Tag: African Union

‘State-sponsored repression’ behind Eritrea’s refugee epidemic

April 24, 2018 Eritrea Abune Antonios, African Union, East Africa, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Human rights, Pentecostals, Refugees, Religious freedom, USA

Eritrea remains “one of the worst examples of state-sponsored repression of freedom of religion or belief in the world”, says USCIRF Commissioner. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

“State-sponsored repression” is the reason Eritrea is one of the world’s main sources of refugees, a US human rights commission has heard. The East African country is not at war, nor does it suffer from terrorism, but some estimate that as many as 10 per cent of Eritreans have fled . . . Read More

The scars that don’t heal: Bangui pastor recalls church shelling

April 13, 2018 Central African Republic African Union, Central African Republic, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, PK5, Seleka, UPC

The rain that has fallen overnight has left a puddle in the church, and the pastor, Rev. Franco Mbaye-Bondoi, is worried that if the walls are not repaired before the heavy rains begin in two months, they may collapse. The dangerous cracks in the walls are the only signs left . . . Read More

Dozens killed in spate of violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt

March 14, 2018 Nigeria African Union, Christian Association of Nigeria, Church of Christ in Nigeria, Fulani herdsmen, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Plateau

Three more villages in Bassa Local Government Area (LGA), in Nigeria’s central Plateau State, have come under attack today, 14 March, as Fulani herdsmen continue their killing spree in the country’s volatile Middle Belt. The violence has claimed some 57 lives over the last two weeks alone. The assailants, identified . . . Read More

Refugees call for African Union to stop Eritrea’s ‘reign of terror’

November 17, 2017 Eritrea African Union, Eritrea, Human rights, Pentecostals, Religious freedom

Approximately 250 Eritreans took part in a protest in Addis Ababa ear. (Photo: Getty Images)

Eritrean refugees and representatives of the opposition living in Ethiopia staged a protest at the African Union headquarters in the capital, Addis Ababa, earlier this week to call for an end to Eritrea’s “reign of terror”. The approximately 250 protestors handed a petition to the Chairperson of the African Union . . . Read More

US lawmakers call for continued sanctions against Sudan as Bashir plans Russia visit

July 11, 2017 Sudan African Union, International Criminal Court, Religious freedom, Russia, Sanctions, Sudan

Sudan's President Omar Bashir attending the Arab League summit meetings in Jordan in March 2017. Photo: Getty Images

A bipartisan group including 53 US lawmakers has urged President Donald Trump to delay the permanent lifting of sanctions on Sudan, ahead of tomorrow’s (12 July) deadline for a decision to be made. Meanwhile, Sudan’s President, Omar Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes including . . . Read More

Lake Chad Basin crisis to dominate African Union Summit

June 27, 2017 Addis Ababa, African Union, Benin, Boko Haram, Borno, Cameroon, Chad, Lake Chad, Maiduguri, Muhammadu Buhari, Niger, Nigeria

As the 29th African Union (AU) Summit begins today (27 June), one of the major talking points will be the “now-major conflict zone” of the Lake Chad Basin, writes Omar S Mahmood, analyst at The Institute for Security Studies. The UN has described the situation in north-eastern Nigeria – one . . . Read More

Donors pledge $2.2bn to help Central African Republic recover

November 30, 2016 Central African Republic African Union, Anti-balaka, Bangui, Bria, Catherine Samba-Panza, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, IDPs, Kaga Bandoro, Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou, Oumar Kobine Layama, Refugees, Seleka

Oxfam says half the 4.8 million population of the Central African Republic needs humanitarian assistance. Open Doors International The President of the Evangelical Alliance in the Central African Republic has praised the international community’s pledge of US$2.2 billion to help reconstruct a county ravaged by three years of civil war. Around . . . Read More

Sudan detains 6 Christians, threatens to demolish 5 churches

October 12, 2016 Sudan African Union, Churches, Episcopal Church of Sudan, Gadaref, Hassan Taour, Kadugli, Khartoum, Kuwa Shamal, Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, Sudan

Sudan has detained three church leaders and three church members, meanwhile warning five churches of impending demolition. The six, from the Evangelical Church in Wad Medani (200km southeast of the capital, Khartoum), were briefly arrested on Sunday (9 Oct.) after refusing an order to hand over to the government a . . . Read More

Boko Haram still holds territory

March 11, 2016 Nigeria Africa, African Union, Boko Haram, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, UN

Despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory claims, Boko Haram is still holding territory in northern Nigeria, said the head of the U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM). Gen. David Rodriguez’s assertion comes almost two months after Buhari told the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, that the terrorist group was no longer . . . Read More

Somalia, Brunei ban Christmas

December 23, 2015 Africa, African Union, Brunei, Christmas, Islamic extremism, Somalia

Somalia has banned the celebration of Christmas – for the first time since the last central government collapsed in 1991. “We alert fellow Muslims in Somalia that some festivities to mark Christian Days will take place around the world in this week,” Sheikh Ali Dhere told a press conference. “It . . . Read More

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