Day: December 24, 2021

The U.S. will lift travel restrictions to eight southern African countries on New Year’s Eve, the White House announced Friday.

The restrictions, imposed last month, were meant to blunt the spread of the COVID omicron variant.

The Nov. 29 ban barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who had recently been in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.

White House spokesman Kevin Munoz said on Twitter that the decision was recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Munoz said the temporary travel bans bought scientists necessary time to study the new virus variant and conclude that the current vaccinations are effective in blunting its impact.

Omicron is now spreading rapidly throughout the U.S., including among the vaccinated, but a huge majority of those being hospitalized are unvaccinated.

“The restrictions gave us time to understand Omicron and we know our existing vaccines work against Omicron, esp boosted,” Munoz wrote on Twitter.

Source: Voice of America

Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to get tough on terrorists and bandits after explosions Thursday killed at least five people at Maiduguri airport just minutes before he arrived. Nigerian authorities have claimed progress in the fight against Islamist insurgents, but security experts say the explosions throw that claim into question.

The president, speaking during his visit to Maiduguri Thursday, said security forces will employ new military hardware in their operations against bandits and terror groups in the north.

The president said, “I have ordered, and we have started receiving, some military hardware, aircraft, armored cars, helicopters, and we are going to be very hard on them.”

Buhari also praised the efforts of troops responding to the insurgency, stating that the security situation in northeastern Nigeria is much better than it used to be.

But the multiple explosions on three areas in Maiduguri, including one a few kilometers away from the airport where the president was to land Thursday, show the terrorists remain active, says security analyst Ebenezer Oyetakin.

“They can still effectively terrorize whosoever is their target, and that is exactly what they have done yesterday,” Oyetakin said. “It also shows that they are still very much around.”

No group claimed responsibility for Thursday’s explosions that killed at least five people, but Borno state residents and experts say the attack bears the hallmark of Boko Haram.

Nigerian authorities say recent operations against the Islamist terrorist group are making a significant impact.

On Thursday, defense authorities said 51 terrorists have been killed within the past two weeks, while more than 1,000 have surrendered.

But Borno State resident and freelance journalist Sani Adam says the surrender of some terrorists does not eliminate the threat.

“The reason why they are surrendering is because they lack leadership because of Shekau’s death,” Adam said. “

Abubakar Shekau, the head of the chief Boko Haram sect, reportedly was killed in June.

Boko Haram and splinter group, Islamic State West Africa Province, have waged war against the government in the northeast since 2009.

Oyetakin says the terrorists were making a statement with the Maiduguri bombings.

“They always want to demonstrate that they are still around, even when they have been weakened,” Oyetakin said. “So, they always want to project themselves from the angle of strength.”

More than 300,000 people are estimated to have been killed by terrorists in the northeast, and millions of others remain displaced from their homes.

Source: Voice of America

Ethiopia’s government said it will hold back its army from entering the Tigray region, after Tigrayan rebels retreated to the region this week. Analysts say the two sides are indicating there could be a window for ceasefire after thirteen months of devastating war.

Ethiopia’s Government Communications Service Minister, Legesse Tulu, announced the pause was to save Ethiopia’s army from what he called further sacrifice and to avoid further accusations of atrocities.

Tulu said the Tigrayan forces – the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – were heavily hit.

He added that Ethiopia’s military defense forces having reclaimed Eastern Amhara and parts of Afar that were under TPLF occupation, have been ordered to stay at their current locations.

The pause came after Tigray forces on Monday announced in a letter to the UN’s secretary general that they were pulling out of neighboring regions to pave the way for peace. The letter cited the suffering of Tigrayan people after 13 months of war as a key reason for their retreat.

The rebels’ withdrawal and the government’s halting its offensive could help usher in negotiations for an end to the year-long war.

The International Crisis Group (IGC) in a report Thursday said both sides should use the opportunity for a ceasefire.

“This opportunity is really…is a rare chance, for the parties to look for a negotiated path forward,” said Murithi Mutiga, the ICG’s Horn of Africa director. “It is encouraging that the Tigray forces considered they could no longer try and put pressure on Addis Ababa; but it is also encouraging that the authorities have decided to pause their advances and not move into Tigray.”

Ethiopia’s federal forces spent months fighting in Tigray then fell back in June under a rebel counter-offensive.

Tigrayan forces in July pushed into neighboring Amhara and Afar regions before this week’s withdrawal back to Tigray.

Despite the fresh hope for peace, Mutiga doesn’t believe the two sides are likely to sit down at the negotiating table.

“In the Ethiopian context, as we know, historically there has been no culture of accommodation,” Mutiga said. “It has been one trying to win outright victory on the battlefield. And so, there might be a temptation on all sides to try and press the advantage.”

Regional media report federal forces conducted an air strike Wednesday on a power sub-station in the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle. Reuters news agency reported the strike knocked out power across the city.

Source: Voice of America