government contractors — to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement “to the fullest extent possible.” Yet unlike Tennessee, Florida lawmakers are currently in a showdown with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has promised to veto the legislation after the Legislature rejected his initial proposals.

Next month, Oklahoma lawmakers are expected to gavel into legislative session where they will consider a bill that would remove election officials who “willfully violate” a ban on sanctuary policies.

In Tennessee, attempts by Democrats and one Republican to tweak the immigration bill by removing the felony offense all failed. A separate attempt to amend the bill to prevent local and state authorities from carrying out immigration enforcement actions around schools, churches and hospitals also was spiked.

Critics warned the fast-tracked plan will face immediate legal challenges.

“This is un-American. This bill is immoral,” said Democratic Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville. “It’s constitutionally inconsistent. It’s economically indefensible because there’s going to be litigation and automatic lawsuits filed because of this legislation.”

Lawmakers were able to speedily advance Lee’s immigration bill because the governor called a special session to discuss the topic and others. Special sessions allow legislators to waive traditional processes and rules.

The agenda includes Lee’s sweeping education voucher proposal that would help families send students to private school, regardless of their income level. Lee is hoping a social media post by Trump endorsing the bill will help tip the scale favorably. The votes come as Trump plans to issue an order to expand school vouchers and other school choice initiatives by telling government agencies to repurpose federal dollars.

The state House and Senate are voting on the voucher bill Thursday.

Large crowds have shown up during the committee hearings and throughout the Capitol to show their opposition to the voucher and immigration bills.

At least three women holding up signs were ejected from a House committee hearing Wednesday on immigration. They were carried by state troopers after the women had been warned to be quiet.

—-

Associated Press photographer George L. Walker contributed to this report.

What Does the Capture of Goma Mean for M23 Group and Their Grievances?

30 January 2025

The New Times (Kigali)

By Moise M. Bahati

Just over three years after the resurgence of the M23 in eastern DR Congo, the rebel group's war with a government coalition saw its biggest escalation on Sunday, January 26, when the rebels entered Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and claimed its control from government forces.

On Monday evening, M23 claimed total control of the airport in Goma, a city that is home to two million people and the hub for international military and humanitarian interventions in the conflict-ridden eastern DR Congo.

By Wednesday afternoon, fighting had stopped in Goma and the rebels had cemented their seizure of the city, controlling key strategic points, including the airport, the border with Rwanda, maritime port on Lake Kivu, national radio and television offices in the region.

One analyst said the new gains by the group could offer an opportunity to resolve the grievances of the M23 and security concerns expressed by Rwanda, which faces an existential threat posed by the presence in eastern DR Congo of the FDLR, a UN-sanctioned terrorist group founded by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

FDLR, which was formed and is composed of perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, has been a constant protagonist in the conflict that has blighted the eastern DR Congo for the past 30 years. It is fighting alongside the Congolese armed forces.

However, the latest escalation was not the first time the rebels captured the city. In 2012, the M23 movement - which takes its name from a botched March 23, 2009 agreement with the Congolese government - held Goma for some time before they retreated to give peace a chance.

The group is fighting against a systematic persecution that has been meted out on Kinyarwanda-speaking Congolese, mostly in eastern DR Congo, hundreds of thousands of whom have committed to the life of refuge for over 30 years.

Rwanda is home to close to 100,000 of these refugees.

In the current conflict, the M23 is pitted against a coalition of government forces (FARDC), the FDLR, thousands of Burundian soldiers, European mercenaries, a Southern Africa-led SADC mission and local militias called Wazalendo.

Do new M23 gains offer opportunity to end conflict?

To end the conflict in eastern DR Congo, particularly the M23 rebellion, its root causes need to be addressed permanently, says Frederick Golooba-Mutebi, a political scientist and analyst of security dynamics in the Great Lakes Region.

He noted that these root causes are the existence of the FDLR and local allied militias such as Mai Mai-Nyatura, which have persecuted Congolese Tutsi communities for nearly 30 years, producing hundreds of thousands of refugees in neighbouring countries.

"Unless you tackle FDLR and Nyatura and they stop causing insecurity in Congo and they stop threatening Rwanda's security, you cannot address that problem," he said.

With the outcry that followed the fall of Goma into the hands of the M23, Golooba-Mutebi noted that the international community should avoid making the same mistakes made over a decade ago.

"In 2012, that is what we were telling those Westerners, that fighting M23 with the Force Intervention Brigade was not going to be a solution," he said.

"They brought the Force Intervention Brigade, they sent M23 elements into Uganda and Rwanda and kept them there. Ten years later, what are we seeing? The war is still on. If they don't address the root causes of the crisis, or if they don't identify the root causes correctly and address them, that crisis will continue."

He said that the international community "must press government of Congo to those people's problems."

He said neighbours DR Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi should be facilitated to eliminate Congo-based militias that threaten the region's security.

Home to a cocktail more than 200 armed groups from different countries, eastern DR Congo has been volatile for three decades now.

The capture of Goma and management by the M23 rebels, Golooba-Mutebi said, "means that the people who have been displaced, who have been living in refugee camps or internally displaced people's camps in Goma can now go home."

"It means that M23 can re-establish order in all the areas that it occupies, provide security for those families that have been displaced, and prove to the international community that they can actually run those areas responsibly."

Chaos and rumours of reshuffle in Kinshasa

Following the capture of Goma, protests - which seemed to be state-sponsored - erupted in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday, with embassies of USA, Belgium, South African, Rwanda, France, Kenya and Uganda vandalized and set on fire.

According to sources, MONUSCO, the UN mission in DR Congo, also reported the brutal lynching of at least one Congolese Tutsi individual who was in a MONUSCO-controlled IDP camp.

Meanwhile, President Felix Tshisekedi appointed Maj Gen Somo Kakule Evariste as the new military governor of North Kivu province, replacing Maj Gen Peter Cirimwami, who was killed by the rebels on January 23.

Unconfirmed reports indicated that Tshisekedi called off last minute a scheduled address to the nation on Tuesday amid internal discontent over his handling of the crisis.

Other reports also pointed to a possible reshuffle of the government, with a number of ministers potentially being dismissed.

Speaking about the vandalism in Kinshasa, a veteran diplomat who spoke to journalist and political commentator Charles Onyango-Obbo described Tshisekedi's UDPS party as "a mob-led organisation which likes to bully adversaries as much as partners."

"So, everything that is happening in Kinshasa is well-coordinated by UDPS," the unnamed diplomat was quoted as saying. "This is a way of hiding the huge humiliation the AFC/M23 inflicted on Kinshasa by taking over Goma, something Tshisekedi had publicly said they would never do."

The diplomat contrasted Tshisekedi and his predecessor Joseph Kabila, who was in office when M23 took control of Goma in 2012.

"I remember when the M23 first took over Goma in 2012, Kabila immediately ordered the withdrawal of the FARDC from the city and its surroundings. That decision saved many lives, unlike Tshisekedi, who didn't give any such order," said the diplomat.

The lesson from European mercenaries

In the war with the M23 rebels, DR Congo employed about 2,000 European mercenaries.

Reports indicate that the mercenaries, most of them from Eastern Europe, were paid salaries ranging from $4,000 to 8,000 a month.

Close to 300 of these mercenaries were handed over to Rwanda on Wednesday after they surrendered to M23 in the recent escalation. They were transferred to Kigali International Airport before they took flights to their countries.

Golooba-Mutebi said the use of mercenaries in DR Congo - a practice prohibited by UN and African Union conventions - should serve a lesion for any country that seeks to externalize solutions to internal problems.

"It's not just eastern DRC. There is no country in the world that should outsource its security to foreign actors," he said.

Golooba-Mutebi said the Congolese government, "must take charge of its own" security.

"They have a very large army. Their army is mismanaged. You can't have soldiers whose salaries you don't pay, or who you pay the bigger salaries, don't dress them properly, you don't equip them properly.

"And then when they fail to fight, you bring in your mercenaries whom you pay probably a thousand times better than your own soldiers. Those mercenaries are in Congo to make money," he said.

"Whether it's Congo or any other country, it's foolish to try and outsource responsibility for your security to foreign mercenaries or foreign governments. Every responsible government of any country must make sure they are capable of safeguarding the security of their own country by themselves," Golooba-Mutebi said.

Read the original article on New Times.

We Must Avoid Manipulation in Seeking Solutions to DR Congo Crisis - Kagame

30 January 2025

The New Times (Kigali)

By Felly Kimenyi

President Paul Kagame has urged his counterparts from the East African Community (EAC) to pull in the same direction and avoid being manipulated in the effort to find a solution to security challenges blighting the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

He was speaking at a crisis summit that brought together heads of state of the EAC to discuss the escalating security situation in the eastern part of DR Congo, which saw the North Kivu provincial capital Goma fall to Congolese rebel group M23.

Held virtually, the summit was convened by Kenyan president William Ruto in his capacity as the current chair of the bloc.

The security crisis in the volatile region also extended to Rwanda, where Congolese government forces and the coalition fighting alongside them shelled across the Rwandan border town Rubavu, killing at least 13 people and injuring hundreds of others.

In his speech during the meeting, Kagame said that while the regional leaders have been articulate when it came to stating the problems in DR Congo - which is also an EAC member state - the actions towards resolving these problems have been in sharp contrast.

He particularly cited the lack of leadership on the process to address these challenges, which was a major stumbling block to finding a lasting solution to a problem that he said he did not have a doubt anybody did not see coming.

"Is there anybody among us who did not see this coming? I for one I saw is coming...because I did not see who was taking charge of the process, who was listening, or who was trying to provide any kind of guidance as to what we should be doing from one thing to another," Kagame said.

The meeting was skipped by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, an issue Kagame said was further indication of the challenge they are faced with; having a meeting where the country concerned has not delegated anyone.

"And the country is supposed to be part of the East African Community...so I am not sure what bearing what we are discussing has on what happens in the process of finding a solution in this country."

Kagame accused Tshisekedi of manipulating other leaders saying that such attitude led to the collapse of meaningful solutions created under the EAC framework, including the East African Region Force (EACRF) which was deployed in DR Congo in November 2022 to help facilitate the implementation of a peace process aimed at bringing an end to the conflict.

The force was later expelled on the orders of the Congolese president, after he asked them to fight the M23 which was against their rules of engagement because they were supposed to facilitate a peace process.

"Tshisekedi felt we were not doing what he wanted, he went to SADC (Southern African Development Community) which agreed to come and do what he wanted, so he sent everybody else packing. And that we complied and kept quiet, what did we expect to come out of that?"

The force, to which Rwanda was not part, was deployed to oversee the Nairobi Peace Process, which was bungled by the Kinshasa regime.

Kagame urged the EAC leaders to have a common understanding of the problems in DR Congo or risk to continue being manipulated by their counterpart, promising them to take care of their interests.

"But even if we were doing everything right, all of us, nothing is going to come out of it until those mainly concerned are part of it and participating and contributing to the success of the process through which they are getting the support."

He said that the best solution to security challenges can never be military, but rather through dialogue, but urged that such processes and their respective facilitators should not be an end into themselves than the results expected from them.

"I don't understand how Tshisekedi keeps thinking that he will resolve the problems to do with rights of people militarily...kill them, shoot them, bring forces that are ready to help like Burundi I don't know whether that has been helpful the last few weeks they have been doing that."

Burundian armed forces are part of the cocktail of forces fighting alongside the Congolese coalition - which also includes FDLR, a militia group founded by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

He added: "I want us, whatever we are saying, and whatever we intend to do, we capture the context rightly and then proceed based on that, then we can get somewhere. But if we keep saying good things to each other and being nice and each one fulfilling their own interest other than common interests as East Africans, then I don't see how we are going to contribute effectively to finding a solution.

"But to have had East African Community expelled from eastern Congo and everybody complied and kept quiet as if it was normal and that everything is being dictated by the person we are trying to help, I did not understand that, and that is why we are where we are."

Read the original article on New Times.

Rwanda President Kagame Dismisses Ramaphosa's Claims On DR Congo Crisis

30 January 2025

The New Times (Kigali)

By Alice Kagina

President Paul Kagame has debunked claims made by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and clarified points discussed during conversations between them over the situation in eastern DR Congo.

Following conversations held virtually by the two Heads of State on two occasions, Ramaphose and other South African officials made statements which Kagame said contained a lot of distortion, deliberate attacks, and even lies.

The duo held talks following the fall of Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province of DR Congo, to the M23 rebel group, a Congolese outfit.

"If words can change so much from a conversation to a public statement, it says a lot about how these very important issues are being managed," Kagame said.

"The Rwanda Defence Force is an army, not a militia," Kagame said in response to his counterpart's statement that the fighting in eastern DR Congo "is the result of an escalation by the rebel group M23 and Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) militia engaging the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC) and attacking peacekeepers from the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC)."

Something that Kagame clarified noting that SAMIDRC is not a peacekeeping force which has no place in this situation, instead, it was authorized by SADC as a belligerent force engaging in offensive combat operations to help the Congolese government fight against its own people, working alongside genocidal armed groups like FDLR which target Rwanda, while also threatening to take the war to Rwanda itself.

On several occasions, He emphasized that Rwanda will never fail to protect its sovereignty and people, knowing very well the price of security and peace.

"SAMIDRC displaced a true peacekeeping force, the East African Community Regional Force, and this contributed to the failure of the negotiation processes."

Additionally, he said: "Ramaphosa has never given a "warning" of any kind, unless it was delivered in his local language which I do not understand."

However, he took noted that the South African President asked for support to ensure that his army has adequate electricity, food and water -a request Kagame agreed to help communicate.

'M23 didn't kill South Africa soldiers'

From the conversations of the two Heads of State, it occurred that President Ramaphosa confirmed to Kagame that M23 rebels did not kill the soldiers from South Africa, rather, FARDC did.

During the intense fighting earlier this week, South Africa lost 13 soldiers who were fighting alongside Congolese government forces, FARDC, European mercenaries, and a coalition of other groups, including FDLR -the militia group formed by perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

"If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day," Kagame noted.

In recent weeks, the M23 captured the towns of Minova, in South Kivu, and Masisi, in North Kivu, ahead of taking the city of Goma on Sunday night.

The rebels demand direct peace talks with the Congolese government, which has ruled out any possibility of talks with the rebels, accusing them of being a terrorist movement.

Regional initiatives have failed to end the war politically, with the Congolese government declining political will and pursuing a military solution.

Read the original article on New Times.

DR Congo Crisis Not Just Regional Concern, 'But Global Responsibility,' Says UN Official

Wassy Kambale/OCHE

A mother and her child sit outside their makeshift shelter at the Lushagala displacement site in Goma, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The site, hosting more than 71,000 people, provides refuge to families fleeing ongoing hostilities.

28 January 2025

allAfrica.com

By Peter Kenny

Geneva — The humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is "not just a regional concern but a global responsibility," a UN spokesperson said Tuesday.

Matthew Saltmarsh, global spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said at a press conference the situation in the DRC is deteriorating, with nearly half a million people displaced in North and South Kivu provinces in January alone.

“Hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee multiple active conflict zones, and the capacity to accommodate and assist those in need is saturated,” said Saltmarsh.

“Many of these individuals have fled violent attacks, including the use of heavy artillery targeting internally displaced person sites—spaces intended to provide safety and refuge.”

He said several sites on the outskirts of Goma, housing more than 300,000 displaced people, had emptied within a few hours due to fighting.

The eastern part of the DRC at Goma, previously a refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced people, is now at the centre of a conflict growing daily, with escalating conflict, further endangering lives, he said.

“There are growing protection concerns as hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced in and around Goma,” Shelley Thakral of the World Food Programme said at the press conference.

-- Limited access to food

She said that many people are exposed to gender-based violence and with limited access to food, safe and clean drinking water, and an income – the risks facing the populations will increase in such volatile conditions.

Thakral said even before the recent escalation of violence, some 5.1 million people in Ituri, North and South Kivu, had been displaced, forced into overcrowded camps with little food and no security.

At the press conference, Jens Laerke of the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also noted reports of gender-based violence and rape committed by fighters, the looting of property, including a humanitarian warehouse, and that humanitarian and health facilities were hit.

“Hospitals in Goma are reportedly overwhelmed,” said Laerke. “Electricity and water supplies are compromised, and yesterday, internet services were cut off, and Goma was still offline this morning.”

Laerke said that since the flare-up of hostilities at the beginning of the year, hundreds of thousands of people have attempted to flee the violence, including the 700,000 people already displaced and living in dire conditions on the outskirts of Goma.

Dr. Adelheid Marschang, World Health Organization emergency coordinator for the DRC, said the WHO is especially worried “for the health and safety of women and girls who are at a higher risk of violence, including rape.”

She said, “Pregnant women are at risk, with very high maternal death rates, even before the violence escalated.

“Capacities to deal with the newly injured are stretched and WHO is working with authorities and partners to identify solutions and to increase local capacities to deal with this.”

Rwanda-backed Rebels Take More Towns as They Expand Control After Seizing East DR Congo’s Largest City

By CHINEDU ASADU and JUSTIN KABUMBA

6:16 PM EST, January 29, 2025

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Rebels backed by Rwanda captured more towns in eastern Congo on Wednesday as they moved beyond the key city of Goma in an apparent attempt to expand their control in the conflict-battered region.

The rebels advanced toward the center of South Kivu province after taking several towns, including Kalungu, Kanyezire and Mukwinja, according to a local civil society leader and an aid worker in the area. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the developments were concerning, and that the United Nations was taking measures to protect civilians and U.N. staff. The advance also raised fears of a prolonged occupation by the rebels, who have said they plan to set up a new administration in Goma, a city of 2 million people.

“Left unchecked, the fighting could spread ... recalling the horrors of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when millions died,” the Crisis Group said, citing the last, multi-country war there.

Unlike now, the rebels captured Goma only briefly during their first rebellion in 2012, withdrawing after a few days under international pressure on Rwanda.

Meanwhile, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi was conspicuously absent from a virtual summit of a regional East African bloc that began late Wednesday, hosted by Kenya.

Tshisekedi was on an official visit to Angola, which had mediated a ceasefire between Congo and Rwanda last year, the Angolan presidency said in a statement. He was to discuss the situation in eastern Congo with Angola’s President João Lourenço.

Faced with the rebel offensive, soldiers fighting for Congo — many of them mercenaries from other nations — were laying down their weapons at the border with Rwanda. Congo’s army seemed to be in disarray, and those at the border appeared disorganized and ill-equipped for any major fighting.

A rebel spokesman said nearly 300 mercenaries have surrendered their arms and returned to their countries.

“Let the people of Goma be calm, peace is here,” said Willy Ngoma, a spokesman of the M23 group. Ngoma, who is on the U.N. Security Council’s sanctions list for crimes committed by the rebels.

“It’s like you are fighting without command,” said Jean Marie Ndahambaza, one of the surrendering soldiers.

Armed groups have long vied for control of eastern Congo, which is rich in minerals critical to much of the world’s technology, and has been the scene of proxy battles between Congo and neighboring Rwanda, as well as other powers. Fighting reignited this week, and the rebels backed by Rwanda, known as M23, announced Monday that they had captured much of the provincial capital of Goma.

A city, long battered by conflict, falls again

Hundreds of thousands of Goma residents were trying to get away from the fighting, with some retreating into Congo’s interior to seek protection, and others crossing into nearby Rwanda.

Rwandan border patrol agents searched the belongings of those crossing the border in waves, with suitcases and children in tow. The displaced, looking exhausted but relieved, were then taken care of by the Rwandan Red Cross.

Meanwhile, rebels took control of Goma’s airport, said Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson, warning of risks of a breakdown of law and order in the city, “given the proliferation of weapons.” Clashes with rebels continued in some parts of Goma on Wednesday afternoon, including the central neighborhoods of Katoyi and Kahembe. Other parts of the city were calm, with less fighting, a day after thousands of fleeing people hunkered down by roadsides as missiles flew overhead, and injured streamed into overwhelmed hospitals.

Tshisekedi was due to address the country later on Wednesday in first public remarks since rebels took Goma.

The chaotic situation has its roots in ethnic conflict: M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis in Congo. Rwanda has claimed the Tutsis are being persecuted by Hutus and former militias responsible for the 1994 genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and others in Rwanda. Many Hutus fled into Congo after the genocide.

Analysts say the real fight is for control over the Congo’s vast mineral deposits, estimated to be worth $24 trillion, and critical to much of the world’s technology. M23 rebels appear to be preparing to stay in Congo for good, and have told The Associated Press of their plans to set up an administration and return displaced people to their homes.

Analysts have warned that securing a rebel withdrawal could be more difficult than in 2012, when M23 first captured Goma. Murithi Mutiga, program director for Africa at the Crisis Group, said that the group has become more emboldened by Rwanda, which feels Congo is ignoring its interests in the region and failed to meet demands of previous peace agreements.

While Rwandan leaders, mostly Tutsis, have denied backing the rebels, U.N. officials say some 4,000 Rwandan troops are in the Congo.

Strong response from other parts of Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose troops are among the foreign peacekeepers in Congo, blamed the “Rwanda Defense Force militia” for the fighting and called for the withdrawal of the rebels.

“The territorial integrity (of Congo) must be respected,” Ramaphosa said, adding that South Africa will ensure its peacekeepers “remain well-equipped and sufficiently supported during this critical mission.”

Rwandan President Paul Kagame said on X that he spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on “the need to ensure a ceasefire and address the root causes of the conflict once and for all.”

Kenya Airways canceled all of its flights to Kinshasa on Wednesday following the looting and burning of at least 10 foreign embassy buildings in the capital the day before, a company agent at Kinshasa airport told the AP.

___

Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria. Associated Press writers Christina Malkia and Jean-Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo; Ignatius Ssuuna in Gisenyi, Rwanda; Mark Banchereau in Paris, Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg and Edith M. Lederer in New York contributed to this report.

DR Congolese Civilians Caught in a Growing Rebellion Face a Terrible Choice

By IGNATIUS SSUUNA and RODNEY MUHUMUZA

12:20 PM EST, January 29, 2025

GISENYI, Rwanda (AP) — Many of the millions of people trapped in eastern Congo’s escalating rebellion face a terrible choice: Retreat into Congo’s interior and seek the protection of a weak army in disarray, or cross into nearby Rwanda, which is accused of backing the rebels.

The largely unchecked rebel advance that seized Goma, the region’s largest city, this week has raised fresh questions about the inability of Congolese troops and their allies to protect civilians as a decades-long African war revives almost 1,000 miles from Congo’s capital — and a short walk from Rwanda.

“On one hand, you have a foreign force that you cannot trust fully. On another side, you have a weaker army, corrupt,” said Imani Zawadi, who fled into Rwanda from a village in the outskirts of Goma, a city of 2 million. “So you have nobody to trust.”

Her fears encapsulated those of many Congolese uprooted by the M23 rebels’ violence over the years. Already. more than 1,200 Congolese — including some surrendering soldiers — have sought refuge in Rwanda since the rebels marched into Goma, closing the airport and overwhelming hospitals with casualties.

This time, there are concerns that the M23 will hold Goma as a sort of buffer zone as Rwanda essentially redraws the border with its vastly bigger neighbor in a region estimated to have trillions of dollars in largely untapped mineral wealth like cobalt and gold. Rebel leaders say they plan to set up an administration in the city.

The rebels have claimed multiple victories at the expense of a larger Congolese army that has the support of a 14,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force as well as troops from African countries deployed under a regional bloc. There are even Romanian military contractors that Rwandan authorities describe as mercenaries.

One of the Romanians knelt on the ground, hands behind his head, as rebels sought to usher him and others toward the border crossing.

“We are fighting for the future of our children. Sit down. On the ground,” M23 spokesperson Willy Ngoma told him. Ngoma said 289 mercenaries were escorted into Rwanda and sent “home,” as a line of U.N. peacekeepers watched.

The M23 spokesperson called the rebels “a people’s army” that would bring peace.

The rebel advance shatters a 2024 ceasefire and echoes the M23’s capture of Goma over a decade ago, which didn’t last long as the international community pressured Rwanda to back off.

Rwanda, which has long denied supporting the M23 despite evidence collected by United Nations experts, says it wants to protect ethnic Tutsis in Congo — even as rebel commanders stand accused of exploiting minerals and other natural resources in areas they control. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, who has led the country’s recovery from its 1994 genocide that killed some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, told diplomats at a luncheon this month in Kigali that his concerns about the perceived threat in Congo remain strong.

“The very people who murdered people here in Rwanda, those who carried out the genocide, still exist, are still armed, are still practicing the ideology of genocide in our neighborhood, in eastern Congo,” Kagame said on Jan. 16. “Supported by government, supported by leaders in that place, on the watch of this international community that talks about values, that talks about interests.”

Kagame has said the question of how to protect Congolese Tutsis is one of two that Congo’s leaders must answer in any negotiations with the M23, along with Rwanda’s fears that other rebel groups among the dozens active in eastern Congo pose a security risk.

Rwandan authorities assert that a rebel group known by its acronym FDLR, whose members include alleged perpetrators of the genocide, “is fully integrated into” the Congolese military, which denies the charges.

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has previously ruled out direct negotiations with M23, and peace talks leading to last year’s ceasefire were between Congo and Rwanda, with Angola mediating. But the seizure of Goma, which sparked violent demonstrations in the capital, Kinshasa, as locals protested what they called the international community’s inaction, could force his hand.

Kagame’s strong stance on policing eastern Congo has led some pro-Kagame intellectuals in the region to suggest that Rwandan authority over the region would be a better outcome for civilians.

Some of those civilians fleeing into Rwanda felt otherwise.

“The truth is that Rwanda is trying to take our territory, but this will not be possible no matter how long it takes,” said one, Rose Clemency.

The electrical engineer acknowledged that “of course our army is weak, and we do blame the government for not empowering the army to defend our territory against Rwandan soldiers.” But she said Congolese believe that the “intruders” must be chased out before assigning blame.

“Even in exile, we shall not accept to impose M23 on us,” she added.

Rwanda’s national broadcaster released footage of border authorities and soldiers appearing to treat the fleeing Congolese with dignity. But some Congolese told The Associated Press they hated having to seek shelter in Rwanda and had no choice.

As the United States and others call for a ceasefire in the region, humanitarian concerns grow as more people flee once more.

Goma was already home to thousands of people who had fled years of war as rebel groups jostled for control of the region’s mineral wealth. In the three weeks leading to the city’s capture, the fighting with the M23 displaced about 400,000 people, according to the U.N.

Now the future of Goma, long the region’s hub for crucial humanitarian assistance for millions, is in doubt, and the U.N. says many people have “no safe space to go.”

“We are just hostages” of the rebels, said Anzimana Semena, who fled into Rwanda with his three sons and was being processed in Gisenyi, a town across the border.

___

Muhumuza contributed from Kampala, Uganda.

Refugee Resettlement Agencies Scramble After Trump Orders Them to Halt Their Federally Funded Work

By TIFFANY STANLEY and PETER SMITH

11:10 AM EST, January 29, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tens of thousands of recently arrived refugees might lose support for basic necessities like food and rent after a Trump administration order suspended federal funding for resettlement agencies.

There is widespread confusion as agency leaders seek greater clarity from the government. The most pressing question is how they will continue supporting refugees already under their care in the United States.

The suspension of federal funding “paralyzes the program,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, the national Lutheran refugee resettlement agency.

The federal refugee program — a form of legal migration to the U.S. — has been in place for decades and assists those who have escaped war, natural disaster or persecution. Despite longstanding support for accepting refugees, the program has become politicized in recent years.

Religious organizations shoulder the bulk of refugee resettlement work in the United States. Out of the 10 federally funded national agencies that resettle refugees, seven are faith-based.

“We’re not getting any useful guidance from the government right now,” said Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, the Jewish refugee resettlement agency. Most of the organization’s budget is from federal funding.

“We will fight the government on this,” Hetfield said.

The Trump administration has halted new refugee admissions. But some refugee-agency leaders say last Friday’s “stop work” order goes a step further, and they assume it will affect refugees in the U.S., who rely on federal funds for housing, food and support during their first three months in the country.

This foreign assistance was stopped before the Trump administration tried to pause all federal grants and loans on Tuesday. Both directives are part of an ideological review of government spending.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio agreed Tuesday to at least temporarily keep spending money on “life-saving” humanitarian aid. On Wednesday morning, it was still not clear to refugee agencies whether they would receive such a waiver or whether the government would continue funding their U.S. programs.

Resettlement agencies are trying to honor their commitments — and keep paying their staffs and administrative costs. But their reserves and private donations will have difficulty matching millions in lost federal funding, if indeed it has all stopped.

“Now we’re in a difficult situation with thousands of individuals we have already settled in communities in the United States,” said Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy for World Relief, an evangelical resettlement agency.

“Our goal of initial assistance is to get them on a relatively quick path to economic self-sufficiency — working, able to cover their own expenses,” he said.

World Relief has been fundraising to help with rent and other services for new arrivals.

A funding shortage “will actually be harmful to communities that have received these individuals, because they won’t have the support to integrate as quickly as they should,” Soerens said.

What did the stop-work order say?

A Jan. 24 letter sent to one of the resettlement agencies from the State Department stated that its resettlement grant funding is “immediately suspended” pending a review of foreign assistance programs, which President Donald Trump ordered over a 90-day period. The letter — from the department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration — said a decision would then be made on whether the funding would be restored, altered or cut entirely.

The agency must immediately “stop all work” and “not incur any new costs” under the grant. The letter said the agency “must cancel as many outstanding obligations as possible.”

Other agencies reported receiving similarly worded directives.

The same grants also fund the initial resettlement costs of those arriving with Special Immigrant Visas, most of whom are Afghans who helped the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan, along with their families. That’s a different category from refugees, but the same grants fund assistance with both.

Leaders of religious organizations react to the directive

U.S. religious groups have been resettling refugees for more than a hundred years. Today there are national agencies with Catholic, Jewish and Protestant roots.

“For so many of us, welcoming the stranger is a core tenet of why we do this work,” said Vignarajah of Global Refuge, citing biblical mandates.

Church World Service helps to resettle about 12% of refugees nationwide — some 12,000 in the last fiscal year, said its senior vice president, Erol Kekic.

“It really is a bridge to self-sufficiency,” Kekic said of the services for which federal funding is now apparently paused. He estimates about 4,000 refugees served by his organization would be affected.

Refugees undergo an extensive vetting process.

“President Trump has said he will defend persecuted Christians,” said Soerens of World Relief. “And the U.S. refugee resettlement program is one of the primary ways that the U.S. government protects Christians and others fleeing persecution.”

Mission Adelante, a World Relief affiliate organization in Kansas City, Kansas, sent a letter Monday seeking to raise $70,000 to meet the basic needs of 22 families it is serving through a program that supports newly arrived refugees. It dubbed the campaign the “Love Mercy Initiative.”

“When the government abandons its commitment to the vulnerable, the church must step in to fill the gap,” wrote Jarrett Meek, the group’s founder and executive director.

How many people could this affect?

This order stands to affect at least 26,494 refugees and recipients of Special Immigrant Visas, and almost certainly more, according to an analysis of government statistics.

The order pertains to grants that fund resettlement of newly arrived refugees within the first three months of their time in the United States.

In November and December — both within the current three-month period — some 19,679 refugees and 6,815 SIV recipients were resettled in the United States, according to the federal Refugee Processing Center. It has not yet provided statistics on January resettlements, who would also be affected. Some arrivals in late October, also within the three-month window, could also be affected.

Refugee program remains politicized, despite longstanding support

Refugee admissions plummeted during the previous Trump administration. The U.S. admitted about 11,000 refugees during the last year of his first term – the fewest in the program’s history. Former President Joe Biden rebuilt the program, admitting nearly 100,000 refugees last year, a three-decade high.

A 2022 Pew Research Center survey showed broad support for refugee resettlement among the U.S. population overall and among evangelicals, a core Trump constituency. About two-thirds of white evangelicals said it was at least “somewhat important” for the U.S. to take in refugees, as did four-fifths of Hispanic evangelicals, according to Pew.

Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, criticized his church’s role in immigration advocacy on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops helps resettle refugees and has been critical of Trump’s immigration policies. Vance suggested the bishops were in it for the money.

“Are they worried about humanitarian concerns or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” Vance said.

In a brief statement Sunday, while not referring directly to Vance, the USCCB said it has been partnering with the federal government since 1980 on refugee resettlement.

“In our agreements with the government, the USCCB receives funds to do this work; however, these funds are not sufficient to cover the entire cost of these programs,” the statement said. “Nonetheless, this remains a work of mercy and ministry of the Church.”

___

Contributing to this story were AP reporters Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis and Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas. Smith reported from Pittsburgh.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

ECOWAS Pledges to ‘Keep Door Open’ After Anti-imperialist West African Nations Exit Regional Bloc

By CHINEDU ASADU

12:42 PM EST, January 29, 2025

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The anti-imperialist West African nations of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have formally withdrawn from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, the body said Wednesday.

The previously announced withdrawal, which marks the culmination of a yearlong process during which the group tried to avert an unprecedented disintegration, “has become effective today,” ECOWAS said in a statement.

The bloc, however, said that it has also decided to “keep ECOWAS’ doors open,” and requested member nations to continue to accord the trio their membership privileges, including free movement within the region with an ECOWAS passport.

ECOWAS president Omar Alieu Touray told reporters in Nigeria’s capital Abuja that despite the split, the bloc hopes to still collaborate with the countries in tackling some of the region’s challenges, including the deadly extremist violence ripping through the region.

The split “worsens a legitimacy crisis of ECOWAS which has often failed people’s expectations in upholding the rule of law,” said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

“That the three poorest member states decided to leave the bloc makes ECOWAS in the eyes of its citizens look even more like a loser in this conflict,” he said.

Widely seen as West Africa’s leading political and regional authority, the 15-nation ECOWAS was formed in 1975 to “promote economic integration” in member states. It has struggled in recent years to reverse coups in the region where citizens have complained of not benefitting from rich natural resources.

The bloc has since grown to become the region’s top political authority, often collaborating with states to solve domestic challenges on various fronts from politics to economics and security.

In parts of West Africa, however, ECOWAS has lost its effectiveness and support among citizens, who see it as representing only the interests of the leaders and not that of the masses, said Oge Onubogu, director of the Africa Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center think tank.

After coming into power, the governments in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso announced that they were leaving ECOWAS. They then created their own security partnership known as the Alliance of Sahel States, severed military ties with longstanding Western partners such as U.S. and France, and turned to Russia for military support.

It’s the first time in the bloc’s half-century of existence that its members have withdrawn in such a manner. Analysts say it’s an unprecedented blow to the group that could threaten efforts to return democracy and help stabilize the increasingly fragile region.

ECOWAS said that its members were also required to treat goods and services coming from the three countries in accordance with ECOWAS regulations and provide full support and cooperation to ECOWAS officials from the countries during their assignments.

Associated Press journalist Dyepkazah Shibayan in Abuja contributed.

Return to North Gaza 'Shatters Illusion of Victory': Israeli Media

By Al Mayadeen English

28 Jan 2025 10:50

Israeli military analyst Amos Harel explains Benjamin Netanyahu's fantasy of a total victory in Gaza has vanished with the return of Palestinians to the north.

The scenes of Palestinians returning to northern Gaza through the Netzarim crossing "demolish the illusion of an absolute victory," Israeli media said, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's vow of a total victory in Gaza.

According to Haaretz's military analyst, Amos Harel, the Palestinians' return to northern Gaza and what remains of their homes on foot, particularly through the Netzarim route, asserts the end of the war between "Israel" and Hamas to a great extent.

Footage of their return taken on Monday invalidates Benjamin Netanyahu and his backers' vow of a total victory in Gaza, Harel also added. 

"Netanyahu, for most of the war, refused to discuss arrangements for the day after in Gaza. He did not agree to allow a window for the participation of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza and continued to push a delusional scenario of fully defeating Hamas," the Israeli analyst added, stressing that currently, it seems like the prime minister will have to settle for much less. 

As for Hamas, the prioritization of prisoner releases, especially its handling of the incident involving the captive, Arbel Yehud, is a tactical concession in favor of a strategic gain: The return of residents to northern Gaza and the prevention of the resumption of fighting, he explained. "This is something for which the final decision may rest in the hands of US President Donald Trump. The planned meeting between him and Netanyahu seems to be of critical importance," according to Harel.

He further expanded, clarifying that the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza would complicate the so-called evacuation process of civilians from the north once again should the Israeli military invade the district, regardless of whether the ceasefire agreement collapses after its allocated time and first phase, among other operational constraints. 

'No absolute elimination'

In this context, Harel also claimed that the Israeli occupation dealt Hamas the heaviest blow it could against an adversary since its formation. However, it is not the absolute elimination [of Hamas], he asserted. 

"This is the source of the promises made by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is clinging to his seat despite his opposition to the prisoner deal, regarding a quick return to war," he said, adding that the reality is far from what the Israeli cabinet is trying to fabricate, as is the possibility of resuming the war on Gaza. 

Harel then affirmed that the decision would be made by US President Donald Trump, rather than Netanyahu. 

He noted that "Trump loves ambiguity and lack of clarity until he decides," which explains the difficulty in predicting his behavior." But according to the indications he has dropped in recent weeks, "his main concern is not resuming the war but ending it."

For now, it appears that Trump intends to pressure Netanyahu into completing the prisoner exchange deal, establishing a US-Saudi-Israeli mega deal, and potentially recognizing a future vision for a Palestinian state, Harel said. 

However, Trump suggested on Saturday a controversial plan to "just clean out" Gaza through the mass expulsion of its population to neighboring Egypt and Jordan, framing the proposal as a step toward "Middle East peace."

Labeling Gaza a "demolition site" in the aftermath of the Israeli genocide, Trump revealed he had discussed the idea with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and planned further talks with Egypt’s leadership.

"I'd like Egypt to take people. And I'd like Jordan to take people," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

He estimated that "probably a million and a half people" could be moved, adding, "We just clean out that whole thing. You know, over the centuries it's had many, many conflicts, that site. And I don't know, something has to happen."

DRC Protesters Attack Embassies Accused of Perpetrating Violence

By Al Mayadeen English

28 Jan 2025 23:10

The Democratic Republic of the Congo witnessed violent demonstrations that saw protesters extensively attacking foreign embassies accused of complicity in violence.

Protests erupted in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on Tuesday as people stormed multiple embassies and set fires before the police used tear gas to disperse crowds. The demonstrations were fueled by anger over a Rwandan-backed rebel offensive in eastern Congo.

Targets of the unrest included embassies of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and the United Nations. Protesters accused these nations of complicity in Rwanda's alleged support for the M23 rebels, who recently captured the provincial capital of Goma.

At the French embassy, the protesters burned tires, scaled walls, and chipped away at the building’s exterior. "All of this is because of Rwanda," said protester Joseph Ngoy. "What Rwanda is doing is in complicity with France, Belgium, the United States, and others. The people of Congo are tired. How many times should we die?"

Congo has long accused Rwanda of aiding the M23 rebels and deploying soldiers to assist them, allegations that Kigali denies. Rwanda, in turn, accuses Kinshasa of undermining peace efforts and failing to address militia threats near their shared border. 

Extensive damages to foreign embassies

The protests in Kinshasa left embassies damaged, with several gates burned and properties looted. Okello Oryem, Uganda's state minister for foreign affairs, described extensive damage at the Ugandan embassy, saying, "Chairs, desks, tables have been looted. The curtains have also been pulled out."

Belgian and French officials confirmed fires at their compounds. Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesperson David Jordens reported that the embassy gate was set on fire but quickly extinguished, with additional security later requested from Congolese authorities.

Police used tear gas to push back demonstrators, but witnesses reported that security forces did not intervene in some attacks, such as the looting of the Kenyan embassy. 

Congo’s Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya called for calm and urged protesters to cease attacks on foreign missions. "We have every right to express our anger, but let's do it peacefully," he said on local television. "Let's not attack the consular infrastructures of countries accredited in Congo."

M23 rebels seize Goma 

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel militia announced on Monday that its forces captured the city of Goma in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, marking one of the most intense escalations both countries have faced in years. 

On Sunday, M23 militants seized key towns near Goma, including Minova and Sake, disrupting the supply of food and goods, with reports suggesting Rwanda may target Bukavu next. 

Fierce battles between M23 advance groups and the Congolese army were reported all day on Saturday, leading to the death of 9 South African troops and a Uruguayan member of the UN peacekeeping mission, in addition to the injury of four others.

The battle seemed to be pushing even closer to Goma's outskirts, with one source claiming that combat had reached Nzulo, almost within the city boundaries, bypassing the massive refugee camps that house more than a million people displaced by the conflict.

An M23 commander then announced the seizure of Goma, while the United States and France acknowledged its occupation, although officials have yet to publicly announce it. 

African Union Urges Trump to Revisit US Exit From WHO

28 January 2025

The Independent (Kampala)

By Agencies

The African Union on Jan.22 urged new U.S. President Donald Trump to revisit his decision to withdraw Washington from the World Health Organisation.

In a statement, African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said that as a member of the world health body, the U.S. was "crucial in shaping global WHO instruments and norms on public health security and wellbeing over the past seven decades."

Upon taking office Jan.20, Trump signed an executive order formalising the US withdrawal from the UN health agency.

The executive order cited several reasons for the withdrawal, including the WHO's "mismanagement" of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises, its "failure" to implement urgently needed reforms, and its "lack of independence from undue political influence" from member states.

Mahamat recalled in a statement that the U.S. was an "early and strong supporter" of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the African Union's agency for public health emergencies, which works with the WHO to address pandemics.

Expressing hope that the US government will reconsider its decision, Mahamat said: "Today, now more than ever, the world depends on WHO to carry out its mandate to ensure global public health security as a shared common good."

The WHO, established on Apr. 7, 1948, is an organization of 194 member states. The world health body operates in over 150 locations across six regions and is responsible for global public health.

Africa's reliance on WHO support faces a critical test after Trump withdrew the United States - and the considerable funding it contributes - from the global body. The WHO gets its funding from member states based on a predetermined basis that differs by country. The U.S. contributes up to 22% of the WHO budget while Uganda contributes 0.010% and China 15%.

The departure of the U.S. could have serious consequences across the African continent. But one some senior African health officials have said it could also push African nations to take greater control of their health systems.

Between 2022 and 2023, Washington contributed $1.28 billion to the WHO orld Health Organization (WHO) - more than any other country.

But hours after taking office on Monday, Donald Trump signed an executive order announcing that the United States was leaving the WHO and taking its funding with it citing dissatisfaction over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the inequality of contributions.

"China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO," the order read.

The move has raised concerns on the African continent about how the loss of finance could impact the fight against HIV-Aids, and the growing mpox epidemic - which the African Union's health watchdog (Africa CDC) has declared a public health emergency.

On Jan. 22 the African Union expressed dismay over the withdrawal, urging the Trump administration to reconsider.

Professor Yap Boum II, the deputy coordinator of the CDC's mpox response uni, told RFI that Trump's decision was anticipated, it had been in the air, and was not surprising.

He said, however, it will have a significant impact. For instance, in responding to the mpox epidemic the WHO and Africa CDC are coordinating efforts, and out of the projected funding of $1 billion, the U.S. contributes $500 million - half of the total. This withdrawal could have substantial consequences.

"We need to consider what the US's exit from the WHO signifies. Does it imply a reduction in US support for global health? These are distinct issues. It's crucial to understand the practical implications so that we can all adapt accordingly," he said.

The U.S. is the largest contributor to the fight against HIV-Aids in Africa and globally. In response to major epidemics like Covid-19 and now mpox, the U.S. has provided half of the funding.

Boum II said the impact will be considerable, depending on how the situation unfolds.

"Is the WHO all there is to health? That's the key question. Could this open the door for other agencies, such as USAID or various organisations, to receive the funds. And, couldn't this also be an opportunity for African philanthropists for example to contribute more to the Africa CDC? Couldn't this lead to a reorganisation of the global health landscape? We'll get more clarity on this in the coming weeks and months," he said.

Read the original article on Independent (Kampala).

CDC Ordered to Stop Working with WHO Immediately, Upending Expectations of an Extended Withdrawal

President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization again in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. 

By MIKE STOBBE

6:12 PM EST, January 27, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official, John Nkengasong, sent a memo to senior leaders at the agency on Sunday night telling them that all staff who work with the WHO must immediately stop their collaborations and “await further guidance.”

Experts said the sudden stoppage was a surprise and would set back work on investigating and trying to stop outbreaks of Marburg virus and mpox in Africa, as well as brewing global threats. It also comes as health authorities around the world are monitoring bird flu outbreaks among U.S. livestock.

The Associated Press viewed a copy of Nkengasong’s memo, which said the stop-work policy applied to “all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means — in person or virtual.” It also says CDC staff are not allowed to visit WHO offices.

President Donald Trump last week issued an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. from WHO, but that did not take immediate effect. Leaving WHO requires the approval of Congress and that the U.S. meets its financial obligations for the current fiscal year. The U.S. also must provide a one-year notice.

His administration also told federal health agencies to stop most communications with the public through at least the end of the month.

“Stopping communications and meetings with WHO is a big problem,” said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a University of Southern California public health expert who collaborates with WHO on work against sexually transmitted infections.

“People thought there would be a slow withdrawal. This has really caught everyone with their pants down,” said Klausner, who said he learned of it from someone at CDC.

“Talking to WHO is a two-way street,” he added, noting that the two agencies benefit from each other’s expertise. The collaboration allows the U.S. to learn about new tests, new treatments and emerging outbreaks — information “which can help us protect Americans abroad and at home,” Klausner said.

The CDC details nearly 30 people to WHO and sends many millions of dollars to it through cooperative agreements. The U.S. agency also has some of the world’s leading experts in infectious diseases and public health threats, and the two agencies’ staffers are in daily contact about health dangers and how to stop them.

The collaboration halt isn’t the only global health effect of Trump’s executive orders. Last week, the president froze spending on another critical program, PEPFAR or the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

The anti-HIV program is credited with saving 25 million lives, including those of 5.5 million children, since it was started by Republican President George W. Bush. It was included in a Trump administration freeze on foreign aid spending slated to last at least three months.

PEPFAR provides HIV medication to more than 20 million people “and stopping its funding essential stops their HIV treatment,” International AIDS Society President Beatriz Grinsztejn said in a statement. “If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.”

A U.S. health official confirmed that the CDC was stopping its work with WHO. The person was not authorized to talk about the memo and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A WHO spokesperson referred questions about the withdrawal to U.S. officials.

Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. And CDC officials didn’t respond to the AP’s request to speak with Nkengasong about the memo.

___

AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report.