Author: pr web

JOHANNESBURG — Ten people died and around 40 others were injured when a fuel tanker exploded in Boksburg, a South African city east of Johannesburg, emergency services said Saturday.

 

The tanker, transporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), was caught beneath a bridge close to a hospital and houses on Saturday morning.

 

“We received a call at 0750 telling us a gas tanker was stuck under a bridge. Firefighters were called to extinguish the flames. Unfortunately, the tanker exploded,” William Ntladi, spokesperson for the emergency services in the region, told AFP.

 

One of those injured was the driver, who was taken to a hospital, he added.

 

The injured were in serious condition, Ntladi said. Six firefighters also suffered minor injuries.

 

Videos on social media showed a huge fireball under the bridge, which the tanker appeared to have been too tall to fit under.

 

It was carrying 60,000 liters of LPG, which is used in cooking and gas stoves and had come from the southeast of the country.

 

Witness Jean Marie Booysen described a “huge jolt” shortly after 6:30 a.m. local time.

 

“Today is indeed a very sad day in our little suburb,” she said, standing near a forensics team combing the scene.

 

“I went upstairs to have my cup of tea and I saw immense flames. I thought a house was on fire,” she said.

 

She said she later learned young neighbors had died from “here across the road, 16, the girl, and 25, the boy, who came and did my lawn every weekend for me.”

 

Another witness named William, who did not give his surname, described a series of explosions and said people nearby had felt the blast.

 

“I think I was 50 meters away from the scene and when the third one exploded, I was about 400 meters away,” he said. “We did burn behind our backs.”

 

Source: Voice of America

JOHANNESBURG, Six people were killed in two separate road accidents, in South Africa’s Free State Province yesterday, the provincial police said.

 

The first accident killed five people and injured 11 others, after a head-on collision between two minibuses, said Mahlomola Kareli, police spokesperson in Free State Province.

 

“Three passengers and both drivers of the minibus taxis died on the scene, while 11 others were rushed to different hospitals in Bloemfontein,” said Kareli.

 

In another accident in the province, along the N3 road, which connects Johannesburg and Durban, four sedans were involved in a pile-up, resulting in the death of one person, he said.

 

Source: Nam News Network

PRETORIA, The South African Government is deeply concerned about the scheduled executions of seven students at Dagon University by the military in Myanmar.

 

In a statement, the South African Government urged the Myanmar military authorities to uphold their international obligations to promote and protect human rights, including the protection of the right to life.

 

“We call for the release of all those detained in relation to the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

 

“The scheduled executions continue to threaten the already remote possibility of a sustainable political dialogue agreed to in 2021 in the Five-Point Consensus between ASEAN and the military,”  the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said in a statement.

 

The seven students were sentenced by a military court for their alleged involvement in a shooting in April that killed a former military officer.

 

They are among more than 130 people put on death row since the military seized power in a coup last year, according to the United Nations.

 

South Africa further calls on the military and all parties involved to negotiate a peaceful resolution of their differences and bring about reconciliation in Myanmar.

 

“South Africa will continue supporting the United Nations and its respective agencies, as well as regional mechanisms such as ASEAN in their mediation efforts, to sustain the democratic transition of Myanmar which can ensure equality, dignity, human rights, and the full inclusion of all in its national development towards lasting peace and stability and sustained development to the benefit of the people of Myanmar,” the statement read.

 

Source: Nam News Network

PRETORIA, South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) announced on Friday that measles cases continue to soar across the country.

 

According to the latest data, South Africa has recorded 227 cases of laboratory-confirmed measles cases for specimens collected between Oct 8 and Dec 17 across all provinces.

 

Statistics show that 216 laboratory-confirmed cases were reported from five provinces with a declared measles outbreak, namely Limpopo (110 cases), Mpumalanga (64 cases), North West (27 cases), Gauteng (10 cases), and Free State (five cases).

 

This comes after the NICD declared a measles outbreak after three cases from two healthcare facilities were reported in Limpopo in October.

 

“The number of cases continues to increase daily, as blood and throat swabs are submitted to the NICD for measles serology and PCR testing,” the public health institution said.

 

According to the NICD, prevention and control of measles outbreaks can only be achieved through vaccination.

 

Measles patients present with fever, rash, and one or more of these symptoms – cough, red eyes and runny nose.

 

Complications of measles include pneumonia, diarrhoea, dehydration, encephalitis, blindness and death.

 

“Clinicians across the country are urged to be on the lookout for measles cases. It is understood that the health departments in the respective provinces have commenced with or are planning immunisation campaigns,” the NICD said.

 

Source: Nam News Network

NAIROBI — The African Union and the Economic Community of West African States have condemned an alleged coup attempt in Gambia. The Gambian government says it arrested four troops planning to overthrow President Adama Barrow. Political analysts say a lack of security reforms is to blame for this latest coup attempt in the small West African nation.

 

The Gambian government said in a statement on Wednesday based on intelligence reports that some soldiers in the army were plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government.

 

Gambian political analyst Sait Matty Jaw says people are worried about their economic situation but do not support military involvement in the country’s political affairs.

 

“There are so many other issues people are worried about, but we also know that the majority of Gambians are anti-coup based on survey data. This has been part of the conversation,” Jaw said. “It was shocking to hear it was being led by a land corporal. So today, there are people questioning whether this was even a plot.”

Four soldiers have been arrested and the army is in pursuit of three alleged accomplices.

 

President Barrow was reelected in December 2021, securing a second five-year term.

 

Barrow first came to power in 2016 after defeating the country’s authoritarian president Yahya Jammeh, who ruled the country for 22 years.

 

Coup attempts are common in the West African nation. Jammeh himself took power in a coup in 1994 and averted several attempts to overthrow him.

 

In 2017 eight soldiers who had a link to the former president tried to overthrow Barrow.

 

Jaw says lack of security reforms is to blame for Wednesday’s coup attempt.

 

“People are raising questions in terms of the speed of this reform and some of these things are part of what is increasing the insecurity and the need to speed this process,” Jaw said. “The other issue raises questions about the broader transitional justice process because a lot of things need to be done.”

 

West Africa has seen a rash of coups and coup attempts over the past two years. New governments seized power in Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso, while Guinea-Bissau averted a coup attempt in February this year.

 

Ikemesit Effiong is a geopolitical analyst based in Nigeria. He says corruption, economic mismanagement and misuse of power on the continent are to blame for some countries’ military attempts or takeovers.

 

“If you look at the age profile of a lot of coup plotters in places like Mali, Guinea Bissau, in Burkina Faso right across the region, they are relatively young people and for many of them, democracy has not delivered, they are channeling this popular frustration with a democratic ruling in the region into violence military takeovers,” Effiong said.

 

Jaw says the government of Gambia needs to reform the country’s political, economic and security structure to stop the military from taking power.

 

“One way of ensuring that things like this do not happen is to ensure that there are adequate reforms that will address the gaps, the lacuna, but also for the government to be more transparent with the population ensuring that the governance challenges in this country are addressed,” Jaw said.

 

The Economic Community of West Africa States condemned the attempted military takeover of the government and praised the Gambian army for thwarting it.

 

Source: Voice of America

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths released from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) on Thursday, $14 million for direct assistance to 262,521 South Sudanese affected by increased violence and severe flooding.

 

Interconnected shocks have had a devastating impact on the most vulnerable, said the UN humanitarian office, OCHA.

 

“This funding will support reducing people’s vulnerability and protection risks through activities implemented by the United Nations humanitarian agencies in South Sudan”, stated Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan.

 

And it will ensure that the assistance reaches people in need “as quickly as possible”, she added.

New allocation

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP) and World Health Organization (WHO) are among the implementing agencies that will target those with the highest severity of needs.

 

Some people have undergone multiple shocks, which have led to secondary and tertiary displacements – triggering further protection risks and livelihood losses.

 

Benefitting from the newly allocated humanitarian funding will be people in the Unity, Upper Nile, Northern Bhar el Ghazel, Jonglei and Warrap states as well as in the Abyei Administrative Area.

 

Prioritizing the most needy

The funding will be used to help scale up existing cash programmes in providing life-saving services for those most in need, including protection, health, education, water, and sanitation.

 

Among the internally displaced and host communities, the senior UN official emphasized the importance of prioritizing those with the most acute needs.

 

“Women, girls, the elderly, persons with specific needs, and those who stayed behind in hard-to-reach areas due to mobility constraints, often bear the brunt of protracted crises and desperately need support”, she explained.

 

Fund breakdown

Critical humanitarian needs were identified in consultation with several coordination forums and national non-Governmental organization.

 

To promote localization and Grand Bargain commitments, at least 15 per cent of the funds will be allocated to national NGOs including women- led organizations who are partners of the receiving UN system members.

 

The funded projects will mainstream protection, gender and inclusion sensitivity, and collective efforts for accountability to the affected population in the response.

 

“People are going through unimaginable suffering. We cannot leave behind the most vulnerable”, Ms. Nyanti said.

 

Rapid relief

Since its establishment 16 years ago, CERF has provided fast emergency funding to people in need.

 

This year alone, it allocated $54 million for humanitarian projects in South Sudan, including the latest $14 million allocation for underfunded emergencies.

Earlier in the year, it provided $15 million to mitigate the impact of projected floods in Unity State; $10 million to respond to people impacted by violence in Abyei Administrative Area and Twic county; and $15 million to address increasing food insecurity in Jonglei and Unity states.

 

Humanitarians under fire

Yet, South Sudan’s humanitarian crisis has been underfunded across all interventions leaving millions of people at risk.

 

An estimated 9.4 million of the most vulnerable South Sudanese will need urgent life-saving assistance and protection next year – compared to this year’s 8.9 million.

 

As of 13 December, the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan was funded at 67.3 per cent

 

“We need long-term solutions to close the rising funding gaps and pave the way towards development”, the Humanitarian Coordinator attested.

 

At the same time, the country continues to be the most violent for aid workers, according to OCHA, which said that since the beginning of this year, nine humanitarians were killed in the line of duty in South Sudan.

 

Source: UN News Center

 

BANJUL — Gambian authorities have foiled a military coup attempt and arrested four soldiers plotting to overthrow President Adama Barrow’s administration, the government said on Wednesday.

 

The Gambian Armed Forces High Command arrested four soldiers linked to the alleged coup after a military operation on Tuesday, it said in a statement.

 

Coup attempts are not uncommon in the Gambia, a tiny West African country of 2.5 million almost entirely surrounded by Senegal, which is still reeling from over two decades under former president Yahya Jammeh marked by authoritarianism and alleged abuses.

 

Jammeh himself seized power in a coup in 1994 and foiled several attempts to overthrow him before he lost an election in late 2016 to Barrow.

 

His ouster was widely viewed as a boost for democracy, although there has been growing frustration with Barrow’s government for its failure to address poverty and rising living costs.

 

“Based on intelligence reports … some soldiers of the Gambian army were plotting to overthrow the democratically elected government,” the government said on Wednesday.

 

The army is in pursuit of three other alleged accomplices and investigations are ongoing, it added.

 

There were no details on whether the coup attempt was linked to the previous regime.

 

Eight ex-soldiers led by one of Jammeh’s former military aides plotted to overthrow Barrow the year after he came to power. They were sentenced to jail in 2019 on treason and conspiracy charges they denied.

 

Source: Voice of America

Advance Notification Requirement under Weapons Sanctions Regime Lifted

The Security Council decided today to extend the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) — alongside its Intervention Brigade — for one year, and to lift the advance notification requirement under the 1533 Democratic Republic of the Congo sanctions regime.

 

Unanimously adopting resolution 2666 (2022) (to be issued as document S/RES/2666), under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the Council also decided MONUSCO’s authorized troop ceiling will comprise 13,500 military personnel, 660 military observers and staff officers, 591 police and 1,410 personnel of formed police units.  It invited the Secretariat to consider further reducing MONUSCO’s level of military deployment in line with the joint strategy on the Mission’s progressive and phased drawdown.

 

The Council decided the Mission’s strategic priorities will be to contribute to protecting civilians and to support the stabilization and strengthening of State institutions, as well as key governance and security reform.  Such tasks should be implemented in a manner consistent with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; protection of civilians shall be given priority in decisions about the use of available capacity and resources.  The Council also encouraged the Mission to support the East African Community-led Nairobi and Luanda processes.

 

Expressing great concern over the humanitarian situation, which has left an estimated 27 million Congolese in need of aid, the Council demanded that all parties allow and facilitate the full, safe, immediate and unhindered access of humanitarian personnel, equipment and supplies.

 

The Council also welcomed the Government’s efforts to respond to the needs of the Congolese people and strongly urged all Congolese political stakeholders to spare no efforts in implementing the critical governance, security and economic reforms contained in the Government’s programme of action 2021–2023.

 

Welcoming the extension of the Mission’s mandate, Council members expressed unanimous support for the Congolese Government’s efforts to stabilize the region, also voicing concern over the dire humanitarian situation.  Some States, however, said that the Council’s increased attention to secondary issues such as human rights and sanctions monitoring dilute MONUSCO’s resources.

 

China’s representative spotlighted the room for reform and improvement in peacekeeping in Africa, stressing that the mandates of MONUSCO and other missions operating on the continent are too broad.  Calling for comprehensive reviews of peacekeeping mandates, he stressed that tasks beyond capacity should be returned to the Governments of the countries concerned and United Nations country teams.

 

The representative of the United Arab Emirates expressed regret that the text did not include a proposal for the Secretary-General’s report to include reporting on climate security and urged the Council to use high-quality data and analysis on how climate impacts may exacerbate risk.

 

The speaker for the United States, the largest single-country financial contributor to MONUSCO, pointed to the Mission mandate’s stronger focus on countering misinformation and disinformation, while highlighting the importance of regional military actors in the East African Community regional force.

 

The Council also unanimously adopted resolution 2667 (2022) (to be issued as document S/RES/2667), deciding that the requirement under Council resolution 1807 (2008) for all States to give the 1533 Sanctions Committee advance notice of any shipment of arms and related material — or any provision of assistance, advice or training related to military activities in the country — shall no longer apply.

 

By that text, the Council requested the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to provide a confidential report in May 2023 detailing its efforts to ensure safe and effective management, storage, marking, monitoring and security of the national stockpiles of weapons and ammunition, including efforts to fight arms trafficking and diversion.

 

After the adoption, Council members welcomed the consensus achieved on lifting the notification requirement and de-linking the sanctions issue from the Mission so that it is under the sole purview of the Council.  Several speakers said that sanctions measures should be adjusted to reflect situations on the ground and stressed the importance of preventing weapons being acquired by armed groups.

 

Gabon’s representative said the move will eliminate obstacles for the Democratic Republic of the Congo to properly and effectively respond to armed groups who are pillaging resources and committing atrocities against civilians in the eastern part of the country.  Restricting a democratically elected Government’s room for manoeuvre to tackle great security challenges, he observed, is not a good thing.

 

The United Kingdom’s delegate said that while notification processes do not inhibit Governments from building the requisite capacity to provide security, her delegation recognized the current security challenges facing the country.  She encouraged the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to establish professional, accountable and sustainable security forces.

 

The representative of Ireland, expressing discomfort that the matter was being dealt with outside of the schedule for negotiating renewals of sanctions mandates, said matters related to the sanctions regimes should be addressed through the dedicated sanctions mandate renewal process and timeline.

 

Also speaking were representatives of Norway, the Russian Federation, Kenya and Ghana.

 

The meeting began at 10:03 a.m. and ended at 10:33 a.m.

 

 

 

Statements

 

ROBERT A. WOOD (United States), speaking after the vote, said that his country voted in favour of the text.  As the largest single-country financial contributor to the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), the United States welcomes the mandate’s stronger focus on strategic communications and countering misinformation and disinformation, he said, stressing that these tasks should be undertaken jointly with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Highlighting the importance of regional military actors in the East African Community regional force to coordinate and deconflict operations with MONUSCO, he pointed out the inter-State support for armed groups, including Rwanda’s support to the 23 March Movement (M23).  Recognizing that the Mission cannot remain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo forever, he welcomed options for further adaption of its configurations, underscoring that any further steps for MONUSCO’s eventual drawdown should be agreed upon jointly by the United Nations and Congolese officials in liaison with civil society.

 

TRINE SKARBOEVIK HEIMERBACK (Norway) said that her delegation voted in favour of the resolution.  However, she expressed regret that monitoring and reporting on human rights is moved down on the text’s list of priorities, noting that no current development in the country justifies this change.  Reiterating support for regional initiatives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, she encouraged MONUSCO to play a key role in coordinating and supporting the efforts to stabilize the region while promoting and protecting human rights on the ground.

 

ANNA M. EVSTIGNEEVA (Russian Federation) said that her country supported the mandate extension of MONUSCO.  While commending the Council’s unanimous support of the Congolese Government’s efforts, she pointed out the increased attention of the Council on the secondary issues of peacekeeping operations, including monitoring of human rights, gender analysis and other non-specialized issues, amid armed conflict.  While recognizing the importance of such issues, she said that sometimes Council discussions did not focus on their respective main tasks.  Turning to the draft resolution on lifting the notification requirement, she reiterated that security sanctions should always reflect the situation on the ground, noting the need to regularly review and modify them to the point of lifting them completely.  Pointing out that many of the sanctions regimes are not in line with the situation on the ground, she recalled that the Russian Federation was ready to vote for the adaptation of the regime and the lifting of the notification requirements in June, commending the Council for not “dragging out” the decision any longer.

 

FERGAL MYTHEN (Ireland) said his delegation voted in favour of the resolution and welcomed that the 1533 sanctions regime matter was decoupled from the text.  However, he expressed discomfort that the matter was being dealt with outside of the schedule for negotiating renewals of sanctions mandates, adding that to ensure coherence and clarity in sanctions regimes, sanctions matters must be addressed through the dedicated sanctions mandate renewal process.  Recognizing the need in this case to consider sanctions outside of the designated timeline, he said that this discussion should not be mixed up with other issues.  Ireland decided to support the lifting of the notification requirement despite the complex and divergent views on, and the politicization of, the issue, he said, stressing that the sanctions regime is an important tool and his delegation voted in the way that best protects the integrity of the regime overall.  He, however, recalled the value of the notification requirement — introduced as a part of weapons management efforts — and said that its lifting may have negative repercussions for the ability of the Group of Experts and the 1533 Committee to monitor arms flows.

 

ZHANG JUN (China), noting the dire situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said that his country voted in favour of renewing MONUSCO’s mandate.  Calling attention to the room for reform and improvement in peacekeeping in Africa, he said that the missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, South Sudan and the Central African Republic have been too broad and all-encompassing in their mandates, spreading their resources too thin.  Some mandates caused discontent among the populations of the countries concerned, he added.  In this regard, he expressed support for conducting comprehensive reviews of peacekeeping mandates in Africa and returning the tasks beyond capacity to the Governments of the countries concerned, including to the United Nations country teams.  Pointing out that tasks related to human rights and sanctions monitoring distract from and dilute the resources of MONUSCO, overlapping with other monitoring mechanisms, he encouraged the Council to adjust the relevant mandates to correct this.  Welcoming the lifting of the notification requirement, he recalled that China and African countries have been calling for lifting and adjusting the sanctions measures against such African countries and encouraged the Council to remain united on sanctions-related measures.

 

MICHEL XAVIER BIANG (Gabon) said the lifting of the notification requirement will remove all obstacles to the capacity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to give a proper and effective response to armed groups who are pillaging resources and committing atrocities against civilians in the eastern part of the country.  Restricting the room for manoeuvre of a Government that is led by democratically elected authorities currently facing great security challenges is not a good thing, he said, encouraging Council members to continue to overcome their differences to support the peace process underway and preserve the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

 

BARBARA WOODWARD (United Kingdom) voiced hope that resolution 2666 (2022) provides a solid basis for constructive dialogue between the Government and MONUSCO, including on the review of the joint transitional plan.  On resolution 2667 (2022), she said the United Kingdom does not consider that notification processes inhibit Governments from building capabilities needed to provide security but recognizes the current security challenges facing the country.  She voiced hope that the Council’s decision today contributes to enabling the Government to restore State authority in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as to ending the cycles of violence. She encouraged the Government to make progress in establishing professional, accountable and sustainable security forces through comprehensive security sector reform, and to capitalize on the support that MONUSCO, the wider United Nations family and partners can provide in this area.

 

AMEIRAH OBAID MOHAMED OBAID ALHEFEITI (United Arab Emirates) said her delegation voted in favour of the text because it believes in MONUSCO’s mandate.  Expressing concern over the humanitarian situation and supporting the efforts of the Congolese and international actors, she recalled that this year the Democratic Republic of the Congo experienced the worst flooding since 2019.  She thus urged the Council to consider how to deal with the negative effects of climate change, including by receiving high quality data and analysis on how climate impacts may exacerbate risks, stressing that doing so will facilitate finding effective ways to tackle climate-related challenges.  Noting that her country proposed that the Secretary-General’s report include reporting on climate security, she expressed regret that the proposal was excluded from the MONUSCO resolution.  Expressing support for lifting the advance notification requirement, she stressed the importance of preventing weapons being acquired by armed groups.

 

MARTIN KIMANI (Kenya) said that his country voted in favour of the resolution because it puts emphasis on the protection of civilians.  Expressing hope that MONUSCO would gain the trust and confidence of the host communities, he outlined other priority tasks in support of disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and security sector reform.  A renewed mandate — if robustly implemented — will accelerate the ongoing stabilization efforts, he said, encouraging strengthened collaboration between the Government and the Mission.  He welcomed the incorporation into the Mission’s mandate of support for the East African Community regional force in line with the establishment of a joint coordination framework for all troops deployed in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo under the Government’s direction.  He reiterated that Kenya would continue to play an effective role as a troop contributor to MONUSCO, facilitator of the East African Community-led peace process and a key economic partner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 

SOLOMON KORBIEH (Ghana) said that despite the lack of achievement of some of Ghana’s desires for more integrated coordination and support for the East African Community force, he encouraged the Council’s unified support for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and expressed hope that future reviews of MONUSCO’s mandate would reflect its collective wisdom.  On the sanctions regime, he commended the consensus reached and emphasized that the Government should be freed from any “fetters” that hinder development of its capacity to fulfil its obligations.  He called for full, effective participation in the military track of the Nairobi process and for sustained international support for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.  He welcomed the Luanda Agreement and encouraged regional-led efforts aimed at resolving political and security challenges.

 

Source: United Nations