Nigeria’s police have now confirmed that a group of worshippers was kidnapped from three churches in a remote part of the northern Kaduna state, after previously denying it. More than two days after the raid on the Kurmin Wali village, police on Tuesday night said that an earlier statement denying the attack had been “widely misinterpreted”. Local residents told the BBC that 177 worshippers had been abducted but that 11 later escaped. Police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin did not give any numbers but said subsequent checks by operational units and intelligence sources had confirmed the abduction. He said security forces had…
Author: Montage Africa
By Rédaction Africanews The Republic of Congo has set the presidential election for March 15. This was announced by the government’s spokesperson Thierry Moungalla. According to the Constitution, the presidential election must be held at least 30 days and no more than 40 days before the end of the current presidential term. Incumbent President Denis Sassou-Nguesso was sworn in for this term on April 16, 2021. The electoral administration has not yet set the deadlines for submitting candidacies. In the meantime, the Congolese Labour Party (PCT) has already nominated Denis Sassou-Nguesso as its candidate. Other possible candidates include former rebel…
By AP Millions of Christians have celebrated Timket, the Ethiopian Epiphany, throughout the East African country, with lively traditional singing, rhythmic dancing and communal celebrations. In Batu, a town located at the western shore of Lake Dambal (Hora-Dambal) in the Oromia Region, thousands took part in a colourful celebration, similar to the ceremonies held in major cities such as the capital Addis Ababa and Gondar. The Holy Ark of the Covenant, known as tabots, which traditionally contains the Ten Commandments, is escorted from churches to the lakeshore with chants, hymns, crosses, and colourful ceremonial umbrellas. Faithful residents and pilgrims gather…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP The health of jailed Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye is failing, his party said on Tuesday, after he was driven overnight to a medical facility in the capital of Kampala. Besigye’s health “has reached a critical and deteriorating state,” the People’s Front for Freedom said in a statement that also demanded unrestricted access to Besigye by his personal doctors and family. Besigye, a veteran politician who was Uganda’s most prominent opposition figure before the rise of Bobi Wine, is being detained in a maximum-security jail in Kampala. He is set to be tried over treason…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP, AFP, Reuters Armed gangs kidnapped at least 163 Christian worshippers after storming two churches in Nigeria’s northern Kaduna State on Sunday, a member of the clergy told AFP. Bandits carrying “sophisticated weapons” attacked the two churches during their Sunday services, Kaduna State police told Reuters. “The attackers came in numbers and blocked the entrance of the churches and forced the worshippers out into the bush,” Reverend Joseph Hayab, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria for the country’s north, said on Monday. “The actual number they took was 172 but nine escaped, so 163 are…
By Rédaction Africanews with agencies The deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday described the situation in Sudan’s Darfur region as an epicentre of “profound suffering”. Briefing the United Nations Security Council, Nazhat Shameem Khan said civilians are being subjected to collective torture amid a widening war between rival military forces. Sudan has been gripped by conflict since April 2023 between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the army. “The fall of al-Fasher to the RSF has been accompanied by an organised, calculated campaign of the most profound suffering, targeting non-Arab communities in particular,” she said. “Rape,…
By Rédaction Africanews and AP A tragic road crash south of Johannesburg has claimed the lives of thirteen schoolchildren. Police say a minibus transporting pupils to school collided with a truck near the industrial city of Vanderbijlpark, about sixty kilometers from Johannesburg. Investigators believe the driver lost control while attempting to overtake other vehicles. The death toll rose after one critically injured child later died in hospital. Several other pupils remain seriously hurt. Authorities say the victims included both primary and high school learners, some as young as six years old. Images from the scene showed the minibus crushed on…
Mansur Abubakar, AbujaandMakuochi Okafor A series of harrowing cases of allegations of medical negligence, including the death of novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s 21-month-old son, has ignited a fierce debate about patient safety within Nigeria’s healthcare system. Following the outcry, the health minister has admitted “systemic challenges” and announced the creation of a national task force on “clinical governance and patient safety” to improve the quality of care and patient safety. The family of the internationally acclaimed author says her young son, Nkanu Nnamdi, died last week at a private hospital in the main city, Lagos, following a short illness. They…
By Rédaction Africanews Activity is steadily picking up again in the central market in downtown Khartoum, with the army back in control of the Sudanese capital. In April 2023, fighting broke out in the centre of the city between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The RSF have since been pushed out, after the army led an offensive in the area last March. But market vendors say making a good living is more challenging than before the unrest. Hashim Mohamed says, “prices are somewhat high due to the difficulty of bringing produce to the market. There are difficulties…
By Rédaction Africanews and AP The Congolese army says it has retaken control of South Kivu city of Uvira after the withdrawal of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. M23 seized Uvira in early December but said on Thursday it was placing the city under the responsibility of the international community. On Sunday, pro-Kinshasa Wazalendo forces entered southern districts of Uvira, followed later in the day by Congolese special forces, government sources said. They announced the city’s full recapture on Monday. Residents cheered the arriving fighters as sporadic gunfire echoed through the city. Their arrival was marred by looting of shops and homes,…