RCA: Situação continua tensa

Après d'intenses échanges de tirs dans la nuit de jeudi sur l'aéroport, des fusillades ont éclaté vendredi matin dans plusieurs quartiers de Bangui. La situation reste toujours tendue dans la capitale centrafricaine, à l'heure où les dirigeants européens examinaient la possibilité de donner un "cadre européen" à l'opération militaire française en Centrafrique. Vendredi 20 décembre, aux premières heures de la matinée, plusieurs centaines de personnes, en majorité des jeunes, sont venues manifester devant l'entrée de l'aéroport Mpoko, dans le nord de Bangui, pour exiger le départ du président Michel Djotodia. Des tirs d'armes légères, venant apparemment des soldats tchadiens de la Misca, la force de l'Union africaine, ont créé des mouvements de panique et la confusion dans la foule. Furieux, des manifestants s'en sont pris à coups de pierres à un camion qui passait par là avec des passagers musulmans, vraisemblablement eux aussi tchadiens. Le calme est ensuite revenu avec l'arrivée de renforts français et la manifestation a été progressivement dispersée. Mais peu après, des tirs d'origine indéterminée pouvaient être entendus dans un autre quartier nord, à Gobongo, où, selon un habitant, plusieurs personnes ont été tuées dans la nuit par des hommes de la Séléka qui avaient revêtu des uniformes de police. En fin de matinée, des soldats français se préparaient à intervenir dans ce quartier. Alors que la situation était à peu près normale au petit matin dans le centre-ville, ces incidents, ajoutés aux rumeurs sur des affrontements nocturnes à l'aéroport, ont eu pour conséquence une baisse notoire de l'activité à la mi-journée, en particulier autour de l'avenue de l'Indépendance menant à l'aéroport. Peu avant midi, le quartier Combattant, proche de l'aéroport et théâtre de nombreuses violences ces deux dernières semaines, était deserté. "Ce matin, il y a eu des tirs de Séléka pour montrer qu'ils étaient là au Kilomètre 5 (quartier à majorité musulmane)", a déclaré un habitant, qui a précisé avoir vu des "hommes en civil et en armes" à Combattant. "Ça canardait de partout!" Dans la nuit de jeudi à vendredi, pendant plusieurs heures, "il y a eu des tirs d'armes automatiques (...) au camp militaire de l'aéroport. C'est confus, ça a eu lieu de nuit", a indiqué une source militaire française. "À ce stade nous n'avons pas de conclusion sur ce qui s'est passé", a affirmé cette source, précisant qu'il n'y avait "pas eu de blessés côté français". "Ça canardait de partout", a résumé un autre soldat français. De son côté, un officier de la force africaine Misca a fait état de blessés au sein de cette force, sans donner d'autre précision. "La situation est volatile depuis hier soir" et "pas simple", a simplement commenté un porte-parole de l'opération française Sangaris, parlant "d'évènements en cours". L'aéroport Mpoko, dans le nord de la capitale centrafricaine, abrite les campements des militaires français de Sangaris (1 600 hommes) et les différents contingents de la Misca, déployés pour rétablir la sécurité en RCA. Des dizaines de déplacés - en majorité chrétiens - fuyant les violences interreligieuses dans la ville vivent également sur place, dans le plus grand désordre et une extrême précarité. Selon un dernier bilan de l'organisation Amnesty international, les massacres entre chrétiens et musulmans, la religion de la majorité des anciens rebelles, ont fait près d'un millier de morts dans le pays depuis le 5 décembre. La plupart des victimes ont été tuées à Bangui dans des représailles de l'ex-rébellion Séléka (qui a pris le pouvoir en mars 2013), mais également en province après des atrocités commises par des milices d'autodéfense villageoises chrétiennes "anti-balaka" (anti-machettes). Ces violences ont précipité l'intervention militaire de la France qui tente depuis de désarmer les belligérants et opère en appui à la Misca, forte de 3 700 militaires venus pour la plupart des pays voisins. Le Rwanda a déclaré vendredi qu'il s'apprêtait également à y participer. Discussions au sommet européen Ces nouveaux incidents interviennent alors que la France tente de mobiliser ses alliés européens pour venir l'aider, sur le terrain, dans sa difficile mission de rétablir la sécurité en Centrafrique. Au second jour de leur sommet à Bruxelles, les dirigeants européens examinaient la possibilité de donner un "cadre européen" à l'opération militaire française en Centrafrique, mais sans espoir d'un co-financement par l'Union européenne (UE) pour le moment. La tâche est délicate pour le président français François Hollande, les autres chefs d'État et de gouvernement n'ayant pas fait preuve d'enthousiasme jeudi lorsque la situation en Centrafrique a été brièvement évoquée. "Il ne faut pas sous-estimer le degré de distance" de la plupart des pays européens vis-à-vis de la situation en Afrique centrale, a ainsi souligné une source diplomatique française. François Hollande a déclaré espérer qu'une décision puisse être prise vendredi pour que l'intervention Sangaris, lancée unilatéralement par la France, soit "considérée comme une opération européenne". (Avec AFP)

Os jovens fogem à extrema repressão na Eritreia

NAIROBI, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- A dozen members of the Eritrean contingent for the regional Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup that went missing in Kenya cannot be traced as the regional football governing body set to discuss the next course of action against the act. Cecafa Secretary General, Nicholas Musonye and Nairobi Police boss, Benson Kibui, confirmed on Wednesday that the 12, including the head coach, Omer Ahmed and captain Haile Goitom who abandoned their team are yet to be found. "We will discuss the situation with Eritrea at our next General Assembly since we cannot continue having them use Cecafa to run away from their country," Musonye stated. Among measures set to be taken against Eritrea are banning the team from competition altogether. He was however, non committal when pressed why security was not tightened around the squad when initially, two players left the team ahead of their second Group B match on Nov. 31 despite assurances measures would be implemented. "That is now a police case and we are waiting for the conclusion of the investigations. After two disappeared, another nine players and the coach joined them when their tournament ended (at the group stage)," Musonye added. On his part, Kibui once again claimed his office was yet to receive a formal report from Cecafa but investigations were ongoing. "I will follow it up with department of immigration and find out where they are," the police boss added. In total, 24 Eritrean nationals have vanished on Kenyan soil during the regional event, with a dozen going missing in 2009 to match those who fled this year. In what is becoming a ritual, a batch of seven also abandoned the team in Kampala last year having skipped the 2010 and 2011 editions. Forced national service for youth, extreme repression and lack of freedom are cited as reasons why many Eritreans seek to flee their nation.

Selecção de futebol da Eritreia desertou

Nairobi — It has now emerged that another ten members of the Eritrean contingent, including the head coach for the 2013 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup, went missing bringing to 12 the number of the country's squad for the competition who are unaccounted for. Two players abandoned the team before their second Group D match on November 31 with the rest taking flight after they crashed out of the tournament after losing all their games. While revealing this to Capital Sport on Wednesday, Cecafa Secretary General, Nicholas Musonye, added that continued disappearance of Eritrean nationals during the annual regional tournament would top the agenda at their next General Assembly. "This is now a police case and we will not allow the Eritrean national football team to use Cecafa as a way of escaping from their country. "Two of the players vanished as the tournament was going on and nine of them together with their coach escaped after the competition came to an end. This is bad behavior and we want to put the issue that has been happening each time we have the games to a close," the Cecafa chief told. He added: "We will discuss the way forward when we meet next year in our General Assembly." When contacted on the progress of hunting down the escapees, Nairobi Police boss, Benson Kibui, detailed that investigations into the missing members of the Red Sea team was still going on. "We have not received official report from Cecafa, but we will follow it up with department of immigration and find out where they are," Kibui explained. In total, 24 Eritrean nationals have disappeared on Kenyan soil during the tournament, with a dozen going missing in 2009 the last time the country hosted the event ahead of this year's edition. Another batch fled at last year's tournament in Kampala. It is believed the escapees seek asylum in Europe and America to flee from mandatory military duty as well as rigours of a police state. Meanwhile, despite various challenges that affected the latest edition won by the hosts, Musonye, said the tournament was a success singling out Kenya who reclaimed the title for the first time in 11 years. "All went well during the 37th event and I want to thank Harambee Stars for making the competition colourful. I urge Football Kenya Federation to prepare the boys adequately as we head to African Cup of Nations and Olympics qualifiers. "About the Zanzibar coach Salum Nassor, who threatened that they will boycott if the event is held in Kenya once again, I want to say let them stay away. We have experienced many difficulties when the tournament was hosted in other countries," he continued. The event was dogged by a number of teams, including losing finalists Sudan, being detained at their hotels over unpaid dues as well as other logistical problems such as the unavailability of the Kisumu Stadium that was not completed in time to host the semis. Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos that was also refurbished for the tournament saw its pitch fail to hold forcing the semi final between Kenya and Tanzania to be switched to Nairobi at the last minute.

Capital Sport

Sudão do Sul: Em estado de guerra

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Some 34,000 South Sudanese civilians are taking refuge in United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) bases in the capital Juba and in Bor, the rebel-controlled capital of Jonglei state, the U.N. said late Thursday, since deadly ethnic clashes began last week in the two-year-old nation. Since fighting broke out on Dec. 15 in South Sudan , as many as 500 people have been killed, according to local reports received by the U.N., while one UNMISS base in Jonglei state has been attacked. Regional mediators held talks with President Salva Kiir on Thursday in an effort to broker peace. The U.N. said in its Dec. 19 update that fighting, civil unrest and heightened tension have been reported in 14 locations across the country. Some 20,000 people have sought refuge in the two main UNMISS bases in Juba, too fearful to return to their homes. Other civilians may have been displaced to other locations around the capital, the U.N. said. In Bor, clashes between security forces have displaced around 14,000 civilians to the UNMISS base. Some 70 humanitarian staff were evacuated from Bor to Juba on Thursday, with the evacuation of another 75 planned for Friday. Several hundred people have also sought refuge at the UNMISS base in Bentiu in oil-producing Unity state, the U.N. said. ETHNIC KILLINGS A U.N. peacekeeping base in the remote town of Akobo in Jonglei state was overrun on Thursday by Luo Nuer assailants targeting 32 Dinka civilians hiding inside. It is unclear how many died. In Juba and Bor, civilians have also been killed for their ethnicity, according to Human Rights Watch. The fighting, which erupted around the capital Juba on Sunday night and has quickly spread, pits loyalists of the former Vice President Riek Machar, a Nuer, against Kiir, a member of the dominant Dinka clan. Machar, whose dismissal in July led to months of tensions, has denied Kiir's accusation that he had led a coup attempt. The U.N. described the conditions for displaced people in Juba and Bor as “challenging”. “In U.N. bases, some people have been able to construct basic shelters with available materials, but many have no or limited access to shelter. While some displaced groups have been able to move in and out of the bases during daytime to restock on food and other supplies, many others are concerned with the protection risks associated with leaving the base,” it said. “Protection of civilians remains a major concern in all areas affected by the current spate of violence.” As the security situation stabilised in Juba on Wednesday, aid agencies were able to travel around the city to assist the displaced, the U.N. said. They found some areas of the city deserted. On Thursday in Juba, interagency assessments were carried out in the UNMISS bases in Jebel and Tomping, Juba Teaching Hospital and five neighbourhoods around town. Juba Teaching Hospital, the main hospital in the city, has admitted 220 patients as a direct result of the violence. The assessment teams found immediate needs for food, primary healthcare, nutrition screening, water purification and storage, emergency latrines, hygiene promotion and site planning and management. “Partners have begun responding to the most urgent needs, and responses are ongoing,” the U.N. said. CONFINED TO BASES Sporadic fighting has been reported in several areas across Jonglei state, including Gumuruk, Likuangole, Pibor town, Pochalla and Waat, the U.N. said. People are also fleeing from Jonglei to neighbouring Lakes state. “In the areas of Jonglei where insecurity is ongoing aid agencies are confined to their bases,” it said. The situation is also tense in several other states, including in Eastern Equatoria, Unity, Warrap and Western Bahr el Ghazal, it said.

África do Sul 2014: ANC voltará a ganhar as eleições

It is difficult to believe that over an average weekend in November, over 2.5 million South Africans participated in a single activity without much fuss. South Africa’s electoral system is now grown up and remains amongst the most credible on the continent. The success of the two-day voter registration weekend shows that there is significant public interest in next year’s elections and predictions that South Africa’s fifth democratic elections will be the most highly contested so far are on point. This could also be the first election about real issues instead of just race and party loyalty. By RANJENI MUNUSAMY. Exactly a year ago this week, eight opposition parties led by the Democratic Alliance (DA) tabled a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma in the National Assembly. Among the reasons the parties gave for wanting to vote Zuma out of office were the Marikana massacre; the Nkandla scandal; government’s failure to deliver textbooks to school children in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape; the downgrading of South Africa’s credit rating by two major rating agencies; a “mounting disrespect” for the country’s Constitution and judiciary; the growing number of unemployed; and, a “rising tide” of corruption in the public service. The motion of no confidence had no chance of succeeding if put to a vote but was timed ahead of the ANC’s national conference in Mangaung. Opposition parties wanted to tap into factional battles in the ruling party in the hope that some ANC MPs would side with them in a vote against the president. They also hoped that by highlighting the failings of the Zuma administration, they could influence sentiment against the president in the ANC, which would prevent his re-election for a second term as the party president. The ploy failed miserably. Zuma was re-elected with an overwhelming majority and the motion got bogged down in parliamentary scheduling and an ensuing legal battle. Despite this being a political manoeuvre, albeit a trifling one, to have a sitting president ousted, there was not much public alarm or interest in the affair. The issues the opposition parties were basing the motion of no confidence on are generally the issues that made people angry and unhappy last year. But despite their best efforts to drum up public emotion to turn sentiment against Zuma, the episode came and went, and life in South Africa went on as usual. A year later, South Africa’s voting population is paying attention to democratic processes which they know has a real bearing on the future of the country. Despite concerns about voter apathy and people disengaging due to despondency over government delivery backlogs and corruption, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced on Tuesday that over 2.5 million people visited registration stations across the country over the weekend. Of these, 1.088,015 million (43.3%) were new voters registering for the first time. The other 1.4 million people visited the stations to either confirm or change their registration. All these people took the initiative to participate in the electoral system even before election season has begun in full swing. The voters’ roll now stands at over 25.6 million registered people, representing 77% of eligible voters. Although over 80% of all new registrations were young people, the IEC is still concerned about the low percentage of 18-19 year olds who are registered – only 22.6%. This means that new generation voters born after 1994 are yet to get excited about the prospect of voting for the first time. South Africa’s elections have up to now been very much about race and party loyalty. Voting patterns up to now have not been defined on issues and South Africa might still have a long way to go before parties are elected and held to account based on their election promises. The 1994 and 1999 elections were during the honeymoon period of South Africa’s democratic transition and most voters were romantic about the ANC. The 2004 election however was quite a different scenario. The government under former President Thabo Mbeki had a bad run with negative perceptions over the handling of the Aids crisis, crime and Zimbabwe. There were also serious tensions between state agencies and camp warfare within the ANC was taking root. Cosatu and the SACP were shunned by the ANC leadership at the time. Yet all of these did not affect the ANC negatively at the polls. The warring factions in the party and the alliance closed ranks and went all out on the campaign trail. The ANC’s support base also rallied. As a result, the ANC registered its highest poll at 69.69%, exceeding a two-thirds majority. In 2009, the dynamics changed dramatically again. Mbeki was ousted, the Congress of the People (Cope) split from the ANC and Jacob Zuma rose to the top. The introduction of Cope on the political scene, which ran on an anti-Zuma ticket, also caused the party faithful in the ANC to close ranks and flex muscle. Although the ANC gained over 770,000 more votes than it did in 2004, its percentage of the total poll dropped to 65.9%. The DA began to define itself outside its traditional base of white liberals and was therefore able to rise from 12.3% in 2004 to 16.6% in 2009. The 2009 election had very little to do with real issues and the campaigns were mainly about defending the ANC and for the DA and Cope, stopping Zuma. While there is unlikely to be a sea change in voting patterns in 2014, it is bound to be more about issues than in the past. Violent service delivery protests and labour strikes have ramped up the pressure on the ANC government. These might not be new phenomena and might not translate into a negative vote for the ANC. However, there is now a political organisation campaigning on the discontent with the ANC and reeling in those angry and disappointed with the government. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) also has alternate and radical policy proposals which they are projecting as the path to the promised land for the poor, the unemployed and the disenchanted. There has never been a political party which has been able to campaign effectively in this constituency, armed with populist rhetoric and big personalities with a point to prove. The EFF ticket might be bolstered directly or indirectly by convulsions within Cosatu, particularly with its biggest union Numsa, representing metalworkers, holding a special congress to decide whether to continue supporting the ANC. Numsa and EFF have common perspectives on issues such as nationalisation, land redistribution and the economy, so if the metalworkers decide to stop supporting the ANC, Julius Malema’s party might be the next stop. The DA is campaigning on a big anti-corruption ticket after a series of scandals in government over wasting of taxpayers’ money, patronage and abuse of power. However there is no telling yet whether issues such as the upgrade of the president’s private home at Nkandla or the Guptas landing their jet at Waterkloof Air Force base will have a mass effect on voting patterns. While sections of the middle class and the commentariat might be consumed with such issues, it is not clear whether these scandals will cause mass deviations in voter behaviour. If ANC voters did not turn away from their party when their communities were ravaged by Aids, it is doubtful whether they will trade their loyalties over issues which are far removed from their own lives. The DA is also vesting heavily on the issue of e-tolls in Gauteng. There is plenty of unhappiness over electronic tolling of the province’s freeways, but whether people will vote for the DA because of this is uncertain. As it is, behind the election bluster, the DA cannot stop the system even if it gains control of the province - it can only prevent more roads being tolled. The issue that can catch fire, though, is that of policing. The South African Police Service has been drowning in controversy over the past few years. Their conduct at Marikana, in the killing of taxi driver Mido Macia and incidents of harassment, rape and robbing of civilians has led to people resenting and fearing the police. The scandals involving the police leadership, including the marauding crime intelligence division and ineptitude of National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega, has covered the SAPS in shame. Crime and policing have a direct effect on people’s lives. It may not be just yet but can become a major election issue. The problem is that there is no proper discourse on what is wrong with the police on how to fix it. No political party seems to have clear thinking on what to do to clean up the police service and put in place proper leadership. Job creation is a perennial election issue and the ANC will have tough time convincing the country that it will finally be able to get the economy to do produce the jobs it has been promising since 1994. It will be the ANC’s area of vulnerability in this election. But other than pushing the youth employment incentive scheme, which has now been passed into law, the DA has no big job creation ideas to capture people’s imagination on the campaign trail. This is why the EFF’s rhetoric on economic freedom could have resonance, particularly among the youth and the unemployed. The ANC’s campaign rests on the National Development Plan (NDP). In order to sell it, its leaders will need to understand and own it. Right now, the NDP is spoken of in general terms and treated as a big wish list for the future. That will have to change on the campaign trail into real deliverables if the ANC is to convince its traditional constituency to remain in the fold and give hope to new young voters looking for opportunities for the future. Of course the ANC will continue to trade on its 102-year history and traditional loyalties. But a large proportion of youth voters with no memory of the ANC’s glory days means the ANC will have to come up with new ideas this time around to maintain an electoral majority over 60%. With more than 25 million people eligible to vote and more competition on the political spectrum, Election 2014 promises to be a hard-fought poll. Political parties will have to work hard for every vote and be able to debate the big issues. Daily Maverick -------------------- Claro que o ANC já não tem hoje em dia 65 ou 67 por cento das intenções de voto, mas continuará a ser o partido largamente maioritário, bem acima dos 50 por cento dos votos que vierem a ser expressos.

Sudão do Sul: 500 mortos em lutas étnicas

By Associated Press, JUBA, South Sudan — At least 500 people, most of them soldiers, have been killed in South Sudan since Sunday, a senior government official said, as an ethnic rivalry threatened to tear apart the world’s newest country. The clashes apparently are pitting soldiers from the majority Dinka tribe of President Salva Kiir against those from ousted Vice President Riek Machar’s Nuer ethnic group, raising concerns the violence could degenerate into a civil war. Fighting spread on Wednesday to Jonglei, the largest state in South Sudan, where troops loyal to Machar were said to be trying to take control of Bor, the state capital. Machar himself is the subject of a manhunt by the country’s military after he was identified by Kiir as the leader of an alleged coup attempt on Sunday. Machar has denied he was behind any coup attempt. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, the foreign minister, told The Associated Press late Wednesday that there was heavy fighting in Bor, but he denied renegade soldiers had overtaken it. “There is fighting there, but (government forces) haven’t lost control of the town,” he said, accusing Machar of actively mobilizing soldiers to mutiny against the government. Col. Philip Aguer, the South Sudanese military spokesman, said there was fighting Wednesday among troops in Jonglei state but that it was not clear “who is fighting who.” He said military officials in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, were trying to confirm reports of defections in Bor. At least 19 civilians have been killed in violence in Bor, said Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general’s office, citing figures from the South Sudan Red Cross. He said tensions were also on the rise in the states of Unity and Upper Nile. Tensions have been mounting in South Sudan since Kiir fired Machar as his deputy in July. Machar has said he will contest the presidency in 2015. Kiir told a news conference in Juba late Wednesday that he was willing to enter talks with Machar, a rival for power within the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement party. “I will sit down with him so that we talk, but I cannot tell what the outcome of such talks would be,” he said. U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon told reporters Wednesday that South Sudan was experiencing a political crisis that “urgently needs to be dealt with through political dialogue.” Ban said he urged Kiir “to resume dialogue with the political opposition.” South Sudan has been plagued by ethnic violence since it peacefully broke away from Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war. The fighting began Sunday in Juba, but it was mostly calm Wednesday. Some of the victims “were shot in the bushes” around Juba, Information Minister Micheal Makuei Lueth said, citing a report from the minister of defense. He said up to 700 others had been wounded. The violence has forced about 20,000 people to seek refuge at U.N. facilities in Juba since Sunday. Casie Copeland, the South Sudan analyst for the International Crisis Group who is in Juba, said key Nuer leaders in the army were defecting in Jonglei but that “events that led to Sunday’s fighting remain unclear.” Toby Lanzer, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator in South Sudan, said in a Twitter post that thousands of civilians in Jonglei had sought refuge at a U.N. facility there. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was in place in Juba, and an AP reporter saw a heavy police and army presence on its streets. On Tuesday the United States ordered its citizens to leave South Sudan immediately. The U.S. diplomatic mission in Juba said on Twitter that an evacuation flight was full Wednesday and it would advise if there was another flight Thursday. In a BBC interview Wednesday, Machar denied any link with the current fighting and blamed it on a conflict between members of the presidential guard. He added that government troops used the incident to arrest some of his supporters Monday and that he himself escaped. “Someone wanted to frame me,” he said. “I had to flee. They are hunting me down.” Benjamin, the foreign minister, insisted that Machar had orchestrated the violence in a bid to take power. “If he wants to become president, he needs to wait for elections,” Benjamin said. At least 10 political leaders have been arrested over their roles in the alleged coup, the government said. ___

Luta generalizada no Sudão do Sul

The clashes between rival factions in the SPLA that started in in the capital on 15 December are spreading alarmingly fast. The capture of Bor, about 100 kilometres north of Juba, on 18 December by troops loyal to sacked Vice President Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon confirmed the political schisms go to heart of the ruling elite. It also suggests that the rebellion against President Salva Kiir Mayardit was better prepared and organised than it first appeared. Fearing the clashes could spread across the country, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for a political dialogue on 18 December. Yet the immediate prospects for a meeting between the two sides, let alone constructive talks, looked poor. A delegation of African Union officials led by Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom flew to Juba on 19 to meet President Salva who has tempered his public position in recent days. Africa Confidential