Several hundred people marched in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, on Thursday to protest the military junta which took power after the country's long-serving leader died while fighting rebels.The Transformers party and civil society groups had called for people to come out against "the confiscation of power" by the Transitional Military Council (CMT) that has ruled the poor Sahel country since the death of president Idriss Deby Itno in April.The council is…
Authorities in Sudan say at least 3,000 Ethiopian refugees fled into Sudan this week, after the war in Ethiopia's Tigray region spread to the neighboring Amhara region. VOA speaks to a refugee camp director and a political analyst about the significance of the influx in this report from Khartoum.Sudanese authorities reported thousands of Ethiopian refugees crossing the border this week. In a phone interview with VOA, the head of the…
GENEVA - The UN refugee agency warns about 24,000 Eritrean refugees trapped in two camps in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray province are in great danger as fighting among armed groups escalates. Concerns are growing for the safety and wellbeing of thousands of Eritrean refugees in Mai Aini and Adi Harush camps as fighting intensifies in Tigray’s Mai Tsebri area. The UN refugee agency reports aid agencies have been unable to access…
GENEVA - The UN refugee agency warns about 24,000 Eritrean refugees trapped in two camps in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray province are in great danger as fighting among armed groups escalates. Concerns are growing for the safety and wellbeing of thousands of Eritrean refugees in Mai Aini and Adi Harush camps as fighting intensifies in Tigray’s Mai Tsebri area. The UN refugee agency reports aid agencies have been unable to access…
KAMPALA, UGANDA - Ugandan authorities have detained weightlifter Julius Sekitoleko after he disappeared last week from the Olympic Games in Japan. His case is odd, as Sekitoleko did not qualify for the Ugandan Olympic team, and no one can explain why he was flown to Tokyo. Ugandan authorities say they will likely grant bail to the 20-year-old weightlifter after he spent four days in detention but that he still may…
KILIFI, KENYA - Cryptocurrencies make headlines for shaking up the financial world, but they are also gaining ground in less developed countries. In Kenya, an American economist, who introduced blockchain technology for low-income urban customers, has extended the cashless system to the countryside.On a lush green farm in Kilifi on Kenya’s tropical Indian Ocean coast, 26-year-old farmer Emmanuel Kahindi is harvesting tomatoes and other vegetables. He is using Kenya’s cryptocurrency,…
ABOARD US MILITARY AIRCRAFT - The United States is again targeting fighters with the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Shabab terror group in Somalia, launching its second airstrike in the past four days following a nearly six-month hiatus that began when President Joe Biden took office.The strike, by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), appears to be part of an effort to lend U.S. airpower to what has been described as a fierce struggle on the ground…
GENEVA - The U.N. refugee agency on Friday called for concerted action to help record-breaking numbers of people forced to flee increasingly violent armed attacks in Burkina Faso.The attacks on civilians and security forces by jihadist groups are increasing in frequency and in the level of violence. Over the past two years, more than 1.3 million people, or 6 percent of the population, have become displaced inside the country.UNHCR spokesman…
