Mauritania | African News Today

Clashes Between Chad Gold Miners Leave 100 Dead

31May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Armed Forces, News, Violence

Clashes Between Chad Gold Miners Leave 100 Dead

Fighting between informal gold miners in a remote part of northern Chad has left around 100 people dead and 40 injured, the government says. What began as a "mundane dispute between two individuals... degenerated", Defence Minister Daoud Yaya Brahim told the AFP news agency. The mountainous Kouri Bougoudi district near the Libyan border attracts miners from across Chad and its neighbours. The clashes occurred last week but details are only emerging now. Some groups have put the death toll higher than the authorities, and have blamed the security forces for a number of the deaths. Read Also: Two More Miners Found Dead In Flooded Burkina Faso Mine The government sent a mission to the affected area - about 1,000km (620 miles) north-east of the capital, N'Djamena - wh...

Niger President Says Mali’s Withdrawal Marks ‘Death’ Of G5 Sahel Alliance

19May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Mali, News, Niger, Security, Terrorism

Niger President Says Mali’s Withdrawal Marks ‘Death’ Of G5 Sahel Alliance

Niger's President has said Mali's withdrawal from the G5 Sahel, a multinational force created to fight Islamist militants, will mark the end of the alliance. President Mohamed Bayoum made the remarks in an interview with French daily La Croix. Bazoum said Mali's isolation was undermining the fight against insurgents. Bamako this week announced that it was quitting the G5 Sahel, after being blocked from assuming the group's rotating presidency. It blamed 'a state outside the region' for trying to foment divisions among the member states. Created in 2014, the alliance which also includes Mauritania, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Niger was to help the countries jointly tackle Islamist militants. Read Also: Mali Withdraws From Regional Anti-jihadist Force Since 2020, Mal...

Mali Withdraws From Regional Anti-jihadist Force

16May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

Armed Forces, Mali, News, Security

Mali Withdraws From Regional Anti-jihadist Force

Mali said Sunday it was withdrawing from a west African force fighting jihadists to protest its being rejected as head of the G5 regional group, which also includes Mauritania, Chad, Burkina and Niger. "The government of Mali is deciding to withdraw from all the organs and bodies of the G5 Sahel, including the joint force" fighting the jihadists, it said in a statement. The G5 Sahel was created in 2014 and its anti-jihadist force launched in 2017. A conference of heads of state of the G5 Sahel scheduled for February 2022 in Bamako had been due to mark "the start of the Malian presidency of the G5." But nearly four months after the mandate indicated this meeting "has still not taken place," the statement said. Bamako "firmly rejects the argument of a G5 member state whic...

Slavery Still Exists In Mauritania – UN Envoy

15May

By Chukwuebuka FestusNo Comments

African Development, Child Abuse, Human Rights, News, Violence

Slavery Still Exists In Mauritania – UN Envoy

A UN human rights expert has called on the authorities in Mauritania to take urgent measures to implement an anti-slavery law which was passed in 2015. Following a visit to the West African country, Tomoya Obokata - the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery - said some progress had been made in abolishing the practice but warned much more needed to be done. He said people were still being born into slavery and people affected by the practice needed help to seek justice and achieve equality. Read Also: UN Watchdog Reports Continued Human Rights Abuses in Burundi Mr Obokata said people were now more willing to discuss the issue openly. But he said caste-based slavery and chattel slavery – where one person owns another – were still happening. He warned tha...