Tag: UN Africa News

The conflict between the Ethiopian Government and regional forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) began in early November, when the Prime Minister ordered a military offensive after rebels attacked a federal army base. Government forces reported that the region had been secured at the end of November, but TPLF resistance has continued amid accusations of extrajudicial killings and… Read More

The peacekeepers’ convoy was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED), and the troops then came under attack by unidentified gunmen in the vast Timbuktu region.  A robust response by the peacekeepers forced the attackers to flee, and the wounded personnel were evacuated by helicopter, the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said in a news release on… Read More

Following the 18 August mutiny that ousted President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Special Representative and Head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) Mahamat Saleh Annadif, said the country was now four months in, to a planned 18-month transition period, leading to presidential and legislative elections.  “However, it is never too late to reach a minimum consensus on the essentials… Read More

With presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on 14 January, SecretaryGeneral António Guterres raised concern over reports of violence and tensions in parts of the country and implored all political actors and their supporters to “refrain from the use of hate speech, intimidation and violence”.  “Any electoral disputes should be resolved through legal and peaceful means”, he said in a… Read More

Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the coordinated assaults near the capital, Bangui, which were carried out by unidentified armed combatants.  The UN mission in the country, MINUSCA, reported that some armed elements were killed, while others were arrested and weapons seized.   “The Secretary-General recalls that attacks against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime,” his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said in… Read More

“Humanitarian assistance continues to be constrained by the lack of full, and safe, unhindered access to Tigray, caused by both insecurity and bureaucratic delays”, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists.  “The UN and its humanitarian partners in Ethiopia urgently call on all parties to allow the immediate safe passage of humanitarian personnel and their supplies to the Tigray Region to… Read More

“We have seen the doubling of the numbers of food-insecure between the data we had in July 2020 and November 2020; we moved from 700,000 people food-insecure in the Grand South or Grand Sud of Madagascar, to 1.3 million”, said Lola Castro, WFP Regional director for Southern Africa and Indian Ocean States. Speaking by video link to journalists during a… Read More

Ebola virus disease is a severe and often fatal illness, with fatality rates varying from 25 per cent to 90 per cent. Thousands of people have lost their lives to the disease, since the virus was first discovered in 1976.  Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), underscored the importance of the vaccines to save lives… Read More

“All countries need credible mid-term goals and plans that are aligned with this objective”, Secretary-General António Guterres said, addressing the virtual COP26 Roundtable on Clean Power Transition. “To achieve net zero emissions by 2050, we need an urgent transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy”.  Energy for Africa  Painting a picture of some 789 million people across the developing world… Read More

Against the backdrop of five presidential, three legislative and two local elections in the region which have taken place in recent months, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative and Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), told ambassadors that electoral management bodies have “demonstrated impressive technical capacity to organize and conduct elections”.  Choosing officials  In presenting the latest report on… Read More