International
Eastern Congo buffeted by fresh flareups with ADF, M23 rebels
Kinshasa, Aug 2 (IANS) People in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have lately been caught up in fresh fighting pitting government troops against two rebel groups, the March 23 Movement (M23) and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
In Cantine, a village in the eastern North Kivu Province, about 100 villagers were massacred in early June by ADF rebels; the DRC military vowed to fight back.
“The challenges are numerous for our soldiers, and we have only one message for this population: we are going to win this war,” Jacques Ychaligonza Nduru, Deputy Chief of Staff of the DRC armed forces, told Xinhua news agency from Cantine.
The ADF, founded in the 1990s by several opposition movements in Uganda, was defeated by the Ugandan army, but its members have remained active in the eastern DRC. The ADF declared its affiliation with the Islamic State in 2017.
Since late 2021, the Ugandan and Congolese militaries have launched joint operations against ADF rebels in the eastern DRC.
The Congolese army’s fight against the ADF started in 2016, when government troops went deep into the forest of the Beni territory, where the village of Cantine is located, to hunt down ADF rebels, who have also been targeted by a special brigade consisting of Tanzanian, Malawian, and South African peacekeepers. In 2017, at least 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers were killed in an ADF attack on their base in Beni.
Since June, ADF rebels have been approaching areas previously controlled by government forces, despite a joint operation by the DRC military and the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, which began in May.
“We are aware of people’s concern over this situation, which particularly disturbs us as an army responsible for protecting them and their property,” admitted Nduru, in charge of operations and intelligence, who recently traveled to Beni to reassure the population.
“Trust us. Trust your army,” he said, Xinhua news agency reported.
In addition to the hostilities with ADF rebels, people in the eastern DRC also have to face the advances of M23 fighters, who have taken over several towns since June in the Lubero territory of North Kivu, where the ADF is also active.
According to residents interviewed by Xinhua in Beni and surrounding areas, government soldiers are seen as being overwhelmed by the dual challenge of ADF and M23 rebels. The M23 resurfaced in late 2021 after its defeat in 2013.
“Our soldiers have been engaged in various operations across the country, particularly in North Kivu, for years without rest,” said one resident, who requested anonymity. “That is why we have concerns about the advance of the M23 rebellion. That’s why we support the community self-defense initiative alongside the army.”
In July, recruitment activities were seen in Beni for the creation of local self-defense forces to protect the community against the resurgence of ADF rebels, who are taking advantage of a security vacuum made possible by M23 advances.
“We fear that if the M23 rebels advance, most of the soldiers (deployed here to fight against the ADF) might be withdrawn and sent to operations against the M23,” said Mumbere Pascal, a Cantine resident.
Asked by Xinhua about a possible collusion between the M23 and the ADF, military authorities in the area said everything remains to be confirmed by the relevant services.
“The similarity and succession of events in the region are still strange to us,” said one military official involved in operations against the rebels. “At a time when we were facing the advance of the M23 rebels in the Lubero territory toward Kanyabayonga, the ADF, which had never attacked in Lubero, also started attacking civilians.”
“This raises many questions about the timing of these attacks,” he said.
On Tuesday, it was announced that under the mediation of Angolan President Joao Lourenco, the foreign ministers of the DRC, Angola, and Rwanda agreed on a ceasefire between the warring parties in the eastern DRC, which will come into effect on Aug. 4. The belligerents involved in the ceasefire were not specified.
The fresh ceasefire, welcomed by the United Nations, follows a humanitarian truce between the DRC military and the M23 that is scheduled to end on Aug. 3.
However, the ongoing humanitarian truce has not been fully honored, with fighting reported between government troops and M23 rebels in Bweremana, a village in the Masisi territory of North Kivu, where civilians were killed by several bombs.
Earlier, on July 11, the DRC military accused the M23 of violating the truce and denounced their “legendary belligerent attitude” of wanting to keep displaced populations in atrocious conditions by depriving them of humanitarian aid.
A political solution to the M23 crisis has been called for by the international community, including the UN Security Council.
The DRC government has insisted that negotiations on the matter must be conducted within the framework of the Luanda process, as seen in the ministerial meeting held on Tuesday.
“We remain firm on our position that any discussion will take place within the framework of the Luanda peace process,” initiated by the Angolan president, DRC Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said in early July, in response to a question about dialogue between the DRC and Rwanda.
The DRC accuses Rwanda of backing M23 rebels, an accusation that Kigali rejects.
The DRC has been plagued by violence for about three decades. In 2008, the International Rescue Committee, a non-governmental organization, reported 5.4 million deaths from 1997 to 2008 in the country.
The eastern DRC is now facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
In the first four months of this year, more than 900,000 people were reported as newly displaced, bringing the total number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the DRC to about 7.3 million, including over 5.6 million in the three eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
–IANS
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Vientiane (Laos), Aug 22 (IANS) Representatives from the Lao government and development partners have attended a conference here titled “Climate Change and Nutrition in Laos: Intersections and Interventions” to discuss the impact of climate change on nutrition in the Southeast Asia country and potential solutions.
Speaking at the conference, deputy director general of the Department of Hygiene and Health Promotion under the Lao Ministry of Health Viengkhan Phixay, said, “We gather to address a critical and interwoven issue: the impact of climate change on nutrition and how we can work together to tackle these challenges,” Xinhua news agency reported.
The Lao government is actively engaged in this endeavor, with numerous policies and initiatives aimed at addressing both climate change and nutrition, Lao National Television reported on Thursday.
“By leveraging the Scaling Up Nutrition network in Laos, which is led by the government, and supported by civil society, donors, and the United Nations, we have a robust platform to tackle the negative impacts of climate change while improving nutrition and overall health for everyone in Laos,” Viengkham said at the conference held on Monday.
The conference featured a series of presentations that not only detailed evidence-based research but also introduced innovative tools for measuring and enhancing nutrition under the impact of climate change.
The conference stressed the critical need for integrated approaches to tackle the intertwined challenges of climate change and nutrition, and setting the stage for impactful future collaborations.
–IANS
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Baghdad, Aug 22 (IANS) A civilian was killed while seven others were injured on Thursday in a tribal shootout in Iraq’s holy Shiite province of Najaf, according to a local security source.
The shootout erupted in the early hours between armed men from the local tribe in the al-Zarga area in northern Najaf, some 160 km south of Baghdad, a local police officer told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The clash resulted in the killing of an Iraqi civilian and the injury of seven others, including three Iranian Shiite pilgrims, the source added.
A joint force from the Interior Ministry’s emergency response division and Najaf provincial police arrested 53 gunmen from both sides of the shootout and seized weapons and ammunition, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
It added that search operations are ongoing to locate additional gunmen and weapons, with more details to be released later.
The incident took place as numerous pilgrims traveled to the city of Karbala to observe Arbaeen, which marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for the killing of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, in the Battle of Karbala in 680 A.D.
Typically, these pilgrims also visit Najaf as part of their journey to Karbala.
–IANS
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Dhaka, Aug 22 (IANS) Bangladesh’s interim government has sought $1 billion from the World Bank as budgetary support.
The call came from the country’s Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan’s meeting with Abdoulaye Seck, the World Bank’s Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, in Dhaka on Wednesday.
He made the plea as the ministry owes more than 2 billion dollars to suppliers in import costs of power and energy, Xinhua news agency reported.
Khan mentioned that the interim government, which was formed with many pressing mandates, is due to settle a $2 billion debt left by the previous government in the power sector.
He said they have already suspended activities under the much-criticized Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply Act 2010 and abolished the government’s power to set energy prices without any public hearing.
On August 5, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, was ousted from her country and power, ending her rule since January 2009.
This event was seen as a massive escalation, with what initially started as student’s protests and resulted in a major crisis in Bangladesh.
Earlier on August 8, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government.
–IANS
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Belgrade, Aug 22 (IANS) Serbian police are still searching for seven missing migrants in the Drina River after their boat capsized when crossing from Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia’s Interior Ministry confirmed in a press release issued on Thursday.
According to testimonies of the migrants who managed to reach the shore, there were approximately 25 people on board. So far, police and rescue teams have found 18 individuals, including three children, on the riverbank, Xinhua news agency reported.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic said police and the Emergency Situations Sector responded promptly after being alerted by the Bosnian border authorities early Thursday morning.
An intensive search is underway in the Drina River and its surrounding area.
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, reported a significant decrease in illegal border crossings in the Western Balkans during the first half of 2024.
The illegal crossings towards EU borders reached 12,407 between January and July 2024, a 75 per cent drop compared to the same period last year.
–IANS
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Islamabad, Aug 22 (IANS) Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, turned into a fortress on Thursday with dozens of containers forcing closure of several roads with heavy deployment of law enforcement forces following the cancellation of a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) of an anti-government protest planned by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and protest call by religious parties, including the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) under the banner of Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nabuwwat against a Supreme Court decision in the Mubarak Sani case.
Anticipating widespread protests, the local administration, which had cancelled the NOC, imposed Section 144 in the city, barring assembly of people and also closed all educational institutions for the day.
Later in the day, the PTI announced its decision to postpone its protest rally and rescheduled it for September 8.
The government maintained that it did not want to take any chance considering the Supreme Court hearing and also the presence of Bangladeshi cricket team in the country which is currently touring Pakistan for a Test series.
On Wednesday, the capital administration of Islamabad decided to cancel the NOC for PTI, less than 24 hours before the scheduled public gathering in Tarnol area. PTI had earlier announced that it would go ahead with its planned gathering even after its NOC was revoked.
“It is concerning that the government might try to exploit the rally to incite unrest and blame it on PTI. They are scared and are trying to find ways to orchestrate cases against us,” said senior PTI leader Azam Swati.
Imran Khan’s party has been struggling to hold a political gathering in the capital for the past five months with the local administration delaying grant of any permission to hold such an event. Even after a permission is granted, it ends up being revoked a few hours later.
The latest episode is the second time the capital administration has cancelled the NOC issued to PTI for holding a political gathering at Tarnol.
The government maintains that it had detailed meeting with the Inspector General Police, Deputy Commissioner, senior officers from the Chief Commissioner’s office, officials of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) after which it was decided that there will be serious law and order concerns if the gathering is allowed.
On the other hand, several religious parties have also taken to the streets in Islamabad, protesting against the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s verdict in the Mubarak Sani case.
Tehreek-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat, an umbrella name for different religious parties, has called for a protest in front of the Supreme Court after the July 24 Supreme Court verdict in the case, maintaining and ruling that while Ahmadis are declared non-Muslims, they retain the right to profess and proliferate their religion, provided they do not publicly use Muslim terms or introduce themselves as Muslims.
In February 2024, Mubarak Ahmed Sani, an Ahmadi, was accused of violating the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) Amendment) Act 2021 by distributing the proscribed book ‘Tafseer-e-Sagheer’. However, the Supreme Court maintained that the alleged act occurred in 2019, before it was criminalised in 2021.
The Supreme Court decision was widely criticized by the religious groups who demanded the federal and the Punjab government to challenge the decision and ensure punishment for Sani.
The Punjab government later filed a review petition in the Supreme Court while a petition was also filed by the Federal government on directions of the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
–IANS
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