Pambazuka News 521: African awakenings: The spread of resistance

Police fired gunshots and tear gas on 21 March to disperse a tense crowd that gathered near the site of a leading opposition candidate’s election rally in the volatile Nigerian city of Jos. A number of what appeared to be wounded people were also being taken in the direction of a hospital by police in the city in central Nigeria.

The Defence and Security Forces (FDS) loyal to Laurent Gbagbo on 15 March renewed their threats and attack on L’Intelligent d’Abidjan, an independent daily newspaper. The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)’s correspondent reported that the Anti-Riot Squad (BAE) wing of the FDS surrounded the neighborhood of the newspaper’s head office in Angré (Cocody). This affected the operations of the newspaper and movement of the journalists within and outside of the premises.

Kenya may be headed for its most significant confrontation with Western allies since the early 1990s if the government persists in its defiant reaction to the International Criminal Court’s requests for cooperation. 'There can be no doubt that the international community shares the desire by the broad majority of Kenyans for justice to be done to end the culture of impunity,' says Kenya National Commission on Human Rights commissioner Hassan Omar. 'If the government continues to block these e...read more

The African Union's panel on Libya Sunday called for an 'immediate stop' to all attacks after the United States, France and Britain launched military action against Muammar Gaddafi's forces. The situation in Libya 'demands urgent action so that an African solution can be found to the very serious crisis which this sister nation is going through', said Mauritanian President Ould Abdel Aziz, who is one of the AU panel members.

Soldiers supporting Côte d’Ivoire's internationally recognised president-elect Alassane Ouattara seized the western city of Bloléquin on Monday. A spokesman of the New Forces former rebel group Mara Laciné said Bloléquin is under their control after 'fierce fighting' on Sunday night. The New Forces, who mainly support Mr Ouattara, control the north but have advanced on western towns neighbouring Liberia.

Pages