https://www.voanews.com

  • Cameroon, Gabon Demarcate Border to Reduce Poaching in Congo Basin

    https://www.voanews.com/a/cameroon-gabon-demarcate-border-to-reduce-poaching-in-congo-basin-/6723981.html

    Officials from Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville have agreed to demarcate their 100-year-old border to reduce border communities’ disputes over forestry and wildlife. The deal follows similar agreements with Gabon in May and the Central African Republic in June. Conservationists say having better defined borders w

    #frontières #différends_frontaliers #cameroun #congo_brazzaville

  • Japanese Red Army Founder Shigenobu Freed From Prison
    https://www.voanews.com/a/japanese-red-army-founder-shigenobu-freed-from-prison-/6593275.html

    Fusako Shigenobu, the 76-year-old female founder of the once-feared Japanese Red Army, walked free from prison Saturday after completing a 20-year sentence for a 1974 embassy siege.

    Shigenobu was one of the world’s most notorious women during the 1970s and 1980s, when her radical leftist group carried out armed attacks worldwide in support of the Palestinian cause.

  • Iraq Building Syria Wall to Keep Out IS Fighters

    Iraq is building a concrete wall along part of its border with Syria to stop Islamic State group jihadists from infiltrating, an Iraqi military source said Sunday.

    In the “first stage” of construction, a wall around “a dozen kilometers (7 miles) long and 3.5 meters (11 feet) high was built in #Nineveh province,” in the #Sinjar area of northwest Iraq, a senior officer told AFP, requesting anonymity.

    Iraq, which shares a more than 600-kilometer-long border with Syria, seeks to “put a stop to the #infiltration of Islamic State members” into its territory, the source added, without specifying how long the wall would eventually run.

    Iraq in 2018 said it had begun building a fence along the Syrian border for the same reason.

    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the wall’s construction was carried out in an area facing the town of #Al-Shaddadi, in the south of Syria’s #Hasakeh province.

    In January in the Kurdish-controlled province, IS fighters attacked a prison to free fellow jihadists, sparking days of clashes that left hundreds dead.

    Many prisoners are thought to have escaped, with some crossing to neighboring Turkey or Turkish-held territory in Syria’s north, the Observatory said.

    IS overran large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, declaring a “caliphate” before Baghdad proclaimed victory in late 2017 after a grinding campaign.

    But a low-level jihadist insurgency has persisted, flaring up particularly in rural and mountainous areas between Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region and northern outskirts of the capital.

    https://www.voanews.com/a/iraq-building-syria-wall-to-keep-out-is-fighters/6503811.html
    #Irak #murs #barrières_frontalières #frontières #Syrie #Etat_islamique #terrorisme #anti-terrorisme

    • SOHR: Iraq Building Syria Wall to Keep Out IS Fighters

      Iraq is building a concrete wall along part of its border with Syria to stop Islamic State group jihadists from infiltrating, an Iraqi military source said Sunday.

      In the ‘first stage’ of construction, a wall around ‘a dozen kilometers (7 miles) long and 3.5 meters (11 feet) high was built in Nineveh province,’ in the Sinjar area of northwest Iraq, a senior officer told AFP, requesting anonymity.

      Iraq, which shares a more than 600-kilometer-long border with Syria, seeks to ‘put a stop to the infiltration of Islamic State members’ into its territory, the source added, without specifying how long the wall would eventually run.

      Iraq in 2018 said it had begun building a fence along the Syrian border for the same reason.

      The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the wall’s construction was carried out in an area facing the town of Al-Shaddadi, in the south of Syria’s Hasakeh province.

      In January in the Kurdish-controlled province, IS fighters attacked a prison to free fellow jihadists, sparking days of clashes that left hundreds dead.

      Many prisoners are thought to have escaped, with some crossing to neighboring Turkey or Turkish-held territory in Syria’s north, the Observatory said.

      IS overran large swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014, declaring a ‘caliphate’ before Baghdad proclaimed victory in late 2017 after a grinding campaign.

      But a low-level jihadist insurgency has persisted, flaring up particularly in rural and mountainous areas between Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region and northern outskirts of the capital.

      https://www.syriahr.com/en/244765

  • VOA Explainer : Who Are Takfiri Extremists ?
    https://www.voanews.com/a/explainer-takfirism/3387691.html

    Wikipedia contient des explications plus différenciées du terme. Là nous republions l’avis de l’ennemi héréditaire et fanatique de l’Iran, la station radio de propagenade Voice of America .

    WASHINGTON — Iran announced this week that authorities broke up "the biggest terrorist plot“ targeting the capital Tehran and other areas of the country. Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said a “Takfiri” terrorist group had planned a series of bombings over the coming days.

    Here is what the term “Takfiri” means and how extremist groups and the Iranian regime use it against their rivals.

    What is Takfirism?

    Takfir is an Arabic word used to describe a Muslim as infidel or non-believer. The practice of accusing another Muslim of apostasy or declaring another Muslim as infidel is called Takfir.

    According to Pakistani religious scholar Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, “A Muslim or a Muslim group is Takfiri if it declares another Muslim or a Muslim sect as apostate.”

    How is the term Takfiri used in the Muslim World?

    The term Takfiri is used by some extremist groups that see Islam through a narrow keyhole of self-righteousness and consider other Muslims or certain groups of Muslims as apostate. They use the term against those who may not agree with their ideology or refrain from pledging allegiance to them. Takfiris prescribe the death penalty to the apostates.

    A number of Sunni extremist outfits in Pakistan, including the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi group, have used the term to describe Muslim Shi’ites as being out of Islam or apostate. Similarly, certain Shi’ite groups such the Tehrik-e-Jafaria Pakistan have used the term for Sunnis or certain Sunni groups in the country.

    Mainstream Sunni and Shi’ite leaders often refer to armed extremist groups as Takfiris.

    The number of Takfiri groups in the Muslim world, however, is very small.

    Who are Takfiris?

    Pakistan-based Fulbright scholar in religious studies, Qibla Ayaz, traces Takfiris’ history to the creation of the Khawarij group in the very first century of Islam.

    According to Ayaz, the Khawarij, who were outcasts from mainstream Muslims, broke into revolt against Caliph Ali. A cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad, Ali was the fourth caliph of Islam. The Khawarij later assassinated him, as he did not agree with their war demands against another group of Muslims.

    Are there Takfiri Groups in Shi’ite Islam?

    There have been a number of Shi’ite groups that labelled their rivals as infidels. “If declaring other Muslims apostates is Takfirism, then religious literature in Shi’ite Islam provides materials that call its ideological opponents as apostates,” Ghamidi told VOA. He added that the followers of the top Shi’ite Takfiri leader, Hasan bin Sabbah, used tactics including suicide attacks against their rivals.

    Who has the authority to declare others as apostates?

    Despite the fact that Islam does not grant religious groups the authority to label other Muslim groups as infidels, certain Muslim religious bodies in Pakistan have done so. Ghamidi believes that only states should have such an authority to declare which Muslim groups are outcast from the mainstream Muslims. Most Muslim states have official religious bodies “Darul Ifta” that are responsible for issuing final decrees pertaining to major religious issues that may arise in the country. Decrees are made based on deep knowledge of Islam and taking socio-economic and scientific evidence and logical, historic and comparative perspectives, and contemporary conditions surrounding an issue into consideration.

    How is Iran using Takfirism against regional rivals?

    The current regime in Iran has widely used the Takfiri term for militant groups that may have links with regional Sunni states such as Saudi Arabia or groups that may challenge the might of the regime.

    Tehran uses the Takfiri term not only for Islamic State in Syria, but it also describes all militant groups that are fighting the Syrian regime as “Takfiris supported by Western countries.”

    Is Islamic State a Takfiri Group?

    Both Ayaz and Ghamidi believe the Islamic State group fits in the definition of Takfir in modern Muslim history.

    “[Islamic State] considers its rival Sunni Muslim groups, all the Shi’ite Muslims and its ideological opponents, apostates,” Ayaz said. “The followers of [IS] also believe in taking properties of their enemies as war booty and take their enemies’ women as concubines, a practice approved per Takfiri ideology.”

    VOA’s Mehdi Jedinia contributed to this explainer.

    #USA #médias #islam #idéologie #religion #sectes

  • Israel Accuses Iran of Link to Oil Spill Off Its Shores | Voice of America - English
    https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/israel-accuses-iran-link-oil-spill-its-shores


    FILE - An aerial view shows Israeli soldiers cleaning tar from the sand after an offshore oil spill drenched much of Israel’s Mediterranean shoreline, at a beach in Atlit, Israel, Feb. 22, 2021.

    Israel accused Iran on Wednesday of being linked to a recent oil spill off its shores that caused major ecological damage, calling the incident environmental terrorism.

    The spill was caused by an oil tanker that was carrying pirated cargo from Iran to Syria last month, Israeli Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said.

    The vessel sailed through the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea without radio contact, switching its tracking devices back on before passing through Egypt’s Suez Canal, Gamliel told reporters.

    It turned the devices off again before entering Israeli waters in the eastern Mediterranean, and it dropped oil into the sea February 1 or 2, she said, naming the vessel as the Panama-flagged oil tanker Emerald.

    Iran is [conducting] terrorism by damaging the environment, and [when] Iran is damaging the environment, it isn’t just hurting the state of Israel,” Gamliel said.

    There was no immediate comment from Iran.

    Israel has now twice within a week accused longtime enemy Iran of wrongdoing at sea. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Tehran for an explosion aboard an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman last week, an accusation Tehran rejected.

    Tensions have risen in the Gulf region since the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in 2018 after then-President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers.

    Ecological disaster
    The oil spill blackened beaches up and down the Israeli coast, and clumps of sticky black tar have washed up on the shores of south Lebanon and the Gaza Strip as well.

    Environmental groups are calling it an ecological disaster that could take years to clean up.

    Gamliel said the vessel was “owned and operated by a Libyan,” without identifying a person or company. Libya’s state-owned shipping firm, the General National Maritime Transport Co., said it had owned the vessel but sold it at an auction in December.

    Emerald Marine Ltd., a company based in the Marshall Islands, bought the vessel, according to the shipping database Equasis. Reuters was not immediately able to reach the company for comment.

    Gamliel said the vessel turned its tracking devices back on again upon reaching Syria on February 3, where she said it unloaded crude oil. It then returned to Iran, where it is currently anchored, she said.

    Refinitiv ship tracking data showed the vessel reported a destination of Sohar in Oman, across the Gulf of Oman from Iran, on January 20, meaning it was around Iran’s coast at that time.

    The ship tracking data did not show any destinations in Iran, though it is common for vessels to conceal their movements there.

    The vessel reported its position after passing through the Suez Canal on February 1, Refinitiv data showed. It next reported its position with a destination of Mersin in Turkey on February 3, showing a gap between February 1 and February 3.

    An international convention requires merchant ships to have a satellite-tracking device on board when traveling at sea. But a ship’s captain has the discretion to switch the transponder off under certain circumstances, enabling the ship to avoid detection.

    The Israeli environmental protection ministry said it had collected strong “circumstantial evidence” that this was the ship responsible for the spill, though it did not have “forensic evidence.” It said it also ruled out any other source.

  • UN Refugee Chief Visits Lebanon to Support Beirut Blast Survivors - Voice of America

    Relative to its population size, Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees in the world.

    The U.N. refugee agency has registered around 840,000 of the estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees residing in the country. The agency says more than 200,000 of the refugees live in Beirut and surrounding areas.
    The UNHCR says 13 refugees were killed in the explosion, 57 are still missing and 224 are injured. Baloch tells VOA his agency needs $35 million to scale up humanitarian operations over the next three months. He says aid will include support to 25,000 vulnerable households or more than 84,000 people severely affected by the blast in Beirut.

    “The economic crisis, COVID and now this explosion makes life very difficult for the Lebanese as well as for refugees," he said. "Our focus now is on emergency response providing people with shelter where it is needed but also try to make sure that those who need our immediate help even for day-to-day living, they receive that help as well.”UNRWA says some 200,000 Palestinians in 12 refugee camps, who were in dire straits before the explosion, are suffering from its impact and should be included in any emergency response.

    https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/un-refugee-chief-visits-lebanon-support-beirut-blast-survivors

    #Covid19#Liban#UNHCR#migrant#migration#camps#réfugiés#explosion#crise

  • US Action Against IS Financier Shows Jihadists’ Cash Flow Continues from Turkey - VOA

    Camp smuggling

    The al-Hol camp also accommodates nearly 60,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) from other parts of Syria and some refugees from Iraq. Camp authorities say they have physically separated IS family members from the rest of the camp’s residents.

    There are at least two hawala offices that openly conduct business in the non-IS section of the camp, but money often gets smuggled from those offices to IS family members as well, according Thomas McClure, a Syria-based researcher with Rojava Information Center.

    “The foreign women aren’t allowed to receive money,” McClure said, “but when they want to receive money, the Syrian and Iraqi people get it from the hawala offices in the Souq [a market in the camp] and give it to them for a cut for smuggling them.”

    Some of the IS families reportedly receive outside donations that amount to more than $3,000 a month, while an average family in the camp spends one-tenth of that amount, according to a report published by North Press Agency, a local news site.

    Hawala also provides a useful means of sending humanitarian support to IDPs and refugees, say some analysts. While banning them outright is not advised, experts say the business can be regulated in a way that prevents IS access to outside donations.

    “The hawala money transfer system is crucial to remain open for the women to be able to purchase what they need for their families,” Anne Speckhard, director of the Washington, D.C.-based International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE), who has visited the al-Hol camp for research, told VOA.

    “But it should be regulated so large sums are not transferred,” she added. “Likewise, large sums make it very possible to bribe those receiving the money and those who would smuggle the women out.”

    #Covid-19#Syrie#Rojava#Pandémie#Santé#camp#Al-Hol#migrant#Politique#réfugiés#migration

    https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/us-action-against-financier-shows-jihadists-cash-flow-continues-turkey

  • Syrian Kurds Alarmed Over UN Security Council Vote on Aid - Voices of America

    Kurdish officials in northeast Syria are expressing disappointment following a vote by the United Nations Security Council that failed to address “the deteriorating humanitarian situation” in that part of the war-torn country.

    The U.N. Security Council on Saturday approved a resolution authorizing an international program that will deliver aid to the rebel-held northwest Syrian province of Idlib through one border crossing.

    However, the majority of the council, including the U.S., wanted to reopen another border crossing with Turkey and a third on Syria’s northeast border with Iraq in order to get aid to an estimated 1.3 million Syrians in need of medical supplies

    #Covid-19#Syrie#Rojava#Idlib#Turquie#Frontière#aide_internationale#Politique_internationale#ONU#migrant#migration

    https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/syrian-kurds-alarmed-over-un-security-council-vote-aid

  • Equatorial Guinea Halts Construction of Cameroon Border Wall

    Equatorial Guinea has agreed to pause the construction of a controversial border wall with Cameroon after talks between the two countries’ defense ministers in Yaoundé. The two sides also agreed once again to withdraw troops from their disputed border after deadly clashes left at least seven people dead. An agreement earlier this month to withdraw forces failed to hold and some border traders are skeptical of this latest pact.

    After a second day of closed-door meetings in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea’s Defense Minister Leandro Bekale Nkogo said the two sides agreed to set aside their differences.

    Nkogo on Tuesday announced Equatorial Guinea would pause construction of its controversial border wall, which Cameroon’s government says violates its territory.

    He says troops from the two countries that have been deployed to the border will return to their barracks and only come out to protect their civilians in times of crisis. Nkogo says Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea will henceforth jointly combat their common enemies, who are poachers, pirates resurfacing in the Gulf of Guinea, and armed groups attacking and looting civilians in both countries.

    Nkogo said as neighbors, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea need each other for their security and development.

    Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Obiang Nguema ordered the border wall be built in 2019 to stop Cameroonians and West Africans from illegally entering the country.

    Cameroon deployed its army to stop what it called an intrusion of border markers, leading to armed conflicts and casualties.

    An agreement earlier this month to pull back troops, and jointly demarcate the border, apparently failed.

    Cameroon says at least seven of its civilians were killed in border clashes that followed in the southwestern town of Kye-Ossi.

    But Cameroon’s Defense Minister Joseph Beti Assomo on Tuesday said both sides were firm in seeking an end the border tensions.

    He says the wish of Cameroon’s President Paul Biya is to see Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea become the true brotherly and friendly nations that they were at the dawn of independence. He says both countries have sociological, cultural and geographic relations that should encourage the people of the two states to live in peace and harmony.

    Despite the agreements Monday, not all traders along the border were convinced that the skirmishes will end.

    40-year-old Cameroonian merchant Angelica Amende, who buys wine from Equatorial Guinea to sell back home, doubts the border dispute can soon be resolved.

    She says she does not think there is a political will to solve the crisis on Cameroon’s border with Equatorial Guinea. She says it is not the first-time high-profile delegations have met on the instructions of the two heads of state and the border crisis is yet to end.

    Equatorial Guinea has often accused Cameroon of not doing enough to stop its citizens and other West Africans from crossing the border illegally.

    In 2017, Equatorial Guinea sealed its border with Cameroon for six months after authorities on both sides arrested heavily armed foreigners and accused them plotting to overthrow Obiang.

    The two countries’ leaders are Africa’s longest-serving presidents. Obiang has ruled Equatorial Guinea since 1979, while Biya has ruled Cameroon since 1982.

    Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea in 2017 joined four other states in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) in agreeing to lift visa requirements.

    Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo have since accused Equatorial Guinea of dragging its feet on allowing the free movement of people and goods.

    https://www.voanews.com/africa/equatorial-guinea-halts-construction-cameroon-border-wall
    #guinée_équatoriale #murs #barrières_frontalières #frontières #Cameroun

    • La Guinée Equatoriale suspend la construction d’un mur à la frontière avec le Cameroun

      Les deux pays étaient en froid depuis la décision de Malabo d’ériger un mur entre les deux pays. La Guinée Equatoriale va suspendre les travaux de construction du mur.

      Les tensions ont atteint leur plus haut point, lorsque la Guinée Equatoriale a unilatéralement entrepris d’ériger un mur à la frontière qui la sépare du Cameroun. Les travaux de construction de ce mur de séparation, long de 189 kilomètres et dont la Guinée Equatoriale a toujours nié l’existence, sont désormais suspendus. C’est la plus importante annonce de la rencontre entre les ministres de la Défense des deux pays, réunis les 29 et 30 juin 2020 à Yaoundé.

      Les participants au sommet se sont concertés sur les modalités de collaboration et d’actions sécuritaires à la frontière commune.

      Le mur de la discorde

      Les tensions ont atteint leur plus haut point, lorsque la Guinée Equatoriale a unilatéralement entrepris, en juillet 2019, d’ériger un mur sur la frontière commune.

      À l’époque, Yaoundé avait accusé la Guinée Equatoriale d’avoir empiété sur son territoire, ce qu’avait démenti Malabo. Les tensions avaient été ravivées quand Malabo a entrepris la construction de miradors au même endroit, d’après une publication en juin, du quotidien d’Etat camerounais Cameroon Tribune.

      Joseph Beti Assomo, le ministre de la Défense du Cameroun a salué la décision de la suspension des travaux de construction du mur qui, selon lui, va davantage consolider les liens entre le Cameroun et la Guinée Equatoriale.

      « Ces derniers mois, des incompréhensions se sont multipliées sur ces travaux de fortification par nos frères, le long de la frontière terrestre. Les nouvelles qui nous parviennent portent sur la suspension des travaux, ce qui nous permet désormais de travailler sereinement », espère le ministre camerounais.

      La zone frontalière de la Guinée équatoriale, du Cameroun et du Gabon, appelée zone des trois frontières, est une plaque tournante des échanges commerciaux, mais aussi de trafics.

      La décision de la construction du mur prise en 2019 par Malabo avait surpris. D’autant que les États de la Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale (CEMAC), prônent la libre circulation des personnes et des biens.

      Porte d’entrée en Guinée Equatoriale

      La question de la libre circulation a toujours été une pierre d’achoppement entre le Cameroun et la Guinée Equatoriale. Malabo estime que le Cameroun est la porte d’entrée de nombreux ressortissants d’Afrique de l’Ouest qui transitent par ce territoire pour se retrouver illégalement en Guinée Equatoriale.

      Leandro Bekale Nkogo, ministre de la Défense de la Guinée Équatoriale, a fait part de quelques propositions, qui selon lui pourraient contribuer au renforcement du dialogue et la sécurité le long de la frontière.

      « Il s’agit de mettre en place des mécanismes qui visent à encourager et à promouvoir la qualité des relations de nos deux peuples le long de la frontière, ainsi que la lutte contre la piraterie maritime, du banditisme au niveau des frontières et de l’immigration clandestine », souligne le ministre Leandro Bekale Nkogo.

      Par le passé, le Cameroun et la Guinée Equatoriale ont tenu des rencontres similaires sans véritablement s’accorder. Les populations espèrent que le sommet bilatéral qui vient de se tenir à Yaoundé aura plus d’effets que les précédents.

      https://www.dw.com/fr/la-guin%C3%A9e-equatoriale-suspend-la-construction-dun-mur-%C3%A0-la-fronti%C3%A8re-avec-le-cameroun/a-54008132

    • Malabo veut un mur à la frontière avec le Cameroun

      Officiellement, il s’agit d’assurer la sécurité à la frontière de la Guinée équatoriale. Mais la crainte d’un afflux de réfugiés venant du Cameroun pourrait également expliquer ce projet.
      Le président de la République de Guinée équatoriale, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, a décidé d’ériger un mur à la frontière avec le Cameroun. Officiellement, il s’agit d’assurer la sécurité de cette frontière un an après une tentative de coup d’Etat conduite par des mercenaires tchadiens et centrafricains qui étaient venus du Cameroun. La construction doit s’étendre sur 40 kilomètres sur le trajet entre Kye Ossi au Cameroun et Campo en Guinée équatoriale. Les travaux ont débuté et sont visibles depuis le côté camerounais.

      Mais à Kye Ossi, la construction du mur provoque la mauvaise humeur de la population locale.

      Pierre Tchinda, habitant de Kye Ossi pense que le mur sera un frein sérieux à la dynamique de la libre circulation des personnes et des biens dans la zone Cemac :

      « Est-ce qu’on parle de la libre circulation en érigeant un mur ? Que les Equato-guinéens nous disent exactement ce qu’ils veulent. Pourquoi ériger un mur ? Pour moi ça n’a pas de sens. Cela va causer un impact pour le citoyen qui achète sa bière à 500 francs CFA et va sans doute devoir ensuite la payer le double. »

      Tensions entre les deux pays

      Certains considèrent même cette initiative comme une provocation. A Kye Ossi, beaucoup pensent aussi que le mur empiète sur le territoire camerounais. C’est ce qu’explique Jean-Marie Zue Zue, l’adjoint au maire de Kye Ossi :

      « Les militaires équato-guinéens, à l’insu des autorités camerounaises, sont allés planter des piquets de délimitation de la frontière alors que cela ne devrait pas se faire ainsi. Il faut une commission ad hoc. Les autorités camerounaises et équato-guinéennes doivent travailler sur les limites exactes des deux pays. »

      Le sous-préfet de la localité, Joseph Victorien Happy De Nguiamba, a affirmé qu’il n’a aucun doute sur la volonté de la Guinée équatoriale de conduire le chantier du mur à son terme. Mais la situation est tendue, les autorités équato-guinéennes ayant refusé de se rendre à plusieurs rencontres prévues avec leurs homologues camerounais.

      La visite du général de l’armée camerounaise René Claude Meka à Kye Ossi il y a quelques semaines a rassuré la population. Les relations entre le Cameroun et la Guinée équatoriale pourraient en effet se détériorer à cause de ce mur.

      https://www.dw.com/fr/malabo-veut-un-mur-%C3%A0-la-fronti%C3%A8re-avec-le-cameroun/a-50058538

    • OBIANG CONSTRUIT UN MUR DE LA HONTE ENTRE LA GUINÉE ÉQUATORIALE ET LE CAMEROUN

      OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO vient de prouver une fois de plus à la communauté internationale qu’il ne respecte ni les Traités ni les lois ni les décrets qu’il signe, il vient de démontrer que sa signature de chef d’État au bas d’un parchemin n’a aucune valeur et tout cela pour construire un ’MUR DE LA HONTE" entre le CAMEROUN et la GUINÉE ÉQUATORIALE.

      Ainsi on apprend, à l’occasion d’incidents qui viennent de se produire à la frontière CAMEROUN/GUINÉE ÉQUATORIALE, que les autorités équato-guinéennes ont opté et commencé la construction d’un mur à la frontière avec le Cameroun au mépris des dispositions régissant l’intégration régionale et continentale.

      Comme on a pu le lire dans la presse, le moins que l’on puisse dire, c’est que le Gouvernement équato-guinéen souffle le chaud et le froid et danse le tango sur ce qu’il dit et ce qu’il fait, tout cela en violation des Conventions et Traités internationaux ainsi qu’aux principes de l’Union africaine (UA) et de la Communauté économique et monétaire de l’Afrique centrale (CEMAC) dont elle est membre.

      Quant à l’armée camerounaise, Préfet en tête, elle est sur le terrain prête à en découdre avec les dépassements de frontière...

      La question de la libre circulation est sur la table depuis des années en Afrique centrale : en 1972, l’ancêtre de la CEMAC avait déjà acté la libre circulation des personnes,

      En 2000, à la création de la Communauté économique et monétaire d’Afrique centrale, (CEMAC), l’idée d’un passeport commun à la zone centrafricaine avait été avancée puis décidée, mais le document n’a jamais vu le jour. Les négociations sur la libre circulation, laborieuses se sont poursuivies à chaque Sommet de la Communauté et elles ont longtemps achoppé en raison des refus de la Guinée équatoriale et du Gabon, pays pétroliers peu peuplés et relativement prospères (sauf pour les 80% qui vient en dessous du seuil de pauvreté) qui craignaient une immigration massive.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=CADVWhK-uXM

      la CEMAC a pris acte de la ratification, fin octobre 2017 par tous les États membres, de l’Accord de 2013 sur la libre circulation des personnes dans la sous-région, mettant fin ainsi à des négociations laborieuses entamées il y a plus de quinze ans.

      Les chefs d’État de la CEMAC, réunis en Sommet extraordinaire à N’Djamena, ont aussi décidé d’autoriser la Banque de développement des États d’Afrique centrale (BDEAC) à débloquer 1,7 milliards de francs pour « accompagner l’application de la libre circulation ».

      À aucun cas cette somme, destinée à favoriser la libre circulation, n’était destinée à permettre de construire un "MUR DE LA HONTE"..., c’est dire que le signataire OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO n’avait aucunement l’idée, malgré sa signature d’appliquer ces Accords internationaux, ce qui remet en question toute sa crédibilité, celle de l’État et de ses ministres au moment même où il entend proposer la négociation de nouveaux blocs pétroliers ou de participer à des négociations sur la transformation du franc CFA et la création d’une nouvelle monnaie africaine...

      À ce sujet, il est particulièrement honteux, pour un pays comme la Guinée équatoriale, de venir mendier 55 millions d’euros auprès de la Banque africaine de Développement (BAD) pour, soi-disant, augmenter et valoriser la production de poissons, à travers le développement durable de la pêche industrielle, de la pêche artisanale et de l’aquaculture, alors que le président dispose, à titre personnel, d’une fortune personnelle de plus de 600 millions de dollars selon FORBES et que l’un des yachts du fils OBIANG vaut, à lui seul, plus de 250 millions de dollars... D’où vient tout cet argent qui manque lorsqu’il faut investir dans un secteur fondamental comme celui de la pêche et que l’on trouve pour satisfaire des achats compulsifs personnels et que l’on ne trouve pas pour satisfaire les besoins fondamentaux de l’État équato-guinéen ?

      Depuis des décennies, les populations du CAMEROUN et de la GUINÉE ÉQUATORIALE vivent en bonne intelligence et ont des relations commerciales soutenues par la nécessité alimentaire de la population équato-guinéenne, privée de développement dans ce domaine par le fait, pour le pouvoir en place sans interruption depuis 40 ans, d’avoir privilégié les constructions pharaoniques de plusieurs palais présidentiels et d’une ville fantôme au lieu de développer les secteurs économiques fondamentaux en pensant vivre éternellement de la rente pétrolière et des fruits de la corruption qu’elle génère, ainsi l’agriculture et la pêche équato-guinéennes ont été réduites à leur plus simple expression, ce qui a nécessité des importations alimentaires quotidiennes pour permettre à 80 pour cent de la population, qui vit en dessous du seuil de pauvreté, de pouvoir s’alimenter. Or, cette production alimentaire vient en grande partie du Cameroun.

      La construction du MUR DE LA HONTE divise même les familles équato-guinéennes et camerounaises qui cohabitent ensemble à la frontière et vivent ensemble sur le même territoire, le mur de la honte coupera en deux ce qui existe en brousse depuis des siècles, ce qui montre une fois de plus l’incapacité présidentielle et de ses ministres à prendre en compte la réalité sur le terrain des situations, les visites de chantier et les poignées de main serrées aux opérateurs sont bien loin des préoccupations de la population que le président semble ignorer et surtout prendre en compte.

      Le président OBIANG se prend pour l’empereur de CHINE qui, 200 ans avant notre ère, a construit la grande muraille de CHINE. Il entend marquer l’histoire de la République de Guinée équatoriale par des infrastructures qui portent son nom et dont il croit qu’elles défieront le temps, alors que l’on a vu les statues de tous les dictateurs de la planète tomber les unes après les autres, qu’il se souvienne du mur de BERLIN et des statues déboulonnées en terre africaine... Aujourd’hui, grisé par le fait d’avoir nommé son fils général, le voici qu’il veut qu’il endosse sa tenue de combat et ses rangers pour aller se frotter au pays voisin où l’armée camerounaise l’attend de pied ferme...

      Poursuivant son oeuvre de désinformation, voici que le Gouvernement équato-guinéen ose publier, ce 8 août 2019, un communiqué dans lequel le ministre de l’information, de la Presse et de la Radio et ministre porte-parole du Gouvernement (n’en rajoutez plus cela en fait beaucoup en matière de désinformation), Eugenio Nze Obiang ose affirmer " La Guinée équatoriale vient de célébrer 40 ans de paix, de prospérité et de saine coexistence nationale"... et il termine en concluant : "La Guinée équatoriale, unie comme étant un seul homme suivant son chef d’État, SE Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, continuera à lutter pour maintenir la paix,

      Ce communiqué, qui est un numéro d’illusionniste, fait une démonstration visant à condamner AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, en reprenant, selon ses mots : "qu’un vent de liberté et surtout d’espoir s’est levé dans toutes les villes, dans tous les villages et dans tous les foyers, diffusant l’illusion d’une nouvelle vie pour tous les groupes de la population, qui n’avait connu que le terreur, l’intimidation et l’humiliation et pour lesquels la liberté était encore un rêve inaccessible".

      Oui il parle effectivement de ce que tout le peuple attend aujourd’hui : la paix, la fin de la dictature et le retour à la Démocratie, à la liberté de la presse, qu’Eugenio Nze Obiang malgré ses fonctions ignore puisqu’il porte le maillot n° 171 en matière de liberté de la presse dans le monde, ce qui est la preuve de son discrédit et de tout ce qu’il peut affirmer en parlant de paix au moment même où des tensions se sont formées sur le MUR DE LA HONTE, qui est la signature d’un Régime à bout de souffle en matière d’idées et de développement économique et social.

      Ce jour, le Conseil de Sécurité de l’ONU plaide pour une action plus intégrée et multisectorielle en Afrique de l’Ouest et au Sahel pour traiter les questions du développement, de l’action humanitaire, des droits de la personne et de la paix et de la sécurité. Cette démarche doit être entreprise pour s’attaquer aux causes profondes des crises qui touchent la région, c’est ainsi que le Conseil souhaite que les réformes politiques en cours dans la région soient consolidées pour prévenir les violences et l’instabilité et que la réconciliation nationale progresse. Aussi, le Conseil souligne que les parties prenantes nationales doivent collaborer pour faciliter la préparation, en temps voulu, et la tenue dans les délais fixés « d’élections véritablement libres, justes, crédibles et pacifiques ».

      Le Conseil appelle ces parties à prendre toutes les mesures qui s’imposent pour prévenir les violences et leur demande, instamment, de garantir des conditions égales à tous les candidats et toutes les candidates et de favoriser la participation pleine et véritable des femmes sur un pied d’égalité avec les hommes, notamment en vue d’accroître le nombre de femmes aux hautes fonctions de l’État.

      Le maintien de la paix ne saurait permettre la tentative de déstabilisation des relations avec le pays voisin engagée par le président OBIANG par la construction de ce MUR DE LA HONTE, c’est la raison pour laquelle la COALITION CORED, son président, les membres de son bureau ainsi que les 20 partis politiques et associations en exil, qui représentent les 250 000 personnes qui ont fui la Guinée-équatoriale pour ne pas se faire assassiner et rejoindre les 310 personnes dont la mémoire vient d’être honorée, une fois de plus, à la date du 3 août, demande l’arrêt immédiat de ce projet de construction du MUR DE LA HONTE équato-guinéen et appelle la communauté internationale à soutenir son action pour que les bonnes relations avec son pays voisin, le Cameroun, soient préservées.

      https://blogs.mediapart.fr/abeso-ndong-salomon/blog/080819/obiang-construit-un-mur-de-la-honte-entre-la-guinee-equatoriale-et-l

  • Refugee Resettlement Dwindling as Needs Hit All-Time High, IRC Warns - Voice of America

    The International Rescue Committee warned Wednesday that a record number of refugees need permanent resettlement, even as resettlement is on track to dip for the fourth year in a row in a world ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The virus delayed resettlement for about 10,000 refugees, according to the IRC, which encouraged countries to restart resettlement programs as soon as is safe and prioritize previously approved refugees.
    “The COVID-19 pandemic must not be used as justification to permanently restrict or reduce programs,” said IRC President and CEO David Miliband in a statement Wednesday. “It is imperative that existing programs are resumed as soon as possible — additional delays will only leave vulnerable refugees in limbo for longer.”

    #Covid-19#migrant#migration#Monde#contamination#pauvreté#camp#refugie#sante

    https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/refugee-resettlement-dwindling-needs-hit-all-time-high-irc-warns

  • COVID-19 Increases Economic Hardship for Syrian Refugees, UN Says - Voices of America

    The U.N. refugee agency reports hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries of asylum are in dire straits because of the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Five countries — Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey — are hosting more than 5.5 million Syrians, the biggest refugee group in the world. Many of the refugees live below the poverty line and have difficulty eking out a living

    #Covid-19#Syrie#Réfugiés#Précarité#vulnérabilité#Camp#UNHCR#migrant#migration

    https://www.voanews.com/middle-east/covid-19-increases-economic-hardship-syrian-refugees-un-says

  • After Missteps, Turkey Tames Coronavirus - Voice of America
    President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Tuesday the lifting of stay-at-home orders for people over 65, as well as for children, part of a further easing of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

    Turkey lifted restrictions on intercity travel and allowed restaurants, cafes, parks and sports facilities to reopen on June 1 after a big reduction in new cases. However, case numbers are still rising in southeast Turkey.

    The government has been lauding its anti-coronavirus strategy — amplified by a pro-Erdogan press. Last month, Fahrettin Altun, the president’s spokesman, tweeted: “Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdogan invested billions in health care infrastructure, let top scientists devise a strategy and treated all COVID-19 patients for free. The result? Our recovery rate is almost 75 percent. The pandemic has been contained. #MissionAccomplished.”

    #Covid-19#turquie#Déconfinement#Société_civile#économie#transport#réfugiés#migrant#migration

    https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/after-missteps-turkey-tames-coronavirus

  • Fleeing War, Fighting for Survival: Turkey’s Syrian Refugees Face New Struggles - Voice of America

    Resources already were stretched. Now the coronavirus pandemic is forcing many refugees deeper into poverty. Shihad Bin Ali worked as a teacher in Syria but is now struggling to find work.

    “No one is working. God should take this virus away; we live in a very difficult situation,” Ali told VOA. “Most of the Syrians were working as casual daily workers and because of this virus, the people are facing serious problems.”

    The refugees are barred from traveling to other cities for work. Most don’t get any support from employers as they work illegally in the informal “black” economy. The Turkish government is giving financial support to its citizens, with cash payments of $140 per month and access to loans. Refugees don’t qualify for these programs – and say they are struggling to get by.

    Refugees receive a prepaid cash card from the Turkish Red Crescent, funded partly by the European Union. It amounts to 120 Turkish liras, or 17 dollars a month. Jasim, from Deir-el-Zour in Syria, echoed the complaints of many refugees. “The money is just not enough for our expenses. The electricity bill is 400 liras, the water bill is 150 liras, and rent of the house is 1,100 liras,” he told VOA

    #Covid-19#Turquie#Réfugiés-syriens#Précarité#Travailleur_migrant#Économie#Santé#Camp#migrant#migration

    https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/fleeing-war-fighting-survival-turkeys-syrian-refugees-face-new-struggles

  • Syrian Refugees in Turkey Gripped by Fear, Hunger - Voice of America

     The family’s two-room apartment slants downhill, and there is no running water.
    Three-year-old Zaineb is crying from hunger. The girl hasn’t eaten all day, says her mother, Ismahan, as she rolls rice into grape leaves for what will be the family’s evening meal.

    Eight people including Ismahan’s two children are crowded into the tiny apartment and an abandoned shelter nearby. The rent is only $30, very cheap for Istanbul, but they haven’t paid in two months.

    “The landlord says he will kick us out if we don’t pay,” says Ismahan. “He doesn’t like Syrians.”

    #Covid-19#Turquie#Réfugiés-syriens#Quarantaine#Camp#Politique#Liberté#migrant#migration

    https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/syrian-refugees-turkey-gripped-fear-hunger

  • Syrian Refugees in Turkey Gripped by Fear, Hunger - Voice of America

     The family’s two-room apartment slants downhill, and there is no running water.
    Three-year-old Zaineb is crying from hunger. The girl hasn’t eaten all day, says her mother, Ismahan, as she rolls rice into grape leaves for what will be the family’s evening meal.

    Eight people including Ismahan’s two children are crowded into the tiny apartment and an abandoned shelter nearby. The rent is only $30, very cheap for Istanbul, but they haven’t paid in two months.

    “The landlord says he will kick us out if we don’t pay,” says Ismahan. “He doesn’t like Syrians.”

    #Covid-19#Turquie#Réfugiés-syriens#Quarantaine#Travailleur_migrant#Economie#Liberté#migrant#migration

    https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/syrian-refugees-turkey-gripped-fear-hunger

  • Migrant Lives at Risk as Rescues on Mediterranean Sea Come to Halt | Voice of America - English
    #Covid-19#migrant#migration#Mediterranee#aide#fermeture

    https://www.voanews.com/europe/migrant-lives-risk-rescues-mediterranean-sea-come-halt

    GENEVA - U.N. agencies are warning migrants and refugees crossing the central Mediterranean Sea risk losing their lives if European nations continue to prevent search and rescue vessels from saving those in distress.

  • Mexico All but Empties Official Migrant Centers in Bid to Contain Coronavirus | Voice of America - English
    #Covid-19#migrant#migration#Mexique#centrederetention#liberation#expulsion

    https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/mexico-all-empties-official-migrant-centers-bid-contain-coronavirus

    MEXICO CITY - Mexico has almost entirely cleared out government migrant centers over the past five weeks to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, returning most of the occupants to their countries of origin, official data showed on Sunday.

  • Coronavirus Measures Delay Yazidi Survivor’s Reunion With Family- VOA
    An Iraqi Yazidi woman who was kidnapped by the Islamic State terror group, taken to Syria and forced to marry an IS fighter as a teenager is finally ready to rejoin her loved ones after six years of separation.
    But authorities have told her she has to wait in Syria until the coronavirus pandemic ends to return to northern Iraq, where her family of 10 lives.

    #Covid-19#Syrie#réfugiés #USA#asile #migrations#retour#yazidis #réfugiés_yézidis#migrants

    https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/coronavirus-measures-delay-yazidi-survivors-reunion-family