Tag Archives: peace

Bujumbura, Burundi | AFRICAN ARGUMENTS |  Two years since Burundi was plunged into violent political crisis, there are two diametrically opposing narratives being told about the current situation. If you listen to the government, the country has recovered from the clashes and mass displacements that engulfed it from 2015. Things are now secure …

Bogota, Colombia | AFP | Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos declared the country’s 50-year conflict with FARC guerrillas “truly over” Tuesday, as the last truckloads of decommissioned weapons rolled away to be melted down. Santos himself shut a padlock on the last lot of decommissioned rifles before it was taken out …

Nairobi, Kenya , Kenya | THE INDEPENDENT |  State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu has urged Kenyans to go back to work following the final declaration of Presidential results on Friday. “It’s time to get back to work and move Kenya forward,” Esipisu said at a first post-election press briefing. Uhuru Kenyatta was declared winner with 54.3% …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenyan President  Uhuru Kenyatta urged peace Monday on the eve of tense elections in which his battle with rival Raila Odinga is seen as too close to call. Kenyatta, 55, who is seeking a second and final term in office, gave a televised speech in a …

Monrovia, Liberia | AFP |  Twenty candidates will contest presidential elections in Liberia in October, among them a former warlord, a footballer and a fashion model, as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf steps down after two terms, the electoral commission said Monday. There is no obvious frontrunner to replace the Nobel Prize-winning …

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | A group of community elders in northeast Nigeria where Boko Haram has waged a bloody eight-year insurgency are urging the Islamists to enter peace talks, a move some see as motivated by ethnic self-interest. The Borno Elders Forum of retired military and civilian officials, all ethnic …

Riek Machar, the chairman and commander in chief of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Army SPLMA/SPLA (IO) has rebuffed a call to join the ongoing South Sudan National Dialogue. The South Sudan opposition leader said focus should be on ending the war, through a mediated peace process. He said …

Clashes erupt in C. Africa a day after peace deal Bangui, Central African Republic | AFP | Intense fighting in the Central African Republic killed at least 40 people Tuesday and injured dozens more, dashing hopes for stability in the strife-torn country the day after the signing of a ceasefire deal. …

Rome, Italy | AFP |  Central African Republic’s government on Monday signed an “immediate ceasefire” deal with rebel groups during a meeting in Rome aimed at ending violence in the strife-torn country. The truce will see armed groups be given representation in the political arena in exchange for an end …

COMMENT: Providing security and fighting al-Shabaab isn’t enough – AMISOM can do much more in Somalia By Meressa K Dessu and Omar S Mahmood Addis, Ethiopia| ISSAFRICA|  The mandate of the African Union (AU) Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) officially expires today, 31 May. Although the AU Peace and Security Council …