Ghana will establish a Special Police Force to combat terrorism, President John Dramani Mahama has said.

He gave the green light to the police high command to prepare the grounds and establish a Special Police Force against the scourge of terrorism which he believed was getting closer to the country, citing cases in Nigeria with Boko Haram, as well as Mali and Burkina Faso.

“We cannot sit and think that Ghana is immune from the scourge of terrorism and so we must be ready to confront any incident that may arise,” Mahama, who was speaking at the Ghana Police Service annual get-together, popularly known as the West Africa Security Service Association, stated.

Mahama mentioned Burkina Faso and Mali which have suffered attacks by terrorist groups on separate occasions with various degrees of fatalities.

The president therefore noted that Ghana was not immune to attacks and must therefore put in place the necessary measures to counter terrorism.

Meanwhile, the “Formed Police Unit (FPU)”, formerly known as the “Armored Squadron”, which functions as a mobile division, has been in charge of responding to public disorder situations and maintains law and order.

The FPU has been trained to carry out hostage rescue, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency, criminal intelligence gathering, house and vehicle search and barricade reconnaissance and removal.

In a separate event on Sunday, the president described terrorism as a real threat facing West Africa needing concerted efforts to overcome.

“The third threat is terrorism and religious extremism. This is a scourge that we must unite to fight against,” Mahama observed in his address at the Closing ceremony of the Conference of West African Catholic Bishops.

Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb recently attacked the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali and took several innocent lives, and just recently, they struck in Ouagadougou and again claimed many lives.

This makes terrorism a real and substantial threat to our countries in West Africa, noted the Ghanaian leader.

“All these threats enjoin us to work together to overcome our linguistic and colonial divisions and stand in solidarity with each other. We must stand in solidarity with all people, all over the world who are being persecuted for their religious beliefs,” he stressed.

xinhuanet.com

A new wave of Christians have been driven from their homes in northern Mali by an upsurge in anti-Christian persecution from Islamic jihadists in the beleaguered West African nation.

One man, identified only as Moctar, said that recent Islamic terrorist threats against Christians had forced him to uproot his family and flee to the country’s capital of Bamako, along with many others.

“We lost our property and our houses have been inhabited by these extremists and our church was destroyed,” the man said.

According to another man, François, the current Islamic assault is “turning this country into a no-peace zone.”

Earlier this week, jihadists released a video of Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly, who was kidnapped in Mali a month ago. The eight-minute video shows Stockly dressed in a black hijab, while a masked speaker reads off the charges against her.

“Beatrice Stockly is a Swiss nun who declared war against Islam in her attempt to Christianize Muslims,” the speaker said.

Ever since Islamist militants seized control of northern Mali in mid-2012, civil liberties and religious freedom have never returned to pre-2012 levels, according to the Christian aid group Open Doors. Soon after taking control, the Islamists imposed Sharia law on the northern city of Timbuktu as well as other areas of the north.

Mali gained international attention in August 2015 when Islamist gunmen stormed a hotel in the central town of Sevare and killed 13 people, showcasing the rise of radical Islam in the country.

Christians make up less than 3% of the population of this overwhelmingly Muslim nation.

breitbart.com

The Burundian government has agreed to allow 100 human rights observers and 100 military monitors from the African Union (AU) to deploy in Burundi to monitor the unrest in the country.

The government has committed to “continue the steps it has begun to open up space for free political activity by the people of Burundi and ensure the freedom of the media”, a high level AU delegation of five African leaders chaired by South African President Jacob Zuma announced on Saturday.

The delegation met Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, former president Domitien Ndayizeye, opposition parties, and civil society representatives in Bujumbura on Thursday and Friday to try to resolve the crisis in the country.

The political crisis in the country was sparked by Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term in 2015, despite the two term limits in the constitution.

The delegation said in a statement that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni – the regional mediator of the peace talks in Burundi ,”will convene an inclusive dialogue that will be attended by all important stakeholders as soon as possible to continue the work that he has already started of facilitating peace talks in Burundi”.

However, several opposition parties expressed strong dissatisfaction at the delegation’s intervention, suggesting it was biased towards Nkurunziza.

They complained that the question of possibly deploying a proposed 5000-strong AU peacekeeping force, called Maprobu, in Burundi was taken off the agenda even before their talks with the AU leaders began.

They also complained that Zuma’s delegation was not prepared to discuss the legitimacy of Nkurunziza’s third term.

Alliance of Democrats for Change Coalition ADC-IKIBIRI President Léonce Ngendakumana suggested that the delegation had not shown enough will to protect civilians.

“Before we began the meeting, we were given heavy conditions. We were told that we could not discuss the AU proposal of deploying the peacekeeping mission in Burundi, whereas Burundians are being killed every day,” he said.

Opposition parties said Zuma had told them in the meeting that Maprobu would only be deployed if the Burundian government agreed.

Nkurunziza’s government has already made it very clear it will not agree to the deployment.
Union for National Progress (Uprona) spokesperson Tacien Sibomana complained that the AU delegation had refused to debate Nkurunziza’s third term and considered it legal.

“It is not reassuring because even when the delegation met political leaders on Thursday, South Africa’s Jacob Zuma was quick to say that it was out of the question to put on the agenda the question of President Nkurunziza’s third term. They explained the Constitutional Court had judged it valid. But we have demonstrated that the Constitutional Court was unfair. This will have consequences – extrajudicial killings, human rights violations, and massive arrests will not stop in the country,” Sibomana said.

South African International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane confirmed at a press conference in Pretoria on Friday that she considered Nkurunziza’s third term to be legal because it had been verified by the courts.

Zuma told journalists after the meetings that all the meetings had been friendly and very good “and we have agreed on a number of issues that will appear in the communiqué”.

In the meetings he had strongly advised all parties to work together to find an inclusive political solution to the current crisis.

The other members of the AU delegation were Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal, Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon, and Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania, and Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia.

In its communiqué, the delegation stressed “the importance for all the people of Burundi to participate in the inclusive dialogue that is being facilitated by President Museveni”.

But it did spell out if this included all armed groups, including those who participated in an attempted military coup last May. Nkurunziza’s government has insisted to far that it will not speak to those.

The delegation also urged the international community to restore assistance to Burundi “as requested by the people of Burundi so that they can continue with building their country”. Some international donors have cut off aid because of what they regard as the Burundian government’s breach of human rights and the rule of law.

The delegation said it had expressed its concerns to the Burundians about the levels of violence, loss of life, and the general state of political instability in the country.

“We are, however, pleased that all parties expressed strong commitment to resolving whatever political problems exist through inclusive and peaceful dialogue. We believe strongly that the solution to Burundi’s political problems can be attained only through inclusive and peaceful engagement.”

“The visit has been fruitful and productive. We trust that it will contribute immensely to taking the peace process forward.”

However, apart from the misgivings of some of the opposition parties, the absence of many opposition leaders who are in exile also cast some doubt on the likely success of this intervention by the AU.

Zuma’s office announced on Friday that he had been unable to return to South Africa that evening as planned because of technical problems with his aircraft.

He arrived in Burundi on Wednesday with a protection squad of about 40-50 heavily-armed SA National Defence Force soldiers.

sabc.co.za

As Burundi’s capital Bujumbura descends into new levels of lawlessness, armed opposition groups have increased their attacks, killing dozens and injuring hundreds, rights activists have claimed. At least a dozen people were wounded on 15 February when attackers on a motorbike hurled three grenades at various locations in the capital, the latest in a string of attacks in the troubled central African nation.

Between 800 and 900 people are reported to have been killed since April 2015 afterPresident Pierre Nkurunziza announced a controversial decision to run for a third term, which he won in contested electionsin July 2015. Scores of bodies are reportedly still being found in the streets, and dozens of civilians have simply disappeared, in tit-for-tat violence pitting pro-Nkurunziza forces against insurgents. Analysts have warned of an impending civil war amidclaims of mass executions.

MSF: 116 injured in two attacks

There have been frequent grenade attacks in Bujumbura throughout January and February 2016, causing several deaths and scores of injuries. According to Médecins Sans Frontières (MDF), their trauma centre in the capital treated 116 people in less than a week – 61 injured in grenade attacks on 15 February, and 55 on 11 February.

Some of these attacks appeared indiscriminate, killing or injuring many passers-by. However, others were targeted and have injured or killed members of the ruling party youth league known as Imbonerakure, other ruling party members, as well as security forces.

On the evening of 5 February, three Imbonerakure were killed in Gikoto, near Gasekebuye in Musaga, an four other people were injured. On February 6, Thierry Habonimana, a former ruling party member, was shot dead in the shower of his home in Musaga. A local source said he was shot three times.

FOREBU and RED-Tabara behind killings

Burundi’s armed opposition movement is fragmented, consisting of several groups with separate structures, most of whose leaders are in exile. It is not clear whether, or to what extent, they collaborate or coordinate their actions.

Armed opposition groups are believed to be behind a number of grenade attacks in various areas of Bujumbura, after they began attacking security forces, throwing grenades or shooting at police patrols. They rarely claim responsibility, however.

Two insurgencies that formalized their activities since the end of last year, the Resistance for a State of Law in Burundi (Résistance pour un Etat de Droit au Burundi, RED-Tabara) and the Republican Forces of Burundi (Forces républicaines du Burundi, FOREBU) have both claimed responsibility for some attacks.

In an unusual move, both FOREBU and RED-Tabara claimed responsibility for two attacks in Cibitoke and Musaga neighbourhoods on 6 February.

“Attacks by opposition groups have become increasingly targeted, aimed at members or sympathizers of the ruling party and the security forces,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

Spiral of abuses ‘puts population at risk’

While RED-Tabara has claimed it only targets government forces, many other people have also been injured in attacks attributed to the group – which almost always lead to violent reprisals by the security forces.

“Contrary to their leaders’ statements that they want to defend the population, their tactics are putting ordinary Burundians at risk of further abuses,” Bekele explained, pointing to the death of a child of about 9 or 10, who was killed when a bullet hit him in the head during the 5 February attack.

Neither the Burundian government nor the armed opposition is doing anything to halt the spiral of abuses, Bekele found. “They are instead hardening their stance, knowing that they will not have to account for their actions,” he said.

The rights group has called on opposition leaders to order their supporters to stop abuses.”With victims of abuse in Burundi paralyzed by fear, the cases that have come to light are just the tip of the iceberg. The government and the opposition should immediately rein in their members and supporters to break the cycle of violence.”

In contrast with Burundi’s armed conflicts in previous decades, which were largely fought along ethnic lines, the current tensions in Burundi are primarily political.

South African President Jacob Zuma, who was a facilitator of the 2000 peace agreement that ended Burundi’s 12-year civil war that left 300,000 dead, is landing on Thursday (25 February) in Bujumbura where he is expected to lead the AU High-Level Panel, which has been mandated to try resolve the Burundi crisis.

ibtimes.co.uk

Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Alpha Barry who was on a visit to Abidjan on Monday said his country will cooperate with Cote d’Ivoire in the fight against terrorism.

“Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso authorities have agreed to unite their efforts in the fight against terrorism,” Barry said, adding that both countries will also reinforce their bilateral relations.

The foreign minister said he had discussed with Cote d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara about insecurity issues that both countries are exposed to.

Barry thanked Cote d’Ivoire for last week’s extradition of a soldier who took part in last year’s failed coup attempt in Burkina Faso.

Deputy commander Moussa Nebie, a member of the defunct Presidential Security Regiment, was extradited together with Burkinabe nationals Abdoul Karim Sawadogo and Ali Kone, who fled to Cote d’Ivoire after the failed coup attempt on Sept. 16, 2015.

On his part, Ouattara said Cote d’Ivoire was fully engaged in the fight against terrorism and that his country will continue working with friendly countries to end the scourge.

xinhuanet.com

theeastafrican.co.ke

Ethiopia and Kenya have reportedly offered to send helicopters to the war-ravaged Somalia to support the African Union Mission (AMISOM) forces who are currently fighting the al-Qaida allied Al-Shabaab militants.

Sources at the AU said the two nations offered to deploy undisclosed numbers of attack and transport helicopters to reinforce the fight against Al-Shabaab.

In 2012, the United Nations Security Council approved 12 military helicopters to AMISOM, but these aircrafts have not yet been delivered, hence hindering the AU forces’ operation.

AMISOM, which for long been calling on UN for the deployment of the promised helicopters has accused the world body of giving little attention on the matter.

AMISOM says the regional force’s military operation against al-Shabab has been hindered by shortage of helicopters and blames the UN for the lack of air support.

As well as lack of helicopters, poor command structure, lack of coordination and underfunding are also among factors affecting AMISOM operation and further exposing it to series of deadly raids on its bases.

Ethiopia’s and Kenya’s helicopter offer to AMISOM is in line with the UN Security Council resolution 2036 of 2012, according to the African Union.

According to AU, the AMISOM deployment model requires contingents to deploy with their own equipment which will then be compensated by the United Nations via a logistical support package to African Union Mission in Somalia.

The helicopters will mainly be used to dislodge Al Shabaab militants from areas around strategic towns,to carry out attacks at remote areas as well as for logistical support and medical evacuation.

In 2012, Uganda deployed four helicopters to AMISOM in Somalia –the first aircrafts for the AU mission however three of the Ugandan army Mi-24 helicopters were crashed on the night of August that year while en-route to Kismayo to combat the Islamist militants.

What caused the crash of the three helicopters remain mysterious but AMISOM has blamed bad weather in the Kenyan highlands where they went down.

Formed in 2007, AMISOM was deployed to Somalia to help protect the Transitional Federal Government in Mogadishu from a violent Islamist group al-Shabaab which had been in control to most pat of the country including the capital, Mogadishu, after emerging in 2005.

The continental body’s troops pushed Al-Shabab out of the capital in 2011 and supported the weak Somali government to expand its control into larger parts of the country.

Currently Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti and Burundi contribute troops to the AU Mission in Somalia.

sudantribune.com

theeastafrican.co.ke

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) treated more than 60 people on Monday morning after a series of grenade explosions in several locations across the capital city of Bujumbura, Burundi. This influx of wounded occurs just five days after two other grenades attacks, on Thursday 11 February, which resulted in 55 wounded people being treated at l’Arche, MSF’s trauma centre in Bujumbura.

“We received a lot of people, including women and children, suffering from trauma wounds including open fractures, head injuries, and cuts. It’s the second time in less than a week that we have had so many wounded patients arriving at our trauma centre”, explains Efstathios Kyrousis, MSF head of mission in Burundi. The grenades exploded in several areas of the city, mainly in market areas and two deaths were reported.

The MSF team launched a mass casualty plan to treat the influx of wounded, treating the most serious cases first. In just a few hours, seven surgeries were performed with eight more planned for the coming days. Among the 61 patients treated on Monday, 18 were women and 3 were children.

MSF is one of the only international organizations treating wounded and trauma related medical emergencies in the capital. MSF’s trauma centre currently has a capacity of 43 beds and comprises of an emergency room, two operating rooms and an intensive care unit, but will soon be scaled up to an 86 bed capacity. MSF’s activities in Burundi are financed solely by individual contributions and the organization does not accept funds from any government for its projects in the country. In the course of its activities in Burundi, and everywhere else in the world, MSF treats all patients regardless of their ethnicity, religion or political affiliation.

MSF has been working in Burundi for more than 20 years and intensified its activities in Bujumbura when pre-electoral tensions began to mount in May 2015. Its services are free and available to anyone who meets the admission criteria – which includes all those who have experienced a violent trauma. Since the MSF centre opened in July 1,210 wounded patients have received treatment among which 205 required surgery. MSF has also been responding to the mass influx of Burundian refugees in Tanzania since May 2015. Currently, there are around 130,000 refugees in Tanzania, with between 200 and 250 refugees continuing to cross the border each day. MSF is working in Nyaragusu, Nduta and Mtendeli camps providing medical care, mental health support and water and sanitation assistance.

allafrica.com

Six UN peacekeepers were killed and 30 wounded when suspected Islamists attacked their base in northern Mali, officials said.

The six Guinean peacekeepers were killed in an early morning assault on a camp in the northeastern town of Kidal belonging to the United Nations’ Minusma, according to a Guinean source in the mission and a military source in Conakry.

Malian Islamist group Ansar Dine, responsible for several previous assaults, claimed the attack by a Mauritanian jihadist as “a message to the crusader aggressors and all those who support them” in a statement carried by a Mauritanian news agency.

The latest attacks highlighted the vulnerability of Mali’s sprawling, arid north, where UN troops and Malian soldiers are struggling in their fight against jihadists who seized vast swathes of territory in 2012.

WAR CRIMES

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the “massive and complex” attack on the Minusma base, warning that targeting peacekeepers constituted a war crime and pledging to support the Malian government.

Suicide bombers drove a vehicle into the base between two rocket launches, then blew it up, the Guinean source said.

The raid coincided with a visit to northern Mali by the new Minusma chief, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, who said the raid was an irresponsible act that highlighted the “confusion in the ranks of the enemies of peace”.

Annadif was in Kidal a week after a peace pact eased tensions in the town, where the arrival of members of a pro-government group in early February upset the former rebels in the Coordination of Movements of the Azawad.

Azawad is the name the traditionally nomadic Tuareg people of the desert use for territory they regard as their homeland, straddling the southern Sahara and the Sahel.

TIMBUKTU ATTACK

In a separate attack, three Malian soldiers were killed and two others were wounded near the fabled city of Timbuktu, a military source said.

“Three of our men died today between Timbuktu and Goundam when they were ambushed by jihadists,” the source said. “Two others were wounded but their lives are not in danger.”

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said there was a pressing need to secure the north.

“We have to find a solution to this,” he said.

“Kidal cannot remain like this… where attacks occur on a daily basis and we and the international community look on.”

nation.co.ke