Tag: Uganda

Africa
DRC displaced

Displacement crisis in eastern DRC —again

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, is voicing alarm over the worsening situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s eastern Beni Territory, North Kivu province, where violence has forced more than a hundred thousand civilians from their homes over the past two months. Attacks by armed groups since December on a number of towns and villages in the Watalinga Chiefdom, near the border with Uganda, have displaced residents to the town of Nobili and surrounding areas. Many were displaced previously and had only just returned to their villages in November last year, after fleeing violence in April. They remain in dire need of assistance. Violence in the region have been rising since the launch of a government-led military operation in December against the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). (Photo: UNHCR)

Planet Watch
Chile protester

Podcast: world revolution in 2020?

In Episode 43 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg takes stock of the current wave of popular protest and uprisings around the world, and asks if the planet is approaching another moment of revolutionary possibilities, such as was seen in 2011. He examines the prospects for these disparate movements to build solidarity across borders, repudiate ethnic and national divide-and-rule stratagems, and recognize the enemy as transnational capital and the authoritarian states that serve it. With discussions of Hong Kong, mainland China, Indonesia, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Honduras, Costa Rica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey Iran, Egypt, Algeria, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and Guinea. Listen on SoundCloud, and support our podcast via Patreon. (Photo: David Lynch via Twitter)

Africa
Uganda protests

Uganda: military crackdown on student protests

Ugandan police and military troops have responded harshly to students protesting fee increases at Makerere University in Kampala. Human Rights Watch reports that troops have “fired tear-gas into student residences, raided dormitories, and beaten and arrested students.” Security forces have also been arresting journalists and detaining students for days without charge. The military says a board of inquiry has been set up to look into the campus violence, but HRW demanded a full and transparent investigation. (Photo: Nile Post, Kampala)

Africa
DRC

DRC recruited ex-rebels to suppress protests: HRW

The Democratic Republic of Congo recruited former M23 rebel fighters to protect President Joseph Kabila after protests broke out last December over his refusal to step down at the end of his constitutionally mandated two terms, Human Rights Watch reports. During the protests, at least 62 people were killed and hundreds arrested. The crisis de-escalated when Kabila agreed to hold elections by the end of 2017, and not run again. But the elections were never held, and have now been scheduled for the end of 2018—prompting renewed protests.

Africa

Uganda: displaced villagers protest land-grab

Villagers forcibly relocated by Uganda's government during the war with the Lord's Resistance Army now find that their traditional lands have been eclosed as private game reserves.

Africa

Ex-LRA commander appears before ICC

Former Lord's Resistance Army commander Dominic Ongwen, himself once a child solider abducted at age 14, made his first appearance before the International Criminal Court.

Africa

ICC halts Darfur probe; Bashir threatens rebels

The International Criminal Court suspended its Darfur investigation, citing UN inaction in the case, as President Omar al-Bashir accused rebel leaders of being foreign "agents."

Greater Middle East

Egypt: first FGM trial ends in acquittals

Two men in Egypt were acquitted on charges relating to female genital mutilation, in the only case brought to trial since the law banning FGM was toughened in 2008.