Africa – The Diplomatic Envoy

Ethiopian Government Declares Humanitarian Ceasefire in Tigray

April 4, 2022April 4, 2022 Christiana Mones 0 Comments Africa, Conflict, Ethiopia, Tigray, UN

Ethiopian and Tigrayan leaders have agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire to halt the civil conflict that has raged in the country’s northern Tigray region for over a year. The United Nations and other international actors are hopeful that the cessation of fighting will allow for humanitarian aid to the region. Reuters reports that the ceasefire comes at a time when “more than 90 percent of the 5.5 million Tigrayans need food aid,” despite Ethiopian authorities affirming that aid deliveries have never been impeded.

2022 Africa International News March 2022

Somalia Elections Again Delayed, Drawing Western Warnings

March 21, 2022March 21, 2022 Jarrett Dang 0 Comments Africa, Elections, sanctions, Somalia, U.S.

Somalia’s federal parliamentary elections have been postponed with no planned makeup date, drawing the ire of Western backers that have condemned the delay.

March 15 was the deadline for each of Somalia’s five states to separately hold elections for the country’s lower house of parliament. By the end of the day, however, the central government failed to announce the completion of the vote nationwide. While voting was completed in the states of South West and Galmudug, the states of Jubaland, Hirshabelle, and Puntland cumulatively still had 40 vacant seats to fill as of the date of the deadline, according to Africanews.

2022 Africa

Suicide Bombing in Somalia Kills At Least 13 People

February 28, 2022February 27, 2022 Farnsworth Hendrickson Jr 0 Comments Africa, Al-Shabab, Somalia, Suicide Bombing, Terrorism

A deadly bomb attack struck central Somalia on February 16, leaving 13 dead and many injured. Al Jazeera reports that the blast was caused by a suicide bomber targeting a Somali government spokesman, Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, who is being treated at a hospital for his injuries. Several other politicians and government officials were injured.

2022 Africa

Attempted Coup in Guinea-Bissau Fails

February 22, 2022February 22, 2022 Catherine Anderson 0 Comments Africa, coup, Guinea-Bissau, military coup

According to Reuters, the attempted coup that took place on February 1 in Guinea-Bissau is the latest of more than a dozen coup attempts the West African nation has faced since gaining independence from Portugal in 1974. While President Umaro Sissico Embalo and his entire cabinet survived, Al Jazeera reports the coup resulted in at least 11 fatalities.

2021 Africa

Tonga Suffers Nationwide Communications Blackout Amid Volcanic Eruption

January 31, 2022January 30, 2022 Sophie Ulm 0 Comments Africa, Natural Disaster, Tonga

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai volcano on January 15 created continuous challenges in aiding Tonga, the nation of Pacific islands caught in the disaster. One of the main challenges resulting from the eruption, according to PBS News, was the severing of Tonga’s fiber-optic cable, cutting off communication with the rest of the world.

2021 Africa International News

African Nations Push Back Against Omicron Travel Bans

December 6, 2021December 5, 2021 Chimdi Chukwukere 0 Comments Africa, Coronavirus Pandemic, COVID-19, Omicron

Several African nations are pushing back against what they call a discriminatory imposition of travel bans on countries in Southern Africa following the emergence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant. The protests come amidst the fact that despite cases of the new variant being discovered in several countries, including Israel, Hong Kong, The United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and The Czech Republic, travel bans have only been placed against countries in Africa, reports CNN.

2021 Africa Focus Global Pariahs November 2021

FOCUS on Global Pariahs: Abiy Ahmed

November 24, 2021November 24, 2021 Sergei C. Valenzuela 0 Comments Africa, Conflict, Ethiopia, FOCUS, Nobel Peace Prize, Pariah, Tigray

In 2019, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received the Nobel Peace Prize for ending a prolonged war against the neighboring nation of Eritrea. Today, however, Ethiopia is in civil strife and Abiy finds himself on the brink of losing his political legitimacy.

Africa International News

Sudan’s Military Arrests Prime Minister and Seizes Power

November 3, 2021November 3, 2021 Katherine Dorrer 0 Comments Africa, military coup, Sudan, Women’s Empowerment

Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and governmental officials were arrested in the capital city of Khartoum, halting the military and civilian power-sharing government that the country has utilized since late 2019 after President Omar al-Bashir was overthrown. As of Monday, October 25, 2021, Sudan is in a state of emergency, as thousands of pro-democracy protestors gather in the streets to oppose the military coup and the prime minister’s arrest, according to The New York Times.

Africa International News October 2021

ICJ Rules in Favor of Somalia in Maritime Dispute

October 27, 2021October 26, 2021 Charleigh Stone 0 Comments Africa, ICJ, Kenya, Maritime Dispute, Somalia, Territorial Disputes

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled in favor of Somalia in a maritime time dispute case instituted against Kenya over the delimitation of maritime spaces claimed by both states in the Indian Ocean. The judgement, which is binding and without appeal, was unanimous in its finding that there is no agreed maritime boundary between the two states, according to an ICJ press release.

International News

Algeria Bans France from Entering Algerian Airspace

October 16, 2021October 16, 2021 Hamzah Khan 0 Comments Africa, Algeria, Colonialism, Conflict, Europe, France, tension

In the latest escalation of diplomatic tensions between France and Algeria, the French military announced on October 3 that Algeria had closed its airspace to French military aircraft, reports CNN. Algeria accuses French President Emmanuel Macron of unnecessarily intervening in internal affairs and pushing false narratives about the Algerian government. The restriction comes as a blow to the French military, which regularly uses Algerian airspace to conduct military operations in the Sahel region of Sub-Saharan Africa.

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