Ethiopia and Eritrea accuse one another of launching war

By TOE | Posted TOE Ethiopia and Eritrea each accused the other of starting a war of aggression on Friday as an internal Ethiopian conflict threatened to escalate into a regional war. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing rebels in its northern Tigray state, who launched attacks against federal forces last month. The two countries severed diplomatic relations, and over the past week, Eritrean troops have been seen in northern Tigray with Ethiopia launching drone strikes against their forces. A foreign security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP they estimated 5,000 to 8,000 Eritrean soldiers were present in Tigray. Eritrea’s conduct is “a blatant act of aggression that engages Ethiopia’s inherent right to self-defence”, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos wrote in a letter to diplomats. Eritrea’s information minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, responded on X that it was facing “an unprovoked war of aggressio...

Around 30 people killed in Congo copper mine incident, officials say

Around 30 people were killed at a semi-industrial copper mine in southeastern Congo on Saturday after a bridge collapsed, the country’s artisanal mining agency said.

An agency official told Reuters there were 49 deaths and 20 people had been taken to hospital in a critical condition as a result of the incident, which occurred on Saturday at the Kalando mining site in Lualaba province.

Artisanal mining employs an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people in Congo and supports more than 10 million indirectly.

The collapse was “caused by panic, reportedly triggered by gunfire from military personnel securing the site,” said Congo’s Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining Support and Guidance Service, known by its French acronym SAEMAPE.

Miners then “piled on top of each other, causing injuries and death”, SAEMAPE added in a statement on Sunday.

The Initiative for the Protection of Human Rights called for an independent investigation into the military’s role in the deaths, citing reports of clashes between miners and soldiers.

A military spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Roy Kaumba, the provincial interior minister, said in a televised statement that 32 people had been confirmed dead.

Mining accidents are common in unregulated artisanal mines, with dozens of deaths every year at sites where often ill-equipped diggers burrow deep underground.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/eiW7wFY

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