Central African Republic: Armed Groups Target Civilians

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Central African Republic: Armed Groups Target Civilians:

Armed groups fighting for control of a central province in the Central African Republic have targeted civilians in apparent reprisal killings over the past three months, Human Rights Watch said today. The attacks have left at least 45 people dead and at least 11,000 displaced.
 

Since late 2016, two factions of the predominantly Muslim Seleka armed group have clashed heavily in the volatile Ouaka province: the Union for Peace in the Central African Republic (l’Union pour la Paix en Centrafrique, UPC), consisting mostly of ethnic Peuhl, and the Popular Front for the Renaissance in the Central African Republic (Front Populaire pour la Renaissance de la Centrafrique, FPRC), which has aligned itself with the anti-balaka – the main armed group once fighting the Seleka.

“Armed groups are targeting civilians for revenge killings in the central part of the country,” said Lewis Mudge, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “As factions vie for power in the Central African Republic, civilians on all sides are exposed to their deadly attacks.”

Human Rights Watch visited Ouaka province in early April 2017, and interviewed 20 people in Bambari who had recently fled the fighting. They gave names and details of about 45 civilians (17 men, 13 women, and 15 children) who had been killed by both sides. The total number is most likely higher because scores of people remain missing.

The UN peacekeeping force in the country, the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), has deployed approximately 1,000 of its 12,870 members to Ouaka province over the past three months, but the attacks persist.

Escalating violence in the area underlines the importance of getting the newly established Special Criminal Court (SCC) up and running, Human Rights Watch said. The court – which was established by law in June 2015 – will have national and international judges and prosecutors, but will operate within the national justice system. It will investigate and prosecute grave human rights violations in the country since 2003.

The latest round of killings began in mid-February when anti-balaka fighters ambushed a group of civilians on a truck in the village of Ndoussoumba, killing at least 16 Peuhl civilians. One survivor, “Asatu,” 20, told Human Rights Watch the she jumped out of the truck when the attack began and was shot in the leg. “I saw at least 20 anti-balaka attackers and many bodies on the ground,” she said. “The anti-balaka were shooting at us from a close distance with Kalashnikovs and homemade rifles.”

Around March 19, anti-balaka fighters attacked three Peuhl men in Yassine, a town in a gold- producing area northeast of Bambari, which had been under UPC control since 2014. Two of the men died – three witnesses described both men as local butchers who had not participated in fighting. A third man said he narrowly escaped after a bullet grazed his shoulder.

On March 20, anti-balaka and FPRC fighters in the towns of Wadja Wadja and Agoudou-Manga, suspecting an upcoming UPC attack, ordered town residents to move to Yassine for their safety. However, at about 5 a.m. the next day, UPC fighters attacked Yassine, killing at least 18 civilians, including at least 10 children.

“The Peuhl [UPC fighters] started to shoot and throw grenades at us,” said “Marie,” an Agoudou-Manga resident who was forced to move to Yassine. “They shot at everyone. The anti-balaka just abandoned the civilians. I saw dead children as I ran away.”

A man from Wadja Wadja, “Clement,” who was in another part of the village when the attack began, said he lost his mother and four children in the attack. “My wife later told me the kids were playing on the mat [outside a hut] with the baby when the attack started. We found them there, dead on the mat. They had all been shot. I lost my 7-month-old son, my 3-year-old daughter, my 10-year-old son, and my 13-year-old daughter.”

Human Rights Watch documented other killings of civilians by the UPC in the area around the same time, such as in Ouropo, Kpele, and Moko.

On April 13, Doctors Without Borders said it had documented additional killings of civilians around Bakouma and Nzako, in the Mboumou province, and in the town of Bria, in the Haute-Kotto province, both east of the Ouaka province. Human Rights Watch was unable to access those areas due to ongoing violence.

“These killings are caused by cycles of reprisals,” one local official in Bambari, capital of Ouaka province, told Human Rights Watch. “A group will kill one person, so the other group will kill three, then the first group will kill twenty.”

Gen. Ali Darassa Mahamant commands UPC forces, which have controlled most of Ouaka province since 2013. In December 2016, the UPC executed at least 32 civilians and captured fighters after clashes with the FPRC in Bakala, west of Bambari. In February, MINUSCA asked Darassa to leave Bambari to avoid bloodshed. He and most of his forces are now based about 50 kilometers outside the town.

Hassan Bouba, the UPC’s political coordinator, denied that the UPC had attacked Yassine. “On the contrary, the village was attacked by the coalition of anti-balaka and FPRC, and the UPC had to come to its rescue,” he said by telephone on April 19. “The village was attacked because the coalition resented that the people of Yassine lived with Peuhl. Our men are still there to protect its inhabitants.”

The FPRC’s political cabinet director, Lambert Lissane, said by telephone on April 24 that FPRC fighters and their anti-balaka allies were not involved in attacks on Peuhl civilians. People were spreading misinformation, he said.

At least 11,000 people displaced from the fighting have sought shelter in Bambari since March 19, aid officials there said, adding to the tens of thousands of displaced people already in the town. Access to food and shelter remain serious problems.

Governments have pledged only 7.9 percent of the US$ 399.5 million needed for the UN’s humanitarian response plan.

Crimes in Ouaka province fall under the jurisdiction of the SCC, and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In September 2014, the ICC opened an investigation into crimes in the Central African Republic since 2012. The investigation offers the chance to bring an important measure of accountability for the crimes, but will probably try only a small number of cases. The government appointed the SCC chief prosecutor in February, but the court still lacks staff and facilities. The government, UN, and partner governments should provide financial, logistical, and political support for the court to begin its work promptly, Human Rights Watch said.

“In the central region, the fighting has worsened and the civilian death toll has climbed,” Mudge said. “Renewed attention and holding abusive commanders to account are needed to keep the country from sliding back into the large-scale blood-letting of its recent past.”

Distributed by APO on behalf of Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa

Aid for Trade Initiative for Arab States (AfTIAS) Program Furthers its mission to help Arab Member Countries to achieve their full Trade Development Potential through two new projects, in cooperation between ITFC and ITC:

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) (www.ITFC-IDB.org) and the International Trade Center (ITC) signed the Amendment of their Partnership Agreement for the implementation of two new development projects in Djibouti and Algeria under AfTIAS Program umbrella. The signing took place during the visit of Ms. Arancha Gonzalez, Executive Director of ITC to the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group and meeting with Dr. Bandar M.H Hajjar, President, IsDB Group and Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol, CEO ITFC, in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The “Feasibility Study to Develop a Handicrafts Export Village” Project in Djibouti aims to provide the required assistance to Djibouti’s Ministry of Commerce, Handicraft and Consumption in the development of the Handicrafts Export Village as a source for wealth creation, including the analysis of required legal and regulatory settings and institutional infrastructure.

Eng. Sonbol indicated: “Establishing Djibouti Handicrafts Export Village will assist the Government to promote local handicrafts and generate a new strategic focus for tourism”. This project will lead to the diversification of the income sources and consolidate the craft sector by providing appropriate methodological tools and, finally, support craftsmen and women to develop their activity on a sustainable basis.

Furthermore, the “National Trade Strategy (NTS) to Support Economic Diversification” Project in Algeria focuses on providing technical assistance and capacity-building to key stakeholders and institutions in Algeria to design and lead into implementation of a NTS. ITC and ITFC received a request from the Government of Algeria for technical assistance to develop a National Trade Strategy (NTS) to enhance the country’s capability of reaping the benefits of regional and international trade.

Ms. Gonzalez commented that “the goal of this project is to support Algeria’s economy and exporters with a view to boost competitiveness, support export diversification as well as employment creation, and promote sustainable and inclusive economic development.” The project will result in Algeria having, for the first time ever, a NTS developed and validated by key stakeholders and key institutions. Eventually, it will contribute to diversification of Algeria’s economy reducing its vulnerability to commodity market shocks, by benefiting from trading opportunities and improved competitiveness in priority sectors.

Since its founding in 2013, the Aid for Trade Initiative for the Arab States (AfTIAS) Program has strived to enhance the trade development in the Arab region, which still has the lowest level of intra-regional trade in the world despite preferential market conditions. Over the last two years, AfTIAS Program has worked hand in hand with its many partners, including the International Islamic Trade Financing Corporation (ITFC) and the International Trade Center (ITC), to accelerate the pace of trade reforms and enhance competitiveness in global and regional markets. 

Distributed by APO on behalf of International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).

Media contact:
Raghda Elsharawy
Asst. GM Corporate Communication & Marketing
RElsharawy@ITFC-IDB.org
+966 12 646 8409

Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa

UNESCO Merck Africa Research Summit – MARS 2017 Call for Applications:

As part of ‘Merck STEM Program for Women and Youth’, the UNESCO Merck Africa Research Summit – MARS 2017 (www.UNESCO-MARS.com) will be held in Mauritius with the aim to empower Women and Youth in Research under the patronage of the Head of State of The Republic of Mauritius, H.E. Ameenah Gurib Fakim.

UNESCO-Merck Africa Research Summit – MARS aims to bring together researchers from across Africa to discuss the generation, sharing and dissemination of research data and to prepare for the road ahead in Africa’s development as an international hub for research excellence and scientific innovation.

Speaking on Merck’s support for the UNESCO – MARS Prof. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Chairman of Executive Board and Family Board of E.Merck KG emphasizes: “We are keen to support young gifted researchers by passing on the knowledge and experience we have gathered over the 340 years of Merck history. Through our ‘Merck STEM Program’ we aim to advance capacity in young researchers and promote young gifted scientists, to teach them the cutting edge of research in our R&D hubs and laboratories.”

UNESCO-Merck Africa Research Summit – MARS 2017 will have scientific support from UNESCO (United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organization), African Union Scientific, Technical and Research Commission (AU-STRC), the University of Cambridge, UK, University of Rome, and Merck.

“The annual Summit aims to contribute to building research capacity in the African research community, with special focus on ‘The Role of Scientific Research in responding to Cancer and Vaccines Development – two emerging challenges in Africa’. The Summit will also showcase innovative research taking place in projects, programs and initiatives across African universities and the wider African research community,” said Dr. Rasha Kelej, President of “Merck STEM Program”, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the summit and Chief Social Officer, Merck Healthcare.

The summit is a unique opportunity for Africa’s young and women scientists to share their research output and findings with the top echelon of scientists from Africa and abroad. It is also an opportunity for networking and career development. The Summit will present a platform where young scientists will be able to discuss the enabling environment for better research among others.

On another note, the organizing committee will present the ‘Best Young African Researcher Award’ and the ‘Best African Woman Researcher Award’ to recognize the outstanding contribution of African female scientists with aim to promote women in research and advance their contribution to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

In 2016, UNESCO and Merck celebrated outstanding African Women Researchers for the first time. Kenya, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Uganda, Ethiopia ranked the first five places in ‘Merck Africa Women Research Award’ on women health in Africa.

Merck has announced five winners from Kenya, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Uganda and Ethiopia under the category of  ‘Best African Women Researchers Award’ and four winners from Botswana, Cameroon, Gambia and Zimbabwe for ‘Best Young African Researchers Award’ during the recently held 2nd UNESCO – Merck Africa Research Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 2016 was the first year the ‘Best African Women Researchers Award’ was being launched. 

Watch the video below to meet last year winners of Merck Africa Research Summit Awards: http://APO.af/czNE5O.

“The annual Summit – UNESCO – MARS – will address the vital role of research in the improvement and sustainable development of population health with specific emphasis on how to translate knowledge into action – the 'know-do gap' – to improve health and make an impact on society,” added Rasha Kelej.

Abstract Submission Details

Abstracts are invited from final year African PhD students and young investigators involved in research related to both Cancer especially in Women and/ or Vaccines Development. All should be primarily based at African research institutes and Universities, although collaboration within Africa as well as outside is encouraged.

All abstracts will be peer reviewed.

Deadline 30^th of August 2017.

For further information on how to apply please visit the website: www.UNESCO-MARS.com; www.UNESCO-MARS.com/application_form.php.

MARS 2017 Awards:

• All abstracts will be peer reviewed and 100 winners will be eligible for sponsorship.
• First three winners will be eligible for further number of Research Awards.
• Further Research Awards will be dedicated for the Best Five African Women Researchers. 

Distributed by APO on behalf of Merck.

Stay tuned…
YouTube Channel Merck Africa Research Summit (http://APO.af/MhEGkq) 
Twitter handle: @Merck_MARS (http://APO.af/5vSJZJ)
Facebook page Merck Africa Research Summit (http://APO.af/WgjYC7)  

Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa