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Photo: Desert Locusts in Isiolo County, Kenya. Source: FAO

Desert Locust Upsurge Continues to Threaten Food Security in the Horn of Africa

FAO Needs Funds To Safeguard Agricultural Production and Livelihoods

By FAO

ROME (IDN) – A new generation of Desert Locust swarms is threatening Agricultural and pastoral livelihoods and the food security of millions of people in the Horn of Africa and Yemen, despite intense efforts to control the pest throughout 2020, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

With international support and an unprecedented large-scale response campaign coordinated by FAO, more than 1.3 million hectares of locust infestations have been treated in ten countries since January 2020.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Food security, nutrition & sustainable agriculture; 23 December 2020

Photo: The Pentagon has sent several naval vessels and a marine expeditionary unit to the coast of Somalia to support an operation repositioning hundreds of U.S. troops to bases elsewhere in East Africa. Courtesy of US Navy

Withdrawal of US Troops from Somalia Underlines Critical Situation in the Region

EEPA Report on Horn of Africa Situation on December 23

BRUSSELS (IDN) – The situation in the Horn of Africa is getting increasingly critical in the Horn of Africa. A case in point is that the Expeditionary Sea Base USS Hershel "Woody" Williams is “conducting maritime operations off the coast of Somalia” to “reposition U.S. DOD personnel from Somalia to other locations in East Africa,” AFRICOM spokesperson Kelly Cahalan told VOA in an email. The operation is dubbed Operation Octave Quartz.

: Ramesh Jaura; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 23 December 2020

Iran Joins China, Russia, EU, France, Germany and UK in Reaffirming Commitment to 'Nuclear Deal'

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Amid speculations about Iran's reaction to the assassination of the country's eminent nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on a road outside of Tehran on November 27, participants in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have reiterated their commitment to preserving the agreement and stressed their respective efforts in this regard.

The pledge emerged from a virtual ministerial meeting of the E3/EU+2 (China, France, Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) and the Islamic Republic of Iran on December 21, 2020. The EU High Representative Josep Borrell chaired the meeting.

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 23 December 2020

Photo: Photo: Six potential candidates for the 2021 presidential elections in Iran. The moderate Rouhani will be stepping down. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Time to Resurrect the Iran Nuclear Deal

The thirteenth Presidential elections are scheduled to be held in Iran on June 18, 2021. The moderate Rouhani will be stepping down and there is the likelihood that a hard-line conservative will succeed him – someone who is less keen on negotiations.

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – John le Carré died December 12, 2020. He is widely regarded as one of the most talented of novelists. He has written marvellous, intricate, plots of spying and espionage. In his youth, he worked for MI6 (Perhaps, for all we know, alongside James Bond). He knew it all. He is what is called a “trusted source”.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 22 December 2020

Photo: A view of the Mabwepande Green Village. Credit: Kizito Makoye.

Mabwepande Green Village: Model for a Sustainable Future

The Watumishi Housing Company’s model estate harnesses clean energy technologies to improve lives and reduce the carbon footprint.

By Kizito Makoye

MABWEPANDE | Tanzania (IDN) – As a warm breeze blows from the Indian Ocean, two men in dazzling outfits show up on the balcony of a home with flower-filled pots to convey a message to their community members about the future plans of their green village.

“In order to achieve our goals of establishing a successful green village, it is important to come together and exchange our ideas,” says Reeves Ngalemwa, the chairman of the Mabwepande green village in Tanzania’s largest commercial city.

: Kizito Makoye; THE WORLD; Africa; 22 December 2020

Photo: Oxfam responded to the drought in Ethiopia in 2016, and is continuing to help affected people in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa region. Credit: Abbie Trayler-Smith/Oxfam.

EEPA Report on Horn of Africa Situation on December 22

Regional situation

Mahad Salad, a Somali opposition lawmaker, is asking whether the Somali govt forces that were deployed yesterday in Dolow district at the Somalia-Kenya border, are Somali or Eritrean troops. It was reported that the arriving troops include troops trained by Eritrea months ago, sent from Asmara.

An unconfirmed Twitter post claimed that the Somali military fired rockets with the assumed aim to prevent a Kenyan military aircraft from carrying out an airstrike.

: Africa & ME Editor; THE WORLD; Horn of Africa; 22 December 2020

Photo: Pierre Buyoya, African Union Special Representative, Mali and the Sahel; President of Burundi (1987-1993, 1996-2003). Credit: African Union

Ex Burundi Leader Convicted of Murder Dies in Paris of COVID

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Ex-President Pierre Buyoya of Burundi died December 18 in Paris where he was seeking medical treatment for Covid-19, according to relatives. He was 71. Prior to contracting the illness, Buyoya had been living in Mali, where he served as a special envoy of the African Union to Mali and the Sahel from 2012 until November of this year.

An official at the Clinique Pasteur in the capital city of Bamako told Reuters that Buyoya had been treated there before being evacuated to Paris overnight. He gave no further details.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 December 2020

Photo: Kidnapped Nigerian Schoolboys. Source: 24x7news

More Nigerian Schoolchildren Seized in Second Mass Kidnapping

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Schoolchildren were again the targets of unknown assailants who seized the youngsters as they returned from a religious ceremony in the Nigerian town of Dandume, near Kankara where a similar kidnapping had taken place.

According to published police sources, between 39 and 84 schoolchildren were abducted by the kidnappers after a gun battle between the abductors, security forces and local vigilantes. They were released after 10 days in captivity, press reports say.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 December 2020

Photo: PM Abiy Ahmed participates in the 38th Extraordinary Summit of IGAD. Source: fanabc.com

EEPA Report on Horn of Africa Situation on December 21

Regional dimension

The 38th IGAD extraordinary summit took place on Sunday 20 December in Djibouti. It was chaired by PM Hamdok of Sudan.
During the IGAD meeting, Ethiopian PM Ahmed met with Sudanese PM Hamdok to discuss bilateral relations. According to PM Hamdok it was agreed that Sudan and Ethiopia will hold a meeting of the High Boundary Committee on 22 December (Tuesday) to delineate their shared border.
According to diplomats present, the tensions at the summit were running high. They also dispute that PM Hamdok had a meeting with PM Ahmed.

Africa & ME Editor

THE WORLD

Horn of Africa

21 December 2020

Read more ...

Photo: The consultation event for the publication at the UN in February 2019. Credit: UN.

A New Handbook on Parliamentary Action for Disarmament

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – Nearly one-and-half years after UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched Securing Our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament in May 2018, a new handbook to support disarmament for security and sustainable development has been released. Its approach and focus draw primarily on the Agenda. Titled Assuring our Common Future, published by four international parliamentary organizations and two international policy bodies on November 5, 2020, the new publication offers background and examples of effective policies and parliamentary actions on a wide range of disarmament issues.