Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of ex-Libyan leader, reportedly shot dead

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Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of late Libyan dictator Moamer Gaddafi, was killed on Tuesday, his political office has said. Saif al-Islam was killed in a “treacherous and cowardly” act, in which four masked men stormed his residence in the western Libyan city of Zintan, the office said. His lawyer Khaled al-Zaidi confirmed to dpa that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was “assassinated at his home.” The al-Arabiya news channel reported that the 53-year-old was shot dead in the garden of his residence in Zintan, citing sources close to the Gaddafi family. Saif al-Islam was the second-eldest son of the long-time Libyan leader, who ruled the North African country for more than four decades. Before his father’s overthrow and death in 2011, al-Islam led a reform project aimed at modernizing the country politically and bringing it closer to the West. Many of these efforts were soon reversed in order not to upset the balance of power in his father’s government. Gaddafi’s death followed months of m...
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Over 200 feared killed in coltan mine collapse in eastern DR Congo

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More than 200 people have been reported killed in a collapse at the Rubaya coltan mine in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lumumba Kambere Muyisa, spokesperson for the rebel-appointed governor of the province where the mine is located, told the Reuters news agency.

The mine, located some 60km (37 miles) northwest of Goma city, the provincial capital of North Kivu province, collapsed on Wednesday, and the precise number of casualties was still unclear as of Friday evening, Reuters reports.

“More than 200 people were victims of this landslide, including miners, children and market women. Some people were rescued just in time and have serious injuries,” Muyisa told Reuters, adding that about 20 injured people were being treated in health facilities.

“We are in the rainy season. The ground is fragile. It was the ground that gave way while the victims were in the hole,” he said.

Eraston Bahati Musanga, the governor of North Kivu province appointed by the M23 rebel group, told the AFP news agency on Friday that “some bodies have been recovered”, without giving a specific figure of the number of those killed and injured, but suggesting a potentially high death toll.

An adviser to the provincial governor put the death toll at more than 200, speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters because he was not authorised to brief the media.

AFP said it was unable to confirm the death toll with independent sources as of Friday evening.

Franck Bolingo, an artisanal miner interviewed at Rubaya by AFP, said people are believed to still be trapped inside the mine.

“It rained, then the landslide happened and swept people away. Some were buried alive, and others are still trapped in the shafts,” Bolingo said.

Rubaya produces about 15 percent of the world’s coltan, which is processed into tantalum, a heat-resistant metal that is in high demand by makers of mobile phones, computers, aerospace components and gas turbines.

The mine, where locals dig manually for a few dollars per day, has been under the control of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group since 2024, after previously changing hands between the DRC government and rebel groups.

The heavily-armed M23 rebels, whose stated aim is to overthrow the DRC government in the capital Kinshasa, captured even more mineral-rich territory in the east of the country during a lightning advance last year.

The United Nations has accused M23 rebels of plundering Rubaya’s resources to help fund their rebellion, backed by Rwanda, an allegation that the government in Kigali denies.

Despite the DRC’s exceptional mineral wealth, more than 70 percent of Congolese live on less than $2.15 a day.

SOURCE: AFP, REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/OBduM6H

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