Friday, January 10, 2014
National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
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World News
Former Israeli leader, Sharon, condition worsens
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We need a hotline for dialogue. We spoke to China about this, but sadly this dialogue is not open, but we must re-open it. –Japanese Defence Minister, Itsunori Onodera
Tunisian PM, Larayedh, resigns amid political deadlock PAUL ARHEWE,
WITH AGENCY REPORTS
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unisia’s Islamist Prime Minister Ali Larayedh has resigned, fulfilling a pledge taken last year to help end the country’s political deadlock. The political crisis was brought about by the assassination of secular politician Mohamed Brahimi in July. He will be replaced by Industry Minister Mehdi Jomaa, who will head a non-partisan, caretaker government. Handing in his resignation, Larayedh said: “I hope the country will be a model for democratic transition.” Larayedh’s Ennahda party won the first democratic elections after long-time ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was forced from power in 2011. However, Ennahda has faced widespread opposition since coming to power, from those who accuse it of being too close to militant groups - charges it strongly denies.
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CAR leader faces pressure to step down during summit Central African Republic’s interim President Michel Djotodia faced pressure to step down at a summit of regional leaders yesterday amid frustration at his failure to quell his country’s religious violence. Political sources in Bangui and French diplomatic sources said Djotodia would announce his departure at the meeting of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC) in the Chadian capital N’Djamena or shortly afterwards on his return to Bangui. A spokesman for Djotodia, who seized power in March at the head of the Seleka rebels, denied any such plan. But CEEAC Secretary General Ahmat Allami said the group would tell Djotodia that his transitional government was not working.
EU mulls sending military force to CAR
Larayedh
It has also been unable to end an economic crisis, another factor in widespread street protests. The UGTT trade union confederation, which mediated the crisis between the government and the opposition, said the for-
mation late on Wednesday of an independent authority to oversee fresh elections, which the Ennahda party had set as a condition for stepping down, had paved the way for Larayedh’s resignation yesterday.
South Sudan’s rebels reinforce defence outh Sudan’s rebels are strengthening their defences in the key city of Bentiu in anticipation of a government offensive to recapture it, a BBC reporter there says. Alastair Leithead says rebels brought a tank into the city in the oil-rich area, as the front line moves closer. Heavily armed men looted Bentiu’s city centre, while thousands of residents fled to a UN base, a UN official said.
WORLD BULLETIN
At least 1,000 people have been killed in fighting since 15 December. Regionally brokered talks to declare a ceasefire have stalled. More than 200,000 people have been displaced by the fighting. The BBC outlines the background to South Sudan’s crisis - in 60 seconds. The army said it was also advancing towards Bor, the capital of Jonglei state. Bentiu and Bor are the two key centres held by the rebels.
Kiir (in black hat) visited Bentiu with Machar when they were allies. PHOTO: REUTERS
The conflict erupted after President Salva Kiir accused his ex-deputy, Riek Machar, of plotting a coup - a charge he strongly denied. Machar is backed by army deserters, believed to number at least 10,000, and militias from his Nuer ethnic group. Kiir comes from South Sudan’s largest ethnic group, the Dinka. Although both leaders have influential backers from the other’s community, the conflict has often taken an ethnic dimension. Our reporter says he heard explosions and saw plumes of smoke coming out of a rebel-held military base on the road to Bentiu. Salva Kiir (in a cowboy hat) with Riek Machar in South Sudan’s Bentiu city in Unity state on 8 April 2010 Kiir (in black hat) visited Bentiu with Machar when they were allies It seems the rebels are destroying ammunition as they withdraw from the front line, to pre-
Tunisia’s national assembly hopes to adopt a new constitution by 14 January - the third anniversary of the 2011 revolution that led to the overthrow of Ali. Elections are expected to take place later this year. vent it from falling into the hands of advancing government troops, he says. Kiir’s forces are believed to be about 25km (16 miles) from Bentiu, capital of Unity state. The state is rich in oil, the main foreign exchange earner of South Sudan. Oil production has dropped by 20% since the conflict started. Civilians from the Nuer community have been streaming into the UN base in recent days, unlike a few weeks ago when the rebel seizure of Bentiu led to Dinkas taking refuge at the base, BBC said. The base is now split into three, with a section for each of the two groups and a third for foreign nationals, he adds. The hospital in Bentiu was empty, a doctor who worked there said. “Even the wounded patients ran away,” Dr Hassan Mugne said on Twitter. The UN’s Deputy Special Representative in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, tweeted that rebel forces had looted and largely destroyed shops in Bentiu’s market.
The European Union is considering whether to send its own peacekeeping unit to the Central African Republic (CAR), where more than a thousand people have died in recent violence. Officials proposed on Wednesday the deployment of between 700 and 1,000 troops to reinforce the 1,600 French troops who are already there, amid warnings by the UN of an imminent humanitarian disaster. EU diplomats will discuss the proposals for the first time on Friday as turmoil sweeps CAR. The different options for a possible EU military mission were contained in a paper circulated on Wednesday by Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy chief, who was acting on a request by EU leaders last month.
Al-Shabaab bans internet in Somalia Rebel group says anyone caught using internet outside internet cafes will be considered to be working with the “enemy”. Somali rebel group al-Shabaab has announced that it has banned the use of internet through mobile handsets and fibre optic cables throughout Somalia. In an announcement broadcast on Wednesday by a radio station affiliated with the group and later in a statement released to local media, al-Shabaab said telecommunication companies had 15 days to comply with the order. “Any individual or company that is found not following the order will be considered to be working with the enemy and they will be dealt with in accordance Sharia law.” the statement said.