Testimonies of Witness and Satellite Images Reveal The scale of Devastation in Anglophone Cameroon.
Amnesty International has revealed the devastation and destruction caused by the ongoing conflict in Anglophone Cameroon. Images of unlawful killings, kidnapping, and widespread destruction of houses and villages and based on eyewitness testimonies and analysis of satellite images, Amnesty International documented how dozens of civilians have been killed and multiple villages destroyed since 2019 and women and girls have been killed and raped by government and separatist militia. The Anglophone Cameroon conflict has impacted the lives and livelihood of women.
Further Details: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2021/07/cameroon-satellite-images-reveal-devastation-in-anglophone-regions/
Boko Haram Changing Dynamics of Attacks in Cameroon
The Boko Haram insurgency group has long terrorized the Lake Chad Basin. Recent reports that have surfaced say that the recent attacks have claimed the lives of military and civilians. Increasing, changing tactics of the insurgent group are changing with attacks now directed towards military and government officials in other to lure more recruits. This tactic was uncovered by the Cameroon military saying this is a ploy by Boko Haram to get back former fighters who were unhappy about the attacks on civilians into the fold. Women and children are the easy targets of the insurgent group as women are taken as sex slaves and forced into marriages while children are trained as insurgents
Further Details: https://www.voanews.com/africa/cameroon-says-boko-haram-attacks-military-seduces-civilians
Niger Attacks Leave Civilians Dead
Attacks in the Sahel has disrupted the lives and livelihood of civilians and women in the region. Fresh attacks in western Niger bordering Mali have claimed the lives of 19 civilians. The recent attacks in the region have increased the death toll to 33 in less than a week. These attacks have displaced many, particularly women who have been running to safety.
Further Details: https://www.voanews.com/africa/19-civilians-die-new-attack-niger
Changes in the Leadership Landscape of Kenya
Recently, the Kenyan government has been appointing women into positions that have never been occupied by women. Wanini Kireri is the first woman to be appointed by the Kenyan government to head the prison systems in Kenya and her leadership style has been described as firm but humane. These changes are in line with the WPS agenda which advocates for more women in positions of leadership.
Further Details: https://www.voanews.com/africa/kenyas-first-female-boss-prisons-tapped-lead-training-initiative
Deployment of SADC Troops to The Conflict in Mozambique
For the first time, the Southern African Development Community is beginning to deploy troops to end the deadly Islamist insurgency in northern Mozambique which has disrupted the lives of the civilian population and plunge the region into a humanitarian crisis. This conflict has affected the lives of women tremendously and has set women backward in terms of poverty. Botswana sent 296 troops to Mozambique to join other soldiers from the SADC region in the fight to end the insurgency group.
Further Details: https://www.voanews.com/africa/botswana-sends-nearly-300-troops-mozambique
Justice for Malawi Rape Victims
The Malawi Human Rights Commission has accused the Malawian Police of raping 18 women in Lilongwe in retaliation for the fatal stoning of a police officer by residents during post-election violence in 2019. The court ruled that the Malawi police compensate the victims for the trauma suffered at the hands of the police. The Women’s Lawyers Association which represented the victims has opposed the cash payment offered by the police force and insisted that the officers be held accountable for the crimes committed.
Further Details: https://www.voanews.com/africa/criminal-probe-sought-after-malawi-police-compensate-rape-victims
Africa Becomes Hardest Hit by Terrorism in 2021
In a report to the UN Security Council by the panel of experts, Africa became the region hardest hit by terrorism in the first half of 2021 as the Islamic State and al-Qaida extremist groups and their affiliates spread their influence, boasting gains in supporters and territory, and inflicting the greatest casualties. The experts report stated that these terrorist affiliates are spreading their influence and activities including across borders from Mali into Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Niger, and Senegal as well as incursions from Nigeria into Cameroon, Chad, and Niger in West Africa. In the east, the affiliates’ activities have spread from Somalia into Kenya and from Mozambique into Tanzania, they said.
Further Details: https://www.voanews.com/africa/un-experts-africa-became-hardest-hit-terrorism-year
