Africa

Recalling deadly beach attack

With a &#8220triple peril&#8221 of environmental degradation, poverty and insecurity facing the Sahel, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today during a visit to Mauritania that improving the situation in the region is a top priority for the United Nations.

The United Nations today, in a joint statement with other multilateral organizations, welcomed the final results of the second round of the presidential elections in the Central African Republic (CAR) announced earlier this week, congratulating President-elect Faustin-Archange Touadéra.

The destruction of cultural heritage is a violation of human rights, a United Nations-appointed expert said today, as the international criminal tribunal began a pre-trial procedure for the first-ever case in which charges were brought against the destruction of cultural and religious sites.

Burkina Faso is making a solid comeback, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today in the country&#39s capital, Ouagadougou, where he praised the Burkinabe Government and people for their perseverance during a series of tests in recent years, and who with UN support, are firmly on a path to consolidating democratic gains and ensure sustainable development.

Expressing deep concern about the upsurge in fighting between the Sudanese Government forces and a rebel group in Darfur, United Nations Secretary-General ban Ki-moon today called for freedom of movement for UN peacekeepers and humanitarian actors in their continued efforts to protect and support the affected civilians.

Libya needs to move ahead now or risk division and collapse, the top United Nations official in the country warned the UN Security Council today, while presenting the latest report on political and humanitarian developments.

Three years of conflict and ongoing displacements in the Central African Republic (CAR) continue to disrupt agriculture and severely constrain people&#39s access to food, as they struggle with the effects of multiple poor harvests, disrupted markets and soaring prices for many staple foods, two United Nations agencies warned today.

The United Nations joined the African Union today hailing the inaugural &#39Africa Day of School Feeding,&#39 as part of a key strategy to address the continent&#39s development challenges through home-grown school meal programmes.

Going to the races in unexpected places

With the provisional results being released after a slate of elections in Comoros, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the candidates and all the other actors and institutions involved in the electoral process to play by the rules and refrain from the use of violence.

The United Nations deputy humanitarian chief today called on all parties to the conflict in South Sudan to protect civilians and grant safe and unhindered humanitarian access as she wrapped up a two-day visit to the African country.

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UNAMID's Police Advisers from Sortoni, North Darfur, interact with the newly displaced seeking refuge in the vicinity of the Mission's team site On 27 January 2016 (UNAMID Photo)

February 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese foreign ministry reiterated its commitment to allow aid worker to reach affected civilians in Darfur adding that the denial of humanitarian access in Central Darfur state is a temporary measure imposed by the ongoing military operations in Jebel Marr area.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kamal al-Din Ismail, told reporters Sunday that the ban on the movement of aid groups in Central Darfur has been enforced in several areas according to the conditions of the military operations.

"But this ban is linked to a temporary situation on the ground," Ismail further asserted.

"According to our information there is no blockade or restriction on humanitarian groups in the region unless there are (military) operations. And this a safety measure aiming to protect aid workers and their properties," he added.

The ongoing fighting between the Sudanese army and the Abdel Wahid faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM/AW) in Darfur area of Jebel Marra since 15 January displaced over 38.000 civilians from the more than 60 villages, UN agency estimate.

Aid groups have been barred from reaching civilians in the war affected zones in Central Darfur where the government troops are currently concentrating their action on what they call the "latest pockets" of the groups fighters.

Speaking about the humanitarian situation in Central Darfur state, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the number of the IDPs is unclear as they are not allowed to reach war affected areas.

"The most recent government figures indicate that about 1,000 people have arrived in Guldo and Thur towns from Jebel Marra, however, indications suggest that the number of new IDPs may be significantly higher," said OCHA in its weekly bulletin of 14 February.

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An Egyptian centre for treatment and documentation of alleged torture victims vows to continue to work despite an order for it to shut down.

Maryam Yousuf, 50, gently washes her hands under a common tap outside her house in Saida Kadal, a grassy middle-class locale encircled by the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir’s capital. She puts on a Pheran, the traditional long loose gown, and holding a large steel bucket walks towards a dimly-lit cowshed, made up of […]