United News of Bangladesh

A stampede Saturday at a church charity event in southern Nigeria left 31 people dead and seven injured, police told The Associated Press, a shocking development at a program that aimed to offer hope to the needy. One witness said the dead included a pregnant woman and many children. The stampede at the event organized by the Kings Assembly Pentecostal church in Rivers state involved people who came to the church’s annual “Shop for Free” charity program, according to Grace Iringe-Koko, a police spokeswoman. Such events are common in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where more than 80 million people live in poverty, according to government statistics. Saturday’s charity program was supposed to begin at 9 a.m. but dozens arrived as early as 5 a.m. to secure their place in line, Iringe-Koko said. Somehow the locked gate was broken open, creating a stampede, she said. Godwin Tepikor from Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said first responders were able to evacuate the bodies of those trampled to death and bring them to the morgue. Security forces cordoned off the area. READ: Nigeria attacks: Hundreds reported killed as bandits target villages Dozens of residents later thronged the scene, mourning the dead and offering any assistance they could to emergency workers. Doctors and emergency workers treated some of the injured as they lay in the open field. Videos from the scene showed the clothing, shoes and other items meant for the beneficiaries. One witness who only identified himself as Daniel said "there were so many children” among the dead. Five of the dead children were from one mother, he told the AP, adding that a pregnant woman also lost her life. Some church members were attacked and injured by relatives of the victims after the stampede, according to witness Christopher Eze. The church declined to comment on the situation. The police spokeswoman said the seven injured were “responding to treatment." The “Shop for Free” event was suspended while authorities investigated how the stampede occurred. Nigeria has seen similar stampedes in the past. Twenty-four people died at an overcrowded church gathering in the southeastern state of Anambra in 2013, while at least 16 people were killed in 2014 when a crowd got out of control during a screening for government jobs in the nation's capital, Abuja.

Congo’s M23 rebels closed in on a major military camp in the country’s east on Thursday after days of fighting the army, officials said. Clashes continued Thursday at the Rumangabo base in the Rutshuru area of North Kivu province about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the provincial capital, Goma. “There is no truce. The fighting is still continuing this morning on the same fronts as yesterday,” deputy army spokesman Gen. Sylvain Ekenge said. Gunfire exchanges have been heard there since early in the morning, said Manouvo Nguka, who lives in Rumangabo where the base is located. “The army seeks to regain full control of Rumangabo,” he told The Associated Press. The situation has been critical since Wednesday night, he added. “There was more than an hour of exchange of fire between the loyalist army and the M23 rebels,” he said. Also Read: After suicide bombing, Congo officials fear more attacks The army earlier confirmed the rebels also attacked its positions in the Nyragongo and Rutshuru areas. More than 20 shells were fired by the rebels on Tuesday and Wednesday on Rumangabo, Natale, near the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature, and the surrounding area, according to a statement from military spokesman Lt. Gen. Constant Ndima. The M23 is largely an ethnic Tutsi group opposed to the Congo government that started in 2012 and seized control of Goma, a city of more than 1 million for nearly a month. U.N. forces and Congo’s army dislodged the M23 from Goma and many of rebels fled to Rwanda and Uganda before a 2013 peace agreement. Rwanda and Uganda deny claims that they support M23. The group has recently resurfaced with increasing attacks in eastern Congo. It accuses the Congo government of not respecting the commitments it made to integrate rebel fighters into the national army. Gen. Benoit Chavanat, Deputy Force Commander of the United Nations mission in Congo, said its forces are backing the Congolese army against M23. He told U.N.-backed Radio Okapi the joint forces are stabilizing the situation in the Tchanzu, Runyonyi and Bunagana areas.     Pope Francis is expected to visit Congo at the beginning of July, including a trip to Goma to celebrate Mass and meet with war victims, according to Congolese authorities. However, the Vatican did not immediately respond when asked Thursday whether the current fighting would bring the pope to alter his plans.  

A fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Senegal has killed 11 newborns, President Macky Sall said. Only three infants could be saved. “To their mothers and families, I express my deepest sympathy,” Sall tweeted late Wednesday. The fire was blamed on an electrical short circuit at the Mame Abdou Aziz Sy Dabakh Hospital in Tivaouane, a town 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of the capital, Dakar, Mayor Demba Diop said. The deadly fire comes a year after four other newborns died in a hospital fire in Linguere in northern Senegal. Also read: 7 die in Philippine ferry fire; over 120 rescued from water A series of other deaths also have raised concerns about maternal and infant health in the West African nation known for having some of the best hospitals in the region. Earlier this month, authorities discovered a baby that had been declared dead by a nurse's aide was still alive in a morgue. The infant later died. Last year a pregnant woman died in Louga, in the north of the country, after waiting in vain for a cesarean section. Three midwives were given six-month suspended sentences for not giving help to a person in danger. Also read: Delhi fire tragedy death toll rises to 29 Health Minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr, who was attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva, cut short his trip to return to Senegal.

A disaster triggered by a severe downpour on Monday evening in northeast Nigeria's Yobe state killed five people, a statement from the emergency agency said on Tuesday. The rain was accompanied by very strong winds, causing havoc on residents and buildings in some communities of Damaturu, the state capital, said the State Emergency Management Agency in a statement. "A total of 41 victims from six different communities were evacuated, while unfortunately five died," the statement said, adding those injured were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. Also Read: Rainstorms kill at least 12 in greater Sao Paulo area Meanwhile, the state governor, Mai Mala Buni, in a statement on Tuesday, commiserated with the families of the five people who died from building collapses following a heavy rainstorm in the state capital. Buni directed the emergency agency to ensure treatment of those who sustained various degrees of injuries and to provide the victims with emergency relief materials to cushion their hardships.     

The Somali National Army's (SNA) elite forces, Danab, on Tuesday killed 11 al-Shabab militants at the El-Adde location near Kismayo town in the southern part of the country.   SNA commander of 16th Danab Unit in the region, Arab Dheg Ahmed told Somali National News Agency that the forces also arrested two other fighters and recovered weapons during the operation. "We recovered six AK 47 rifles and one PKM gun after conducting a special operation near Kismayo town in Lower Jubba region today," Ahmed said. Also Read: 17 al-Shabab militants killed in foiled attack in central Somalia He said the army will intensify military operations to flush out al-Shabab fighters who are on the run in Jubaland and Southwest States. The operation comes a day after the elite forces arrested a senior al-Shabab commander who was in charge of landmines and explosions in the Lower Shabelle region.     

The war in Ukraine is aggravating a triple food, energy and financial crisis across Africa, according to UN Secretary-General António Guterres. It is a human tragedy which can have "a dramatic impact on economies, in particular, those of developing countries," Guterres said during his recent visit to Senegal's Dakar. The war is driving up global food and fuel prices; senior UN officials are concerned that rising costs will push more people into hunger and could lead to political instability and social unrest in some parts of Africa, where food prices have increased by a third since last year. Before the Russian invasion began in February, the combination of climate change, conflict and the Covid pandemic was already impacting the socio-economic situation in Africa, especially in the Sahel region, which includes Senegal. Guterres said: "We must ensure a steady flow of food and energy in open markets, removing all unnecessary export restrictions," adding that "countries must resist the temptation to hoard and instead release strategic stocks of energy." The UN estimates that a quarter of a billion people could be pushed into extreme poverty this year, caused by the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine. International financial institutions have a key role to play and "must urgently provide debt relief by increasing liquidity and fiscal space," the UN Chief said, "so that governments can avoid default and invest in social safety nets and sustainable development for their people." In March 2022, the UN chief established the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance (GCRG) set up in response to the crisis provoked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying that the invasion was producing alarming effects on the world economy already battered by Covid and climate change. The GCRG, calls on countries to find creative ways to finance increased humanitarian and development recovery needs worldwide and to give generously and immediately release funds that they have already pledged. Also read: UN head condemns attacks on civilians during Ukraine visit

Martine Roamba’s 10-month-old daughter weakly tugs at her mother’s breast searching for milk. The malnourished baby has been struggling to feed since birth as her mother hasn't had enough to eat to produce sufficient breastmilk since fleeing her village in northern Burkina Faso last year when jihadis started killing people. Seated on a hospital bed with other severely malnourished children and their parents on the outskirts of Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, 30-year-old Roamba tries to calm her crying daughter. Also read: Gold mining site blast reportedly kills 59 in Burkina Faso “It’s very worrying and we’re praying to God that the baby doesn’t deteriorate into an even worse situation,” she said. Hunger is soaring across conflict-ridden Burkina Faso, a result of increasing violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, which has killed thousands and displaced millions, preventing people from farming. Some 3.5 million people are food insecure, with nearly 630,000 expected to be on the brink of starvation, according to the latest food security report by the government and U.N. agencies. This is an 82% increase from last year of people facing emergency hunger. “The nutrition situation in (the country) is deteriorating more and more, there are more and more people in need,” said Claudine Konate, a nutrition specialist for the U.N. Children's Agency, UNICEF. The country has to prepare for a growing crisis, she said. At the hospital in Ouagadougou, the number of severely malnourished children arriving has doubled from two years ago and there isn’t enough space or staff to care for them, said Clarisse Nikiema, head of nutrition at the hospital. “Because they were displaced, they are deeply impoverished and can’t feed their families, so children become malnourished,” she said. Sometimes after recovering, families refuse to leave because they don’t want their children going hungry at home where there’s no food, she said. In January, mutinous soldiers ousted Burkina Faso’s democratically elected president, and the ruling junta says that restoring security is their top priority. However, attacks have since increased with an 11% rise in incidents in February, according to the U.N. The violence is driving more people closer to starvation, say experts. The situation is most dire in the northern Sahel region, where cities like Djibo have until recently been besieged by jihadi rebels for months, restricting the delivery of food aid. Other towns like Gorom Gorom, have almost no operating health centers. Only two out of 27 in the district are fully functioning, said Jean Paul Ouedraogo, representative for the Italian-based aid group Lay Volunteers International Association. Jihadi rebels are also expanding and pushing south and west into Burkina Faso's breadbasket, stealing crops and livestock and chasing people from their rural farms and into cities. The decreasing supply and increase in demand is causing prices to spike. A bag of 100 kilograms of corn has nearly doubled since last year from $30 to $50, say locals. Aid organizations are bracing for more price hikes because of the war in Ukraine. Burkina Faso buys more than a third of its wheat from Russia, according to the U.N., and while the impact is not yet visible, humanitarians say it’s a concern. “The crisis in Ukraine is also likely to impact soaring grain prices, making an already bad situation worse,” said Gregoire Brou, country director for Action Against Hunger in Burkina Faso. Aid for the country is already underfunded — last year’s humanitarian response plan received less than half of the requested $607 million, according to the UN — and now agencies say donors have indicated there could be a 70% cut to funding in order to support operations in Ukraine. Also read:Soldiers declare military junta in control in Burkina Faso Meanwhile hunger is affecting virtually everyone in the country, even those trying to defend it. During a trip to the northern town of Ouahigouya, civilians who volunteered to fight alongside the army, told The Associated Press they’re battling jihadis on empty stomachs. “The volunteers fight for the country, but they fight with hunger,” said one volunteer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The lack of farming and minimal pay as a volunteer — $8 a month — isn’t enough to subsist on, he said. Malnourished people are arriving at health centers in Ouahigouya in severe condition and taking longer to recover, said Dr. Gerard Koudougou Kombassere, who works at a hospital in the town. Displaced people are the most affected and malnutrition rates among them are rising, he said. In a makeshift displacement camp in Ouahigouya where some 2,300 people have sought refuge, residents told AP they have received food assistance only once in the past 10 months. At one of the shelters, Salamata Nacanabo said her family used to eat five times a day when they lived in their village, but now they eat just once. Mimicking the sound of gunshots, the 31-year-old recounts the day jihadis stormed her village killing eight people, seizing everything she owned and forcing her family to flee. “They stole everything, cattle, food, and they took my goats," she said. “Now it’s very hard to take care of the children.”

At least 100 people may have died in an explosion at an illegal oil refinery in southeast Nigeria, a local oil official said Sunday as the search intensified for bodies at the site and for two people suspected of being involved in the blast. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement, called the explosion a “catastrophe and a national disaster.” The explosion Friday night at the facility in Ohaji-Egbema local government area in Imo state was triggered by a fire at two fuel storage areas where more than 100 people worked, state officials told The Associated Press. Dozens of workers were caught up in the explosion while many others attempted to escape the blaze by running into wooded areas. Also read:Explosion at illegal oil refinery in Nigeria kills over 50 Those who died in the disaster are estimated to be within “the range of 100,” said Goodluck Opiah, the Imo commissioner for petroleum resources. “A lot of them ran into the bush with the burns and they died there.” Buhari has directed the nation’s security forces “to intensify the clampdown” on such facilities being operated illegally in many parts of southern Nigeria, a spokesperson said in a statement. Although Nigeria is Africa’s largest producer of crude oil, for many years its oil production capacity has been limited by a chronic challenge of oil storage and the operation of illegal refineries. Nigeria lost at least $3 billion worth of crude oil to theft between January 2021 and February 2022, with shady business operators often avoiding regulators by setting up refineries in remote areas such as the one that exploded in Imo, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said in March. “There are no arrests yet but the two culprits are on the run with the police now looking for them,” said Declan Emelumba, the Imo State commissioner for information. Officials did not reveal the identities of the suspects. A mass burial is being planned for those killed in the explosion, many of who “were burnt beyond recognition,” said Emelumba. Environmental officials have started to fumigate the area. Such disasters are a regular occurrence in Africa’s most populous country, where poverty and unemployment – at 33% according to the latest government estimates – have forced millions of young people into criminal activities. Also read:Aid group says tribal violence kills 8 in Sudan’s Darfur Operating illegal refineries is not as popular in Imo state as it is in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, where militants have gained notoriety for blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping workers from petroleum companies. As many as 30 illegal oil refineries were busted in the Niger Delta region in just two weeks, Nigeria’s Defense Department said earlier this month when it announced a task force to curb crude oil theft. In the aftermath of the explosion in Imo state, the Nigerian ministry of petroleum told The AP there is “a renewed action” to tackle illegal activities in the oil sector. The government and the military are stepping up actions “to minimize the criminalities along the oil production lines,” said Horatius Egua, a senior official at the petroleum ministry. But many of the culprits are not deterred including in Imo state, one of the few places producing oil in Nigeria’s southeast. The problem of illegal refineries “has never been this bad” and remains “difficult to end,” said Opiah, the Imo petroleum commissioner. “It is like asking why kidnapping or armed robbery has not stopped,” he said. “Even with this incident, not many people will be deterred. I am sure more illegal refineries will be cropping up in other places.”

More than 50 people were killed and many injured when an explosion rocked an illegal oil refinery in southeastern Nigeria, state officials and police said Saturday. The death toll may be more than 100, according to a report in the Lagos-based Punch newspaper. The fire was reported to have spread to nearby properties. The fire broke out Friday night and quickly spread to two fuel storage areas at the illegal crude oil refinery, causing the complex to be “engulfed by fire which spread rapidly” within the area, said Declan Emelumba, the Imo State commissioner for information. The immediate cause of the explosion and the extent of the deaths, injuries and damage were being investigated, Emelumba said. READ: Nigeria attacks: Hundreds reported killed as bandits target villages Multiple videos posted on social media showed a gruesome scene, with people’s charred remains reduced to skeletons and cinders. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify them. “A lot of people died. The people who died are all illegal operators,” said Michael Abattam, spokesman of the Imo State Police Command. The Imo state government was looking for the owner of the refinery where the explosion occurred and declared him a wanted individual, an official said.

Tribal violence between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur region killed at least 8 people including a woman and a child, an aid worker and activists said Saturday. The clashes erupted Thursday with the killing of two people by an unknown assailant around the Kreinik area of West Darfur province, said Adam Regal, the spokesman for the General Coordination for Refugees and Displaced in Darfur charity. The following day, militias known as janjaweed attacked a camp for displaced people just to the south of Kreinik, burning down dozens of houses and forcing large numbers of people to flee. Also read: UN envoy: Sudan could face economic and security collapse The violence, which lasted till late Friday, also wounded 16 others, including three in critical condition, he said. Sudan’s Darfur region has seen bouts of deadly clashes between rival tribes in recent months as the country remains mired in a wider crisis following last year’s coup, when top generals overthrew a civilian-led government. In December, tribal clashes in Kreinik killed 88 people. Most recently, at least 45 people were killed in intercommunal violence in South Darfur province. Also read: Anti-coup protests in Sudan amid turmoil after PM resigns The yearslong Darfur conflict broke out when rebels from the territory’s ethnic central and sub-Saharan African community launched an insurgency in 2003, complaining of oppression by the Arab-dominated government in the capital, Khartoum. The government of now-deposed strongman Omar al-Bashir responded with a campaign of aerial bombings and raids by the janjaweed, which have been accused of mass killings and rapes. Up to 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes in Darfur over the years.