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

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

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

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

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

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

Lake Chad Basin crisis to dominate African Union Summit
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

Donors pledge $2.2bn to help Central African Republic recover
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

Sudan detains 6 Christians, threatens to demolish 5 churches
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