Photo : AFP
NIAS Area Studies
AFRICA MONITOR
Photo : AFP
IN BRIEF
by Apoorva Sudhakar
Somalia: Over a hundred al Shabaab terrorists killed, says ministry
On 4 November, the Defence Ministry said at least 100 al Shabaab terrorists had been killed in their clashes with the army and allied militias in the Hiran region. The development comes after 120 people were killed in twin bombings outside the education ministry in Mogadishu on 29 October. Reuters reported that pictures of bodies of the alleged terrorists were circulated on Telegram through a channel linked to the army. Meanwhile, al Shabaab claimed that dozens of soldiers had been killed in clashes with security forces on 3 November. (“Somalia army says at least 100 al Shabaab fighters killed in clashes,” Reuters, 4 November 2022)
Kenya: Drought claims hundreds of wildlife lives amid drought
On 4 November, the tourism minister said 205 elephants and several wildlife were killed between February and October 2022 amid the ongoing drought. The species most impacted were elephants, 681 wildebeest, 381 common zebras, 49 Grevy’s zebras, 12 giraffes and 51 buffalo. This comes after the Grevy’s Zebra Trust, in September, said the drought had claimed 40 Grevy zebras in three months. (“Kenya drought killed 205 elephants in 10 months – minister,” Al Jazeera, 4 November 2022)
Africa: Climate-related health emergencies highest since 2000, says WHO
On 4 November, News24 reported a WHO analysis which said the number of disease outbreaks and climate-related health emergencies rose to an all-time high in the Horn of Africa. Assessing Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda, the report outlined that there were 39 disease outbreaks and floodings in these countries between January and October 2022. The outbreaks included anthrax, chikungunya, yellow fever, and other infectious diseases which accounted for 80 per cent of acute public health events. The WHO analysis said this was the highest number since 2000. (Lenin Ndebele, “From drought to floods: Climate-related health emergencies are peaking in Horn of Africa, says WHO,” News24, 4 November 2022)