Photo : MICHELE CATTANI/AFP/RFI
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : MICHELE CATTANI/AFP/RFI
IN BRIEF
by Apoorva Sudhakar
Mali: Government expels UN mission spokesperson
On 20 July, the military government asked the spokesperson of the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to leave the country within three days after the UN official tweeted about the 49 Ivory Coast soldiers who had been arrested in Mali on 10 July. Following the arrest, the military government suspended the MINUSMA’s troop rotations. The MINUSMA spokesperson tweeted that the 49 soldiers had arrived in Mali as part of the rotation. However, the government asked for proof of authorisation and said the spokesperson failed to provide the same. (“Mali junta expels U.N. peacekeeping mission spokesman over tweets,” Reuters, 20 July 2022)
Eight cheetahs from Namibia to be relocated to India
On 20 July, India's environment minister confirmed that eight cheetahs will be relocated to India from Namibia for "re-establishing ecological function in Indian grasslands that was lost due to extinction of Asiatic cheetah." Officials from both sides have been working on the relocation since 2020; cheetahs had previously gone extinct in India in 1952 owing to habitat loss and poaching. The eight cheetahs will be relocated to Madhya Pradesh. (Mabel Banfield-Nwachi, "Wild cheetahs to return to India for first time since 1952," The Guardian, 21 July 2022)
Malawi: 76 people arrested during protests
On 20 July, 76 people were arrested amid protests against the judiciary's slow processing of corruption cases and demands for the president's resignation. The protests were organised by the Human Rights Ambassadors group which maintained that the judiciary provided "selective justice" and accused the president of inaction against corruption and high cost of living. (“Police in Malawi arrest 76 over anti-judiciary protests,” Anadolu Agency, 20 July 2022)