27 June 2021
Burkina Faso: Thousands of protesters against insecurity with placards like “We want to cultivate our fields in peace”, took to the streets in Kaya, the capital of the Centre-North region, on Saturday, “mainly women displaced by escalating violence and the widows of soldiers and police officers killed by militants”.
BBC Africa Latest Updates 27 June 2021. 9:00
Sudan: Former officials wanted for alleged war crimes in Darfur will be handed over to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The surrender of ex-President Omar al-Bashir to the ICC had already been promised in February 2020. The identity of those to be handed over has not been divulged. The Darfur conflict has killed at least 300,000 and displaced millions.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57628697
Somalia: 21 men convicted of being al-Shabab members have been sentenced to death and have been shot by a firing squad, the Puntland authorities having “vowed to bring to justice any members of al-Shabab or people found assisting the group in its attacks.” Much of Somalia’s centre and south is controlled by al-Shabab. A report by Hiraal Institute published in October 2020 had found that al-Shabab raises as much or more revenue than Somalia’s government.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57630144
For the report: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54690561
26 June 2021
Nigeria: The Middle Belt (Abuja, Benue, Plateau, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Kwara) “is volatile, and highly susceptible to militia attacks and sectarian crises. There are also frequent clashes between pastoralists and sedentary farmers”. In the absence of adequate government responses (the deployment of the army often proves counter-proudctive), the article provides a long list of ways of communities dealing with the insecurity and violence, e.g. mediation, support through dispute resolution, community truth and reconciliation groups, inter-religious dialogue, traditional justice systems, community policing, civic education.
https://theconversation.com/violence-is-endemic-in-north-central-nigeria-what-communities-are-doing-to-cope-157349
Female Genital Cutting (FGC): A BBC article about FGC in Egypt. At the end of the article, there is a map of the world with FGC rates (source The Woman Stats Project 2015) that is a bit different because it optically rates countries with FGC rates below 11% as having no FGC (yellow). As most international comparisons, this one also treats mild forms (e.g. in Indonesia or southern Nigeria) and severe forms (infibulation, e.g. in Somalia) the same.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57530121