Author name: yasir

Sunak committed to housing asylum seekers on barge

World /

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that his government is committed to housing asylum seekers, whom he called “illegal migrants,” on the Bibby Stockholm barge despite controversy over keeping them in the floating vessel. Sunak told reporters during a visit to a hospital in Buckinghamshire that his government is taking a “fair approach” when it came to tackling small boat crossings. “What has happened here is… it is right that we go through all the checks and procedures to ensure the wellbeing and health of the people being housed on the barge,” he said. However, the prime minister avoided answering a question about whether he was warned about potential health risks for asylum seekers on board the Bibby Stockholm barge. Controversy over the government’s plan flared up after all asylum seekers were moved on Friday from the barge moored at Portland Port in Dorset, in the country’s southwest, after Legionella bacteria were found in the on-board water system. The report of bacteria came three days after the Home Office said the first group of asylum seekers was housed on the barge after health and safety checks were completed. “It is about the unfairness, in fact, of British taxpayers forking out £5 million ($6.3 million) or £6 million ($7.6 million) a day to house illegal migrants in hotels up and down the country, with all the pressure that puts on local communities,” he noted. “We’ve got to find alternatives to that, that is what the barge is about and that is why we are committed to it.” Earlier on Tuesday, Health Minister Will Quince announced that asylum seekers would be returned to the barge in the coming days. “Of course public health and safety is key, but we hope in the next few days we will be able to start getting people on to the Bibby Stockholm,” he told LBC Radio. The Bibby Stockholm is one of the vessels that was announced by the government to accommodate 5,000 asylum seekers in a bid to lower the cost of hotels. The controversial plan aims to house up to 500 men aged 18-65 on the floating barge who are waiting for the results of their asylum applications. They are currently staying in hotels. The British premier listed tackling small boat crossings as one of his five priorities after over 45,000 migrants arrived in the country by crossing the English Channel last year.

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Sudan army targets home of traditional healer

Africa /

Sudan’s army has been attacking an area of Omdurman city where a traditional healer has been treating injured RSF fighters. Ten people died in shelling on Monday, which marked four months since the start of the brutal power struggle between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since the war began the RSF has moved into bases in many residential areas of the three cities that make up Greater Khartoum – Bahri, Khartoum and Omdurman – that are often targeted by air strikes and shelling. One shell, fired from the nearby Karari military base, hit a small square in Omdurman’s Ombada 19 suburb where young men were seeking shade from the heat. A separate shell hit a restaurant owner’s home, killing his son. Another shell was fired towards the traditional healer’s house on Tuesday, but it did not explode. The attacks cut internet connections, which only returned later on Tuesday.  She is known to deal with bone fractures and has recently been treating RSF personnel. Traditional healing is popular in Sudan – many believe this method is better than modern medicine for treating broken bones. Ombada 19 is also home to members of the Rizeigat ethnic group. They originally hail from Darfur, like RSF leader Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who is a Rizeigat as are many of his fighters. RSF soldiers are often seen carrying rifles in and around the neighbourhood, where hundreds of people have fled because of the latest attacks. But Ombada 19 resident Hawa Adam, who has fled with her young son to find shelter at a stranger’s house in a safer area, said: “I really don’t know why they shelled our neighbourhood. There’s not a single RSF fighter here.” On Sunday, a separate area of Omdurman, Ombada 16, was hit by an airstrike. Three young men, two brothers and a neighbour, were killed, a neighbourhood organisation said.

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At least 12 people killed in Ethiopia

Africa /

Government forces deployed to Chobi district of West Shoa zone, Oromia region to fight the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) have allegedly killed at least twelve civilians and wounded four others, residents told Addis Standard. Some of the victims were shot dead while they were in their houses, while others were killed on the road on the morning of 10 August, 2023 in two villages namely Qoricha Koticha and Hofu Bake of the district. A resident of Hofu Bake village who said two of his brothers were killed in the attack told Addis Standard that the killing was perpetrated by government troops stationed in the village “campaigning to eliminate OLA”. The resident said the killing did not distinguish between age and gender, adding that an 11 year old child and a 70 year old elderly man were among the victims. Another resident who fled the attack to neighboring Jalduu district said besides those killed and wounded, five women and 20 other men were abducted by government forces and taken to an unknown location. The resident noted that his wife and one of his sons are among the abducted.  According to the two residents, among the dead are four members of the same family; Gurmu Jifara, Tasfaye Jifara, Abarra Jifara and Abishu Jifara. Abishu succumbed to his injury later, while others were killed on the spot. The two major Oromo opposition parties, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) have both denounced the killings which they described as “heinous and indiscriminate”. In separate statements released on 12 and 13 August respectively, both parties vehemently criticized the government’s “dry the ocean, to eliminate the fishes” approach, targeting the civilian population in order to annihilate the OLA armed group. 

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