Africa News from Afro News 20 November 2014 afronewsmail@gmail Ivory Coast tells soldiers to return to barracks The Ivory Coast government is calling on disgruntled soldiers to return to their barracks after they protested in the streets over their benefits. The Defense Ministry said it would make concessions the soldiers, whose complaints earlier Tuesday had raised the specter of widespread unrest. The demands of the soldiers - dominated by former rebels who brought the current president to power - include increased health care benefits and improved opportunities for career advancement in the military. Defense Minister Paul Koffi Koffi said the government will address those issues. Ivory Coast is still recovering from a bitter political standoff that left about 3,000 people dead after a disputed December 2010 election. AP on Stars and Stripes Algeria opposition calls for new elections A coalition of Algerian opposition parties and political figures has called for new presidential elections because of the continued hospitalizations of the countrys leader. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 77, was elected to a fourth term in April, but he has rarely appeared in public since suffering from a stroke in 2013. He was briefly hospitalized in France last weekend. Tuesdays opposition statement said the leaders absence is a sign of the serious crisis in the country. The coalition, which includes Islamist and secular opposition parties, and former government ministers, also called for an independent commission to oversee elections Zambia to hold presidential by-election January 20 Zambias interim leader announced a presidential by-election on Jan. 20 and called for calm and tolerance amid concerns about a tense contest to succeed President Michael Sata, who died in office last month. Interim president Guy Scott, who became the continents first white leader since the 1994 end of apartheid in South Africa, said he hoped all contestants, both from the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) and opposition parties, would desist from violence. It is my prayer that peace continues during the campaigning and the presidential by-elections, he told a news conference. Questions about the stability of Africas second-biggest copper producer arose when Scott fired a presidential front-runner, Edgar Lungu, as PF secretary-general on Nov. 3, without explaining why. Mali: Last Chance in Algiers As northern Mali experiences renewed violence, peace negotiations in Algiers offer a unique opportunity to resolve the crisis. But after almost two months of negotiations, peace remains a distant hope. The Malian government and participating armed groups have struggled to find common ground. Influential radical groups that are absent from the negotiating table are tempted to resort to violence to derail the process. Conflict resolution will require reconciliation of competing interests regarding security in the Sahara, organisation of the Malian state structure and local balance of power between divided communities in the north. In the face of armed clashes, it is tempting for mediators to move quickly to achieve a deal that would only guarantee security in the short term. But rushing the process will not help. Time is needed to build the foundations of sustainable peace. After months of deadlock, Algeria arranged international mediation that had long been handicapped by institutional rivalries. The mediation team led by Algeria should maintain this momentum and take the time necessary to build broad consensus for a future agreement. International Crisis Group Islamic State Allegiance Could Cost Egypts Sinai Jihadis Popular Support Last week, the Egyptian militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (ABM), which operates primarily in the Sinai Peninsula, pledged its loyalty to the so-called Islamic State (IS). In an email interview, Zack Gold, a visiting fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, discussed the implications for Egypt. WPR: What are the major armed groups operating in Sinai, to what degree do they coordinate activities and do they have any foreign support? Zack Gold: Egypts Sinai Peninsula has been a base of armed activity, both militancy and smuggling, for many years. Following the uprising of 2011, however, the remnants of smaller jihadi groups amalgamated into Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the Supporters of Jerusalem. World Politic Review Ethiopia: UN Refugee Agency Starts Relocation of 15,000 South Sudanese Refugees in Ethiopia The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has begun relocating nearly 15,000 South Sudanese refugees who had been stranded for a few months at a way station in western Ethiopia after the refugee camp where they were due to live was flooded. In a press release today, UNHCR said that a first group of 125 refugees left Matar Way Station on Monday and headed along the Baro River to the Itang Transit Centre, where they spent the night before resuming their journey today by road towards Pugnido Refugee Camp, some 300 kilometres away. Eritrea: Veteran Patriot Tsegai Kahsai Passes Away The veteran patriot Tsegai Kahsai passed away on November 15 in Asmara at the age of 84. He was born in Azien, Central region, in 1930 and served with dedication in the founding of the Free Eritrean Workers Association during the years 1951 to 1953, in addition to playing active role in the demonstration organized in 1958 towards ensuring the rights of workers. In the course of the struggle, the late patriot Tsegai was among the Eritrean nationals who were hunted and exiled by the Haileselasie regime.In the 1960s, after leaving the Homeland for exile, the departed veteran patriot served his country and people in various capacities abroad in the course of the freedom struggle in a spirit of uprightness and commitment.The funeral service of the late Tsegai Kahsai would take place tomorrow at 12:00 PM at the Asmara Patriots Cemetery.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 04:50:18 +0000
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