Tag: UN Africa News

A number of other passengers travelling with the delegation were injured.   The group was travelling from Goma, the capital of the North Kivu province, to visit a WFP-run school feeding programme in Rutshuru (about 40 miles north of Goma), the agency said in a statement.  “WFP will work with national authorities to determine the details behind the attack, which… Read More

When Sylvia Chiinda’s husband died, she was left to raise seven children on her own. As extreme weather hit more frequently, her farm became less productive, forcing her to look for other ways to make money. Women in the village of Kanakanatapa in Zambia’s Chongwe District have more economic independence as a result of diversifying their farming activities. UNDP/Moses Zangar… Read More

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Farhan Haq, Secretary-General António Guterres called on all parties to “exercise restraint and calm”.   Gunfire erupted between Somali Government troops and opposition supporters during a protest march against delayed elections that turned violent.   Demonstrators said that the Government forces had attacked them first and residents reported sporadic shooting and that rocket-propelled grenades had been fired, according to news sources.  The violence followed fighting overnight that had subsided by Friday afternoon.  Political impasse  While lawmakers were due to select a new President on 8 February, the process has been delayed. … Read More

Whole villages have been set ablaze, health centres and schools ransacked, and entire families – including children – hacked to death, in a series of merciless attacks in eastern DRC by fighters using machetes and heavy weapons, UNICEF said in a news release. Communities have been forced to flee with only the barest of possessions.  “Displaced children know nothing but… Read More

Highlighting a continuing lack of local and national infrastructure almost a year since the formation of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity in South Sudan, Yasmin Sooka, Chairperson of the Commission on Human Rights in the country noted that although the signing of the Revitalized Peace Agreement two years ago had “led to a reduction in hostilities at the… Read More

According to reports, gunmen stormed the Government Science College Kagara, in the Niger state of Nigeria, at around 2 am (local time). Many students are also said to be unaccounted for, though the number is unclear and the information is yet to be confirmed.  “UNICEF condemns in the strongest possible terms any attack on a school and calls for the… Read More

In a joint report, the UN The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warns that in the absence of large-scale and sustained humanitarian assistance “the situation could worsen through mid-2021”.  “Somalia’s long-standing crises are compounded now by the ‘triple threat’ of the COVID-19 pandemic, desert locust infestations and climatic shocks”, said UN Deputy Special Representative Adam Abdelmoula, who also serves as… Read More

In a joint statement, Secretary-General António Guterres and the Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat commended the people and leaders of Somalia for progress achieved in recent years towards the stabilization of the country.  “The hard-won gains are a testimony to the firm determination of the people of Somalia towards lasting peace and prosperity, following decades of instability”, they said.  The Secretary-General… Read More

“When you think about your future, you never plan to be uprooted from the comfort of your home and find fragile safety in a tent,” said 24-year-old Hiwot, from Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray Region. Yet this is exactly where she found herself in early December, while she was seven months pregnant. Fighting intensified around her neighbourhood, forcing her and her husband… Read More

“Increased international support is crucial to ensure Burundian refugees receive meaningful protection and care in neighbouring countries”, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (UNHCR) Regional Director for the East, Horn of Africa and Great Lakes region.   More international backing  For nearly seven years, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the… Read More