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Thursday, September 30, 2021

Over two-thirds of US Muslims experience Islamophobia - Survey

CALIFORNIA, USA

Some 67 per cent of the Muslims living in the US has experienced Islamophobia at least once in their life, according to a study by the University of California, Berkeley.

File photo

Women reported more Islamophobic experience than men as the rates stood at 76.7% for Muslim women compared to 58.6% Muslim men, the Othering & Belonging Institute said in a press release on Wednesday.

According to the survey, two out of three Muslims were exposed to Islamophobic acts, while 33% of respondents said they had hidden their religious identities at some moments to in fear of Islamophobic acts and 88.2% stated that they avoided certain speeches and actions for fear of facing backlash.

An overwhelming 93.7% of the respondents stated that Islamophobia affects their emotional and mental health.

Nearly 45% of those aged between 18-29 were more likely than any other group to have hidden their religious identity.

“The survey, conducted two decades after the 9/11 attacks which led to a surge of hate crimes and prompted government policies targeting Muslims, provides insight into the experiences, lived realities, and psychological impacts of Islamophobia on millions of US residents,” the press release read.

A total of 1,123 Muslims, roughly half women and half men, joined the survey. The participants live and/or work in the US and they are both citizens and non-citizens. Among them are Muslims of various ages, national and ethnic backgrounds, and educational levels. The survey includes over 60 questions.

 

Kenya launches crackdown on illegal foreigners

NAIROBI, Kenya

The government of Kenya has kicked off a crackdown to kick out Asians who are in the country illegally, K24 Digital can now reveal.

On Thursday, September 30, police and immigration officials started implementing the orders which were issued by Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho to flush out the foreigners who are believed to be from Pakistan.

The officers raided Waiyaki Real Gardens which is located along the busy Waiyaki Way where they found hundreds of the foreigners.

They were going through their travel documents and it has emerged that majority of them came from Pakistan and were headed to Saudi Arabia.

“We want to ensure that all of them have the right documents that show how they arrived in the country,” said an official who spoke in confidence to this reporter.

On Wednesday night, officers also started mapping areas where the Pakistan nationals are residing.

One of the areas, that has a huge number of the foreigners is Ongata Rongai in Kajiado County- where more than 800 of them are living.

K24 Digital has established that the foreigners who have questionable documents are being taken to Cooperative University which is located in Nairobi.

A source that spoke in confidence and who is an immigration official said that the foreigners will be assembled at the university before they are deported.

“Plans are underway to have the foreigners kicked out of the country. A number of them have already been nabbed,” the source said.

The country has seen an influx in the number of Pakistan nationals who are residing in the country which caught the attention of the government.

This comes barely 12 hours after an order was issued by Kibicho that it is established whether the Pakistans are in the country legally.

This is after Kenyans demanded answers following a number of videos that showed buses ferrying a large number of immigrants.

According to Kibicho majority of the travellers had been handed Transit Visas to Saudi Arabia after they arrived in Kenya.

He said that the trend was worrying because of the Covid-19 pandemic and there was a need for the country to be keen on the matter.

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Uganda ruling party rejects president's bail scrap plot

KAMPALA, Uganda

Members of Parliament subscribing to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) yesterday rejected a proposal by President Museveni, the party national chairperson, to amend the Constitution and scrap bail for suspected capital offenders.

At a sitting at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala, a number of legislators told Mr Museveni that they understood that he likely meant well with his revived proposal, but the right of a suspect to apply for bail, pending prosecution, is a matter already settled in law.

Bail is a fundamental right under Article 23(6) of the 1995 Constitution because any accused person, under Article 28 of the country’s supreme law, is presumed innocent until proven or pleads guilty.

Article 23(6)a specifically provides that an accused person “is entitled to apply to the court to be released on bail, and the court may grant that person bail on such conditions as the court considers reasonable”.

Whereas the eligibility conditions may vary,  judicial officials often consider an accused person’s health, personal and criminal record, the pedigrees of the sureties to enforce the accused person’s attendance of court and gravity of the offence allegedly committed.

It is these arrangements that President Museveni is opposed to, arguing that granting discretionary powers to courts on bail decision is a “provocation” and, without providing statistics, said a cause of growing mob justice incidents in the country.

“Really! Somebody has killed a person and you see him walking around, that is a provocation I am telling you. It’s a provocation, we can’t accept it,” the President said on Monday at the 4th Kiwanuka Memorial Lecture at the High Court Building in Kampala.

The memorial lecture commemorates the legacy of Kiwanuka, whom Idi Amin tapped as Chief Justice before their disagreement culminated in soldiers storming the temple of justice, 49 years ago, to yank out the then head of judiciary, the last time he was seen alive.
 

President Museveni seized on the occasion on Monday to renew his decade-old demand that capital offenders should not be eligible for bail, a proposal that legal scholars and practitioners, among them former Supreme Court judge Justice George Kanyeihamba, was risked to erode the rule of law and would be counter-productive.    

Following his tough rhetoric, Mr Museveni followed through by summoning MPs in the 11th Parliament that are members of the ruling NRM party that he chairs, to strike a common position on the proposed.

 Instead, the legislators disagreed, according to multiple sources that attended the meeting, prompting the President to ask the lawmakers to consult further and reconvene to reconsider the matter in a fortnight. 
  
First to take the floor, according colleagues who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing reprimand by the party leadership, was Mr Yusuf Mutembuli, the Bunyole East member of Parliament.

A lawyer, he reportedly told President Museveni to go slow on his proposal because anyone could become an accused person for alleged capital crimes, meaning removing the bail safeguard could boomerang.

“The President wants the law related to the granting of bail strengthened so that the presiding judicial officers can apply it cognisant of its implication to the society,” one source, who attended the meeting, said.

According to another source, after MP Mutembuli spoke, Terego District Woman Rose Obiga, herself a lawyer, made a passionate and assertive submission, littered with what she called examples of miscarriage in her professional justice, which took the audience by surprise.

She reportedly told the President in one instance  that her former landlord was arrested when a dead body was found on his land, but for the weeks in was incarcerated, unknown people ploughed through his land and hastily began erecting structures.

It was not until Ms Obiga returned from a trip outside the country that she pursued justice for the landlord as it became clear the corpse was likely dumped by land grabbers to frame him.

Thus, sources said, the MP invited the President to consider himself a father figure that he is to the legislators, who she said are members of the same family, and agree to stay the proposal to scrap bail for suspected capital offenders unless they serve half-a-year on remand.   

Ms Obiga yesterday declined to comment on the discussions saying the deliberations were confidential.
According to another lawmaker, who attended, they also spurned the Museveni bail plan because they could themselves fall victim, and nonetheless sought more time to consult their constituents.

The MP said: “Let’s leave the abolition of bail alone. We should strengthen the judiciary and judges so that they can hear these cases fast. Someone is innocent until proven guilty.”
“You have seen people are implicated when they are innocent. Today is somebody and tomorrow is you and me. 

Look at the former Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, and former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, who forced some laws and they fell victim to the same. Let us leave the (bail) status quo as it is,”  the source added, in apparent reference to the phone tapping and revision of the Anti-Terrorism legislations.

NRM Caucus Secretary General Lillian Aber, who doubles as Kitgum Woman MP, told Daily Monitor that the President summoned the meeting to present his proposals on how to manage crime in the country. 

According to her, murder rape, corruption and defilement topped Mr Museveni’s list of crimes that the proposed constitution amendment would stem because the current provisions, according to the President, do not handle suspected culprit well.

“He suggested to us that as legislators who subscribe to NRM party, we [should] think of having these issues addressed by not just giving that liberty for any criminals to get bail after committing a crime,” she said.  

The President reportedly also argued that if a person is arrested on capital charges, rather than free him on bail, judicial officers should leave them on remand for at least 180 days to give time for other agencies to conclude investigations.

Ms Aber said, contrary to what other legislators reported, there was a mixed reaction to the proposal, which is why Mr Museveni asked for more consultations.

At the meeting, Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka reportedly argued that there was a misleading perception among sections of the population and politicians that bail is an automatic right, yet it is discretionary.

MP David Kabanda (NRM; Kasambya), told Daily Monitor  at Parliament that he is opposed to the proposal to scrap bail and he will continue opposing it.

“I am a cadre of the NRM party, but I don’t agree with some of the positions,” he said, citing the possibility of falling victim if framed by political foes. “What if they (accusers) connive with the police and judiciary, they frame me and I will be in prison for six months or a year because the police are still investigating?” Mr Kabanda added.

Earlier, Terego Woman MP Obiga had reportedly told the Kololo meeting that the justice administration in the country was riddled with corruption and asked President Museveni to fight it so that cases are expedited.

The Government Chief Whip, Mr Thomas Tayebwa, said being granted a bail is not a right, but applying for it is a right.

“So, the issue is how the court is interpreting this. Most of them are taking it that bail is indeed a right. So, we have to go back and see how best do we cure [this]. Do we amend the law? Do we take it [to the Constitutional Court] for constitutional interpretation? Do we have more judicial guidelines from the Chief Justice over the matter?” Mr Tayebwa said.

Mr Amos Okot, the MP Agago North County, said denying bail to suspects risks aggravating congestion in prisons.

Kenya Airways, SAA sign deal to form pan-African airline

NAIROBI, Kenya

Troubled Kenya Airways (KQ) and South African Airways (SAA) have partnered to help shore up their battered revenues.

They signed a memorandum of co-operation on Tuesday aimed at forming a pan-African airline.

Kenya Airways CEO Allan Kilavuka said in a statement Tuesday that the mutual co-operation between the two struggling carriers would help in turning around their fortunes.

“The future of aviation and its long-term sustenance is hinged on co-operation. KQ and SAA collaboration will enhance customer benefits by availing a larger combined passenger and Cargo network, fostering the exchange of expertise, innovation, best practice, and adopting home-grown organic solutions to technical and operational challenges,’’ said Mr Kilavuka.

He said the loss making national carrier, which is a subject of state takeover, remains committed to its financial turnaround strategy with pursuit of partnerships being one of its core strategic pillars.

SAA’s interim Chief Executive Thomas Kgokolo said the cooperation between the two airlines, which includes demand recovery and other cost containment strategies, will aid recovery of both carriers in an increasingly competitive African airline environment.

“It will also enhance related Kenya and South Africa tourism circuits, which sectors account for significant portions of respective country growth domestic product, benefiting from at least two attractive hubs in Johannesburg, Nairobi and possibly Cape Town,” he said.

“KQ and SAA, as iconic airline brands of Africa’s biggest and vibrant economies, in East Africa and Southern Africa, respectively, are at the precipice of what could be Africa’s formidable Pan African airline.’’

KQ, which has forecast a grim full-year performance due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, made a net loss of Ksh11.48 billion ($104.36 million) in the six months period to June 30, 2021, down from a net loss of 14.32 billion ($130.18 million) in the same period last year.

The persistent underperformance of the airline has led to huge losses and loss of market share to rival firms.

As a result, the government has opted to nationalise the carrier by buying out the minority shareholders with hopes of turning around its dwindling fortunes.

On the other hand, South Africa’s embattled national carrier emerged from bankruptcy last week, flying its first plane in the last 18 months. It has not been operating flights since March 2020.

The passenger plane flew from Johannesburg to Cape Town on September 23.

According to Aljazeera, SAA, once Africa’s second largest airline after Ethiopian Airlines, had survived for decades on government bailouts and was shedding routes even before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

The government agreed in June to sell a 51 percent stake to a group of investors called the Takatso Consortium, opening the way to a potential injection of $200 million.

Even after a state bailout of more than $500 million and a restructuring of its debt, the airline only emerged from bankruptcy after slashing hundreds of jobs.

ISIS militants kill 5 Sudanese security members

KHARTOUM, Sudan 

The General Intelligence Service (GIS) announced on Tuesday that 5 of its members were killed and another wounded, during a raid against a cell affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) residing in three locations in the capital, Khartoum.

For nearly two decades, Sudan was a state sponsor of terrorism for harbouring militants from several neighbouring countries. The former regime, also, tolerated the activities of Sudanese groups inside the country.

"Based on intelligence about a terrorist cell affiliated with ISIS, a security operation was carried out to arrest its members based in the neighbourhoods of Jabra and Al-Azhari" located south of Khartoum, said GIS in a statement on Tuesday.

11 foreign terrorists of different nationalities have been arrested during this operation.

The ISIS members in Jabra opened fire on the security forces killing five of them including two officers, three non-commissioned officers, and wounded an officer.

The Sudanese authorities further said that the killers escaped. Unconfirmed reports say three of the fugitives were arrested in Khartoum North.

Police sources told Sudan Tribune that the terrorist group ambushed GIS members.

The official statement did not mention any deaths among ISIS militants.

Al-Sudani newspaper, quoting sources, reported that the security force that carried out the raid was not properly equipped.

New year attacks
A terrorism expert al-Hadi Mohamed al-Amin suggested that the cell was planning to carry out attacks in Khartoum, on new year’s day, when dozens of foreigners celebrate it in public places.

Al-Amin expected the presence of other cells in the Sudanese capital without excluding the possibility of new terrorist attacks pointing out that the political situation in Sudan is conducive for the spread of violence.

The expert further said that the fact that all the cell members are foreigners indicate that it is easy for them to enter the country and some of them got Sudanese nationality.

"The logistics such as weapons or other things, in addition to the housing, were mostly provided with the help of Sudanese accomplices," he stressed.

Kenya president reshuffles cabinet

NAIROBI, Kenya

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced a reshuffle affecting three cabinet secretaries. 

President Kenyatta (pictured above) has moved CS Eugene Wamalwa from the Devolution Ministry to Defence, while CS Monica Juma has been transferred from Defence to Energy.

CS Charles Keter, who headed the Energy Ministry, will now be in charge of the Devolution docket.

The changes were announced on Wednesday afternoon by State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena.

Additionally, the State Department for ASALs has been transferred from the Devolution Ministry to the Ministry of Public Service and Gender, which is headed by Prof Margaret Kobia.

The State Department for Social Protection, Pensions and Senior Citizens has also been transferred from the Labour Ministry to the Ministry of Public Service and Gender. To this end, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection has been reconstituted and renamed as the Ministry of Labour.

After the changes in departments, Prof Kobia's Ministry has been renamed as the Ministry of Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special Programmes. 

President Kenyatta also made reassigned three Principal Secretaries (PSs) and expanded the portfolio of one.

Maj. Gen. (Rtd) Gordon Kihalangwa has been moved from the Ministry of Public Works to Energy, while Dr Joseph Njoroge redeploys from Energy to Transport.

President Kenyatta has also transferred Transport PS Solomon Kitungu to the Ministry of Public Works, while PS Nelson Marwa Sospeter will now serve the State Department for Social Protection, Senior Citizens Affairs and Special Programmes. 

Zimbabwe to freeze bank accounts over illegal forex deals

HARARE, Zimbabwe 

Zimbabwe’s central bank has ordered banks to freeze bank accounts for two years for 30 people it has accused of promoting and facilitating illegal foreign currency trading, it said on Tuesday.

The southern African country has for years struggled with acute foreign exchange shortages and only re-introduced its own domestic currency in 2019, ending a decade of dollarisation.

But the local currency has been losing value and now trades on the black market at premiums of up to 100% of its official rate of 86 Zimbabwe dollars to the US dollar.

Governor John Mangudya published a list of names he said were using social media platforms and mobile telecoms services to facilitate illegal forex trade and money laundering.

Zimbabwe’s foreign currency shortages mean that many citizens can only access dollars on the black market. Some dealers advertise their services in WhatsApp groups, which the government says is an offence.

Mangudya said the central bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had instructed banks “to identify and freeze any accounts operated by these individuals and, further, to bar them from accessing financial services for a period of two years, with immediate effect”.

The telecoms regulator would also stop the listed people from operating mobile phone lines, said Mangudya.

Analysts say the official exchange rate, which is calculated from a weekly forex auction, is artificial and that businesses were setting prices using black market rates.

The central bank and national treasury often bristle at criticism of its exchange rate policy and argue that black market rates were not supported by any economic fundamentals.

Mangudya said the FIU had forwarded the names of the accused individuals to law enforcement agencies for prosecution.

Africa's COVID-19 infections reach 8,295,563

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

The number of COVID-19 infections in Africa reached 8,295,563 on Wednesday even as many countries on the continent experience a decline in new cases.

As of Wednesday, data published by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) showed that the continent had conducted 74,877,206 tests since the virus arrived.

So far, 210,648 virus-related fatalities have been registered.

South Africa remains to be the hardest-hit country by the pandemic on the continent, having recorded 2,898,888 infections with 87,417 fatalities.

Besides South Africa, two more countries have registered more than 500,000 COVID-19 cases; Morocco (930,891) and Tunisia (706,314).

Countries on the continent have rolled out mass vaccination campaigns in efforts to contain further spread of the virus.

The continent still lags behind other regions in vaccination numbers, but a recent increase in arrival of doses has ignited hope that vaccine uptake will improve.

The Africa CDC data also showed that 7,623,245 people had recovered from the disease by Wednesday.

Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Floods displace 30,000 people in South Sudan

JONGLEI, South Sudan

About 30,000 people have been displaced from their homes in parts of Bor County of Jonglei State, South Sudan by floods since the beginning of this month. 

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, several residents said the floods caused by heavy rains and the overflow of the River Nile are being experienced in parts of Bor, destroying homes and livelihoods. 

“Floods are too much. It is disturbing people. We don’t sleep at night. For us in Leudiet, some homes have already been destroyed by the floods, with those affected resettling at their relatives’ houses. We have planned nothing about these floods,” Akwac Makuei, a Bor resident said.

Another resident, Deng Mading, said: “Compared to last year, these floods have not affected the entire Bor because of the new roads. Only areas close to the river have been affected. Here, people are at churches and schools.” 

Deng, however, called on the state authorities to come to the aid of the people of Bor, warning that last year’s flood experience could recur if the government does not intervene.  

For his part, Yuot Alier, the Bor County commissioner, said 30,300 residents in parts of the town lack food and shelter after the floodwaters destroyed their homes and livelihoods. 

“Floods have come from the northern part of the town and also from the south like Malual-Chat to Thonboor, Panapet, and Hai Muchuor. Those areas are completely affected by the floods. People there have crossed to the other side of the road because the road is helping. So far, about 30,300 people are affected,” he said. 

The county commissioner has called on aid agencies to help the flood victims, and that dyke rehabilitation works are ongoing to salvage the county. – Radio Tamazuj

37 killed in latest violence in Nigeria’s north - Witnesses

LAGOS, Nigeria

At least 37 villagers were killed in Nigeria’s north during an attack on a remote village on Sunday, according to witnesses.

The attack in Kaura council area in the restive Kaduna state was blamed on a prolonged religious crisis between Hausa-Fulani residents, who mostly reside in the northern part of the state, and the Christians who are concentrated in the south.

Residents and health workers at the hospitals where corpses and the injured were taken told The Associated Press of how assailants arrived at the Madamai village in large numbers with guns and machetes on Sunday evening.

A police spokesman in Kaduna said he has not been briefed about the incident in the area known as a violence hotspot. In August, five people were killed and some houses were burned down during a similar violence outbreak in Kaura.

On Sunday, “37 people were killed; 35 dead bodies (were) discovered in the village, two (died) in the hospital,” said Derek Christopher, a local nurse at the General Hospital Kafanchan. He said the initial death toll was 30 as of Sunday night.

Those injured were given urgent medical attention before being referred to the Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Plateau state, which is about 70 miles (115 kilometers) away from the affected village.

At the hospital in Plateau, Sunday Eze said he narrowly escaped after being shot by the assailants. “They shot me on my hand,” he said, and, when asked how many the gunmen were, added ruefully: “They were plenty; these people.”

Another resident who is overseeing care for those injured alleged that the attackers were “Fulani herdsmen”, referring to herders from the Fulani tribe who have been clashing with the predominantly Christian communities in southern Kaduna for many years.

“We have gunshots and we have machete cuts,” said resident Cecilia Simon. “In the hospital here, we are six (that arrived from the village). This thing is not our fault; maybe it is the fault of the government.”

In Nigeria’s middle belt and central regions, deadly clashes between local communities and Fulani herdsmen continues in a cycle of violence that has defied measures introduced by authorities including the deployment of thousands of security operatives to restore peace.

Security operatives deployed to violence hotspots usually leave those areas once their special security operation is over, leaving the remote communities yet again with an inadequate security presence.

Arrests are rarely carried out, and in Kaduna state, authorities have been accused of failing to act on the reports of government panels set up to investigate the crisis. - AP

Sudan repels Ethiopian attack on border area

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Sudanese army repelled an attack by the Ethiopian army in the border area of Al-Fashaqa said a military statement on Sunday.

A Sudanese army officer with some of his troops deployed on the eastern Sudan border 

Al-Tahir Abu Haja, Sudanese army spokesman stated that the attack took place in Um Brakhit sector of the disputed area.

"The Sudanese Armed Forces had repelled the incursion attempt and forced the Ethiopian forces to withdraw," said Abu Haja in a short statement.

Relations between the two countries have been strained since November 2020 when the Sudanese army redeployed its troops in Al-Fashaqa recovering about 2 million acres of fertile land inside the Sudanese border cultivated with the support of armed militiamen.

Three months ago closed the road linking the two countries after an attack on the Sudanese army by Ethiopian militiamen.

On 22 September, local officials from the two sides met the Ethiopian border town of Metama to discuss the reopening of the crossing point.

The Ethiopian side requested to open the crossing point and called for joint cooperation to settle the issue of detainees from both sides.

A source close to the meeting said the Ethiopian officials spoke again about the presence of Tigryian fighters in the refugee camps a matter that the Sudanese side strongly rejected.

Rwandan forces to stay in Mozambique indefinitely

MAPUTO, Mozambique

Rwanda’s military mission in Mozambique should continue until the completion of the process of rebuilding the infrastructure destroyed by the terrorists in Cabo Delgado, as well as the population being able to return to their areas of origin.

Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, in a discussion with Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi

The announcement was made on Friday by the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, during his visit with the President of the Republic, Filipe Nyusi, to the contingent of the Rwandan Army and Police and of the Armed Forces for the Defence of Mozambique (FADM), stationed at the Naval Base of Pemba, provincial capital of Cabo Delgado.

The Government approved, at its 32nd ordinary session of the Council of Ministers, the reconstruction plan in Cabo Delgado, which should run from 2021 to 2024, as well as the mechanisms for its implementation, whose budget will be known in the coming days.

Addressing the two forces, Paul Kagame stated that the work carried out by the joint troops is of recognised merit as it is culminating in the recovery of areas that had been occupied by terrorists in this province.

Among the recovered areas, the port town of MocĂ­mboa da Praia, Awasse, the locality of Mbau, and the district of Palma, now under the control of the joint forces of Mozambique and Rwanda, stand out.

“The mission of Rwandan troops in Mozambique continues. The new action should be to guarantee security in the liberated areas until the reconstruction is finished”, said Paul Kagame, affirming that this work should also be done in partnership with the Mozambican Army, which should determine the areas of joint action.

Kagame acknowledged the sensitivity of his army’s mission, stating that there may be sacrifices along this path, but the cause of eradicating terrorism is important. “Losing a man will be the same as losing a lot of people,” he lamented.

The Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) and the Police of the Republic of Rwanda have been in the country since the 9th of July, with a contingent of 1,000 members, to support the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) in eradicating terrorism.

The eradication of violent extremism in Cabo Delgado also relies on the intervention of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) military mission (SAMIM), activated on 9 August.

Speaking at the Pemba Naval Base, the President Filipe Nyusi said that, by recovering the areas under the control of terrorists, the joint forces of Mozambique and Rwanda are freeing humanity.

For this reason, Nyusi said, the population of Cabo Delgado and across the country is grateful for the intervention of Rwandan troops in the country, as well as for all the foreign support.

The president added that the joint action of Mozambican and Rwandan forces is an example for the whole of Africa, for the tranquil and coordinated way in which it has been carried out.

“I want to thank the new mission given by President Kagame, for the Rwandan troops to accompany the process of rebuilding the areas and the infrastructure destroyed by the terrorists in Cabo Delgado”, said Filipe Nyusi.

Monday, September 27, 2021

SADC troops kill 17 terrorists in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado

MAPUTO, Mozambique

The Southern African Mission in Mozambique (Samim) has killed 17 terrorists operating in Cabo Delgado province after their base in Chitama was destroyed, the mission said Sunday in a statement.

The Saturday battle in Chitama also left one of Samim’s members dead and three others injured. The injured soldiers are said to be recovering well, the mission’s statement adds.

According to the statement, the forces on Sunday engaged in a gun battle with another group of terrorists south of Messalo River. One insurgent was killed and three rifles were recovered. Another terrorist has also been captured and is being questioned.

In July, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries started deploying forces to assist the Mozambican Defence Force fight insurgency and terrorism in the northern region.

Rwanda was the first to send 1,000 troops to Mozambique. Botswana followed with a contingent of 296 while South Africa deployed 1,500 soldiers.

Zimbabwe also sent 304 military instructors to train Mozambican soldiers to fight the insurgents.

Apart from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, Angola also forms part of the Samim.

By the end of July, Rwandan soldiers said they had fought a series of engagements against the extremists, resulting in the deaths of at least 30 insurgents.

On August 8, Rwandan forces took control of the key northern port of Mocimboa da Praia from the extremist militants.

“Rwanda will continue to be a good partner, a good friend to Mozambique,” Rwandan President Paul Kagame said Saturday in Cabo Delgado’s capital Pemba.

“We will continue to work together, including with other partners, to transform our continent for the better,” he added.