Separate mass shootings in South Africa townships leave at least 27 people dead

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By GERALD IMRAY, Associated Press | Posted by TOE Eight gunmen with AK-47 rifles and pistols opened fire at patrons at a bar in the first of two separate mass shootings in South African townships in the space of a few hours that left at least 27 people dead, police said Sunday. The first massacre occurred late Saturday night near Johannesburg. The second happened in the early hours of Sunday near Cape Town. No arrests had been made in the two shootings, which came just five days after another mass shooting in a township near the city of Durban killed at least 11 people. The South African Police Service said 17 people were killed Saturday night when eight suspects armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols opened fire at a bar in Wedela township, southwest of South Africa’s biggest city of Johannesburg, around 9.30 p.m. The suspects shot at patrons outside the bar, then moved inside to continue the killing. The victims included 13 men and four women. At least 15 others sustain...
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Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of military aggression, backing armed groups

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Ethiopia’s foreign minister has accused neighbouring Eritrea of military aggression and of supporting armed groups inside Ethiopian territory, according ​to a letter seen by Reuters and verified by the foreign ministry.

The ‌two longstanding foes who waged war against each other between 1998 and 2000, signed a peace deal ‌in 2018 and were allies during Ethiopia’s two-year war against regional authorities in the northern Tigray region.

But Eritrea was not a party to the 2022 agreement that ended the Tigray conflict, and relations between the two nations have plunged into acrimony since then.

Recent clashes ⁠between Tigrayan forces and Ethiopian ‌troops have raised fears of a return to war.

An Eritrean government spokesperson said officials were checking whether the letter had been delivered ‍to the foreign ministry.

The February 7 letter from Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos to his Eritrean counterpart, Osman Saleh, said Eritrean forces had occupied Ethiopian territory along parts of their shared ​border for an extended period and had provided material support to militant groups ‌operating inside Ethiopia.

“The incursion of Eritrean troops further into Ethiopian territory… are not just provocations but acts of outright aggression,” the letter said, calling for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean forces and an end to all cooperation with armed groups.

Gedion said recent developments pointed to “further escalation,” citing joint military manoeuvres between Eritrean forces and Ethiopian armed groups ⁠near the northwestern border.

Eritrea has bristled at repeated ​public declarations by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that ​landlocked Ethiopia has a right to sea access – comments many in Eritrea, which lies on the Red Sea, view as an implicit threat ‍of military action.

In his ⁠letter, Gedion said Ethiopia remained open to dialogue if Eritrea respected its territorial integrity. He said Addis Ababa was willing to engage in good-faith negotiations ⁠on all matters of mutual interest, including maritime affairs and access to the Red Sea through the ‌Eritrean port of Assab.

Source: Reuters and agencies



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/HZFxt9O

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