NAIROBI: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged African leaders to redouble efforts to bring peace to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where violent armed groups have terrorized civilians for decades.
Guterres addressed a high-level meeting in Burundi of African nations that signed a UN-brokered accord in 2013 to promote stability and security in the mineral-rich but conflict-wracked nation.
He said the agreement forged a decade ago marked a turning point for cooperation in the often-turbulent region, but “the current crisis underscores how far we have to go.”
“Despite our collective efforts, more than 100 armed groups — Congolese and foreign — still operate today and thus threaten the stability of the entire Great Lakes region,” Guterres told the gathering of presidents and other senior leaders in Bujumbura.
“It is time for the violence to stop. I reiterate my call to all armed groups — lay down your arms, immediately.”
Armed groups have plagued much of eastern DRC for three decades, a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s.
One militia, the M23, has captured swathes of territory in North Kivu since taking up arms in late 2021 after years of dormancy.
Guterres said the resurgence of M23 had displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and called on all parties to respect pledges made in Nairobi and Luanda last year to end that conflict.
An East African regional military force has taken over some areas previously occupied by the M23 since December.
The DRC accuses its smaller central African neighbor Rwanda of supporting the M23, an assessment backed by US and French officials as well as UN experts.
But Rwanda has repeatedly denied supporting the Tutsi-led rebels, who are still present in North Kivu and occasionally clash with rival militias.
Both Rwanda and DRC are signatories to the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework signed in Addis Ababa in 2013 and backed by the UN and African Union that was eventually endorsed by 13 nations.
Guterres said “constant and sincere” dialogue was the only path to compromise and a lasting peace for the volatile region.
“I therefore encourage the signatory countries... to redouble their efforts,” he said.
Guterres also met with Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye on his arrival in the country on Friday.
UN chief urges renewed effort to end DRC violence
https://arab.news/ruafu
UN chief urges renewed effort to end DRC violence
- "It is time for the violence to stop. I reiterate my call to all armed groups -- lay down your arms, immediately," said Guterres
- Armed groups have plagued much of eastern DRC for three decades, a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s
Ukraine stages major attack on Russian aircraft with drones, security official says
If confirmed, the strikes would be the most damaging Ukrainian drone attack of the war, and would be a significant setback for Moscow.
The official said that the strikes were conducted by the SBU domestic intelligence agency, and that they had simultaneously hit four Russian military air bases on Sunday.
The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than 40 aircraft were hit, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine.
Reuters could not immediately verify the assertions.
The source shared video footage, saying it showed the strikes. The images showed several large aircraft, some of which appeared to be Tu-95 strategic bombers, on fire.
Ukraine, which lacks Russia’s vast arsenal of missiles, has instead built up a large fleet of attack drones which it has used to attack Russian military and oil facilities.
Russia had proposed a fresh round of talks in Istanbul on Monday, but Kyiv has thus far neither confirmed nor denied that it will be attending.
Russian strike kills 12 Ukrainian soldiers during training: Kyiv
- Kyiv did not say where the strike took place, but stressed the soldiers were not taking part in a “mass gathering” and most were in their shelters during the attack
KYIV: A Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian army training area killed at least 12 soldiers and wounded dozens more Sunday, Kyiv said, in a rare admission of its military losses.
Kyiv did not say where the strike took place, but stressed the soldiers were not taking part in a “mass gathering” and most were in their shelters during the attack.
The Ukrainian army has in recent weeks faced pressure to investigate what some see as glaring lapses in ensuring the safety of training soldiers.
Six soldiers training close to the border were killed by a Russian strike last month, in what one Ukrainian opposition politician called a “crime” by army leadership.
“Today, on June 1, the enemy launched a missile strike on the location of one of the training units of the Ukrainian army,” the Ukrainian army said in a statement.
“As of 12:50 p.m. (0950 GMT), 12 people are known to have been killed and more than 60 wounded.”
“If it is established that the deaths and injuries of the servicemen were caused by the actions or inaction of officials, those responsible will be brought to strict accountability,” it added.
Separately on Sunday, the Russian army said it had captured another village in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, where Kyiv fears Moscow could mount a fresh ground assault.
Russia claims to have captured several settlements in the region in recent weeks, and has massed more than 50,000 soldiers on the other side of the border, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Authorities in the region have evacuated more than 200 villages amid intensified shelling.
China’s Yunnan hit with floods, mudslides from intense rains
- Over 600 tourists visiting rural scenic spots in the area on Saturday found themselves trapped, according to Xinhua, which reported 500 of them had been rescued by Sunday
BEIJING: Heavy rainfall triggering flash floods and mudslides have damaged roads, destroyed buildings and claimed bridges, wreaking havoc in China’s southwestern Yunnan province on a long holiday weekend.
No casualties were reported but more than 4,800 residents in Gongshan county were affected, with about one-third of them urgently relocated, state news agency Xinhua said.
Over 600 tourists visiting rural scenic spots in the area on Saturday found themselves trapped, according to Xinhua, which reported 500 of them had been rescued by Sunday.
Road access to mountainous sites popular with hikers such as Bingzhongluo town and Yubeng village in neighboring Deqin county were cut off, state broadcaster CCTV.
The Dulong river saw flood waters swell to record levels, according to historical logs from a hydrological monitoring station.
A four-story building set along the river that had been evacuated collapsed, CCTV reported, showing a video of the structure tipping backwards and disappearing into a cloud of dust.
The intense rainfall over a 12-hour period disrupted power supplies. Repair work to roads and power lines was underway, said state media.
Local authorities had issued a red alert ahead of the rainstorm on Friday night but downgraded it to a yellow alert by Saturday morning.
China uses a four-color warning system that escalates from blue, yellow, orange to red according to the level of precipitation and anticipated risks.
India sees tenfold rise in COVID-19 cases
- India’s official caseload increased to 3,395 on Sunday from 257 on May 22
- No spike in hospitalization rate, pulmonologist says, as symptoms remain mild
NEW DELHI: India has reported a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases over the past 10 days, official data showed on Sunday, with new, more transmissible virus variants believed to be driving the surge.
A new wave of infections emerged in parts of Asia last month, especially Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Thailand.
The new spread of the coronavirus that a few years ago brought the world to a standstill has been linked to JN.1, a highly transmissible variant of the omicron strain of COVID-19. It emerged in late 2023 and spread globally through early 2024, becoming one of the dominant variants in many countries.
India’s current caseload is 3,395 as of Sunday, according to Ministry of Health data – up significantly from the previous official count of 257 on May 22.
The ministry confirmed last week it had detected across the country two subvariants of JN.1 – LF.7 and NB.1.8.1 – which spread faster but are believed to be mild.
“(The) majority of those are mild cases, just like seasonal flu, and we are not seeing any significant admission or emergency visits due to COVID-19. Right now, the situation is under control. Any flu that starts spreading spreads fast like wildfire,” Dr. Nikhil Modi, pulmonology and respiratory medicine specialist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, told Arab News.
While in the last 24 hours, four deaths have been recorded – in Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh – the “patients were already suffering from critical illnesses,” Modi said.
“Severe disease is not being reported anywhere significantly.”
India was one of the worst-hit countries during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. At its peak, health authorities recorded over 400,000 new cases per day.
Hospitals across many states were overwhelmed with patients and faced severe shortages of oxygen supplies, hospital beds, ventilators, and critical medicines.
The World Health Organization estimates that 4.7 million deaths in India were directly and indirectly related to COVID-19.
“The way we have seen COVID-19 in 2021, panic is bound to come but things, for the time being, are under control. We are not seeing admissions significantly rising due to COVID, so we should be able to manage. Advisories and preparedness in all hospitals have started, so if the situation changes, we are ready for it,” Modi said.
“Right now, we don’t have to panic about it.”
Two dead and 500 arrested in France during PSG win celebrations
PARIS: More than 500 people were arrested by police during the Champions League final celebrations in France, and two people were reported dead and 192 injured, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
Wild celebrations erupted across the French capital and beyond on Saturday night after Paris St Germain crushed Italian opponents Inter Milan to win the Champions League for the first time, although skirmishes with police later threatened to spoil the party.
The interior ministry's provisional assessment as of Sunday morning was that 559 people had been arrested, including 491 in Paris, which led to 320 people being placed in police custody, 254 of them in Paris.
On the Champs Elysees, bus shelters were smashed and projectiles hurled at riot police, who fired tear gas and water cannon to push back surging crowds as thousands of supporters descended on the boutique-lined boulevard.
The interior ministry on Sunday reported hundreds of fires, including more than 200 vehicles burned. Some 22 members of the security forces and seven firefighters were harmed.
