Deodatus is the news editor at The Guardian Ltd, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania .
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Deodatus
AU troops killed, injured in Somalia
A roadside bomb blast has killed one African Union peacekeeper and injured another in the capital Mogadishu, Somalia. The AU force now stands at 3,600,has been frequently targeted by Islamist insurgents with the latest attack bringing the number of AU troops killed in Somalia to nine in two years. - According to the spokesman for the AU force the incident took place on the outskirts of Mogadishu, when a convoy of peacekeepers was hit by an explosive device. The incident is likely to increase pressure on the UN to deploy peacekeepers in the war-torn country after the AU threatened to withdraw its force from Somalia unless it was beefed up.
The call to revamp the peacekeeping force in Somal…Somalia: Ethiopian troops withdraw
Ethiopian troops on Friday began withdrawing from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, eye witnesses say. - Some residents said at least 28 vehicles carrying Ethiopian troops and some equipment arrived in Afgoye town, located about 30 kms South of Mogadishu, but they were not sure whether the troops were actually withdrawing, or relocating to another part of the country, Reuters said.
However the Ethiopian government confirmed on Friday that the withdrawal of its troops from Somalia had indeed started. The troops had been in Somalis since December 2006 where they have been propping up the transitional government against an Islamist insurgency.
"We are now implementing the withdrawal of …DRC: Uganda rebels kill 400 civilians
New reports have revealed that the LRA fighters killed more than 400 civilians in several Congolese villages in synchronized massacres conducted on Christmas Day and two days later. - Caritas International said in a statement on Tuesday that the simultaneous attacks carried out in Orientale province were evidenced by bloody killings, looting, abductions and torching of villages all of which bear a trademark of the LRA rebels.
Uganda’s New Vision newspaper on Tuesday quoted the Director of Caritas Dungu- Doruma as saying that the massacres were horrific adding that on Christmas Day the rebels attacked people who had attended a concert organized by the Catholic Church in Faradje city…Kenya: Annual inflation slows
Kenya's annual inflation rate slowed nearly two percentage points in December due to lower fuel and electricity prices, but concerns about the rising cost of food persist in east Africa's biggest economy. - Official data published on Wednesday showed prices rose 27.7 percent in December compared with the same month a year earlier, down from 29.4 percent in November. Core inflation, which excludes food, slipped to 10.6 percent from 12.3 percent, Reuters business report said.
"We are still in a frighteningly high inflation scenario," said Robert Shaw, a Nairobi-based economist. "The main concern now is rain deficiency. In many areas, harvests may be non-existent and that will put pressure o…Tanzania: Farmers warned over outbreak
Tanzania's ministry of agriculture, Food and Cooperatives has warned farmers about the possibility of an outbreak of army worms, advising them to inspect their farms regularly and report to authorities any signs of the pests. - Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mohamed Muya, said in a statement that Tengeru Institute of Agricultural Research in Arusha region, Northern Tanzania had predicted the outbreak citing maize, sorghum, millet, rice, wheat and barley as crops that are vulnerable to be attacked on the first phase of the outbreak. Armyworms have also been known to attack leguminous plants such as beans, peas and groundnuts and indeed all green plants.
“The government has ta…Uganda: LRA accused of killing civilians
The Uganda army has accused rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) of killing dozens of people who were attending a church service on Boxing Day in Doruma, a remote village in Congo, witnesses said. The attackers are said to have used machetes and others to kill scores of people in the church. - There are varying reports on the number of people who died in the massacre. While a European aid worker told Associated Press that the number stood at 100, the Congolese military put it at between 120 and 150. U.N.-run Radio Okapi quoted the governor of Congo's Oriental Province, Medard Autsai Senga, as saying the death toll had surpassed 75 bodies and more were still being discovered around th…Somalia: Ethiopia to withdraw in December
Ethiopia will withdraw its forces from Somalia in December, a move that would force the AU to implement its plan to send an 8,000 peacekeeping force to the war ravaged nation. It would also exert pressure on the UN to scale up efforts to restore peace in Somalia before lawlessness reaches a tipping point. - Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the government had written to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Chairman of AU Commission Jean Ping on Tuesday to inform them of its decision to withdraw its troops.
No reasons for the withdrawal have been advanced but Ethiopia feels “betrayed” by the West after the latter backed the sending of Ethiopian troops to Somal…Uganda: Rebel leader to sign peace deal
The leader of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army Joseph Kony is expected to sign the peace deal on Saturday after several months of unfulfilled promises. He was earlier expected to sign the peace agreement in April this year but failed because he was unsure of the status of his arrest warrant from the ICC. - It is hoped that signing of the peace deal on Saturday would bring to an end the Uganda civil war which has run for two decades, killing millions of people and displacing many others.
Chief mediator Dr Riek Machar told a press conference in Juba on Wednesday that there is every indication Kony will sign the peace deal this time around. Dr Machar is the Vice President of South Sudan.
…Tanzania: Ex-ministers charged with graft
Two former Tanzanian government ministers Daniel Yona and Basil Mramba have appeared in court in Dar es Salaam charged with 13 counts of abuse of office and illegally exempting tax to private companies, thereby causing loss to the government to the tune of 11 billion Tanzanian Shillings (about $11 million). - The two prominent former cabinet ministers had served under Presidents Benjamin Mkapa and Jakaya Kikwete respectively. Mramba had also served under President Mkapa in the third phase government as Finance Minister while Yona had served as Minister for Energy and Minerals. Mramba was reappointed by President Kikwete to serve as Minister for Infrastructure Development but was dropped earl…Gulf States meet to counter piracy
Senior officials from Sudan, Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are meeting in Cairo, Egypt to find out ways of dealing with piracy in the Gulf of Aden and in the waters off the Horn of Africa. Piracy is currently on the increase hence the need to find a long lasting solution to the problem. - The meeting is taking place as piracy is escalating in the area with the latest major event being the hijacking of a Saudi supertanker, the Sirius Star. The ship with its 25 crew is now anchored off Eyle in Somalia and the pirates are said to demand a ransom of $25 million.
Media reports quoted the spokesman for Vela International Marine Ltd., the tanker's owner, as having neither denied nor con…Somalia: Hijacked Saudi supertanker found
The Saudi crude oil supertanker, Sirius Star, which was hijacked by Somali pirates early this week, is reportedly anchored off Eyl, a remote coastal village used by the pirates as a hideout for hijacked ships. It is the second biggest pirates' "catch" after a Ukrainian ship early this year with tanks. - Coordinator of the East African Seafarers Association in Kenya, Andrew Mwangura, said on Tuesday that some residents had spotted an unusually big vessel near the small port of Eyl, indicating that it could be the Sirius Star. “But they would probably dock it about eight miles off Eyl,” Mwangura had told Reuters.
The tanker with a cargo of crude oil worth about USD 100 million w…Insurgents closing in on Mogadishu
Islamist insurgents on Friday moved close to a checkpoint manned by Ethiopian soldiers, in a small town located near Mogadishu. The move has rekindled fears of renewed fighting among residents particularly bearing in mind that Al Shabaab insurgents began moving towards Mogadishu almost unchallenged. - Al Shabaab fighters, one of the strongest rebel groups, early this week moved from Sinkadheer to Elasha town where Ethiopian forces are based. This left them a distance of only 15 kilometres to Mogadishu.
Islamist insurgents have recently made their presence felt in southern Somali where they have chased away government and Ethiopian troops, occupying many areas.
In the past week alone, …Rebels attack ahead of DRC summit
Congolese Tutsi rebels have made fresh advances and captured several villages in the eastern part of Kivu province ahead of a summit of Great Lakes' leaders scheduled for today. The meeting is to discuss the Congo crisis. - The move has jeopardized the ceasefire announced by renegade commander of the rebel forces Gen. Laurent Nkunda early this week, according to UN military spokesman. Thousands of civilians who fled from Kiwanja area accused pro-government Mai-Mai militiamen for attacks but the North Kivu government army commander said that government forces are respecting the ceasefire.
The new offensive has happened when plans have been finalized for a meeting by government leaders from…Suicide bombers kill 28 in Somaliland
At least 28 people have died after suicide bombers attacked northern Somalia, jeopardizing the peace agreement reached between the Somali interim government and Islamist groups on Sunday. The parties had agreed to a ceasefire to be effective from November 5, 2008 ahead of withdrawal of Ethiopian troops. - The new wave of bombings is also likely to unsettle the meeting taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, between interim government leaders and regional leaders which was called to discuss, among other things, how to help to restore peace in Somalia.
The Iraq style attacks bore al Qaeda trade marks comprising five simultaneous blasts which killed 25 people in Hargeisa and three others in Bosasso.…Ethiopia backs Somalia peace deal
Ethiopia has given its total support to the ceasefire agreement reached on Sunday between the Somali transitional government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS). It said it would respect a UN - brokered peace deal for Somalia requiring the gradual withdrawal of its troops. - “The agreement reached in Djibouti by the two parties is in line with our policy of orderly withdrawal,” said foreign ministry spokesman Wahade Belay on Monday. He added that Ethiopia would implement the decisions reached by the two parties in Djibouti.
However, some sections of the opposition have rejected the agreement, saying that it will not be able to bring peace and understanding…Tanzania: Albinos strike for protection
The albino community in Dar es Salaam on Saturday took to the streets to protest against the killing of their members and urged the government to do more to protect them. - Killing of albinos of all ages is taking roots in the country as 30 of them have lost their lives within the past 12 months, with the highest number of killings taking place in the lake regions of Mwanza, Mara, Kagera and Shinyanga. Isolated cases have also been reported from Mbeya region.
The killings are spurred by superstitious beliefs of making quick money as witchdoctors advise their clients to get organs and body parts from albinos so as to become rich. Crime scenes are very gruesome - legs, hands, lips, fingers …Ethiopian troops to stay in Somalia
Ethiopian troops in Somalia are stay in that country until the AU deployed its full peacekeeping force. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told parliament in Addis Ababa. The African Union plans to send 8,000 peacekeepers but currently there are just about 3,000 of them from Uganda and Burundi. - The AU hopes that other countries would send their soldiers to make up the AU planned force have started to fade away as insurgents have recently been targeting the peacekeepers.
Ethiopian soldiers have been in Somalia since December 2006 supporting the interim government but Islamist insurgents have been waging running battles against the government and its ally, making it difficult to instit…Tanzania government suspends newspaper
The Tanzanian government has suspended the weekly Mwanahalisi newspaper in that country for three months, accusing its editor of publishing seditious articles. However, the Editors Forum has said the government's action is unfair and is meant to curtail press freedom in that country. - The suspension was announced by the Minister for Information Culture and Sports Development, George Mkuchika, who said that the newspaper had in its October 8, 2008 issue run a story purporting that there was a plot to “push” President Jakaya Kikwete out of power so that he does not win a second term in the 2010 elections.
He said that the story breaches the Newspaper Act of 1976 which prohibits…
