Regional situation Mahad Salad, a Somali opposition lawmaker, is asking whether the Somali govt forces that were deployed yesterday in Dolow district at the Somalia-Kenya border, are Somali or Eritrean troops. It was reported that the arriving troops include troops trained by Eritrea months ago, sent from Asmara. An unconfirmed Twitter post claimed that the […]
Ex Burundi Leader Convicted of Murder Dies in Paris of COVID
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Ex-President Pierre Buyoya of Burundi died December 18 in Paris where he was seeking medical treatment for Covid-19, according to relatives. He was 71. Prior to contracting the illness, Buyoya had been living in Mali, where he served as a special envoy of the African […]
More Nigerian Schoolchildren Seized in Second Mass Kidnapping
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Schoolchildren were again the targets of unknown assailants who seized the youngsters as they returned from a religious ceremony in the Nigerian town of Dandume, near Kankara where a similar kidnapping had taken place. According to published police sources, between 39 and 84 schoolchildren were […]
EEPA Report on Horn of Africa Situation on December 21
Regional dimension The 38th IGAD extraordinary summit took place on Sunday 20 December in Djibouti. It was chaired by PM Hamdok of Sudan. During the IGAD meeting, Ethiopian PM Ahmed met with Sudanese PM Hamdok to discuss bilateral relations. According to PM Hamdok it was agreed that Sudan and Ethiopia will hold a meeting of […]
A New Handbook on Parliamentary Action for Disarmament
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – Nearly one-and-half years after UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched Securing Our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament in May 2018, a new handbook to support disarmament for security and sustainable development has been released. Its approach and focus draw primarily on the Agenda. Titled Assuring our Common Future, published […]
EEPA Report on Horn of Africa Situation on December 20
Military situation The tension between Ethiopia and Sudan is increasing. Sudan has sent more troops, including Rapid Support Forces, and equipment to the border area. Support from the Bani Amer and al-Habb tribes in the states of Kassala and Gedaref, including food supplies and finances. Talks with Ethiopia have stopped. A report based on testimonials […]
UN Chief Lauds Germany’s ‘Frontline Role’
By Aar Jay Persius BRLIN (IDN) – As Germany and other western European countries struggled to combat the Corona virus, eagerly awaiting the advent of a vaccine to unfetter humanity from the scourge of the ruthless pandemic, UN Secretary-General António Guterres descended on Berlin and declared that the prophesied inoculum must be viewed as a […]
Time to Ditch the Technocratic, Mechanical Vision of Government
Viewpoint by Matthew Flinders and David Blunkett* SHEFFIELD (IDN) – If crises bring with them new opportunities to think afresh, then the combined impact of Brexit and COVID has been to focus attention on the capacity and structure of the British state. This rethinking is increasingly framed in terms of smart government. Dominic Cummings, the British […]
EEPA Report on Horn of Africa Situation on December 19
Regional situation Al Shabaab, Somalia’s al Qaeda-allied Islamist extremist group, claims responsibility for a suicide attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, at a rally to be attended by PM Mohamed Hussein Roble, killing at least ten people. The commander of the 21st Division of the SNA General Abdiaziz Abdullahi Qooje and the commander of Danab forces in […]
Locked-In, Australians Help to Keep Tourism Sector Alive
By Kalinga Seneviratne SILVERTON (IDN) – With over 9.3 million international visitors spending close to $34 billion in Australia last year, Tourism Australia’s executive director Bob East predicted a rosy picture for the county’ tourism sector, in its annual report for 2018-19 released at the beginning of this year. He said the sector has seen […]