VIF News Digest: International Developments (Africa), 15-20 Jan 2019

AFRICA

Northwestern Congo ethnic violence killed at least 400 in December - Local Activists: Reuters
15 January 2019

Ethnic violence in Northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least 400 people over two days in December, a local priest and a civil society activist said on Monday, a death toll three times higher than earlier estimates.

The clashes on Dec. 16-17 between the Batende and Banunu ethnic groups in and around the town of Yumbi were some of the worst to hit the normally peaceful area in years, and led the government to cancel voting in the Dec. 30 presidential election there. Click here to read... [2]

Terror in Nairobi: The Star
16 January 2019

Six heavily armed gunmen blasted their way into a luxury hotel and office complex, shot several people dead, wounded many and took hostages in a terror attack that sent people fleeing into the streets. The attack was still underway as the elite Recce Squad battled the gunmen and rescued people who are were trapped in their offices.

At least five bodies were lying at the reception and bar area and victims were rushed to nearby hospitals including MP Shah, Avenue the Aga Khan, Nairobi and Kenyatta National Hospital. There were no official tallies of dead or injured. Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet said that an attack was a suspected militant attack. Click here to read... [3]

Kenya attack: 21 confirmed dead in DusitD2 hotel siege – BBC News
16 January 2019

At least 21 people were killed when Somali militants stormed a luxury hotel compound in Nairobi, Kenya's government has confirmed. Hundreds were forced to flee the bloodshed at the DusitD2 hotel and business complex on Tuesday. Some 28 injured people have been admitted to hospital, and Kenya's Red Cross said 19 are still missing.

Somalia-based Islamist group al-Shabab said it was behind the attack, which triggered a 19-hour security operation. President Uhuru Kenyatta said the siege ended with five jihadist attackers "eliminated". Kenya has been a target for al-Shabab since October 2011, when it sent its army into Somalia to fight the jihadist group. Click here to read... [4]

Civilians beaten and abducted in major Zimbabwe crackdown: The Guardian
16 January 2019

Police and military have launched a massive crackdown in Zimbabwe after what appears to be have been a widespread breakdown of public order linked to food and fuel shortages in the impoverished country.

Access to the internet and social media was shut off for most of Wednesday, and armed soldiers were patrolling the streets of major cities as unidentified men were reported to be sweeping through poor neighbourhoods of Harare, the capital, and beating people “at random”. Click here to read... [5]

Thousands flee North-East Nigeria after devastating Boko Haram attack: The Guardian
17 January 2019

Thousands of people have fled into Cameroon from north-east Nigeria following violent attacks by a faction of the militant group Boko Haram, which looted and destroyed large parts of a major town. More than 8,000 refugees have crossed the border into Bodo after the attacks on the Nigerian town of Rann on Monday, in which at least 10 people are thought to have been killed. Homes and humanitarian organisations’ buildings were burned down.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said it was preparing to help 15,000 people with food, water and medicine. The organisation released photos showing smouldering buildings that had been burned to the ground, and columns of fleeing people crossing a river, their few belongings balanced on their heads. Click here to read... [6]

Congo Court affirms results of contested Presidential Election: The New York Times
19 January 2019

The Constitutional Court of the Democratic Republic of Congo ruled early Sunday on the results of the country’s highly contested election, determining that the opposition candidate Félix Tshisekedi was in fact the winner and rejecting a challenge from another opposition figure who was the runner-up.

The court’s decision affirmed the results announced by the country’s electoral commission, which appointed Mr. Tshisekedi as the president-elect. He is set to be inaugurated on Tuesday. Click here to read... [7]

Eight U.N. Peacekeepers Killed in Attack in northern Mali: Reuters
20 January 2019

Eight U.N. peacekeepers were killed and several were wounded while repelling an attack by armed assailants near a village in northern Mali on Sunday, the West African nation’s U.N. mission said.

The identity of the attackers was not immediately clear. U.N. peacekeeping and French forces are stationed in northern Mali to combat well-armed jihadist groups seen as the gravest threat to security across Africa’s Sahel region.

The clash near Aguelhok occurred early on Sunday following an attack “by assailants in many armed vehicles,” the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said in a statement. Click here to read... [2]

52 Al-Shabab fighters killed in Somalia air attack: US military - Aljazeera

The United States' military has said that an air attack in southern Somalia killed at least 52 Al-Shabab fighters, in response to an attack earlier in the day that left at least eight Somali soldiers dead.

A US Africa Command statement on Saturday said the attack occurred near Jilib in Middle Juba region. Jubaland regional security minister Abdirashid Hassan Abdinur told state-run Radio Mogadishu that the fatalities from the Al-Shabab side could be as high as 73. Click here to read... [8]