Africa

The group were travelling from West Africa to Libya and their truck broke down, six survivors say.

One government official claimed the blackout was designed to prevent online leaks of exam papers.

The 51-year-old suspect was arrested in east London and a second property was also searched.

Senegal's young Lions of Teranga exit the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in South Korea after a 1-0 defeat to Mexico.

The United Nations human rights chief today urged Egyptian officials to repeal a new law on non-governmental organizations, saying that it &#8220further tightens the noose&#8221 around NGOs trying to hold the Government to account for human rights obligations.

The first study to look at twins in the region says urgent improvements are needed.

In our series of letters from African journalists, veteran Ghanaian journalist Elizabeth Ohene reflects on the "galamsey" phenomenon.

Despite “vast improvement” in security in parts of the Central African Republic (CAR), there are still deep tensions and some fear of a sudden relapse, a top United Nations human rights official said while visiting the strife-torn country.

Kenya has opened a major new railway between the port city of Mombasa and the capital, Nairobi.

A traffic dispute reportedly leads to a police station being set on fire by naval officers.

A peek at Africa's newest railway, running from Kenya's capital, Nairobi, to the port city of Mombasa.

In our series of letters from African journalists, Joseph Warungu looks at how Kenya's staple has been the source of intrigue.

Safety stickers on Kenya's notoriously hazardous buses have saved hundreds of lives.

To contain the latest outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) provided technical support to 145 volunteers of the Congolese Red Cross and community health workers to deliver lifesaving information to local populations in remote areas along the Central African Republic border.

Two United Nations agencies today pledged to join forces and “go the extra mile” by expanding operations in Libya and enhancing their support to migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and Libyans affected by the ongoing conflict.

We are investigating emergency services in Africa. How long did it take an ambulance to respond to your emergency situation?

United Nations agencies are seeking to rally support for the people fleeing escalating violence in the Central African Republic (CAR), while the Organization&#39s human rights office has called for the establishment of a strong justice system in the country.

More than 30 people travelling to Europe in the boat were saved by the Spanish coast guard.

May 28, 2017 (JUBA) - The Elders, a group of independent leaders, have condemned the political paralysis and failure of leadership at all levels in South Sudan in the face of worsening famine and humanitarian disaster.

People in conflict-affected areas of South Sudan collect food from WFP (WFP/eter Testuzza Photo)

The group, in a statement, also reiterated their view that all parties to the conflict, including the government of South Sudan and armed opposition groups, are directly contributing to the famine by leading military operations that destroy civilian homes and livelihoods.

South Sudan's situation, their statement stressed, is compounded by the brazen obstruction of humanitarian access to the conflicted-affected areas.

At the same time, they added, the international community has shown paralysis bordering on disinterest in regard to meaningful conflict resolution efforts and financial support to humanitarian aid.

“South Sudan is a young country, but its people have been consistently let down by their leaders who have been unable or unwilling to move away from conflict and personal enrichment at the expense of the nation,” said Kofi Annan, chair of The Elders.

He added, “Alleged war crimes and gross human rights violations committed by parties to the conflict, including the government and armed opposition groups, are prolonging the suffering of the people, and those who are responsible need to be held accountable.”

The Elders, in the statement, expressed particular outrage on the widespread use of sexual violence, including mass rape, as a tactic of war in South Sudan's crisis.
“All warring parties, including the state and other armed groups have a responsibility under international law to protect rather than violate the inviolable human rights of civilians,” adds the statement.

“The suffering in South Sudan should shame us all. It is an affront to civilised values, and the longer the international community allows the conflict and human rights abuses to persist, the weaker those values become. As Elders we stand in solidarity with the people of South Sudan and will continue to press for peace and justice,” said Mary Robinson, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Founded by former South African president, late Nelson Mandela, the Elders are independent leaders using their collective experience and influence for peace, justice and human rights worldwide.

(ST)

May 28, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Due to the improvement of humanitarian access in Darfur, International Organization for Migration (IOM) last April managed to register 52,700 IDPs mostly displaced from Jebel Marra in 2016.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)'s office in Khartoum reported on Sunday in its weekly bulletin that the recently registered IDPs from the 2016 caseload, include "24,613 IDPs were registered in Tawilla locality, North Darfur and 20,402 IDPs were registered in Nertiti locality, Central Darfur".

Furthermore, there are "7,554 new IDPs who fled their homes in East Darfur and arrived between 17 February and 8 March in El Lait locality, North Darfur were registered in April".

While the 2016 IDPs fled their areas due to the clashes with the holdout rebel groups, the new "IDPs had fled their villages in East Darfur State due to an inter-communal conflict between farmers and pastoralists and sought refuge in four locations in El Lait locality".

Following an agreement with the U.S. on the lift of the longstanding economic sanctions, Khartoum agreed to stop air attacks on civilian areas, declared a unilateral cessation of hostilities and opened humanitarian access to the IDPs areas in Darfur.

Some armed groups also committed themselves to a unilateral cessation of hostilities.

10,000 RETURNEES

Based on Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Fact Sheet prepared by IOM, OCHA reported the registration of 10,229 returnees in April.

"4,385 (people returned to) Otash village, South Darfur and 5,844 returnees were registered in nine localities in North Darfur State," said the UN humanitarian agency.

"The registered returnees said their return is permanent and that they do not plan to go back to their areas of displacement," said the report.

According to the UN agencies, over 195,500 refugees and IDP returned to their areas of origin in Darfur in 2014-2016.

(ST)