Displaying items by tag: Africa

Fifteen years of civil war, combined with extreme poverty, a fragile political process and recurrent climatic shocks, have impacted strongly on Burundi’s economy and nutrition. Only 28% of the population have a sufficient, nutritious diet all year round and 58% percent are chronically malnourished. Food security for the majority of Burundians has not improved in recent years, despite a gradual return to peace. With a population growth rate of nearly 3% per annum and agricultural production having declined by 24% since the civil war began, people are going hungry. Even during the harvest season, families spend up to two-thirds of their income on food. Burundi is one of the countries identified by both the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) as being among the most affected by soaring food prices. After so many years of conflict, the capacity of the government to respond to this new challenge is limited.

Algerian Christians cannot openly practise their faith. 99% of the population are Muslim, and intolerance from Muslim relatives and neighbours is a major source of persecution. The state restricts freedom of religion through stringent laws and bureaucracy. Many ethnic Berbers are coming to Christ and Arabs are persecuting them. Laws regulate non-Muslim worship, ban conversion, and prohibit blasphemy. In recent years, several Christian churches with Muslim-background congregations have been ordered to close. Slimane Bouhafs, imprisoned for insulting Islam, was violently harassed by fellow prisoners for his faith. On 16 May a judge denied Pastor Nouredine Belabed's appeal against a sentence of a 100,000-dinar fine and payment of court fees plus a suspended sentence. Pray for the young people, who make up a large percentage of the population as well as the majority of Christians.

On 10 June Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed two Christians and seriously wounded another in central Nigeria. Ibrahim Weyi, 45, and Larry More, 53, were hacked to death when herdsmen ambushed them as they were going home on a motorcycle from an evening worship service.  A third Christian, 23-year-old Samuel Weyi, was wounded and is in intensive care. Lawrence Zango said, ‘Fulani herdsmen have continued to kill innocent Christians in our villages, yet the Nigerian government has not taken proactive measures to end the onslaught.’ President Muhammadu Buhari is also a Fulani Muslim.  A spokesman for the Plateau State Command said an investigation is under way. Herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in the Bassa area intensified late last year and have continued in spite of the presence of military personnel. Victims are either ambushed and killed or attacked in their homes at night.

There are currently two rival governments in Libya who are unable to find common ground while large parts of the country are run by IS. The dreadful security situation is the main reason for the growing migrant crisis, as traffickers turn Libya into a launchpad for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the North Africa and Middle East violence across the Mediterranean Sea. Smugglers have moved hundreds of thousands of migrants into Europe. By December 2017 there were an estimated 400,000 to 700,000 migrants in over 40 detention camps across Libya. People trapped in detention centres are beaten and live in inhumane conditions, while more than 3,100 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Libya died last year. Meanwhile Libyan coastguards rescued 152 immigrants on two boats and another 80 on 10 June, with sanctions being imposed on six human traffickers. See https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/libyas-coast-guard-rescues-over-230-illegal-immigrants-western-shores

Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Imam Oumar Kobine Layama and Rev Nicolas Guérékoyamé-Gbangou have international recognition for their peacekeeping efforts, and have blamed foreign mercenaries for an upsurge in violence. The so-called 'Christian rebels', the Anti-balaka, wear occult charms around their necks and fight with knives, clubs, rifles and machetes to rid the south of Muslims. The Bambari cathedral was looted, as were the bases of nine NGOs including the National Commission for Refugees. The clerics called all armed groups to lay down weapons, stop illegal exploitation of natural resources, and have ‘frank and inclusive dialogue’. The UN reported that 37,000 people, displaced by recent violence, are living in nine camps. The Red Cross said Muslim and Christian communities in Bambari want to live peaceably but are driven apart by violence and revenge attacks that trigger more assaults, making it harder to persuade people to live side-by-side again. See

In Kenya, politics and ethnic rivalry go hand in hand. On 31 May president Uhuru Kenyatta, opposition leader Raila Odinga, and their deputies exchanged hugs and apologies, cementing their pledge to promote unity after a fractious and bloody election. The unusual scene unfolded at the country's annual national prayer meeting, eight months after Kenyatta's re-election in a poll that divided the nation and left at least 92 dead, according to rights groups. ‘We have said nasty things against each other, and today I ask forgiveness and apologise,’ said Kenyatta. ‘Never again shall a Kenyan die because of an election. On my own behalf and that of all those behind me, I tender my apology’, said Odinga, whose supporters were killed by police during protests.

Christian leaders are being invited to a meeting in Johannesburg on 5 June to collaborate on a joint Bible-based response on land expropriation without compensation, for submission to a new constitutional review committee. After parliament’s February vote in favour of land expropriation without compensation, this committee was set up to review Section 25 of the constitution and other clauses where necessary, to make it possible for the state to expropriate land in the public interest, without compensation. Following this submission, further stages of the public consultation process will continue; the committee must submit its report by 30 August.

Communities in Kampala are protecting widows and orphans from having their land stolen from them. Last year, International Justice Mission organised community dialogues about women’s and children’s property rights, to build the understanding that women and girls are also legally able to inherit land. One of the leaders of these discussions said that in his community a man died leaving behind a wife. Her neighbours who had participated in the discussions carried the man’s casket at the funeral and wore t-shirts which read ‘Stop Land Grabbing,’ sending the message to the community that no one should touch the widow’s land. In the past, after a death, a widow and her children were forced off their land. Now they have justice.

Kidnappers have started contacting families for ransom after scores of people were kidnapped in northern Nigeria, in an outbreak of crime unconnected to Boko Haram. Criminal gangs raid villages and steal cattle in bloody attacks. Earlier this month, 71 died after a bloody clash between armed bandits and militiamen. The kidnappers took advantage of a security lull on the road as a result of local elections taking place. Kidnappings for ransom often happen. A Syrian construction worker was kidnapped in Sokoto. Police dispatched to rescue him were ambushed by the kidnappers, and three were killed in the fight. Nigeria is battling an array of security threats across the country, from Boko Haram jihadists, oil militants, nomadic Fulani tribesmen, and criminal gangs kidnapping for profit. Churches are desecrated, Christians slaughtered, and women, girls and young men are kidnapped or forced into suicide missions.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is braced for a gruesome battle, this time against the deadly virus Ebola. Congolese authorities declared the outbreak in the northwest region on 8 May; so far three have died from the disease. The number of reported cases is 42, according to a World Health Organisation tally. A health ministry spokeswoman said that 5,400 doses of vaccine had arrived from Geneva; they would be kept in Kinshasa until refrigerated transport could be guaranteed. The WHO said the risk of the disease spreading was high, and announced it was preparing for the ‘worst case scenario’. Its chief executive visited the affected area last weekend, saying he hoped for a ‘better way out’ of the latest outbreak. On 16 May Oxfam pledged an initial £50,000 to fight the spread of the disease. Ebola is one of the world's most notorious diseases, being both highly infectious and extremely lethal. See also: