by tyler | Sep 28, 2023 | africa, CNN
Four army officers were arrested in Burkina Faso, a military prosecutor said, a day after the country’s ruling military junta announced it had thwarted a coup attempt.
Two other officers were “on the run,” according to a statement from the public prosecutor’s office at the military court in Ouagadougou, the capital city.
Burkina Faso’s military junta said in an earlier statement that intelligence and security services had foiled a “proven coup attempt” on Wednesday.
“A number of officers and other alleged actors involved in this destabilization attempt have been arrested, while others are being actively sought,” the statement said.
Junta leader Captain Ibrahim Traore later said on X, previously known as Twitter, that he was “committed to the liberation” of the country.
“I assure you of my determination to bring the Transition to a successful conclusion, despite adversity and the various manoeuvres designed to halt our inexorable march towards sovereignty,” his post added.
Traore seized power in the West African nation in a coup on September 30 last year in a day marked by gunfire and confusion in Ouagadougou. The coup was the second in eight months – with the leaders of both vowing to restore security after years of violence in the country.
Earlier this month, Burkina Faso’s military leaders signed a mutual defense pact with the juntas in Mali and Niger.
The tri-border region has become the epicenter of the violence that began in neighboring Mali in 2012 but has since spread across the arid expanse of the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert.
by tyler | Sep 27, 2023 | africa, CNN
The French ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itte, has returned to Paris, the French Foreign Ministry told CNN on Wednesday.
“Our ambassador to Niger returned to Paris today, as decided by the President of the Republic on Sunday,” the ministry said.
According to the ministry, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna received Itte to thank him for his team’s service “in difficult conditions.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that France had decided to bring back Itte and several other diplomats from Niger.
After their July coup, the Niger military junta ordered Itte to leave the country, and later revoked his visa.
The ambassador remained in place following instructions from the French government, with French authorities saying that they do not recognize the junta’s authority.
Macron said earlier this month that the ambassador was “literally being held hostage at the French embassy,” and that “food was prevented from being delivered” to the embassy in Niamey, the country’s capital.
Relations between the two countries have soured since the coup. Itte’s exit from Niger follows another decision by France to end its military presence in the West African nation by the end of this year.
Around 1,500 French troops are stationed in Niger, many of whom are there to assist with counterterrorism missions.
by tyler | Sep 5, 2023 | africa, CNN
The leader of Gabon’s military junta, Gen. Brice Nguema, was sworn in as interim president by the country’s constitutional court during a televised ceremony Monday.
Last week, Nguema led a coup that ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, a military takeover that appears to have truncated the Bongo family’s decades-long dominance over Gabonese politics.
Bongo, 64, succeeded his father Omar Bongo, who ruled the Central African nation with an iron fist for more than four decades before his death in 2009.
Ahead of last Wednesday’s coup, Bongo, who has been in power for nearly 14 years, was declared winner of a disputed presidential election that was marred by voting delays and internet cuts. The Bongo administration had also obstructed coverage of the vote by foreign press.
The ousted leader was placed on house arrest by the junta, which also voided the election results and shut the country’s borders, triggering global condemnation of the coup.
Celebrations also broke out across the tiny nation with thousands of supporters expressing solidarity with the military.
Nguema, a former bodyguard for Omar Bongo, was swiftly installed as a transitional leader.
He was inaugurated as interim president on Monday amid a military parade and cheers from his civilian supporters.
Ahead of his swearing in, Nguema approved the reopening of Gabon’s borders and met with political leaders to discuss issues around reform and a possible transitional period, local media reported.
It’s not immediately known how long Nguema will hold on to power. He earlier said the country will not rush into a new election to avoid a “repeat of past mistakes,” Reuters reported.
A platform of opposition parties in the country has urged the junta to resume the electoral process and conclude the vote count to pave the way to victory for opposition leader Albert Ondo Ossa, who was a runner up in the annulled election.
There have been nine coups in the past three years in former French colonies – Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Tunisia and now Gabon.
Many Gabonese view Bongo’s ouster as a major victory for citizens in the oil-rich but impoverished state.
by tyler | Jul 6, 2023 | africa, CNN
At least 17 people have died from nitrate gas inhalation following a gas leak at an informal settlement camp in South Africa, according to state media.
A disaster management agency official earlier said on Wednesday night that at least 24 people had died at the Angelo squatter camp in the city of Boksburg , but the death toll was revised to 17, public broadcaster SABC said, citing the Premier of Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi.
Lesufi confirmed that 16 people had died and according to SABC, another person died at the Tambo Memorial Hospital in the early hours of the morning.
Children are among the dead and search and rescue operations are ongoing, local media reported.
The leak came from a gas cylinder containing nitrate oxide at the informal settlement, William Ntlad, spokesperson for the Disaster and Emergency Management Services said.
Ntladi said emergency services received the call just after 8 pm local time Wednesday.
He said an initial investigation indicates the leak could be linked to illegal mining activity in the area.
Illegal mining, mostly for gold, has remained rife in South Africa and costs the country millions of dollars each year.
Known as “zama zamas,” they make up thousands of illegal miners who swarm the disused gold mines of Johannesburg.
Last month, the country’s Department of Mineral and Energy Resources said around 31 suspected illegal miners who were believed to be nationals of neighboring Lesotho had died in a ventilation shaft in the country’s Free State province.
by tyler | Jun 29, 2023 | africa, CNN
For the first time, Essence Fest – which has been celebrating African American culture in the United States for more than two decades – is devoting a day to Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry – the most prolific in Africa.
Started in the mid 1990s, the Essence Festival of Culture has evolved into one of the world’s largest celebrations of Black music and culture, bringing tens of thousands of attendees to New Orleans each year.
Toyosi Etim-Effiong is leading a delegation of Nigerian actors and filmmakers to the festival, set to run from June 29 to July 3.
“This year is nothing like (what) has ever been seen before at Essence,” says Etim-Effiong, who runs a talent management and content creation and distribution company in Lagos.
“Nigeria will have its own day in terms of the film and TV industry, where we are front and center. We’re going there to show the world how they can collaborate with the film and TV industry in Nigeria.”
The “Nigeria Day” will be held on July 1 featuring movie screenings and panel discussions on topics such as “Creating and Promoting Globally Relatable Content,” and “How to Partner with Nollywood,” organizers say.
Expectations are high, other attendees tell CNN.
“The Nigeria Day is definitely the best part of the entire event,” says Nigerian actor Shawn Faqua. “It’s such an honor to be part of this inaugural official Nollywood delegation to the Essence Festival. The joy of connecting with other amazing Black creatives from other parts of the globe and what possibilities it promises.”
“As the world continues to explore more African stories, I believe the time is right for Nollywood to make a push for global recognition,” says actor and film director Daniel Etim Effiong, who is Toyosi’s husband. “It’s time to reach out to our cousins across the Atlantic for more collaborations and opportunities for partnerships.”
Nigeria’s creative economy has witnessed a boom in recent years with the rise of Afrobeats, a West African music genre popularized internationally by Nigerian entertainers. However, the filmmaking component of the industry has yet to catch up.
“Afrobeats and Nollywood are from the same father and the same mother, and we refuse to let Nollywood be the child that did not make it,” Toyosi Etim-Effiong tells CNN of her quest to get Nigeria’s film industry globally respected and financially rewarded.
“Over the years, we have seen how Afrobeats has grown in leaps and bounds and how it has become mainstream. So, you see now there’s an Afrobeats category in the Grammys and other awards worldwide (and there are) monetary rewards. These things are lacking right now in Nollywood,” she said.
The rewards and recognition are trickling in with streaming giants discovering new growth opportunities in Nollywood. Last year, Amazon Prime Video secured exclusive streaming agreements with two Nollywood film studios in its hunt for African content.
The Amazon deal followed earlier investments by US streaming giant Netflix, which began distributing Nollywood films in 2015 and also announced its presence in Nigeria three years ago.
The Nigerian filmmaking hub currently sits second among the world’s most prolific film industries, producing thousands of movies every year and contributing millions of dollars to the country’s GDP.
Toyosi Etim Effiong says she’s grateful for Nollywood’s streaming deals but wants its productions showcased better to the world.
“I’m really super thankful for the streamers who are here because they’ve given us a platform to show our content to the rest of the world. (But) we have to take our stories out … by participating in international events like the Essence Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.
“Go to the American Film Market, go to the rest of the world. Push your content out. That way you’re whetting the appetite of those people more when they watch a story that they can identify with.”
by tyler | Jun 27, 2023 | africa, CNN
At least four people, including a child, have died and four others were injured after a building collapsed in the Egyptian city of Alexandria on Monday, state newspaper Al-Ahram reported.
The civil defense units retrieved the fourth body from under the rubble on Tuesday morning as the search for survivors continues for a second day, Al-Ahram added.
Three victims have been identified as Abdullah Mahfouz, 13, Mostafa Othman, 22, and Hamdy El-Sayed, 40.
A total of 16 families lived in the 14-story building, which was built about 50 years ago, while other apartments were used by domestic tourists spending the summer in Alexandria, the city’s governor Mohamed El Sherif said.
One of the residents told reporters on site about the harrowing moments when her missing family members fell with the building around 8 a.m. local time on Monday.
“I placed my younger siblings under the couch as bricks were falling,” said the young woman in tears. “I went back and called for my mother to leave with me, she said she was coming. So, I walked a few steps forward to find the ceiling falling along with them [my mother and brother]. I was facing the sky and they were down.”
A live video posted on the city’s Facebook page showed civil defense units attempting to put out a small fire in the rubble on Monday.
Egypt’s Public Prosecution has issued an order to detain the owner of the collapsed 14th floor and a contractor for four days pending investigations over involuntary manslaughter and unauthorized construction charges. According to Al-Ahram, the contractor carried out the constructions on the top floor despite a demolition order.
About 7,000 old, inhabited buildings in Alexandria are at risk of collapse, Al-Ahram reported, citing a member of Egypt’s House of Representatives.
