Burundi’s Lt Gen Diomède Ndegeya officially takes over Amisom Force command
RegionWeek Newsletter Vol III, Issue #115 | Tuesday, Spetember 1, 2020
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Dear RegionWeek Readers,
AMISOM’s newly deployed Force Commander, Burundian Lieutenant General Diomede Ndegeyahas today assumed office, handed over by the outgoing Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Tigabu Yilma from Ethiopia.
The Force Commander Lt. Gen. Diomede Ndegeya thanked his predecessor and assured him of his commitment to serve the people of Somalia and maintain the excellent work and progress made so far.
Among Lt. Gen. Tigabu Yilma’s key achievements are the capture of Janaale town and the improvement of the security situation in Lower Shabelle and Mogadishu. Since his deployment to the mission in January 2019, the bridge towns of Bariire, Sabiid and Awdheegle have been handed over to the Somali National Army as part of the AMISOM transition process.
Head of AMISOM Ambassador Francisco Madeira commended the outgoing Force Commander for achieving much during his time in AMISOM despite serving at a time when the troop numbers had been reduced by 1000 saying that the capture of Janaale town happened shortly after this reduction.
Rwandan Paul Rusesabagina Arrested
Rwandan police announced Monday, August 31, that they had arrested Paul Rusesabagina, whose story inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda", accusing this longtime critic of President Paul Kagame of acts of terrorism.
The Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) said Paul Rusesabagina, who was living in exile in Belgium, had been arrested thanks to international cooperation and was being held in a police station in the capital, Kigali, reports AFP.
"With the cooperation of the international community, Paul Rusesabagina was arrested and is now in the hands of the RIB," Thierry Murangira, deputy spokesperson for the RIB, told reporters.
He declined to clarify the circumstances of the arrest, arguing that it could "jeopardize the investigation".
Key Sudanese Rebel groups sign a peace agreement
Sudan’s government signed a peace agreement with the country’s five key rebel groups on Monday, a significant step in the transitional leadership’s goal of resolving multiple, deep-rooted civil conflicts, reports Reuters.
The rebel groups that signed the deal include the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Minni Minawi’s Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), both of the western region of Darfur, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Malik Agar, present in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile.
The US, UK, and Norway in a joint statement on Monday said they welcomed the peace agreement as a first step in rebuilding stability in the country.
"It is an important step in restoring security, dignity, and development to the population of Sudan's conflict-affected and marginalized areas. We believe the formal agreement must be followed up with local peace and reconciliation efforts in the conflict-affected areas," the countries said in the statement.
Thanks for reading!
Fabrice Iranzi, RegionWeek.com
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