Day: 12 August 2022

KINSHASA— More than 800 inmates have escaped from a prison in eastern DR Congo after gunmen staged a jailbreak in which two policemen were killed, sources said.

Armed men “attacked Kakwangura central prison in the town of Butembo” overnight Tuesday, Captain Antony Mualushayi, the military spokesman in the Beni region, said.

“The initial toll, which is still provisional, is two policemen killed,” he said, adding that an assailant had also died.

A source in the prison service, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that out of the 872 inmates, all but 49 had escaped.

Mualushayi said an “unidentified Mai-Mai group” carried out the attack. The term Mai-Mai refers to an ethnic self-defence organisation, which are legion in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled east.

But a respected US-based monitor, the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), said on Twitter that the suspects were the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) — a bloody militia that the Daesh group says is its regional affiliate.

At least two police died and all the inmates escaped, the KST added.

Mathe Saanane, the head of a network of civil-society groups in Butembo, said that locals had “overpowered three ADF attackers and stoned them (to death) on the spot”.

The ADF has been blamed for thousands of deaths in eastern DRC, especially in the Beni area, and for attacks in neighbouring Uganda.

The east of the DRC, a vast country the size of continental western Europe, has been unstable for decades.

Scores of armed groups roam the region, many of them a legacy of two regional wars that flared at the end of the last century.

Source: Nam News Network

Authorities in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are searching for hundreds of inmates who escaped from Kakwanguru central prison when gunmen attacked the facility Tuesday night. Five people, including two policemen, were killed during the jailbreak in the city of Butembo.

Reuters reported that only 58 of 874 inmates remained at the prison when the attack was over.

Colonel Polo Ngoma, the police boss in Butembo, said Thursday that police have recaptured about 50 of the escaped prisoners.

Ngoma told VOA that some of those captured were hiding with their families, while others were inside the homes of friends.

He said officers are searching for the hundreds of other prisoners on the run.

Authorities say the escapees are dangerous criminals. Most of the inmates in the central prison were jailed for murder and aiding terror groups.

Antony Mwalushayi, spokesman for the DRC army’s operations against armed groups, said the Allied Democratic Forces rebel group was responsible for the jailbreak.

In 2020, the ADF was linked to a prison break that freed over 1,000 inmates in Beni, in northeastern Congo.

Source: Voice of America

KIGALI— US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to hold talks with Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Thursday, facing calls from campaigners to pressure Kigali over its human rights record and alleged support of rebels in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Blinken arrived late Wednesday in Rwanda, the final stop of a three-nation trip to Africa, hot on the heels of a visit to the continent by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The US diplomat has sought to woo African nations, which have largely steered clear of backing Washington against Moscow in the Ukraine war, by calling for an “equal” partnership with the continent.

His visit comes after an unpublished independent investigation for the UN, said Rwandan troops had attacked soldiers inside the DRC and aided M23 rebels, a primarily Tutsi rebel group.

The M23 has captured swathes of territory in eastern DRC in recent months, causing tensions to spike between Kigali and Kinshasa, which has repeatedly accused Kagame’s government of backing the notorious militia.

In the DRC on Tuesday, Blinken said the United States was “very concerned by credible reports that Rwanda has supported the M23,” adding that he would discuss the issue with Kagame, whose government has consistently denied the claims.

In a statement released Monday, Human Rights Watch called on Blinken to “urgently signal that there will be consequences for the government’s repression and abuse in Rwanda and beyond its borders.”

“Failing to address Rwanda’s abysmal human rights record has emboldened its officials to continue to commit abuse, even beyond its borders,” said Lewis Mudge, HRW’s Central Africa director.

The rights watchdog urged Blinken “to highlight systematic human rights violations, including crackdowns on opponents and civil society, both within and across Rwanda’s borders.”

Opposition leader Victoire Ingabire echoed HRW’s calls, saying that Blinken “should raise the issue of journalists and politicians who are in prison” for challenging Kagame’s government.

“Blinken has to ask our government to open up political space to everyone who wants to be active in politics,” said Ingabire, who spent six years in jail on terrorism charges.

Blinken is also facing calls to press for the release of Paul Rusesabagina, the “Hotel Rwanda” hero who is credited with saving hundreds of lives during the 1994 genocide.

A US permanent resident, Rusesabagina is a fierce critic of Kagame and was sentenced to a 25-year prison term last year on terrorism charges after a plane he believed was bound for Burundi landed in Kigali in August 2020.

Source: Nam News Network

Guinea’s military-appointed government this week announced the dissolution of the main opposition group, the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution, or FNDC.

The decree Monday cited alleged violence and threats to national unity and peace. Critics and rights groups said the move threatened Guinea’s return to democratic rule.

The decision to dissolve the FNDC came just hours after it had called for nationwide peaceful demonstrations to demand dialogue among the military, opposing parties and civil society groups.

A report by Human Rights Watch called the government’s allegations vague and said the FNDC was not given the opportunity to defend itself before an independent judicial body.

Dissolution of the FNDC comes 11 months after it led demonstrations against then-President Alpha Conde, who was ultimately ousted in a military coup last September.

Democratic values ‘jeapordized’

Ilaria Allegrozzi, a senior Africa researcher with Human Rights Watch, said the coup was already a major blow to democracy and human rights in Guinea.

“And this recent decision to dissolve the main opposition coalition is yet another indication that democratic values in Guinea are being jeopardized,” Allegrozzi said. “Human rights defenders, political activists and political opponents are at risk.”

The FNDC was composed of civil society groups and opposition parties that accused Guinea’s transitional government of authoritarian behavior.

Guinea is one of several West African countries that have experienced coups over the last two years. The unrest has been driven by the growth of a jihadist insurgency and an increase in unconstitutional third-term bids.

Allegrozzi said Guinea’s actions send a negative message to other countries in the region that are struggling to transition to democracy.

“Regional political volatility is becoming entrenched in West Africa and Central Africa, and that should be countered,” Allegrozzi said.

Allegrozzi called on the African Union and the West African economic bloc ECOWAS to increase pressure on Guinea to reestablish democratic rule.

In 2010, Conde became Guinea’s first democratically elected president, but accusations of corruption and authoritarian behavior mounted throughout his time in office. Last September, after winning what critics said was an illegal third term, he was overthrown.

Pledge of civilian rule again

Guinea’s interim president, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, a former special forces commander, pledged to return the country to civilian rule within three years. However, ECOWAS and the FNDC argue three years is far too long.

Amadou Barry, a Guinean Canadian professor of philosophy specializing in international relations at the Cegep de Saint-Hyacinthe in Quebec, Canada, told VOA from Conakry that since Conde’s ouster, Guineans have clung to the hope that they would see peace. Instead, they have witnessed the same conflict repeating itself.

“This hope is falling down,” he said, “because now we are seeing that we are not able to organize society around democratic principles and the rule of law. It is important to ask, ‘Why aren’t we able to have a political regime that is democratic?’ ”

Barry said constructive dialogue around the issue of collective power is the only way forward.

Source: Voice of America

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo have agreed to begin talks to ease the tension over fighting in eastern Congo. Blinken, speaking in Rwanda Thursday, said he also raised human rights concerns and the detention of U.S. permanent resident Paul Rusesabagina.

Blinken said the presidents of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo, Paul Kagame and Felix Tshisekedi, respectively, have agreed to open direct communications aimed at ending tensions in eastern Congo.

The two leaders have accused each other of supporting rebel groups in the chronically volatile region.

Blinken in his address warned that supporting and cooperating with armed groups will endanger local communities and threaten central Africa’s stability. He urged the two countries to be respectful of each other’s territory. Blinken said both Kagame and Tshisekedi welcomed the United States’ support and committed to begin processes toward achieving stability.

“Both presidents have agreed to engage in direct talks with each other,” Blinken said. “They are both ready to resume the talks in the context of the Nairobi process with armed groups, and both welcomed the continued U.S. engagement in support of African-led mediation efforts.”

The Nairobi process was an initiative by the outgoing president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, that brought the heads of states of East African countries together to find lasting solutions to the disturbances in eastern Congo.

Blinken also addressed issues surrounding Rwanda’s detention of U.S. permanent resident Paul Rusesabagina, who is credited with saving hundreds of people during Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda.”

Blinken said he had expressed his candid views to Kagame and will continue to engage on the matter.

“We have been clear about our concerns related to Paul Rusesabagina’s trial and conviction, particularly the lack of fair trial guarantees,” Blinken said. “We continue to urge the government to address concerns about the legal protections afforded to him in his case and establish safeguards to prevent similar outcomes in the future.”

Rusesabagina was taken to Rwanda under false pretenses in 2020 and sentenced to 25 years in prison on terrorism charges last year.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta said Thursday the government has broken no laws.

“This was done lawfully under both Rwandan and international laws,” Biruta said. “Therefore, Rwanda will continue to abide by our laws and the decisions made by our judiciary, and we will request our partners to respect Rwanda’s sovereignty, Rwanda’s laws and its institutions.”

Blinken emphasized the U.S. commitments to be equal partners with Rwanda in advancing shared priorities, tackling global challenges and bettering the condition of the country’s citizens.

Source: Voice of America

Nigeria’s air force said airstrikes this week killed 55 members of criminal gangs who were involved in abduction-for-ransom operations. An air force spokesman said after the airstrikes, the militants released people they were holding hostage.

Nigeria’s government has come under heavy criticism for failing to stop mass abductions and Islamist militant attacks.

The Nigerian Air Force said airstrikes in north central Kaduna state on Tuesday killed 28 members of a kidnapping-for-ransom gang, including a gang leader. It said many others were injured.

Air Force Public Relations Director Gabriel Gabkwet told reporters that authorities had received intelligence that the bandits were gathering in the area. He said the success of the raid led to the release of captives they held.

Gabkwet said other airstrikes in northwestern Katsina state this week killed 27 bandits.

He did not take calls from VOA for further comment.

The airstrikes come a week after Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari presided over a national security meeting and said he had given security forces the full freedom to deal with terrorists.

Darlington Abdullahi, president of the alumni association of Nigeria’s National Defense College, said Buhari’s words were a morale booster for troops.

“This kind of thing should not come as a surprise, all you need is political will to guide the action of the forces,” Abdullahi said. “I think they’re getting probably that support that is required to deal with the situation from the utterances of Mr. President.”

But Gabkwet said the military has also been conducting air operations targeting insurgents in northeastern Borno state. He said that included an August 6 raid in the village of Gazuwa that followed intelligence that terrorists from Boko Haram and splinter group Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were fighting each other.

Nigeria has been fighting an Islamist insurgency in the northeast for more than 12 years.

Authorities have been heavily criticized for failing to address general insecurity that stems from the insurgency and rampant kidnapping.

Abduallahi said the military must stay on the offensive.

“As long as this continues, I think the military still has the upper hand to take on them before they organize themselves properly,” he said. “I think the security agencies really have to continue with the efforts to deal with the situation decisively.”

Earlier this week, police said they had arrested four suspects connected to a church attack in the southwest state of Ondo that killed 40 worshippers.

But security analyst Senator Iroegbu said authorities have shown a lack of political will to address the problem.

“The challenge we’re having is that the political will is not there, especially from the presidency,” Iroegbu said. “There’s no clear-cut directive on what to do. Any time you hear … he’s sounding frustrated. They keep on pushing the blame to others not taking responsibility.”

In July, Islamic State West Africa Province claimed responsibility for a jailbreak in Buja that freed over 400 inmates, including high-profile terrorism detainees. Only a few of the prisoners have since been recaptured.

Source: Voice of America