Month: May 2023

Russia criticised at UN as more civilians killed in war zones

The United Nations estimates nearly 17,000 civilians were killed last year in conflicts, an increase of 53% compared with year before.

The number of civilians killed in armed conflicts and their humanitarian aftershocks has skyrocketed, with the United Nations calculating nearly 17,000 recorded deaths last year in war zones – including almost 8,000 people killed in Ukraine alone – marking a steep 53 percent increase in civilian killings compared with 2021.

Russia’s Wagner Group accused of using rape and mass-murder to control an African gold mining town

Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has again claimed control of the contested Ukrainian city of Bakhmut — a claim yet again denied by Kyiv, which says its forces are still fighting southwest of the industrial town and advancing around its flanks. The dense fog of war makes it difficult to determine whether one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Ukraine war has really come to an end.

Bosnia Data Contradicts Croatian Claim about Migrant, Refugee ‘Readmissions’

Croatia says that a big jump in migrants and refugees being returned to Bosnia is thanks to Sarajevo finally implementing a bilateral ‘readmissions’ deal. Data from Bosnia suggests otherwise.

Croatia has been sending migrants and refugees back to Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2017 on the basis of a bilateral agreement between the ex-Yugoslav republics, data from Bosnia suggests, contradicting a claim by Croatia that its neighbour only began implementing the deal this year.

Battles rage in Sudan’s Darfur on fourth day of truce

Fighting between forces loyal to Sudan’s rival generals on Friday rocked the western region of Darfur, witnesses said, on the fourth day of a fragile US-Saudi-brokered ceasefire.

The one-week truce, the latest in a series of agreements that have all been systematically violated, was breached only minutes after it took effect on Monday night.

Quel statut et quel mandat pour les Forces françaises au Sahel?

Quel statut, quel mandat pour les militaires français au Sahel ? C’est la question que posent aujourd’hui des organisations de la société civile française. Ce mardi 23 mai, le Général Bruno Baratz, qui commande les Forces françaises au Sahel, selon le vocable actuellement utilisé par l’armée, s’est exprimé sur l’antenne de RFI. « Il n’y a plus d’opération française au Sahel » a-t-il assuré, pour exprimer l’idée que la philosophie ayant guidé la défunte force Barkhane est désormais caduque et que les militaires français toujours déployés dans la région sont dorénavant au service des pays hôtes, en l’occurrence le Niger, principalement, et le Tchad.

Why Turkey’s election is being closely followed in Africa

Turkey’s influence in Africa has been growing massively over the past 20 years and whoever wins Sunday’s presidential run-off will have to consider where next to take the relationship.

Ever since Recep Tayyip Erdogan took power in Turkey two decades ago, first as prime minister then as president, he has taken an increasing interest in Africa.

Russia’s Arrest of Evan Gershkovich Echoes Soviet Spy Scandal

The arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in March was the first time a Western journalist had been held on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia — but it opened a floodgate of memories for Nicholas Daniloff.

Daniloff was working as a journalist in the Soviet Union in 1986 when he was snatched off the streets of Moscow and accused of spying for the United States.